For Linux Mint users

So, who here uses Linux Mint? I just switched from Ubuntu 10.04 LTS to Linux Mint 9 LTS and I am really impressed by the quality of the user space and the kernel. There are just so many improvements in the custom GNOME desktop environment that closely resemble Microsoft Windows such that I would argue this is the easiest Linux distribution to setup and use for beginners and experienced power users alike. It is a compelling reason to switch from Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate to Linux Mint 9 LTS because nearly all of the features can be replicated right from the LiveDVD disc. Almost everything works right out of the box except for the hibernate feature and the NVIDIA Optimus technology on my new ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC. I can boot into the system within 12 - 13 seconds and shutdown within 4 seconds. Applications such as OpenOffice and Mozilla Firefox load up much more quickly than their Windows counterparts. There are no BSODs to contend with nor are there viruses to be concerned with either. The most impressive quality about Linux Mint is that it is wholly supported by the community in terms of finances and source code. I really respect that about the Linux Mint community and the team of software engineers and developers that make it all possible.

So, if you use Linux Mint, then reply to this thread about your specific setup and your favorite packages. For me, I installed WINE, clamav, k3b, openoffice.org, eclipse, netbeans, virtualbox-ose, rkhunter, chkrootkit, john, cifer, sound-juicer, chromium-browser (which is my favorite open source web browser), and some other packages that I forgot to mention.

Thank you.

Linux Mint is based off of Ubuntu which is based off of Debian. A slew of restricted codecs for multimedia come pre-installed with Linux Mint 9 so it is ready to use out of the box. In terms of Microsoft Windows versus Linux Mint, they share a lot of similarities such as a backup utility and the ability to incorporate very strong cryptologic algorithms to secure your data plus some nice eye candy in terms of visual effects.

Linux Mint 9 LTS is slower than Ubuntu 10.04 LTS in terms of start up time, but applications run much faster and smoother once I have authenticated myself into the operating system. There are more packages that I want to install over the course of the next several days, but I have been so busy with my coursework at New Jersey Institute of Technology that I had to stay within Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Edition to teach myself Microsoft Access and Open Office Base along with Visual Studio 2008 Professional.

This is truly a beginner's Linux distribution of choice. If you do install it, then you go through the same setup as Ubuntu without the hassle of installing more restricted packages and codecs afterwards because it is built in and ready to go. This saves a lot of time and effort.

I had to re-install Ubuntu 10.04 LTS on multiple occasions because I messed something up or I did not like the way that I configured the system. Using the backup utility in Linux Mint saves me the hassle of starting from scratch because I can re-install and restore from my backup quickly and easily. This is an invaluable utility in of itself.

Give it a try by downloading the LiveDVD .ISO image. You will like it a lot and I promise you that.

Linux Mint is easier and friendlier to use than Ubuntu especially if you are coming from Microsoft Windows. Depending upon which image file that you chose to install the OS, the process is as simple as Ubuntu, but the process is a whole lot faster to get you up and running. Things are much better organized due to the Novell SLAB interface which strongly resembles Microsoft Windows and there are plenty of menus and lists to configure Linux Mint to your preferences and needs. I really like the peer reviewed software manager that gives detailed information about each package that I may want to install. The other thing that I like is the Control Center which gives me a lot of options to configure almost every aspect of the OS and make it work for me. The performance is also significantly faster in terms of starting up applications and there seems to be fewer bug infested programs. One thing to note is that Linux Mint does not always have the most current version of an application compared to Ubuntu which keeps its packages up to date on a more timely basis. I have been using it hard over the past several days and there have been no crashes, freezes, or bugs to contend with either. Overall, the OS is very solid and easy to setup and use which is a rare combination of pluses compared to the other GNU/Linux distributions available nowadays. Perhaps the best benefit is that I can peruse both Ubuntu Forums and the Linux Mint forums to find how-to solved threads on various topics combined which is another big plus in my book because there is a wider and deeper knowledge base.

I highly recommend Linux Mint over Ubuntu for people looking to try GNU/Linux and seasoned users that want a distribution that gets out of your way to let you do what you need to do.

This is one of the big reasons why I love Linux Mint. I am a Helpdesk and Support Technician at New Jersey Institute of Technology. My job is to fix problems associated with Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 and 7 Enterprise Edition. They use Dell Precisions for the faculty and staff on campus. One of the professors of Computer Science has a brand new Dell Precision T3500 series workstation running Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3. His Gigabit Ethernet NIC is not working properly. When he logs onto his workstation, he is not able to connect to the Internet or the Andrew File System after 10 minutes of activity. The supervisor of ITMS and I worked on his machine for days. We thought he was infected with malware, but scans using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, Combo Scanner, and Super Anti-Spyware revealed no problems. We also checked his Category 6e Ethernet cable and found no problems. Then, we wound up setting his NIC to 10 MB/S at half-duplex. That seemed to have fixed the problem as he is able to connect to the Internet and the AFS. The downside is that he is only utilizing 10% of the total amount of bandwidth just so he can stay connected.

Privately, I think this is an unacceptable solution if it were my computer.

However, he is happy with the results and that is our job. It is just unfortunate that NJIT has to buy Dell computers and use an OS that is two generations behind current technology.

The other problem that faculty have concerns connecting to a local and network connected printer. These are professors of Computer Science, Information Science, and Information Technology. They do not know how to do this most basic task. I am utterly astounded by this.

I prefer using Linux Mint because it is so much safer to use and easier than Microsoft Windows. No operating system is perfect, but so long as you do not do anything potentially dangerous and invoke the sudo command to do it, then it is rock solid stable and secure to use in a production environment.

Unfortunately, NJIT mandates that its faculty, staff, and students use Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 32 bit Edition and Dell Latitude or Precision workstations and notebook PCs or mobile workstations. They charge a fortune for those Dell computers even though there are substantial volume discounts made available exclusively for NJIT faculty, staff, and students.

I got a great deal with my ASUS N61JV-X2 laptop and the software bundles from NJIT and Microsoft Dreamspark are terrific. I plan on joining the Association for Computing Machinery in mid October and I will pay the $62.00 USD annual fee so that I can have access to their e-library of textbooks and MSDN software repository. This would be a worthwhile investment and it looks good on my resume too.

Linux Mint boots much faster, shuts down even faster, and it is so reliable while requiring modest hardware minimum requirements compared to Microsoft Windows especially 7 Ultimate 64 bit Edition which I own.

Fortunately, I am able to use the Internet and Andrew File System at NJIT even while I am off campus while running Linux Mint 9 LTS.

I just read in a Linux Mint magazine that this is the 3rd largest Linux distribution and that half of the financial support and code donated comes from the USA. This is quite amazing to me, but I am not shocked by it given how much more polished Linux Mint is over Ubuntu. I finally found my distribution of choice.

Now, if I can get my C++, Java, and other programming languages up to par, then I can contribute to the community. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make a financial donation for awhile because I am saving up to buy a Grado PS-1000, the Mahogany Grado box, and the Grado RA-1 headphone amplifier by the end of this year.