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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Quick Question for which one to pick (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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If this question was asked before, I apologize in advance for the redundancy.

I recently switched from Windows to Ubuntu on my laptop. Still getting the hang of Ubuntu, but I see a lot of comments on different posts in which a majority of them point to using Mint instead.

Would the best recommendation, be to switch to Mint from Ubuntu?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

I agree with most folks here that usability-wise, both are truly fine! Mainly I think philosophy is where Mint might have an edge here.

Ubuntu, run by a corpo named Canonical, has had some controversial decisions in the past, such as inserting amazon ads into the system's search feature, or "opt out" analytics being default, and lately, a system called "snap."

Snap is controversial because it has a closed source backend, but effectively works just like its open-source counterpart, the "flatpak." It's packaged so the software has everything it needs to run.

Some people say they work great, others hate them, but Ubuntu doesn't make it very easy for you to have a choice in the matter.

If you don't like the idea of snaps, it's a bit of a pain to get rid of it. And otherwise, Ubuntu will sneakily use it as the default way to install most software. Philosophically, this can feel a lot like why people left Windows behind!

Long term, that's why I favor and recommend Mint to most newcomers: It doesn't play those games, sometimes the drivers work even better, the community is fantastic, and the vast knowledge that works on Ubuntu should work on Mint too.

So that's mainly where the difference will lie.

Either way, I wouldn't sweat it too much while you're learning, as long as it does what you want! And purple-orange is pretty snazzy. ;)

Mint just feels a little "cleaner" in my humble opinion. Most software you'd want the latest of, like GIMP or Discord, will be found as a Flatpak in Mint's app store.

Hope this helps you get a clearer view!