How-To Geek
New To Linux? Don’t Use Ubuntu, You’ll Probably Like Linux Mint Better
Linux newbies have probably heard a lot about Ubuntu, but it isn’t the only Linux distribution. In fact, Ubuntu’s standard Unity desktop is still controversial among long-time Linux users today.
Many Linux users prefer a more traditional desktop interface, and Linux Mint offers that. As Ubuntu focuses more on Ubuntu for phones, Linux Mint may be an even clearer choice in the future.
No, Ubuntu isn’t terrible. Some people prefer Ubuntu’s Unity desktop and love it. But you’ll probably have an easier time getting to grips with Linux Mint instead of Ubuntu.
The Issues With Ubuntu
Let’s take a quick look at Ubuntu’s Unity desktop first. New users (and even experienced Linux users) will have many issues with it:
- The standard File/Edit/View menu is completely separated from each window and appears on the top bar, like a Mac. This is unusual for Windows users. Worse yet, the File/Edit/View menu is actually hidden until you move your mouse up to the bar, and then it appears. This is just unnecessarily confusing.
- The window management buttons (close, minimize, and maximize) appear at the top-left side of each window instead of the top-right side. This is more like Mac OS X than Windows. There used to be a hidden option to move these buttons back to the right side, but it no longer works.
- The Unity desktop features a sort of dock, known as a launcher, that displays shortcuts to your applications and to running applications. You can’t get a more traditional taskbar, if you prefer that, as you can on Windows. The launcher also always appears at the left side of the screen. You can’t move it to another edge of the screen, as you can on Windows and Mac.
- The application launcher is rather confusing. Rather than being an easy pop-up menu with a list of useful shortcuts, it’s a full-screen search interface by default. To actually view a list of installed applications, you have to click the Ubuntu shortcut and select the little Applications view icon at the bottom of the screen. You then need to click “See more results” next to your installed applications and you’ll get a full, alphabetized list of applications without any categories or other useful information. The so-called “dash” interface works best if you use it for search, and you’ll see Amazon search results if you do that. Other options you might expect to find in a “Start menu”-style menu appear in the indicator menus at the top-right corner of the screen.
Let’s be honest, it can be easy for a new user to become confused by this interface. Even seasoned Linux users — rather, especially seasoned Linux users who cut their teeth on earlier desktops — may not find this interface to be the most comfortable.
Why Linux Mint is More Comfortable (and Awesome)
Linux Mint offers two primary flavors. One has the Cinnamon desktop, a more modern desktop environment, while another offers the MATE desktop, which is a “fork” of the older GNOME 2 desktop previously used by Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.
We tend to prefer Cinnamon, as it includes more of the latest technologies. But that doesn’t mean it’s as quirky as Ubuntu’s Unity. The Cinnamon desktop includes a pop-up menu for launching applications and managing settings that works like you’d expect it to. It has a familiar taskbar, which can be moved to other edges of your screen. Its window management buttons are in the place Windows users will expect them. Its File/Edit/View menus work normally and are part of each window. If you’ve used Windows — or if you last used Linux a while ago and prefer more traditional desktop environments — Cinnamon is a great option.
MATE isn’t that bad either. It’s a more traditional desktop environment — right down to the underlying code — and Mint configures it to look and work a lot like Cinnamon does. Yes, there’s a simple applications menu, a taskbar, and everything!
This is just the desktop interface stuff, though. Mint has some other advantages, having “questionable stuff” like multimedia codec support and the Flash browser plug-in installed by default. This was Linux Mint’s original reason for existence. If you’re a hardcore open-source geek, this is no good. However, if you’re the average Linux user, you’ll probably want to install this stuff anyway.
But Ubuntu has made this easier, too, and all it takes is a single click in the Ubuntu installer to install this extra stuff.
Linux Mint is Basically Ubuntu, Too
There’s a lot of software in Ubuntu’s software repositories, and many applications (like Valve’s Steam for Linux) officially target Ubuntu as their supported Linux distribution. That’s one reason to prefer Ubuntu.
