# Linux Mint Debian Edition 2 Released...



## Liquid Cool (Apr 11, 2015)

Back when I was testing MATE versions for my own usage, I tested about a dozen different distributions.  The original Linux Mint Debian Edition was the best of the bunch in regards to stability, memory usage, and overall snappiness out of the box.

MATE:

http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2809

Cinnamon Edition:

http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2808

I didn't mention this distro though, because at the time it was an older release and I didn't know if Mint was going to do any updates in the future or if it was a dead project.

I wholeheartedly admit I'm not an expert in linux, I've only recently gotten back into it after playing with it in the 90's.  Although...I do know a solid distro when  I see one.  If someone is looking to try out Linux Mint MATE or Cinnamon Edition...this version should be on your short list.

I'm currently using Ubuntu 15.04 because it played nice with my wireless adapter(Ralink RT3290), but I will be transferring over to LMDE 2's MATE as soon as possible.

Best Regards,

Liquid Cool


----------



## blobster21 (Apr 11, 2015)

Thanks for the headup ! i didn't even know such thing was existing (an out of the box Mate DE with debian as base distro) I myself am a fan of Mate-desktop both for work and personnal use.

I've been playing with the Regular Ubuntu 14.04 LTS further augmented with Mate 1.8.2 from the repos, then Ubuntu Remix, Ubuntu Mate, and Debian wheezy + Mate from the backports

I have even created an Ubuntu Mate VMware virtual machine for our students at school, which take the form of an open virtualisation appliance (OVA). That's our fav Mate distro, packed with all the educational tools they are using on our labs. Roughly 8Gb, perfect for a thumb drive. (or should i say, 50 of them !)

Knowing how small and efficient Debian can be, i would'nt be suprised if i could further diminish both CPU and disk usage. I'll give it a try on monday !


----------



## Aquinus (Apr 11, 2015)

Debian stable tends to have older repos than Ubuntu LTS does which has older repos than standard Ubuntu has. Debian is known for being stable and containing only what you need. It really isn't too much different than Ubuntu (under the hood.) You can get similar performance out of Ubuntu by doing a command-line install from an Alternative install disk (which lacks any GUI and isn't a LiveDVD.) Doing this and installing just i3wm, X, Firefox, and VIM, I could boot a machine with 512MB of memory and only use 50MB on boot. So if you know exactly what you want, starting with nothing can sometimes get you more performance and a smaller footprint than any distro with pre-defined packages already installed OOTB.

It's worth noting that Debian and Ubuntu are almost the same. If you do a CLI install of Ubuntu and Debian, very little is different between the two. Debian has been working flawlessly on my headless gateway/nas server.

Depending on how gung-ho you want to go, you can even compile the Kernel with just modules you care about. Heck, you could even go a step further and turn your modular linux kernel into a monolithic one if you're so inclined and *really* care about squeezing performance out of a box.


----------



## blobster21 (Apr 11, 2015)

Aquinus said:


> you could even go a step further and turn your modular linux kernel into a monolithic one if you're so inclined and *really* care about performance squeezing performance out of a box



It makes me want to do that 

I wish i took the debian road from the very beginning, but unfortunately software wise, one of our mandatory application (Lanschool) has terrible pre requisites and need an underlying gnome DE to work properly. This "thing" acts as a black box, i have to idea why gnome is so important !

sorry for hijacking the thread


----------



## Liquid Cool (Apr 11, 2015)

blobster21 said:


> sorry for hijacking the thread



From my perspective you're not hijacking anything...

I put this thread up for informational purposes so people are/we're aware of a new Linux MATE version based on debian that seems to run very solid.  Where the conversation goes from there - I do not know.  Although...I am enjoying the commentary and it appears as though you we're too.

I'll repeat my comment about 'no expertise' in linux...but I love to learn and I did...from your post and Aquinus as well.

Best Regards,

Liquid Cool


----------



## Krekeris (Apr 11, 2015)

I have mixed opinion about Linux Mint. In past it used to be very unstable on my older system. But now I just love 17.1. Fast, simple and sexy. First Linux distro that I`m using daily.


----------

