[ubuntu-us-mn] Ubuntu vs Mint vs Gnome [was: General Intro / Digest

[gregrwm]

On Feb 29, 2012 11:38 AM, "Fred H Olson" <fholson at cohousing.org> wrote:
> I'd like to see more discussion of the relative merits of Ubuntu vs Mint
> and in particular of the Gnome desktop vs the Unity Desktop.
> This is particularly relevant since a major new release of Ubuntu
> (LTS - Long Term Support version) is due in about a month and the next
> Penguins Unbound  meeting http://penguinsunbound.org/  will be an
> installfest.  Maywe could have a little presentation about this
> at the beginning of the installfest?
>
> I expect it will be possible to install the new Ubuntu (12.04) with Gnome
> which is another option.
>
> I only install the LTS version of Ubuntu so this will be the firt time
> I have to decide whether to stick with Gnome or whatever, so I am
> particularly interested in this topic.

if you haven't already, read the wikipedia mint entry, here's a couple tidbits:

   "Lets you backup and restore your files, your settings and your software selection to easily upgrade to newer releases by performing fresh installations."

   "uses primarily free and open source software (FOSS), making exceptions for some proprietary hardware drivers, non-free firmware in the kernel and some other widely used software, such as the proprietary Adobe Flash plugin and RAR compression/decompression utilities. Unlike many other Linux distributions, Linux Mint does not strive to commit itself to software freedom."

re unity/gnome, not much to say, i use twm, xterm, openbox.