But Linux Mint is actually extremely close to Ubuntu. It uses Ubuntu’s software repositories, so you have access to all the software provided by Ubuntu. It even uses the updates Ubuntu provides, although Ubuntu’s developers and Mint’s developers have clashed over Linux Mint’s more conservative approach to potentially dangerous updates.
You can also try other official Ubuntu derivatives with different desktops, of course. The Xubuntu desktop with Xfce is probably the most traditional one. But, for many users, the Cinnamon desktop walks a nice line between being modern-but-traditional. Despite being older, the MATE desktop based on GNOME 2 may be more comfortable and capable than the Xfce desktop to many people.
Linux Mint is also focused on just providing a polished desktop interface, while Canonical is chasing the unification of desktop and smartphone with the latest releases. That may pay off in the long term, but it hasn’t yet.
This isn’t the last word, of course. Feel free to try Ubuntu, especially if you’re not the biggest fan of Mint. Or try other Linux distributions! But don’t just download Ubuntu and bounce off of the Linux desktop because Ubuntu’s Unity desktop doesn’t work for you. It doesn’t work for a lot of Linux users.
I was really enthusiastic about Ubuntu, seeing it jump from strength to strength, until Unity. After doing my best for three months to like it, I switched to Linux Mint Xfce. I will stay on 17.1 until the next LTS release.
You are absolutely right - Mint is awesome. Here is my own demo of it. I am using the Mate flavor.
Actually, I have used both Ubuntu and Mint, but I prefer Lubuntu or even Xubuntu to either one.Ubuntu doesn't work as good as it use to. Due to my integrated video. Lubuntu works the fastest, and install programs as needed, such as Handbrake, VLC( or mpv), etc.
Mint is huge in size, and most of its offerings I don't need. My Lubuntu weighs in at a mere 2.7GB. How about Mint?!
But this article is for beginners, so Mint will get them in the door. If their PC is lacking power or older, I would suggest L/Xubuntu.
Agreed, Chris : Linux Mint is a wonderful distro - easy to use for newbies migrating from Windows, yet providing all the flexibility more experienced users demand. And, like Ubuntu, it has has an active corps of knowledgeable users on the Mint forum, who are ever ready to help out in a crisis...
Henri
Longtime Linux and Mint user here. I am not however a newbie, have no problem configuring a Debian install exactly to my liking, even on PowerPC. But Mint fixes many issues both Debian and Ubuntu have, and have had for a long time, right out of the box. Among other issues on my Dell D620 I had a vicious screen tear with any video in Ubuntu, hit the forums, tried everything and nothing could fix it. Installing Mint did though. Canonical just doesn't seem to care about a lot of things that drive its users nuts. I heavily modified Cinnamon to look and feel exactly like a Mac, as I originally came from OS X, not Windows. I currently have Ubuntu 14.04 running on a desktop, thought I'd give Mr Shuttleworth's OS another try, and....its just crap, sprinkled with crap, sitting ontop of more crap. I plan on installing Linux Mint 17 on it this week.
I'm a newby to any flavor of Linux. I have Ubuntu and Mint (Rebecca) both installed. I tried Ubuntu first and I can probably get to like it, over time.
After burning Mint to a DVD, I tried it for a while using Live CD and liked it more than Ubuntu ... I think?? I installed it as a tri boot - Windows XP, Ubuntu, and Mint, but after installing Mint, nothing would boot. No grub, no boot options at all.
After repairing the MBR, I got back into Windows, reinstalled Ubuntu and all is well. Reinstalled Mint, and BOOM!, no boot options.
Tried it again, installing Mint before Ubuntu and got the same problem - no boot options.
I've been reading Ubuntu and Mint forums, trying to figure it out, but the problem I am having is on the forums, it seems that no one speaks in plain English. They all speak Linux!
Does anyone know of a place where I can get some help for a dummy?
I've been playing around with this for a couple of months, but I know I'll figure it out someday. After all, that's how I learned Windows.
I got an Associates degree in Computer Support Specialist a couple of years ago; just for the h_ll of it. I was laid off and needed something to do, so I sat through 18 months of boring classes to get a degree. I taught the instructors more than they taught me.
