Linux Mint – An Elegant Alternative to Windows and macOS

Linux Mint is a free and very popular open-source Linux distribution that stands out for its stability, elegance, ease of use, and good support. This operating system was created in 2006 as a derivative of Ubuntu. Iranian programmer Clement Lefebvre is credited as the author.

Features of Linux Mint Distribution

We’ve had reviews of Linux distributions before: Puppy Linux, Zorin OS, Tails, etc., but the emphasis was usually on modest hardware requirements. Now we’re presenting Linux Mint, which has ease of use and similarity to some versions of Windows as its main features. Mint was created with the idea of being a modern, elegant, and comfortable operating system that is both powerful and easy to use. It provides users with a free alternative to other operating systems such as Windows and macOS, but with a focus on ease of use and pleasant user experience. It has a classic desktop with an application menu, taskbar, and icons.

Mint comes with pre-installed software that covers most of the average user’s needs. These include Firefox for internet browsing, LibreOffice for office work, Thunderbird for email, GIMP for image editing, etc. It has pre-installed support for many multimedia formats, including proprietary codecs, so you can immediately play video and audio files, including MP3 and DVD. The distribution comes with a range of useful Mint-specific tools, such as Backup Tool, Upload Manager, and System Reports.

Mint has its own Software Manager that allows easy finding, installing, and updating of applications. The approach to updating is more conservative compared to other Linux distributions. Updates are categorized by stability level, allowing users to choose how often and to what level they want to update their system. Mint is very secure thanks to its open-source nature and active community. Security updates are regularly issued, and users have full control over their data, without privacy concerns that may exist on other platforms.

Linux Mint User Environments

Linux Mint comes with several user environments, the most famous of which is Cinnamon, which is specific to this distribution. It has a traditional desktop look with a start menu, taskbar, and system tray, making it intuitive and appealing to users coming from Windows. It’s also the most hardware-demanding.

Xfce is the simplest user environment. It doesn’t have as many features as Cinnamon, but it’s also the least hardware-demanding. Mate is a classic desktop environment. It uses Gnome 2, which was the default environment on Linux Mint until 2011.

LMDE is a special Mint derivative that was created from the idea of breaking dependency on Ubuntu, so Debian was taken as the base. This is an extremely secure and stable operating system. It’s characterized by continuous upgrades, so there’s no need to upgrade to a higher version.

Hardware Requirements for Linux Mint

Minimum hardware requirements are:

Processor: 1 GHz or faster
RAM: 2 GB
Disk space: 20 GB free space
Graphics card: Graphics card supporting 1024×768 resolution

Recommended hardware requirements are:

Processor: 1.5 GHz or faster
RAM: 4 GB or more
Disk space: 100 GB free space
Graphics card: Graphics card supporting 1366×768 resolution or higher

These requirements allow for smooth use of the operating system and applications that come with Linux Mint. Naturally, more powerful hardware always brings better performance and user experience.

Comparison of Linux Mint with Other Linux Distributions

While Ubuntu uses the new Gnome 3 environment, Mint has a more traditional desktop interface and a more conservative approach to updates. Mint includes some proprietary software and drivers by default, while Ubuntu does not.

Compared to Fedora, which is based on Red Hat, Mint is based on Debian/Ubuntu. Mint is more focused on stability and ease of use, while Fedora often includes the latest technologies. Mint has a longer support cycle for each release.

When compared to Manjaro, Mint is based on stable releases, while Manjaro uses a rolling release model. Mint has a larger software base available through repositories. Manjaro offers a wider choice of desktop environments by default.

Who Needs Linux Mint and Why?

Mint is a free, open-source distribution. It’s extremely stable and reliable. It’s easy to use, especially for users transitioning from Windows. It has a rich software offering through Ubuntu repositories. Community support is excellent, documentation extensive. Its resource consumption is relatively low, working well even on older computers.

Since we’ve listed many good features of this distribution, it’s time to mention those that aren’t so good. Mint isn’t always up to date with the latest software releases, due to its focus on stability. It’s less customizable than some other distributions for more advanced users. It has a limited choice of desktop environments compared to some other distributions.

Mint stands out as an excellent option for users who want a stable, reliable, and easy-to-use Linux system. Its popularity lies in combining a stable base (Ubuntu/Debian) with a unique user interface and pre-installed software. It’s particularly popular among those transitioning from Windows operating system, as the user environment is simple and reminiscent of Windows.

The Download button leads to the ISO file from the official Linux Mint website. Installation is simple and well described at the following link. If you just want to try Mint, and you’re using Windows, macOS, or a Linux distribution, you can do so using VirtualBox. You can download the appropriate version of VirtualBox for your operating system HERE.

Platform:
Linux, and using VirtualBox on Windows and macOS