Linux Mint: Ubuntu plus stuff you probably want
I have been meaning to give Linux Mint a try for some time now. With the slowdown this week leading up to the four-day Easter weekend (there are some advantages to living in Switzerland!), I've finally had time to do it. I thought it might be just another Ubuntu derivative, but it's more than that, and I'm impressed. On their web page they say:
Linux Mint's purpose is to produce an elegant, up to date and comfortable GNU/Linux desktop distribution
Although it is based on Ubuntu (currently using 8.10, of course), Linux Mint has its own desktop theme, menu system, package manager, update manager and lots more. If you didn't know going in that it was based on Ubuntu, even an experienced Linux user might not notice it.
One of the objectives of Linux Mint is to include a variety of proprietary and non-open source packages which are not included in the Ubuntu base distribution. I noticed this right away, as several of the packages which I normally have to download and install myself on Ubuntu were already there, such as Sun Java 6, Adobe Flash, Thunderbird and Citrix Receiver (even the latest, version 11!). But there is a lot more, too: lots of multimedia stuff, such as Quick Time, Real Player and Windows Media plugins for Firefox, and audio and video players and recorders. There are Mint-customised versions of firewalls, backup utilities, net nannies, and various other common utilities.
Installation was smooth and easy, basically identical to installing Ubuntu 8.10. Of course, that means it has the same limitations as installing Ubuntu 8.10 as well - it won't install on a partition with a two-digit number (i.e. > sda9), and it won't install on my HP Mini-Note. But for my purposes at the moment neither of those is a big problem, I'll be testing it on the Lifebooks, and I assume that when they update to Ubuntu 9.04, it will also install on the HP. By that time, I'll know if I want it there or not.
It will obviously take some time to explore Linux Minut, but after just a couple of hours, I find it to be very promising. If you like Ubuntu, but you want it a bit more refined and polished, and you are tired of having to download and install a bunch of stuff yourself, Linux Mint could be just the ticket for you.
jw 9/4/2009
Correction: Sigh. I must be losing my mind. Linux Mint does NOT include the Citrix client, I had installed that manually and then forgot about it when I was making the list of installed software. Sorry.
jw 16/4/2009