Linux Mint is currently leading the top place on DistroWatch, beating down its’ big brother Ubuntu. And it is already winning the hearts of Linux users with its beautifully designed Cinnamon interface and new features. Does this mean Linux Mint is better than Ubuntu? Well, the short answer is No. Let me tell you why.
I’ve been using both Ubuntu and Linux Mint for a long time. At first the transition from Windows to Linux was hard for me. But, now that I’ve made myself comfortable in the Linux environment, I have to say both these operating systems works brilliantly, compared to Windows and Mac OS.
First of all, you should know that Linux Mint is actually an Ubuntu-based distribution. Difference is that it has several editions when it comes to choosing desktop version and has a wide range of improvements as well as theme’s. I’ve loved Linux Mint mostly because of its’ beautiful interface that came with the Cinnamon edition.
Sadly, that’s not enough to make an open-source operating system stand out from the crowd. Since Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, I thought it could be sort of an improvement. I was wrong, Linux Mint is full of bugs and issues. During my first week with Linux Mint 13, I came down with a lot of problems. And I had to spend several days to find solutions to even the simplest issues because the Linux Mint community is not that large nor active.
Cinnamon interface also slowed down my PC and I also noticed Linux Mint to be a little laggy while performing several tasks at the same time. Sometimes my PC even got stuck and I had to restart using the power button. It never happened while I was using Ubuntu.
On the other hand, Ubuntu has a very large community and many more support groups. Which means any problem that you come across can get solved within minutes. Canonical also rolls out fixes and updates to Ubuntu OS constantly. And Linux Mint always comes late on updates as it have to depend on Ubuntu.
Overall, Ubuntu is the best option. Mint has a very attractive user interface and is always recommended for beginners. But, it comes with a lot of baggage. If you’re still trying to decide between these two operating systems, you should go with Ubuntu, because it’s stable and has more unique features than Linux Mint.
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Roshan Jerad Perera