A Look at Linux Mint
I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux for a while, but when two computers crashed in the same week, I thought I’d try a new distribution instead. I heard that Linux Mint was fantastic – it had the benefits of using Ubuntu’s vast repositories but some nice goodies as well as built-in media codecs.
Linux Mint comes in a LiveCD that doubles as an installer. It’s a lot more user-friendly than Ubuntu’s formidable installation menu. Click on the Install icon and Mint will do most of the work for you.
My main problem installing Mint is that it hosed my Vista boot record. (I had a new computer with Vista pre-installed and wanted to set up a dual boot on the same disk). After quite a bit of wrangling and googling, I discovered that the best way to set up a dual boot in Vista is through this terrific free utility called EasyBCD by NeoSmart. (You also have to tell Mint not to install a boot record under advanced options.)
Unfortunately, you have to set up your own configuration file using EasyBCD. I found out that (at least with my computers) I had to use the UUID of the partition in order to load it, otherwise it would hang. (If this makes no sense to you, you might not want to try to dual boot Mint with Vista.)
Once I finally got Mint running, I found it had some fantastic features that Ubuntu does not have. First is the expanded menu system that resides in the lower left hand corner, Windows style. (With widescreen laptops, I hate having the top of my screen used for a navigation bar.) Mint also comes with exceptionally useful MintInstall application, which can be used to search for software in the Mint software directory or even install using APT. (This means you do not have to use a command line to install an APT package – so much easier for me.)
I do miss the simple, subject-oriented Add/Remove Programs option in Ubuntu, but I had already gotten to the point where I was using Synaptic more regularly anyway, and Synaptic is readily available in Mint’s menu as the “Package Manager.”
The standard software installed is pretty decent, and I like that a partition editor is included, but you don’t get any games with the installation. (Using MintInstall, you can type “gnome-games” into the APT box to get your standard solitaire and whatnot.)
So other than the botched dual-boot installation, I find Linux Mint to be just as good if not slightly better than Ubuntu.
Tags: Linux, Windows Vista
