AMD Athlon 64 1.60GHz, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HDD.
Linux Mint is a fork of Ubuntu and whilst initially being very similar to Ubuntu, since its development has matured, Linux Mint is now a fully fledged and independent operating system. Mint uses the Gnome desktop be default, however we are using the new Fluxbox editon and this is how we got on...
From the start the live CD booted very fast and working within the Live CD is very easy and completely bug free. Unlike many live CD based distributions, Mint performs very well and if you did not know any better you might believe you were running it from the hard disk. Installation of Mint is in essence similar to Ubuntu with a very easy installation process that is fast and glitch-free.
The system itself comes with a selection of pre-installed software that is easily accessible by simply right clicking your mouse key.
One notable difference is the absence of Open Office instead independent applications are installed such as Abiword and Gnumeric. Also pre-bundled is the popular VLC media player, one we found to be quite unusual in default installs of Linux. Mint features a software installer that is very similar to the one found in Ubuntu, although the interface differs slightly.
Wireless connections are a breeze with a near instant connection response and the speedy system allows firefox to launch within seconds.
Mint also lives up to its slogan "From freedom came elegance" as the system is very attractive and very clean, uncluttered and generally pleasant to look at.
Very simple to use, but the absence of a Windows style application menu could be a little confusing for the first time Linux user.
Conclusion:-
Mint is a very fast, good looking system. The pre-installed software has obviously been very well thought out and the software installer makes life easy for those who want a little bit more, with easy one click installs.
Pros:-
Fast and stable, with a good response even when using the system in Live CD. Easy to use and containing fully featured software applications.
Cons:-
Whilst the fluxbox interface is very pretty, the lack of a "start menu" system could be a little confusing to those who are unfamiliar with Linux. The Live CD edition also does not support keyboard layouts other than standard US.
Overall Rating:- 10/10 Highly recommended system with a very attractive GUI.
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