Where To Get Help
You can always post a note in the Desktop Linux Reviews Forum and we’ll do our best to offer feedback or at least point you in the right direction. You might also want to visit the Linux Mint discussion forum or drop by the Linux Mint Wiki.
Final Thoughts & Who Should Use It
While I generally consider myself a Gnome man, I’m slowly warming up to KDE and I found myself liking this version of KDE the best. Linux Mint is one of the best desktop distributions around and the fact that KDE users get their own version of it makes it a great choice for them. I suspect that there may even be some Gnome users out there who might consider switching over to the KDE version after using this release.
This distribution, along with the Gnome version, is highly recommended for those who are new to desktop Linux. It’s easy to install, comes with a ton of great software and is multimedia ready right out of the box. Linux Mint 7 (KDE) is a great way to get your feet wet with Linux.
Summary Table:
| Product: | Linux Mint 7 (KDE) |
| Web Site: | http://www.linuxmint.com/download_ce.php |
| Price: | Free |
| Pros: | Gorgeous wallpaper, excellent selection of software, multimedia ready. Provides KDE users with their own version of Linux Mint 7. |
| Cons: | No games included by default. If you want games you’ll have to install them separately after you install Linux Mint 7 (KDE). |
| Suitable For: | Beginner, intermediate or advanced Linux users. Highly recommended for beginners. |
| Summary: | A terrific alternative to the Gnome version of Linux Mint 7 for KDE users. |
| Rating: | 4/5 |
(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.
@ Mike Smith:
From my experience the Xfce version is far from snappy (which was a surprise and a disappointment), you would do better with a more minimal version like Crunchbang or AntiX or even PCLOS.
I may take a peek at the xfce version. I think it’s in RC1 right now. But it definitely might be a good option for those who want a more minimalist experience.
Windmonger, I have not yet tried Mint on a 256 MB system. I do, however, have a couple of KDE 3.5.10 based systems on a Dell Dimension 4100 desktop with 256 MB RAM, and I also have an implementation of KDE 4.2.4 on that same system.
There is little difference in performance between the 3.5.10 implementation and the 4.2.4 version, at least in terms of memory consumption. You will not want to run more than a Web browser, Email client, and terminal at once, or you will face a fair amount of swapping. However, as long as you can tolerate moderate swapping activity and you limit the number of concurrent applications that you run, KDE works OK on a system with 256 MB RAM, though using a lighter desktop, such as XFCE or LXDE will provide you with a more responsive experience.
I predict that Linux Mint KDE will work for you; it won’t be a race horse, but it will be functional.
I have to say I finally got around to testing out Mint. I’ve never used it before and I’ve heard many great things about its looks and ease of use. I could not get wireless working. It was very disappointing. I know my way around a bit and it was not a problem in other distros, I eventually got it up and running but it was a no go out of the box. Which is not cool for a distro that claims to be newbie friendly. So sad.
@ Abe:
It only comes for DVD because it exceeds the size of a CD.