This is so COOL!!!!! What a great article. This helps me in so many ways...
I will now try to seek out the answers I need in Linux Mint and forget about Ubuntu. At least until I am able to take my training wheels off in Linux!
What a great site - filled with so much knowledge. I never even thought about Mint. I knew this place was different, in all the best possible ways.![+1]( ":+1:")
Sorry for all the compliments, but you don't know what a help this is to me.
Thanks again.
I have a 250 g hard drive that I partitioned right down the middle. I am using 17.1 mate and cinnamon for each partition. I was a long time Ubuntu user, however, MINT is so much more user friendly and intuitive. After trying a lot of distros, I have decided to just stick with MINT. It just works.
Linux Mint is good but I prefer Ubuntu, I'm happy with it. Of course users who necessarily want a more traditional (or Windows like) desktop environment they should choose distros like Linux Mint. But users like me who accept a different and modern approach without of course leave aside the usability... I think Ubuntu is a great choice. Someone could say: "Ubuntu is not usable". I disagree, Unity is very comfortable for me. Sure, it's not perfect, I would like it to be more customizable, for example they should give the option to move the launcher. Even though I like the launcher on the left side because it really makes sense on 16:9 widescreen monitors of today, at the same time I understand the different tastes of people. All in all, Ubuntu rocks![wink]( ":wink:")
Tried both
Mint fitted well
Also, I like customizing my desktop and other stuff, and after visiting both control panels, Mint was the one who suited the best my needs and desires
Hello, I'm really found of your blog and follow it everyday.I used to work with mint and yes, this is trully a great OS. But I had to switch to Ubuntu as my laptop was running out of battery. Which wasn't happening with Ubuntu. Such a shame. And none of the available solutions offerd on the web corrected this. So I agree with you, but if you have a laptop, check out your specs before to be sure it won't eat your power out![wink]( ":wink:")
Here is one of my tutorials that explains how to setup Mint Mate in 8 videos. It may be useful for someone who has never done that. It also links another tutorial on how to setup Mint (or any other Linux) in VMware Player.
Here is an interesting way to setup Linux - on a flash drive.
You're right, Mint is awesome - but why didn't you mention the KDE desktop? KDE is my preferred desktop, because of it's flexibility. Granted, it's not the desktop to choose if your trying to run on an old 386SX with 512 Mb ram, but OTOH, it's very flexible and customizable.
I have been using Zorin, http://zorin-os.com/ Zorin-OS a Linux OS fork from Ubuntu with Gnome 2 traditional Microsoft Windows desktop (base versions free, some commercial). Their free versions contain three desktop UI''s that you can seamlessly switch to and from. Their paid for ( nominal donation ) has six desktop choices The Look Changer lets you change your desktop to look and act like either Windows 7, XP, 2000, Ubuntu Unity, Mac OS X or GNOME 2 for ultimate ease of use. Additionally I have Sun virtual box with the guest add on to run windows 7 as well... Sun VB allows seamless mode so my Win 7 runs separate and as a projected overlay. A shared folder allows data to move to and fro between them,,,
Love the setup and must say thanks to HTG since you posted the article a few years back,,, It is the best of both worlds,,, http://www.howtogeek.com/171145/use-virtualboxs-seamless-mode-or-vmwares-unity-mode-to-seamlessly-run-programs-from-a-virtual-machine/
The Zorin premium versions are available via a donation... they contain many additional apps already installed... take a look... this is the way I went since donation was inexpensive.AMD Quad core 4 gig ram with SSD,,,![smile]( ":smile:")
And whs has put his finger on the problem precisely!!!
"Here is one of my tutorials that explains how to setup Mint Mate in 8 videos."
8 Videos? When windows doesn't need even one for the same level of user?Linux is for Geeks......
I've been using Ubuntu for many years and the introduction of the Unity desktop drove me crazy. I couldn't figure out how to use it and felt like my hands were tied, similar to what I experience with Windows. I wanted back the classic desktop. Two things I absolutely need are the pull-down menus and the four virtual desktops from the little boxes you select from down along the lower right border. Here's what I learned to do. From a terminal within Unity issue the following command: sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallbackAccept all the defaults and then log out of Unity. Before logging back in, select the desktop "GNOME Flashback (Metacity)". The classic desktop will then appear after you log in.
