Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, which is already one of the most user-friendly distributions available. Mint then opts for a default desktop environment, Cinnamon, that is much more familiar to the masses. Unlike Ubuntu’s GNOME GUI (which is a more modern take on the desktop), Cinnamon goes out of its way to retain a very familiar design that offers just enough modern design to keep it from looking like a desktop from the early 2000s, while retaining everything that made interacting with a PC so simple in those days.

But what is Linux Mint? With this TechRepublic Premium guide, created by Jack Wallen, you’ll find out what makes the distribution so popular and easy to use.

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UBUNTU LINUX AND LINUX MINT

One of the first differences between Ubuntu Linux and Linux Mint you will discover is the desktop interface. As stated earlier, Linux Mint shrugs off the Ubuntu default desktop, in favor of Cinnamon.

This desktop environment was created in reaction to GNOME shifting from GNOME 2 to GNOME 3, when the developers decided to completely change how users interacted with the desktop. Gone was the traditional panel/start menu/system tray and, in its place, came the Dash, Application Overview, Workspace Overview and Topbar.

A large portion of the Linux community balked at this change, which gave birth to the Cinnamon desktop.

The first few releases of Linux Mint focused on the KDE and Xfce desktop environments. For the seventh iteration of Linux Mint (aka Gloria), the developers adopted the GNOME desktop as the default.

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TIME SAVED: Crafting this content required 16 hours of dedicated writing, editing, research and design.