I have been an avid Tuxophile for a few years now, taking my first steps with linux back in 2000.  Back then Linux was very much the domain of the committed geek. Nowadays distributions become more and more easy to install and use, interoperability is second to none, and many distro’s have a very narrow focus on their target market.

Linux Mint is such a distro, and their focus is the desktop market. Based on Ubuntu as many other distributions are these days they provide an elegant and well maintained alternative for the user looking for a desktop Linux OS.

I have used various versions of Mint before, having been introduced to it at a local installfest a few years ago. With previous versions I have always returned to my all time favorite Ubuntu, since they started feeling like a broken Ubuntu install as I added more and more packages from the repositories.

With the letdown Ubuntu Hardy was recently I decided to give Mint another try and installed Mint Elyssa. Based off Ubuntu Hardy I was very impressed, and eventually canned my Ubuntu install.

Enter Felicia, the newest incarnation of the Mint family. Released Yesterday it promises to be the most complete and mature version of Linux Mint to date.

Will it deliver?

Installation

Installing Linux Mint is a breeze. It does not have an alternate install disk like Ubuntu has, so one is left with the live disk instead. Installation went smooth as can be expected with any modern Linux Distro, and in no time I was booted into my shiny new installation. On logging in for the first time you get your first hint that this is more than just a cosmetic overhaul. A menu appears and asks you some very basic configuration questions. While it is limited at the moment I am sure that more options will be provided in the future.

First Look

As soon as you log in you notice the myriad cosmetic differences with Ubuntu. There is only one panel on the bottom, as opposed to the Gnome staple of a panel at both the top and the bottom of the screen. The main menu is also custom, providing a very user friendly way to launch programs or administer your system. The Mint community pride themselves on the understated elegance of their distro, and the care they put into the look and feel of the environment is readily apparent.

Ease of Use

Linux Mint comes with a few custom programs that really make life easy. One of them is mintInstall – this graphical utility allows you to add software that is not installed by default. Some examples are Skype, Opera and FileZilla. They have also included utilities to ease the installation of windows drivers with Ndiswrapper, and MintConfig, which is a configuration centre for your whole installation.

EyeCandy

I am not a huge Compiz user. I do like fiddling with it though. One of my main gripes with Ubuntu is that the CompizConfig utility is not included by default, meaning one has to hunt through the repositories to install it and get the best out of your desktop environment. Linux Mint includes CompizConfig AND Simple Compiz Config manager. Mint also has an extra setting available when you want to enable Compoziting, and this further includes a custom option where you can specify exactly what you want.

Summary

Linux Mint Felicia is the first version of Mint to be built completely on top of Ubuntu. This version is based on Intrepid, whereas previous versions were more of a clean fork, each successive version being a gradual evolution from the previous versions of Mint. This new direction promises better compatibility with the Ubuntu repositories, and opportunity for Ubuntu users to install and use some of the custom Linux Mint applications.

Linux Mint is what Ubuntu should be, and I am hoping Ubuntu takes up the challenge that has been laid down.

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