Why I Use Linux Mint

Minty fresh~

Throughout my time studying at Operation Spark, a few people have asked me: “Why do you use Linux Mint? Why not Ubuntu? Why not Windows?” Out of fear of being long-winded, I would usually give a short response like, “Oh, it’s just really stable,” or, “It’s just familiar to me.” But today I want to give an overview as to why I truly think Linux Mint is the best Linux distro out there for general programmer workflow. With the release of Linux Mint 19.1 “Tessa”, there’s never been a better time to check out the distro and see if it’s right for you.

The complete list of reasons I personally love Linux Mint is probably too long for this short article, but it basically boils down to these points:

When you boot up to Linux Mint’s Cinnamon desktop environment, you are greeted with an interface that seems very familiar. In fact, you might notice that it looks really similar to the default Window’s interface:

This interface has one huge thing going for it: most people are already intuitively familiar with this layout. Anybody who has used Windows even a little bit will immediately know to find their installed applications in the lower left-hand menu. This just makes sense for a lot of people, especially when compared to the sometimes very unintuitive Gnome Shell used by Ubuntu. The Cinnamon desktop environment gives you a familiar workflow so you aren’t distracted by how to use the interface, allowing you to focus on actually working.

Linux Mint prides itself on just being easy to use. The software center is intuitive and simple to understand, the settings menus aren’t cluttered with obscure settings, and everything just seems to work. On top of this, Linux Mint comes pre-installed with many of the applications that you will need on a daily basis, as well as many codecs/drivers needed to get a full computer experience. This adherence to simplicity makes Linux Mint a wonderful choice for those new to Linux or those who want their distro to work out-of-the-box without hours of configuration.

Being directly based off of Ubuntu, Linux Mint users enjoy all of the benefits that Ubuntu users enjoy. From amazing documentation and impressive software availability to a wonderful community and support, Linux Mint has a lot going for it. This also ties into my point about ease-of-use. Any instructions online for installing or using a program on Ubuntu are also 100% applicable to Linux Mint.

As with any Linux distro, Mint is incredibly customizable. Every aspect of the Cinnamon desktop environment can be configured and changed to your liking. Earlier I posted a screenshot of the default Linux Mint desktop layout. After a few hours of customization and figuring out how I wanted it to look, this is how my Mint desktop looks:

It’s nothing too flashy, but as you can see, there is so much that can be changed about the look of Linux Mint. The Cinnamon DE comes with these widget-like apps called “desklets” like the calendar I have on my desktop. There’s a desklet out there for almost anything, and you can also write your own desklets if you are feeling ambitious. Cinnamon also has “applets” and extensions that can all be downloaded and installed directly from the Cinnamon menus. But you aren’t just limited to using Cinnamon either. You could opt to install KDE Plasma, a tiling window manager like i3 or awesome, or even Gnome Shell if you really wanted to (although why not just install Ubuntu at that point). While not everyone may value customizability as much as I do, I personally love having the ability to make my desktop my own and work for my personal workflow.

If you are considering migrating from Windows to Linux, I cannot recommend Linux Mint enough. You will feel right at home in the Cinnamon desktop while also enjoying all the customizability and free software that comes with using a Linux distro. Personally, I think Linux Mint is the best general purpose distro around, and maybe one of the best distros overall, along with Manjaro, Ubuntu, and Elementary OS. Give Mint a try and see if you like it.

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