You need not use my videos. You can use Mint out of the box which is a bit dull. Those videos show you how to make it nice and easier to use. Many of those settings do not even exist in Windows.
But if you like dull (like Windows) take the defaults.
Here is an additional video (which was not included in the set of 8) on how to tune the start menu. That is not even possible to that extent in Windows. And compared to Mint Mate, the Windows start menu is really poor.
I really wasn't referring to you whs. While you prefer virtual installs for linux and I prefer installs onto hard disks you probably have been able to help a lot of people make the jump to linux, sort of like what wubi used to do in ubuntu. Hopefully after a while some of those converts move to a real hard disk installation.
If that is the case why torture oneself and go through all the trouble in the first place? To move to linux one must be sure they really want to start over and learn from scratch, just like they did when they first started using windows. When people ask me about linux I don't sugar coat it and tell them it will be easy. I tell them to make sure they are willing to be a newb again and to start learning something totally different than what they can even conceive. I let them know I will be there to help. Finally when they say yes I ask again "Are you sure you really want to go through this?' It may seem harsh but experience has showed me that those who are not committed to learning all over again, learning from mistakes and using an OS totally unlike windows give up rather easily because the commitment was never there. My time is valuable and I would prefer to weed out the ones who will not stick with it.
This is an oldie but appropos here: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
I know this website. I read it long time ago. I think I get your point and you are right for the geeky people. But what does 80% of the PC population do:
Some office, mail, web browsing, skype, social networks and picture storage.
For people with this scenario it should be simple. No need to crawl thru Terminal. Use the Linux facilities that are simple like the download center. And with a distro like Mint Mate that is pretty rich out of the box, those users have most everything they need at the outset.
I give you a live example - I just installed a virtual Mate for a friend of my wife. She wanted a safer way to do her on-line banking. That is probably all she will ever do with it.
They are the ones who usually do not have the wherewithall to stick it out, even for problems we would consider slight or minor.
I really do not care who uses windows, who uses linux, who uses OSX. I am not out to convert or convince anyone. My rule is you use what you are comfortable with. If you want to learn linux I will let you know what you are up against and not sugar coat it. it is not a better version of windows. It is something totally foreign to windows.
My first foray into Linux territory was on a netbook running Ubuntu 8. It was okay, but was really restricted by the hardware. It was more a toy than anything. Fast forward about 4 years and I started working with a guy who used Ubuntu 12.04 with GNOME 3 desktop environment. I was intrigued, and continue to use GNOME 3 today (actually running the Ubuntu GNOME distro). I've tried Mint. I like it, but not enough to switch to it as my main OS. I have set it up for some Linux newbies though.
My brother comes from the Mac world, but a few years ago he picked up a Windows laptop for a good deal. He quickly learned to hate Windows, but he couldn't afford a new Mac, so he was stuck. Then I told him about Linux. He said he wanted to give it a try, so I wiped his laptop and put Mint on it with the MATE desktop, then tweaked it to look like Mac OS X. He loves it.
Hmm, that is news to me. I have set up many Windows and Linux. Mint Mate is definitely not difficult to set up. And you have a lot more options to customize your system than in Windows.
Remind you that I am a Windows guy and do Linux only as a hobby. I was struggling with Fedora, but Mint Mate is a breeze. Here is how I do it.
The easy way to get around any hardware dependencies is to install it in VMware Player. Then you can operate your Mint or any other Linux side by side with the Windows host.
The default is separated but it doesn't have to be, there is also an option of local menus in the titlebar. It is a bit confusing for most because of the hiding but you didn't mention that it could be local as well, which it can.
Ok, seriously . . . who cares.
You don't have to use Unity in order to use Ubuntu. That is just as confusing though so not really an issue but I don't think the Launcher is a usability problem because I have tested it with people who have no computer skills and they didn't mind it at all.
Ok this is a valid point because the Dash is quite bad...but all of your points would also be applied to Windows 8.1 "Metro" interface.
