Linux Mint: Support and Reviews

Written by: Finn Orfano • Edited by: Michele McDonough
Published Jan 21, 2009 • Related Guides: Linux Mint | Linux | Ubuntu

In two previous articles about Linux Mint, I described the distro and how it differs from its 'parent' distro, Ubuntu. In this article, I describe the support available and make an evaluation of Mint's performance.

Support for Mint

The Mint website provides a good deal of support to users via a discussion forum, a blog, and a Wiki. This is all in English, but there are community support sites in many different languages. Mint ISOs for the various versions can be downloaded from the official website or from SoftPedia – make sure you select the ‘Linux’ tab! The ISO files can be burnt to CD to produce live distributions, so users of other distros or Windows can try Mint on their systems without affecting the hard disk in any way. A 77-page PDF Users’ Guide is also available for download; this includes a detailed walk-though for the Mint installation process. The site also links to Mint-related podcasts for users who prefer to take their input aurally.

The Linux Mint forum is a very busy site, with over 3900 topics in the Newbie Questions section alone. The Community Map includes a Frappr application which shows where Mint users are located. The Linux Mint Planet is an official forum for posting news releases and announcements. And the Linux Mint Blog provides an informal 'water cooler' where Mint users can get together and discuss broader issues. Taken together, the support system is very neatly packaged and relatively easy to find one's way around. Only the Linux Mint Wiki is a disappointment; like many Wikis, it seems to have been set up with high hopes and then more or less abandoned.

The Linux Mint Forum Click to view image.

Reviews and Evaluation

Feelings about Mint expressed on the Web are overwhelmingly positive. Most users emphasize its friendliness and ease of installation, and many recommend it to new users, particularly computing novices. A few criticisms have surfaced; compared to Ubuntu, Mint is described as running slowly on older PCs. It also appears to have inherited from Ubuntu Intrepid some of that distro’s problems in recognizing and installing drivers for sound cards and wireless networking. One issue currently under review is the slowness of the MintInstall application when it comes to refreshing file lists: this took at least half an hour on my system. My only other gripe is that Mint has dropped the handy ‘make USB’ option from Intrepid, which allowed for a persistent bootable installation on a USB stick.

So there you have it: Linux Mint is an effective, user-friendly reconfiguration of a popular and powerful distro. Would it make me switch from Ubuntu? Probably not, since I have already spent many hours setting up Ubuntu for my own particular laptop platform, and I don’t really want to go through all that again; but if I had a new empty PC to set up for a client or a family member, I would seriously think about Linux Mint. Why not give it a try?

Russ Dec 17, 2010 5:43 PM

Worth a try

I downloaded Ubuntu a couple of days ago and created a USB stick. It loaded quickly and seemed to find everything - but even with the Network card identified properly, and the TCP/IP settings as they should be, I could not connect to my cable internet. I'll give Mint a try - I've been told it's very easy... will post my results as soon as it's downloaded. It is a much slower download, with Germany being so slow I gave up and am now downloading from Switzerland (I'm in Kiev, Ukraine)

Philippe Baetens Oct 3, 2010 12:38 PM

@ Dr. Mandar Shroff

linux mint

Dr. Mandar Shroff Sep 25, 2010 5:16 PM

What distro should I start with?

Hi... I am orthodontist.... I have been using windows all my life...

But protection issues.. especially viruses and spyware have had their share in destroying data in spite of having the best of total security systems... I was suggested to try ubuntu to avoid security issues...should i jump into it??

I have a HP pavilion dv 4 system... core 2 duo, 4 GB ram etc with 64 bit vista... pretty powerful stuff as compared to what I truly do with my lappie, study from pdf files, surf net for info & educational mail purposes, few business transactions, patient records in form of pics and bit of entertainment in form of songs and music.

after googling up stuff, I am confused w.r.t. what distro should I be using. Please advice....

jonjermey Dec 14, 2009 5:18 PM

Trialling Mint

Your best bet is to download a copy of Ubuntu 9.10, burn it on to a CD and boot from the CD. Then you need two memory sticks: a 1 Gb stick with the Mint ISO file and a larger blank one (4/8/16/32 Gb). Run the USB Startup Disk Creator from the Ubuntu Administration menu and use it to copy the Mint ISO on to the blank USB stick; use the rest of the space for persistent storage. You should then have a fully functioning version of Mint you can boot from on any PC without affecting the hard drive at all.

aalencia@gmail.com Dec 14, 2009 7:01 AM

Thanks for the info

I appreciate laying out the differences for me. I have been on the fence as to give mint a serious try. I think I will based on this article. I wish there was something like wubi for ubuntu letting me try a dif distro without messing up my ubuntu install. Is there?

David Nov 18, 2009 4:35 AM

Ubuntu

After reading al the possitive about mint I ve decided to check it in place of my ubuntu.

For me personal its not worth it. Theres not much new under the hood exept for some gadgets women might like. And yes its a bit more easy to install but for that i wouldnt take it eather.

All my friends have ubuntu and everybody loves it so....

Take care

Kevin Nov 10, 2009 8:29 PM

I see. That is something I read, that they give updates a rating, unlike Ubuntu. My problem with ubuntu was that one it destroyed my friends laptop, somehow fried his video card, and second, it wasn't great for playing dvds or regular videos. How is that in Gloria?

jonjermey Nov 10, 2009 8:06 PM

Mint experience

Hi Kevin -- I've now been using the new Mint 7 (Gloria) for about three months (on a new PC, admittedly) and am very happy with it. They're a lot more conservative than Ubuntu about adding new stuff before it's thoroughly tested.

Kevin Nov 10, 2009 3:30 PM

Interesting

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I first heard about LinuxMint from a relative, and did not know what it was. I already have previous experience with Ubuntu, sometimes catastrophic, but I wonder how good of an OS this would be.

Linux Mint: Support and Reviews

Support for Mint

Reviews and Evaluation

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