Welcome • User Guide
ToS • Privacy • Canary
Donate • Bugs • License

©2025 Poal.co

331

Moved back over to Mint because of Nvidia driver issues in Manjaro/Arch.

It's surprisingly stable despite what I remember. Good job on them to keep a stable and comfortable distro. It's also very polished, in particular Cinnamon which has come quite a ways since the last time I used it. If I ever return to another distro, I think Cinnamon will continue to be my DE of choice.

The package management is where my hopes were low, and frankly, it didn't disappoint. By separating from Snaps, they close the diversity of packages they have access to. Consequently, unlike other distros that have large "official" repos with side repos for non-certified stuff, Mint has to rely heavily on Flatpaks for "oddball" apps. I suppose one could rely on PPAs as well, but that opens up security concerns as well as stability depending on what is installed. I also hold no love for Flatpaks as a container, and this experience has done nothing to improve my thoughts on them. Quirky, oddball, bloated. If you don't care about that, or like Flatpak as a container, good on ya, you'll enjoy it. If not, just be aware what you're jumping into. A LOT of the old repo packages are flatpak only now.

Overall, still a great beginner distro as a whole. GUI for everything important like updates, drivers, etc. Easy package management. Stable kernel base and update cycle. Just wish they'd come up with a better solution for hosting packages. I can already see issues arising from someone who is used to Windows not understanding the jank that can come from a flatpak item, and thinking that a specific package "just doesn't work and Linux must suck".

Moved back over to Mint because of Nvidia driver issues in Manjaro/Arch. It's surprisingly stable despite what I remember. Good job on them to keep a stable and comfortable distro. It's also very polished, in particular Cinnamon which has come quite a ways since the last time I used it. If I ever return to another distro, I think Cinnamon will continue to be my DE of choice. The package management is where my hopes were low, and frankly, it didn't disappoint. By separating from Snaps, they close the diversity of packages they have access to. Consequently, unlike other distros that have large "official" repos with side repos for non-certified stuff, Mint has to rely heavily on Flatpaks for "oddball" apps. I suppose one could rely on PPAs as well, but that opens up security concerns as well as stability depending on what is installed. I also hold no love for Flatpaks as a container, and this experience has done nothing to improve my thoughts on them. Quirky, oddball, bloated. If you don't care about that, or like Flatpak as a container, good on ya, you'll enjoy it. If not, just be aware what you're jumping into. A LOT of the old repo packages are flatpak only now. Overall, still a great beginner distro as a whole. GUI for everything important like updates, drivers, etc. Easy package management. Stable kernel base and update cycle. Just wish they'd come up with a better solution for hosting packages. I can already see issues arising from someone who is used to Windows not understanding the jank that can come from a flatpak item, and thinking that a specific package "just doesn't work and Linux must suck".

(post is archived)

[–] • 1 pt

I've been using it just over a month or so and getting the hang of it with the help of a lot of folks here and elsewhere. I just wish it wasn't so ugly.

[–] • 1 pt

I think the attitude of “get good, scrub” continues to permeate the Linux mindset, even in distros like Mint.

RTFM is great when you’re talking about a programmer needing to know his dev tools, but if Linux ever wants mainstream appeal, somebody will have to fashion the right “walled garden” to keep the average user from having to micromanage his existence for basic functionality.

[–] • 1 pt

To be fair, RTFM wouldn't really apply to Mint. it's very hands-holdy, and very approachable to anyone coming from any distro. I haven't encountered issues outside of the flatpak packages I KNOW work better in a repo. ZSNES as an example.

[–] • 1 pt

That’s good to hear. I toyed with Ubuntu a few years ago and had nothing but headaches. Moved to Mac for a while, hated that everything they didn’t want you to do required an act of Congress or way more horsepower than it would on a PC. Reluctantly returned to MS in the Win10 era, and limped along.

Win11 unfortunately is going to be a bugaboo. I’m out at that point. So, I’m left with paying the Apple premium or converting all my existing systems to Mint.

I won’t be giving that faggot another penny if I don’t have to.

[–] • 1 pt

I'm using Debian now, and I like it, but the release cycle is long and you may miss several upgrades of your favorite software if you stay within the Debian package manager. You can connect other package management systems such as flat pack if you care deeply.

[–] • 0 pt

I'm waiting to see what direction Nvidia goes with their drivers. I MAY try Debian and Fedora in the future. For right now, I just want something that works until I get the mental energy to fuck around with something else.

[–] • 1 pt

Debian users are probably 20 versions down rev and not impacted. They will get current again in a couple months when the new version gets released. It's about a 2 year cycle.