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A big hand to Ubuntu also: Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS and Mint uses Ubuntu's software repositories without any compensation

Splendid!I'll update my rig when I can....


Last edited by Solarwing on 17 Jul 2023 at 3:23 pm UTC

A big hand to Ubuntu also: Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS and Mint uses Ubuntu's software repositories without any compensation

And Ubuntu uses Debian's repositories, though I don't know for sure that it's "without compensation". That's kinda how open source software works.

Until 2024 they will continue to use the same Ubuntu package base, so upgrades will be "trivial" to do.

Not a Mint user, but just curious what will happen after this?

Until 2024 they will continue to use the same Ubuntu package base, so upgrades will be "trivial" to do.

Not a Mint user, but just curious what will happen after this?

Mint jumps on the next Ubuntu LTS base. Nothing dramatic.

Mint jumps on the next Ubuntu LTS base. Nothing dramatic.

Ohh! Thanks! I totally misunderstood, and misread it as meaning that they'd be migrating away from using Ubuntu as a base entirely!


Last edited by Pengling on 17 Jul 2023 at 3:08 pm UTC

Until 2024 they will continue to use the same Ubuntu package base, so upgrades will be "trivial" to do.

Not a Mint user, but just curious what will happen after this?

Unless something unexpected happens they'll just release the new Mint using 24.04 as a new base, like they do every new LTS. Last time they released an application that did most of the upgrade from 20 to 21 automatically so that's probably what will happen when it's time to upgrade from 21 to 22.

If that wasn't possible Linux Mint Debian Edition exists for a reason, and Debian recently got a lot better so it probably wouldn't be a very noticeable change for many Mint users.

So I've been using Linux Mint *Cinnamon Edition* for well over a year now, coming from Arch with Gnome. In terms of file operations etc., I probably use the terminal for ~98% of everything that I do. When it comes to desktop/GUI stuff, Linux Mint Cinnamon is a super polished/consistent/intuitive experience that doesn't get in your way with a bunch of flashy/unnecessary bloat or poorly implemented UX/UI paradigms. Even though I wish that they would move away from leaning on Ubuntu for the base, due to some of the less open practices Canonical are engaged in regarding snaps etc., having that widely supported infrastructure is ultimately beneficial to users on many levels. Luckily they even address the snap issue by disabling snaps by default and are instead embracing the universally inclusive flatpak architecture in addition to tried and true apt repositories. Of course, you can take this all with a grain of salt because it's personal opinion, blah blah blah. =]
I've been kickin' around in Linux since 1999 starting with Red Hat 6/Corel Linux, then Slackware, then Debian, then Ubuntu, Arch, Elementary OS, Arch again, and now Linux Mint. I've used kde/gnome/xfce/enlightenment/openbox/icewm/pantheon/gnustep and many others.
I feel like I finally found in Mint and Cinnamon a great balance between having a really good/nice, stable end-user experience for daily computing needs while still retaining the power and versatility that Linux provides.
Just my two cents. *shrug*


Last edited by reedlove on 17 Jul 2023 at 3:53 pm UTC

A big hand to Ubuntu also: Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS and Mint uses Ubuntu's software repositories without any compensation

And Ubuntu uses Debian's repositories, though I don't know for sure that it's "without compensation". That's kinda how open source software works.

I know how open source software way works, but is it not the case that Ubuntu has their own repositories, to which they put packages also from Debian's repositories for starters, but their own repositories are in own servers:

Main - Canonical-supported free and open-source software.

Universe - Community-maintained free and open-source software.

Restricted - Proprietary drivers for devices.

Multiverse - Software restricted by copyright or legal issues.

Because if they only just took advantage of Debian's repositories, they would end up with very old versions of software? Is it also not the case that Linux Mint just straight up uses Ubuntu's SERVERS (from where the users download from)?

So it looks that the bulk of packages in a Linux Mint install come actually directly from Ubuntus repositories.

packages . linuxmint . com does not directly tie to Ubuntu but many packages could have been rebuilt from Ubuntu. Likewise, almost all of the packages in Ubuntu are rebuilt from Debian.

A count committed via the method described at Linuxuprising dot com some time back counted all packages including original versions and those higher in the updates, security and backports, no PPAs added, and both i386 and amd64 (the Linux Mint repositories come from packages. linuxmint dot com and http://packages . linuxmint dot com/ does not look like packages . ubuntu dot com/)

Linux Uprising ended up on numbers where 0.7% came from Mints repos, 99.3% from Ubuntu's. If this is true even to day, it is huge.