Valve officially supports Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE, Arch and more.
Nice, glad to see that was mentioned.
this is actually irritating because the only reason I started to reply to this article was because the title specifically says "Don't Use Ubuntu" . . . what the hell. Don't tell people not to try something especially when you go back and tell them to try it. Why would that title be chosen?
Absolutely. That is my experience too. I used the 'old' Ubuntu for years but when they came out with the Unity UI I switched to Mint Mate.
And LOL about this message from the smartypants forum engine. What am I supposed to do - stop participating in the conversation ?? I thought I did good. I make only short comments, no sagas.
That is not a problem. If you click on "Reply" in my posting, then I get a notification.
And thank you for sympazising with my view on the forum engine. This engine was not designed by the geek but by people who wanted full control. It is anyhow unsuitable for a technical forum. I try my best with the inadequate facilities, but it is a struggle. And I am probably not the only one who struggles.
I was one of the first members on the old HTG forum and had appr. 18.000 postings there. We had a lot of fun. So I just hang around and try to help people with technical problems.
Been a Linux (& Windows) user since the 80's re windows and 2003 for Linux. Have used almost all DE/WM's over the years. When I started using Linux, I favored KDE as I liked the traditional "Window-esque" interface and the customization features.
Over the past 7-8 years, my tastes changed and I prefered gnome as it looked more consistent and had a more professional interface overall (compared to other Linux desktops, even including KDE with Plasma).
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Roman Forum . . . I tried Unity starting with Ubuntu 12.04. Man oh man, I was kinda ticked at myself because I found it's one heck of a great-looking and elegant desktop. In the world of IT . . that means something works really well and smoothly (opposite of an "ugly" solution).
Absolutely love the way it places 5 to 20 or so "favorites" icon in the launcher, which expands and contracts to show additional or fewer icons. Also, the way it shows what programs are open, AND how many instances are open, plus which program is the active program is a touch of genius omhho. No clunky program rectangles cluttering a single panel at bottom competing for space with widgets, etc. I even like the dash and HUD (excellent search & category filters).
Even though I also like Cinnamon (and especially Mate on older hardware) using Mint . . . . those desktops still have an "archaic feel" to them (like I'm stepping back into the days of Y2K). 95% of the apps/programs I use fit in the standard Launcher, and don't clutter the screen like I used to do in Win NT, XP and 7 or KDE, XFCE.
After all the bad PR about the new interface, I gained more respect for the folks at Canonical and Mark Shuttleworth in particular because he had a vision, . . made it work, and had a modern desktop should have been what Windows 8 was supposed to be. Is Unity perfect? . . . . heck no . . . I do wish it were a bit more cutomizable, and the file manager needs a bit of beefing up.
And finally Unity is drop-dead EASY to use - - 30" of intro or a similar youtube video should do it.
The author misses one important fact about Mint! It is not only based on Ubuntu, which in turn is based on Debian. There is a version of Mint which is based directly on Debian. This is the version I would reccomend. I am NOT a fan of Ubuntu or ANY Distro based on Ubuntu.
I myself install only Debian on all my systems. Yes, I have tested Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Suse, etc... before settling on Debian. I do see how Mint woul be easier to use than Debian for new users.
To delete thos partitions use the bootable CD of Partition Wizard.
http://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-wizard-bootable-cd.html
It's frustrating hearing that in this day and age, people are still having dual-boot problems. There was once an official, Microsoft standard for that, and it seems to have disappeared...
Well, you are 10 years ahead of me. I got the first PC in 2007 with Vista. In fact I did not get it, the wife got it but I had to set it up. I thought I knew computers because I spent my whole professional life with large host systems, but PCs was a completely different world.
I use Linux only as a convenience for web browsing because it is probably safer than Windows. But other than that I rarely run a real application in Linux. That is not to say that there are no good applications, but I have my windows set and that is just more convenient for me.
In my computer club we have a Linux guru who is running workshops. I have attended a few but did not learn a lot, I guess I am too old now. LOL. Now I know how the attendees felt when I was teaching advanced Windows classes.