Linux Mint 13 (Maya) Has Arrived 216
New submitter OceanMan7 writes "Linux Mint 13 (Maya) has just been released. DVDs come in four flavors — MATE (with and without codecs) and Cinnamon (with and without codecs) — in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The codec-free versions comply with U.S. and Japanese IP regulations. MATE 1.2 is Linux Mint's community-powered extension of Gnome 2. Cinnamon 1.4 is built upon Gnome 3, but has a more traditional look and feel. As with Ubuntu 12.04, upon which Linux Mint draws, all editions come with Long-term support (LTS) until April, 2017. The release notes provide a list of changes.
I'm probably nitpicking (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Mint == Ubuntu plus ____? (Score:4, Insightful)
Mint == Ubuntu minus Unity Garbage
Re:Is it a good alternative to Ubuntu for a novice (Score:5, Insightful)
There is no linux for a novice.
There is only linux for people who want to learn the nuts and bolts of linux at a slower rate than others.
I've spent the past few months giving several different distros a week or so each on my laptop (a standard Dell lattitude e6400, circa 2009. nothing exotic at all) to make an impression on me.
I'll admit I haven't played with Maya yet, but I spent a week with Lisa & cinnamon, which is easily as broken on install as any other linux distro I've ever used. Cinnamon was like a slightly prettyed up version of gnome 2, which makes me wonder why they even bothered to switch to gnome 3. Of course, it was just as broken as unity, if not moreso. the taskbar was "refreshingly" retro, circa windows 2000. in all the worst ways. i ditched the stock application manager applet and downloaded one that would stack open windows under a single taskbar icon, like a modern GUI... and it worked at least 2/3 of the time. Sorry, but a 2/3 success rate on -clicking on a taskbar icon- is a little much to swallow, so I ditched that and got the stock one back, except now if I opened more than 7 windows, they would scroll the "start" button (sorry, don't know the linux name for it) off the left side of the screen. what the hell? I couldn't make this up! Oh, did I mention that after I changed the default icon and name of the "start" button, it would never display the entire name again, putting "..." at the end instead? google told me that had been a bug since the -previous- version of Mint. That's crazy. Nobody thought to fix that? it's a simple pixel offset based on the size of the icon!
Tip of the iceberg here.
by the way, LM:Debian Edition was so broken as to not even be worth discussing.
by comparison, ubuntu 12.04 was, of course as I expected by this point, broken upon instalation, but after several hours of googling, some time in irc, and a lot of console commands later, I've got a mostly working install. some stuff is still screwed up (like the apps that -are- running but don't show up on the launcher bar), but I've learned to just deal with it for now. I've had it going for 3 weeks now and it's useable. putting it to sleep is a gamble, but this thing isn't mission critical so I just roll the dice every time.
I'm curious how long I can stick it out before I give up and go back to windows 7, which I'll freely admit does everything I need an OS to do, and has no major or even minor bugs that impact me on any sort of regular basis.
I'm no fanboy, of any OS, or any distro. I call it like I see it, and Linux (really I should blame it on the GUI, as the linux kernal itself is stable as a rock for the most part) is for people who like to work the nuts and bolts of their OS, because you pretty much have to. even the most "beginner-friendly" distros like Mint and ubuntu seem to require time spent at the terminal just to do stuff other operating systems consider basic functions, like say disabling a touchpad (no, touchpad-indicator applet does NOT work, as you should well know if you've actually used it).
Re:Is it a good alternative to Ubuntu for a novice (Score:4, Insightful)
There is no linux for a novice.
You have to work for Microsoft.
Hmmm...more like there is no Linux for morons. I've installed Linux on my mother's and an ex-girlfriend's computer and both love it. The ex-girlfriend even installed on someone else's computer when it was so infested with viruses as to be unusable. Just had to explain to her how to burn an ISO and she did the rest on her own. Because, you know, it just works. Unlike windows where you have to spend hours finding drivers and anti-virus and digging up all your CDs and keys so you can re-installing applications...
Both are very much novices. But neither is a moron.
Sensible defaults (Score:5, Insightful)
I think most people are aware that Linux Mint is just a customized version of Ubuntu. Nothing special in that regard. However, the reason Mint is so popular is because it has something very important that a lot of people desire - sensible defaults.
Sure, you can take a stock Ubuntu installation and replace Unity with MATE/Cinnamon, install additional codecs, move the window buttons to the left so that you don't have to readjust your muscle memory and so on, but Linux Mint has this performed for you out of the box. It also has other changes like an absence of purple in the GRUB, Plymouth and login/desktop screens, which might seem petty but the Mint color scheme whilst grey and somewhat boring, feels far more professional and less garish. Once again, chances you can make if you know how with Ubuntu, but Mint is already preset with them for you.
Mint feels like a distro where the developers aren't interested in futzing around with challenging traditional UI perceptions, and would instead rather provide a distro based on a (reasonably) solid foundation which anyone can use which still looks nice and doesn't force you to relearn how to perform efficiently in a foreign UI. The motivation for Canonical is to be on as many devices as possible - the motivation for the Mint team is to make a usable Linux distro for computers with as few hindrances as possible.
Re:Is it a good alternative to Ubuntu for a novice (Score:4, Insightful)
you're not allowed to have a negative opinion of something unless you work for the competition?
you must work for red hat? see how silly that sounds?
I'm not sure what kind of OS you are trying to classify as an operating system for a moron, because I've had to support users who can't use any operating system, no matter how simple. they break everything they use. you wouldn't think they'd be able to screw up something like iOS, etc, but they do. you can't design an idiot-proof OS because the world will make a better idiot.
If all you want out of Linux is an OS that will launch firefox and thunderbird, maybe print or open a flash drive, then there are dozens (maybe hundreds) of distros that can do that without a problem. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about actual computer enthusiasts. People whom I assume you count yourself among, those who are spending several hours in front of their computer per day by choice, and not spending it all on facebook. People who are installing emulators, installing programs that aren't in the default repositories, customizing the interface to any degree beyond changing the wallpaper. adding a piece of hardware that doesn't have an apple logo on it. These things are very often broken in linux distros, and while you can often get them working, at least well enough to get by, it requires knowing the operating system very well already, or meticuliously following instructions that found on google and hoping that it is the correct fix for your problem, and not knowing why it worked if it did or didn't work if it didn't.
That's why there is no linux for novices. Eventually if you do anything other than web browsing, you're going to find yourself at a terminal prompt typing in sudo and hoping the line you're cutting and pasting after it won't hose your system.
Also your description of windows sounds suspiciously like XP, not 7.
Re:Is it a good alternative to Ubuntu for a novice (Score:5, Insightful)
Yup, this is how linux will get fixed. Deny there is an issue, call your users stupid and post anecdotal "evidence" that "i have no problem" thus there is no problem.
Its been like this for the past 10 years or so, and hasn't worked so far.