Preferred linux distro for workstation usage?

[Jarod Wilson]

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 8:33 AM, Sean Terrell <sean.terrell-j9pdmedNgrk at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> If thats the question, Then why use Ubuntu over Debian, or Fedora or
> PCLOS over Red Hat?

That's not the question. Most folks here pretty well know what the
differences are between Ubuntu and Debian, Fedora and Red Hat
Enterprise Linux. Not many people, myself included, know what
differentiates Mint from Ubuntu, especially since the things it seems
to tout on its web site with regard to ease of use and out of box
experience are some of the very same things Ubuntu touts itself, and
Mint maintains that its very close to Ubuntu.

> If you are asking what specifically using a Mint
> version changes over the Main Base version, there are many things.

Yes, that. :)

> Linux Mint has a tremendous out of the box experience, similar to Ubuntu
> but much more aesthetically appealing, and comes with Flash, Java, and
> media codecs that allow a new user to be working and have DVD playback
> right out of the box.

So a better theme and proprietary software and codec support out of the box.

> Keeping to a Ubuntu or Debian Base allows for the use of the Ubuntu and
> Deb repositories, as well as mints own repositories. MintInstall is
> similar to Ubuntu's software manager, but allow allows users to assign
> ratings and comments about an application, helping new users to make
> decisions about the insane amount of software available.

That actually does sound useful for new users, and the implementation
did look sane in the screenshots I saw.

> The newest version of the MintMenu, the mintified version of the gnome
> menu, includes automatic search of APT and the web. so if you are
> looking for something, and its not installed, Apt will start kicking out
> packages right in the main menu, and you can install via apt directly
> from the menu.

Aside from the apt bits, at a glance, it looks like its just a
slightly modified version of the alternate gnome menu Novell developed
and ships in openSUSE and SLES. Neat extension though.

> The single biggest difference between Mint and any other distro is the
> community. I will not talk bad about any other community, but I will
> tell you that from my experience, Mint is top notch. Super friendly and
> welcoming. tremendous support from knowledgeable persons. If you havent
> already, check out the community. this might change your mind about
> using 1 distro over another.

Isn't the community supposed to be one of the big selling points of
Ubuntu too though? How is the Mint community different from the Ubuntu
community at large? I'm not terribly familiar with the Ubuntu
community myself, but others here are, and may be interested.

For example, on average, is it a more technically adept community than
Ubuntu? That's one of my biggest annoyances with many Ubuntu users I
encounter on various upstream project mailing lists. (Not to say that
there aren't technically competent Ubuntu users, I do know many of
those too, but there's definitely a higher ratio of non-technical
users compared with other distros, in no small part thanks to general
popularity, so its a back-handed compliment to Ubuntu/Canonical).


> On 9/13/10 8:24 AM, Sean Terrell wrote:
>> Using Linux Mint... Super polished Ubuntu and Debian base. I switched
>> from the Ubuntu Version to the straight Debian base this weekend.
>> Incredibly snappy and still has the Mint Fresh Look and Feel, well
>> except for the Debian Fonts that I have to change right away.
>>
>> Sean Terrell
>>
>
>
> Why use Linux Mint instead of Ubuntu?  Or Linux Mint Debian instead of
> just Debian?  I am not clear as to what is gained by using Linux Mint
> especially since it keeps close to Ubuntu / Debian.


-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod-ajLrJawYSntWk0Htik3J/w at public.gmane.org