Can Linux Mint 12, Cinnamon Spice Up the Open Source Mix?
I’ve been an Ubuntu user for a pretty long time — so long that I no longer remember exactly when I started (all I recall is that it was sometime around version 6.06.) But last week I finally replaced Ubuntu on my production computer with Linux Mint 12. Read on for why, and how it’s been working out.
For starters, here’s the why: Although you might be expecting a diatribe here against Ubuntu and Canonical, and all of their collective flaws that drove me to try Mint, I can’t really pin any major blame on them. It’s true I’d become a little tired of trying to make Ubuntu 11.10’s version of Unity work in a way I liked. (I’m hopeful Ubuntu 12.04 will bring a more user-friendly iteration of the desktop environment.) And the hibernation problems I’d been having in Ubuntu 11.10 sometimes got my day off to a bad start when I turned on my computer and it rebooted instead of resuming.
But more than any major frustration with Ubuntu, I decided to give Mint a try — and to put in on my production machine, since that’s the only way I’ll really get to know its ins and outs — because of simple curiosity. I wanted to explore a different default. I was eager to see what Mint’s new homegrown interface, Cinnamon, was like. And I was intrigued by Mint’s endorsement of MATE, another desktop environment designed to revive GNOME 2.
Mint, Cinnamon and Me
By and large, I’ve been enjoying Mint so far. From a technical standpoint, it’s not actually very different from Ubuntu at all. Mint is based very closely on Ubuntu, uses Ubuntu’s repositories, practically is Ubuntu — in many respects there’s about as much difference between the two distributions as one finds between fraternal twins.
Yet Mint’s major distinction is its emphasis on user-friendliness, which it does well. Even more than Ubuntu, Mint offers a truly complete system out of the box, with proprietary codecs, the Adobe Flash plugin and everything else one needs to be productive preinstalled. These things are all easy enough to acquire in modern versions of Ubuntu as well, but having them already integrated into the software stack in Mint just made my life that much easier. (On the other hand, this software makes the Mint installation image several hundred megabytes larger than Ubuntu’s, although a condensed one is available.)
Upon booting Mint for the first time, I realized that a major component of its strategy for being user-friendly in the current state of the Linux ecosystem — where nearly half a dozen desktop environments are competing for users’ attention, all of them with their various pros and cons — is to offer lots of options. Out of the box, Mint 12 ships with GNOME Shell, Unity, Cinnamon, MATE and “GNOME Classic,” an attempt to make GNOME Shell look like GNOME 2. Users simply select which one they want to use when they log in.
This struck me as a brilliant idea: By dumping myriad choices on users, Mint can mitigate the wrath of those who inevitably will loathe one or another of its desktop interfaces. Hopefully these people will have enough different options to explore that they’ll exhaust themselves before they decide to hate on the distribution itself and blame it for the inadequacies of the desktop interface they’re using.
As for Cinnamon, the desktop environment that most intrigued me because it was released only in January and was created as Mint’s answer to the interfaces being developed elsewhere, it’s not bad. In the end, however, I concluded that — much like Unity and GNOME Shell, which both still have some growing to do — it’s a bit immature and currently lacks the customizability to be truly usable. Unlike Unity and GNOME Shell in some other distributions, however, Cinnamon has not been pressed on users as the only available choice, making its flaws eminently more forgivable. It has real promise, and I’m excited to see where it will go as it becomes more complete.
Sadly, while there are lot of things I like in Mint 12, it hasn’t proven to be the bug-free paradise I dream about. Like Ubuntu, and despite all its emphasis on usability and user-friendliness, Mint has issues. The Archive Mounter tool doesn’t totally work, for example, and Wine gives me problems. Hibernating is also still an issue, though that was predictable given that Mint is so similar to Ubuntu under the hood.
And the realization that Mint has issues is probably the most important point I’ll take away from this experience. Whenever I install a new operating system, there are a few moments — sometimes they even last for days — of hope, exhilaration and anticipation. Then the inevitable bugs and other flaws manifest themselves, and reality hits. The world is imperfect, even if you run Linux, and no matter how polished or user-friendly or technically sophisticated distributions such as Ubuntu and Mint become, there always will be room for improvement.
While Ubuntu are tossing out KDE and have a go at the business marked with a stripped version, Mint goes the other way – trying to become a kitchen sink distro.
I believe it’s good for Ubuntu with a stripped version and I believe it’s good for both Ubuntu and KDE that Kubuntu turns pure community.
On the other hand: Mint will have a hard time providing good versions for Tom, Dick and Harry.
IF I’d pick a distro with serveral DE’s in mind – OpenSUSE 12.1 would be the best alternative for now. They deliver good quality with both Gnome and KDE. As good as it can be with the kitchen sink approach.
