I am going to stick with Mint 9 LTS until the next LTS comes out in 13 or 14... There is a BIG reason that the Mint developers say (Not in so many words) that if 9, 10, 11...etc... is working for you KEEP IT!!!
So I'm a bit confused you two MINTy guys....I get the impression from some of this thread that MINT updates itself and you gradually lose your original configuration to updates...basically upgrading you to the new version. So, if I did a fresh install of MINT 9 or 11, over time it would become MINT12. Is this correct?
Not exactly. With the LMDE 11 you could have that happen, but the regular Gnome Mint 9, 10, 11 no - only possible with the Debian addition of Mint 11. Right now, I am in favor of just not updating to Mint 12 until a more stable distro comes along. This new Cinnamon thing looks like it might be a go. We C!
On the (Ubuntu) side, Linux mint 9 is a LTS (Long Term Support) release which means it will continue to have updates until April 2013. Mint 10 and 11 will become obsolete sometime this year. Mint 12 will expire the same time Mint 9 does. LMDE (Debian) is a rolling distro and you never have to re-install it. There, is that as clear as mud???
OK...and sorry for being so dense, but how does one choose Debian over Guh-nome for v11? All I see is Gnome or LXDE. At first, I thought that the "DE" stood for "Debian Edition," but it doesn't. From what I can glean from the site, you either have a version edition--eg. 9,10,11....or you can choose a rolling version based on Debian. If you choose a frozen version, you don't have to worry about auto updates. With that said, if everything works fine, you don't have to worry about lack of support for a version if you have a box set up that does a task. Would this be a fair assessment?
For whatever reason, most Linux flavors come out with a new(ish) version every 6 months to year. If you want to upgrade from Mint 10 to 11, you pretty much have to re-configure your system each time you do this which is why many people stick to the LTS Long Term Support versions. All versions will always update themselves to the latest package (programs) versions no matter how 'old' of a version you are on. You will not just wake up one morning to find yourself automagically upgraded from one version to the next. Linux offers one click updates to every application on your system. Rolling Releases. In theory, a rolling release is 'versionless'. The iso you burn to install is really just a snapshot in time and is typically named by a date. It constantly updates itself as extremely as you dare and will always be the same OS. Arch was one of the first examples of this as it sends updates down the pipe nearly daily. (You can set whether to auto or manually update). Ubuntu is based off of Debian, Mint X versions are based off of Ubuntu with some extra tweaks. The LMDE Linux Mint Debian Edition (Which has nothing to do with the DE in LXDE) skips Ubuntu and points its upstream sources to Debian directly. When you look at the LM download site, You'll see many variations of isos with a Version number on them and also a letter designation. Gnome, LXDE, KDE, XFE, etc are the Desktop Environments that give you the Graphical User Interface and are chosen by personal preference. Menus are different, etc. For someone new to Linux thinking about trying a Live DVD out, I'd suggest Mint 11 or Mint 12 (regular which = Gnome). Boot from the Live DVD (This will take a while since it's loading an entire OS using an optical drive - no HDD involved). The recent uproars in the Linux community are this: Ubuntu changed away from Gnome to something called Unity and Gnome,org changed their desktop from G2 to G3. Since you won't be upset when you see Gnome 3, you may want to try LM12. Gnome 2 was much more PC-like. Then again, you seen the screenshots for Metro in Win 8? No thanks. We have walked many through the process and it's often best to have a spare laptop or desktop to play with while learning.
Us Minty guys tend to get off on unrelated tangents in these threads since we figure that we are speaking to an audience of 3 or 4... After re-reading, I can see how we've made it sound very confusing.
So far we have just been discussing GNOME desktop environments for the most part. Mint also offers the following desktop environments: KDE, LXDE, XFCE, and now Cinnamon. LXDE and XFCE are great for older computers. I have not used KDE as much and am not as familiar with it. The Mint website says LMDE is not as stable as the Ubuntu builds, but it is faster. I have not seen much of a difference. All of that being said; Mint 9 is a lot faster, and the most stable build I have used!!!
First test of Simply MEPIS, (I know, weird name), looks pretty good to me, unlike Mint, wireless worked right off the live dvd on my laptop, had many programs already on the install disc that I normally have to download. It uses the KDE desktop, so some differences from the Gnome desktop, but nice never the less. Also have OpenSUSE downloading at the time as well as Mint 12 KDE in line to be downloaded. I used to use the KDE desktop back when I first switched over to Linux, but Mint came set up for the Gnome desktop, so I'd been using that, still am with Mint 10 & 11. I'll try to give updates to the few here that are watching, let y'all know what I end up with - eventually...
Testing of MEPIS Linux looks pretty good. OpenSUSE, just ok, but not for me, Mint 12 KDE, just started testing this morning. Except for that blue color thing looks very good and unlike the gnome desktop, it can be customized with the live dvd not installed. Wireless doesn't work on the laptop unless a driver is installed, that would require hooking up a cable. So... it looks like Mint 12 KDE could be a go but I'll do some more testing on my laptop, before installing on the desktop - that is if everything works right on the laptop once installed. I downloaded the 64 bit version, so can't test on the old eMachine in the barn. MEPIS is Debian based and also has the KDE desktop. What I may do is install both Mint 12 and MEPIS on the laptop along side Mint 10 that is already on it, then I could test both and go back to just 10 if they don't work out so good. OR, if I mess it up just go to the Mint 11 LMDE and forget about it. Might even try it in virtual box, didn't have much luck trying that before. Way too much time on my hands...
I use VirtualBox running on my 27" iMac i7 Quad Core, running OSX 10.6.8 as the Base OS.... I use VirtualBox on my 13" MacBook Core2 Duo, also running OSC 10.6.8 as the Base OS.... Momma uses Parallels V6 on her 20" iMac Core2 Duo, running OSX 10.5.11 as the Base OS.... ..... YMMV....
Depending on what OS you are presently using you can look here Hope the link works if not just google virtual box. I tried the virtual box thing again, but still not getting something right, maybe I just need to read the directions. [whistle2] After testing and a little head banging and lost nap time, I finally decided to give Mint 12 Gnome a real test on my laptop. I allocated 40gig space and am now in the process of letting it install itself along side Mint 10. I'll try that Cinnamon-session fix and then if all goes well, may go ahead and redo the whole thing after some real test time. Don't use the old laptop for everyday use, mostly just for travel and as a backup. Give an update soon as it is done installing and - gotta go!
Mint 12 did not work out on my older laptop, I could never get wireless to work on it no matter what drivers etc., I installed, not even an external wireless device would hit. Nuked the whole thing and am installing Mint 11 on it now. Cinnamon would not display itself either, possible hardware issue.
I'm still testing my new laptop. I think it's too bleeding edge in its hardware to be fully supported yet. Then again, I like playing around with getting these things working more than I like using the system as an end user. Every time I get it perfect, I nuke it and switch flavors
