Linux Mint 7

Intro

I always liked Linux Mint variant of Ubuntu. For some reason I was coming back to the Ubuntu mainly I guess for the reason of staying comfortable with it and following the progress. When I noticed on DistroWatch new XFCE Mint I decided to give it a try. I ended up playing and installing both XFCE and standard Gnome Mint 7. Some very pleasent suprises came out of the excersise.

Good Stuff

• Cosmetics. Linux Mint really has all of the cosmetics figured out just nicely. Both standard and XFCE versions look extremely eye pleasing.
• Pre-configured. Another big plus is that Java, Flash, and some codecs are there by default so you are pretty much ready to go. Selection of the software is very nice. Mint tools also do make sense (software install, backup, configuration) although for some things I still like using standard Ubuntu way, which is there.
• Repositories. Repositories are already pre-configured so basically all jou need to do is run Software Manager or Package Manager and browse and install what you need. My "usual suspects" are: aMSN, Skype, FileZilla, Opera, Evolution, msttcorefonts, non-free-codecs, htop, mc, etc. Pretty easy to add with no changes in preconfigured repositories.
• Device Support. This comes from Ubuntu in general, but I noticed that audio configuration went much smoother. Also, liked the support for webcams. On my HP desktop that has video card, Mint properly selected webcam to be the input device.
• Installation. Pretty fast installation. Around 15-20 mins from Live CD.
  

More Good Stuff

• Audio. Mint 7 is based on Ubuntu 9.04. I really liked 9.04 improvements, but I had a major issue with not being able to adjust audio on my laptop. Could never make my built-in digital mic to work. Once I put Linux Mint 7 XFCE, I was pleasently suprised that the mic worked just fine and I could use Skype with no issues whatsoever.

Issues

• With XFCE version I was not able to browse my Samba shares, Standard Mint went through that with no problem.
• Where is "Lock" icon? CTRL+ALT+L still works.
• Update icon displayed as a lock. Not really an issue, but little bit confusing.
  

Test Machines

• Dell Vostro 1400
• Dell Latitude E4200
• Dell Vostro 220s
• Dell Dimension E520. Had an issue with audio. Needed to add the fix "model=ref" into the alsa configuration file.
  
• Dell Dimension 3000
• HP MediaCenter (will check number)
• VirtualBox VM

Conclusion
In general, very nicely pre-configured Ubuntu with some additional "goodies". I would recommend Linux Mint to anyone who wants to try Linux as first choice. Currently keeping as Linux choice for desktops. Will face some challenges with that Latitude E4200 as it will need to connect using VPN, Microsoft Exchange server, and dual monitors with docking station.

References
www.distrowatch.com
www.linuxmint.com
www.ubuntu.com