So this is why some say Linux Mint isn't a full true distribution, no matter how good or bad it works. Linux Mint relies on Ubuntu packages to make their system fundamentally work, right? This seems to have occasional consequences:

Linux Mint devs don't have upload privileges to Ubuntu repositories they rely on: they have to build packages themselves (costly resource wise to build, host etc.) They've chosen to rely on packages Ubuntu provides, and to add an extra layer on their system - runtime adjustments.

As a consequence of this is that often times possible extra security holes can get to be in Linux Mint's overall system, extra resources required by the extra layer of software.

When these problems occur? Whenever upstream (Ubuntu the upstream of Linux Mint) makes changes as Ubuntu doesn't consider the runtime adjustments in their testing, thus also a reliability issue can happen.

Or do i miss something fundamental? I mean, Linux Mint is great and all but that's the deal of it in practice it seems.

been a mint adept for ages, i think the cinnamon menu could do with an upgrade

Or do i miss something fundamental? I mean, Linux Mint is great and all but that's the deal of it in practice it seems.

Unless you can point to examples of this actually happening, this is theory, not practice. Your post smacks of FUD. And might I point out that according to your GOL profile, you run another distribution that builds on top of Ubuntu. Are you equally worried about the security of Pop!_OS, seeing as it is totally reliant on its Ubuntu base?

Wasn't the reason I decided to "main" Linux Mint but it has been extremely well-mannered when it comes to gaming. I've been able to install and run - giver or take a Flatpak or two - everything, games, launchers, utilities so far. LMDE which I like very much as well could be a little bit more restrictive for gaming on Linux. If Mint ever switched to Debian stable, I hope it could come up with some solution for extensive hardware compatibility, let's say in the same manner with MX's HWE editions.

A big hand to Ubuntu also: Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS and Mint uses Ubuntu's software repositories without any compensation

And Ubuntu uses Debian's repositories, though I don't know for sure that it's "without compensation". That's kinda how open source software works.

I was going to ask if anyone is running LMDE and ask how it is compared to the main Mint release. If I didn't use Debian, I would probably run that.

Of course, you can take this all with a grain of salt because it's personal opinion, blah blah blah. =]

Nah. My personal opinion agrees with you, so that makes it all gospel truth.

Linux Uprising ended up on numbers where 0.7% came from Mints repos, 99.3% from Ubuntu's. If this is true even to day, it is huge.

So did Canonical, or even Debian, write all that software in those repos?

Linux Uprising ended up on numbers where 0.7% came from Mints repos, 99.3% from Ubuntu's. If this is true even to day, it is huge.

So did Canonical, or even Debian, write all that software in those repos?

No, but to be fair a lot of the software in those repos are by the writers of the software.

I just don't get their disdain for KDE Plasma. I used to use Mint for YEARS. And was a paying client. Then they said a whole lotta "nope" for KDE. My best guess is that Clem hates KDE and left the community to support Plasma users. But when the Mint "tools" came out, Plasma was left in the dust.

In my mind Mint does not innovate much, and are a little too conservative for my tastes these days, but if they still had an officially supported Plasma edition, I would not hesitate to install it on a newbies computer (or my Grandma's).

I just don't get their disdain for KDE Plasma. I used to use Mint for YEARS. And was a paying client. Then they said a whole lotta "nope" for KDE. My best guess is that Clem hates KDE and left the community to support Plasma users. But when the Mint "tools" came out, Plasma was left in the dust.

In my mind Mint does not innovate much, and are a little too conservative for my tastes these days, but if they still had an officially supported Plasma edition, I would not hesitate to install it on a newbies computer (or my Grandma's).

I think Mint is the 'not the big DE' distro, as they don't ship a Gnome version either. They try and ship options for all the smaller / alternate DEs. I guess whatever works for them, but I'm generally a Gnome user, so for the most part stick to Debian. Although a big part of that is how long I've been using Linux, I've seen many excellent Debian based distributions come and go over the decades. Storm Linux and Corel Linux were really good for a short while. Mint and Ubuntu definitely have lasted a long time, and I don't see them going away, but it has taught me to just stay with Debian.

I love Mint... for other people.


Last edited by 14 on 23 Jul 2023 at 6:09 am UTC