Disclaimer: I don’t use neither Ubuntu, Mint or OpenSUSE daily.
A trolling we will go, a trolling we will go, hi ho the … 😛
Classic Anon – No arguments at hand —gt; stupid comments.
If you got nothing to say – why use so many words saying it? Nothing, that is.
Jack, I think it’s obvious …
Your disclaimer proves so,you don’t use them on a daily basis, yet you like to make a judgement on a Distro.
I understand what anon is pointing out.
As for stupid comments, you’ve dealt with that quite well, with your own post.
Still no arguments….
I’ve used both Ubuntu and Suse for many years – plus a year or so with Mint. I’ve testet all 3 quite a lot with fresh Linux users in mind.
Suse 12.1 is the one providing most equal quality for both KDE and Gnome.
The 7 series was interesting, the 8 and 9 series of Suse was very good, the 10 series was below par, the 11 series almost decent and 12.1 is in fact very good.
As regards Ubuntu, there’s been many quite decent releases – in particular 7.04 and 7.10 + 10.04. Ubuntu 11.10 is not even close. They never had a good KDE release. Kudos for trying though.
When slightly easier installation is left out of the equation (because it’s not that important really), there hasn’t really been that much incentive to choose Mint ahead of Ubuntu. KDE users will do better elsewhere.
So in your first post,you lied, but would like to push the use of Suse
over Ubuntu or Mint. That’s your opinion, but from your previous post, who cares? you make it up as you go.
Get your reading skills sorted out and leave your bias out of it. I have no emotional capital invested in any of those distros – and I don’t use them on a daily basis.
I do frequently test the major distros in order to find the best alternative and install it for users other than me – on machines purchased by me.
If equal quality for both Gnome and KDE is essential, OpenSUSE 12.1 is ahead of the pack.
You don’t have a single argument with respect to the topic. Instead you take the easy way out – attacking me.
Provide arguments related to the matter – or put a sock in it.
A KDE, Ubuntu based distribution (Netrunner) has an interesting announcement on their web site, saying that it has joined forces with Mint KDE. Perhaps Kubuntu would join these so as to pool resources. Personally, I don’t think switching distributions is the answer – the answer for me is for all the different distros using KDE, Gnome XFCE etc. out there should come together and deliver the best desktop for users. There are too many good distros falling by the wayside, which means amany clever people’s talents are wasted, e.g. Pardus, which had 35 developers and now down to single figures. More unification – more satisfied users – more success for Linux. Why can’t it happen?
@ Anthony:
If those joined together into one single distro with one single DE, they will would be able to provide a far better user experience than if they remained 3 entities.
Having said that, the conditions for my statement being true is that they are able to cooperate, finding the right people for the individual tasks (someones feelings are bound to be hurt), define common philosophy and goals, establishing common infrastructure and so on.
I’d love to see a high standard KDE distro for general desktop use arising out of the buntusphere.
They have included a GTK config tool from Chakra, and hopefully they’ll have a look at appset and the Chakra bundling concept too.
Cannot see any technical reasons limiting its potential, but as always it is for the distros to decide whether they want to – or are able to join forces. Pretty convinced that it will increase their relevance though.
Cinnamon is definitely the most confusing and messiest desktop environment I’ve ever seen.
Moreover, people come back progressively to GS or Unity because they tend to solve the biggest issues that made people go away in the first place, so Cinnamon is definitely doomed to failure. We won’t even hear about it in 2 years time.
It’s not really fair to make a judgement about Linux Mint based on version 12. They did the best they could with the first release of the Mint Extensions in Gnome, and the first release of MATE. It would be better to try Mint 11 or wait for 13. Mint 11 had rave reviews everywhere.
I quite loved earlier versions of Ubuntu but the 11 version wasn’t something I liked. It was a simple thing or two, they changed the desktop such take I didn’t have a bottom bar to indicate which programs
were running and then there the lose of the bar on the left side of the window replaced by damned floating arrows thing. I went Mint and it
wasn’t wildly better but I found how to get the left side bar back and
I was tired of screwing around so I kept the OS. I miss the bottom bar
indicating the running programs and open windows. I’ll try Mint 13 or
14 or maybe even Unbuntu in some flavor other that it primary one as
the future unfolds.
Wine for me is real wine not the software dregs……….Trig/Dwight
My problem with Mint were corrected as I came to understand how
to set its controls. It now acts pretty much as I want.
I’ll hold off until Mint 13 mate version is fully baked to it final form though it looks good in reviews. Version 11 as I have it set up now has a top bar that indicate which programs are operating.
Trig/Dwight
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