Linux Mint 7 (KDE)
Multimedia
As with the Gnome version, you will find that Linux Mint 7 (KDE) is fantastic for multimedia. You won’t need to run around installing codecs to play your DVDs, watch YouTube videos and do the usual multimedia stuff you do on a computer. Pretty much everything you need comes bundled into Linux Mint 7 (KDE).
What I Liked Most
Aside from the usual slickness of Linux Mint, I very much love the fact that multimedia works so well right out of the box. This makes it so much easier for folks that are new to Linux who might not even know what a codec is or how to install one. It makes desktop Linux so much more appealing and useful.
I also loved the blue version of the Linux Mint 7 wallpaper. Wallpaper is obviously a pretty small matter in the grand scheme of things but it’s a nice touch and it shows the usual great attention to detail demonstrated in many other ways in Linux Mint 7.
Problems & Headaches
One of the worst things about Linux Mint is that it usually doesn’t have much in the way of problems me to report on in this section. But here are a couple of things that I noticed that you might want to bear in mind.
The default KDE menu behavior might be a turn-off for some people. Obviously it can be changed to classic so I wouldn’t count it as too big of a headache but some people coming from Gnome or other desktop environments might not appreciate it. I’m getting used to it though, slowly but surely.
If you’re a gamer then you may be irritated that there are no games included with Linux Mint 7 (KDE). But don’t worry too much. If you start mintInstall you’ll find quite a few waiting for you and mintInstall makes it very easy to install new apps.
(18 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)
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Sounds like a winner. I’m gonna grab a copy and at least try it out in my sandbox on Virtualbox OSE. However, right now I have some NEW TOYS, with KDE 4.3 being available, so I have been playing with it in sidux and so far it is behaving really well – better than KDE 4.2.4. When Mint adds KDE 4.3 to their mix, it ought to be EVEN BETTER, because KDE 4 has now stabilized and the 4.3 release is all about bug fixes and improvements to existing code (and there will be monthly maintenance releases until the first of the year, after which 4.4, a feature release, is planned).
Nice review, sounds like Mint is worth a look in KDE skins.
For people new to Linux, Mint-Gnome or Mint-KDE probably rates a 5/5. It is going to do a no-fuss install and the things most people want are going to work with very little, if any, fiddling around. So what else is there, really?
PCLOS 2009 and Mepis trail behind only by a small margin and they deserve a look by new people as well.
But the Mint team is doing beautiful work with its desktops and its understanding of what many people coming over to Linux expect in a contemporary system.
My experience with an earlier version says that wireless is going to work. Suspend/hibernate may require just a small bit of tinkering depending on a person’s hardware (and the kernel) but it is probably going to work. If it does that is significant for laptop users.
Clement LeFebvre is one impressive team leader!
ill have to give mint (kde) a try… im a KDE person.. but mint has taken gnome and made it nice… i always say.. when is gnome not gomish.. when it is linux mint.. so my latest main home distro is mint… but since im partial to KDE ill give mint KDE a shot…..
@ Bill Julian:that wireless is going to work.
I run Kubuntu 9.04 KDE 4.3 on my laptop and all that works flawlessly. I don’t see a reason why it shouldn’t work the same in LinuxMint since it is based on Ubuntu.
I like LinuxMint, especially their TastyMenu, but I have been following KDE 4.x development and Kubuntu was the best distro that kept up with all updates. Besides, I don’t have a DVD at the moment and LinuxMint, for some strange reason, wasn’t offering a CD for KDE.
I also will wait until they offer KDE 4.3. For some reason, I could never use Gnome especially when they keep insisting on including Mono by default.
Gave Mint 7 KDE spin a try. First impression: more polished version of Kubuntu — maybe the Kubuntu folks could take some lessons here.
After a short time I realized the version of KDE 4 wasn’t as feature-packed as the KDE desktop available in Mandriva or Fedora 11. After changing repositories and downloading the development release of KDE 4 from Ubuntu repos, the distro really worked well — surprising given a testing version of KDE4 (is that redundant?).
However, the big killer for me was the segmentation fault preventing running QGIS — a must-have for my computing needs. So, back to RPM-based distro hopping for now.
My desktop PC has only 256 MB RAM. Will Linux Mint 7 KDE run smoothly with minimal desktop effects enabled?
Hands off Mint — especially if you are an international user. As with Kubuntu, their KDE language packages are always broken. For proof, see here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19616885@N00/3786255180/
The Mint people also refused to offer a fix when the same bug was reported by me in a Min 6 pre-release and they even claim that’s not their fault, because KDE 4 is supposed to be a (and I quote) “mess”: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=109&t=23316
Fixing the bug was “against their policy” during the Mint 6 development cycle and it obviously stayed the same for 7.
So if you are looking for a new Linux distro, get one where bugs actually get fixed.
In addition to the forums and wiki, the Linux Mint IRC Support channel is a great place to get live help. xChat in Gnome and Quassel in KDE.
Linux Mint 7 KDE is a great distro. Sad to say that’s a no go for me because I use a 64 bit system. I do have it on my 32 bit backup system. People need to focus more on 64 bit but that’s just my opinion.
@ windmonger:Probably to slow at 256 megs of ram.
Linux Mint does have a XFCE version that will run snappy
for your box. Good luck.