Linux Mint - The Best Linux Distribution For Windows Geeks


I'm a Windows operating system user since I used my first computer. Before my father present me a computer because I passed the grade 5 scholarship, I used to play games by using one of my neighbor's computer. He also used Windows XP. I also have used many Windows O/S versions such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and now I use Windows 10.

I needed to install linux based operating system because I need to learn bash commands and bash scripting and to study some open source softwares. In the lab, we used Ubuntu 16.04 because it's the latest Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) version. I tried to manage the linux subject (actually it's name is laboratory 01) by using only the lab computers. But I figured out it's hard to get success with that subject without installing Linux into my own computer and mastering it. And sometimes our lecturer and instructors also asked whether we have installed Linux at least using a virtual box and they were reminding me about an assignment.

Why You Should Use Linux

If you are a techie guy, you must get familiar with some Linux based operating systems because you should be able to work with any platform as a professional. And it's good to know to write bash scripts as well as writing MS-DOS batch scripts (.bat files). You can either fully install a Linux distribution on your computer or you can dual boot your computer. Otherwise you can create a virtual computer on your windows O/S by using softwares like VMware, VirtualBox, etc. I think it's good to use a windows O/S and a Linux based O/S at the same time. It may make you more professional or more weired ;) And you can feel like you are a member of a great community now:)

Selecting Best Linux Distribution for Windows Users


Then I searched a lot to find what the best Linux distribution for me is. I went through so many linux distributions such as Fedora, CentOS, Debian, Arch Linux, WinLinux (There are some special features with WinLinux. Just take a look!), Elementary OS and Linux Mint. It's a joke studying all the linux distributions because there are more than 600 Linux distributions and there are 285 Linux distributions listed in https://distrowatch.com. You can find about the whole Linux family through https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg.

Linux Mint

Then I finally ended up installing Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon edition. You also can download Linux Mint latest version through https://linuxmint.com/download.php. There are four flavors (editions) of Linux Mint there to download. They are Cinnamon, Mate, Xfce, and KDE. The differences of them are limited to the GUI as I figured out. I downloaded Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon edition because it's the most popular edition. I choose Linux Mint because some GUI parts in it seem like Windows 7 and all the icons, they have used, are familiar  to windows users. There are some GUI parts also, that are very new for windows users. But when comparing to other linux distributions, I went through, Linux Mint is better for windows geeks. And the other thing is Linux Mint is an Ubuntu based distribution (Linux Mint 18.3 is based on Ubuntu 16.04. That means we get the Linux kernel 4.10) and it's compatible with Ubuntu software repositories. And Linux Mint comes with a pack of softwares that you really need if you are switching from windows to linux. I have listed down the key features of Linux Mint that urged me to choose it.
  • Compatible with Ubuntu software repositories.
  • Faster than Ubuntu.
  • Comes with a pack of useful softwares such as Libre Ofiice, RythemBox player, firefox browser, HexChat, GIMP image editor, Java etc.
  • Supports for proprietary media formats, allowing you to play videos, DVDs and MP3 music files out of the box.
  • Allow you to change the interface as you wish (there are so many themes also).
  • Security is high (as well as other linux distributions).
  • There's a good notification br (it's better that windows 10's notification bar according to my experiences).
  • Nice software manager gives us an experience just like using Google Play Store in an android phone.
  • There are not any difference between commands, we learn with Ubuntu and commands, we have to use in the Linux Mint.
That's not all. Linux Mint is better than Ubuntu for a beginner. In Linux Mint, what I don't like is its interface is too dark. But we can change all the appearances spending few hours and there are so many pre designed themes also. So that I recommend Linux Mint for beginners who switched from Windows O/S. Install it! Use it! Love it!

Please leave your ideas, arguments and more info about Ubuntu and Linux Mint as a comment below. Thank you!!!