"While Mint, like many other distros, follows a six-month
development and release cycle, the developers pride themselves on
the community aspect. The net result is that a feature suggested on
a forum today could find its way into the codebase in a matter of
weeks rather than months, so it feels as if the OS is more organic
than most, with updates appearing frequently.
"Thanks to its Debian heritage, software installation is usually
pretty simple, especially when using the standard Synaptic package
manager. Mint sensibly places the task bar at the bottom of the
screen, and calls the equivalent to the Start button the Menu
button. As an added touch, this menu is laid out in a very
Windows-esque way, making life much easier for refugees from
Microsoft Windows.
"Although originally intended as Ubuntu with built-in media
codecs, Mint has mutated into a rather different beast. Those media
codecs are still part of the overall package, but the main focus is
now on making the OS as user-friendly as possible. This means that
most of your hardware, including Wi-Fi adaptors, should work out of
the box. Our install did choke when presented with a video capture
card, but considering its exotic nature, that's hardly a
surprise."
