Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

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Thanks for the Fish
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Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by Thanks for the Fish »

Hi :)

(I hope the topic fits in here)


Now that Ubuntu Mate as an official Ubuntu Flavour is out:

1. Why should I choose Mint Mate instead of Ubuntu Mate?

2. Why should I choose Ubuntu Mate instead of Mint Mate?


Being in a Linux Mint-Userforum, I fully understand that the answers will be more likely in favour of Mint Mate (OS-Choices seem not to be an entirely rational thing) but It would be much appreciated,if these could be limited :wink:


cheers
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exploder
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by exploder »

I think they are both good. :)
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by BigEasy »

Thanks for the Fish wrote:Hi :)
1. Why should I choose Mint Mate instead of Ubuntu Mate?
2. Why should I choose Ubuntu Mate instead of Mint Mate?
One legendary donkey starves to death because it has no reason to choose between two equidistant and equally tempting piles of hay.
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karlchen
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by karlchen »

BigEasy wrote:One legendary donkey starves to death because it has no reason to choose between two equidistant and equally tempting piles of hay.
I consider this sentence the wisest of all possible answers and feel tempted to close this thread as solved. :wink:
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guimaster

Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by guimaster »

karlchen wrote:
BigEasy wrote:One legendary donkey starves to death because it has no reason to choose between two equidistant and equally tempting piles of hay.
I consider this sentence the wisest of all possible answers and feel tempted to close this thread as solved. :wink:
I'm glad you didn't do that.

I'm curious, which of the two is lighter on resources? Or are they both the same?

I'm pretty sure that Mint XFCE was heavier than Xubuntu when I played with it in the past. Does the same hold true for Mint Mate vs Ubuntu Mate?
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xenopeek
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by xenopeek »

Linux Mint MATE fits in style-wise with the other Linux Mint editions. Linux Mint MATE comes with all the Mint tools (Software Manager, Update Manager, Driver Manager, and such) that make it easy for new users to manage their system. Linux Mint development team has been involved from the start with the MATE development team and in fact was the first distro to ship a MATE edition. I liked the look of Ubuntu MATE but I would recommend Linux Mint MATE to most users as I feel the Mint tools would be missed on Ubuntu MATE.
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by guimaster »

xenopeek wrote:Linux Mint MATE fits in style-wise with the other Linux Mint editions. Linux Mint MATE comes with all the Mint tools (Software Manager, Update Manager, Driver Manager, and such) that make it easy for new users to manage their system. Linux Mint development team has been involved from the start with the MATE development team and in fact was the first distro to ship a MATE edition. I liked the look of Ubuntu MATE but I would recommend Linux Mint MATE to most users as I feel the Mint tools would be missed on Ubuntu MATE.
I agree that Ubuntu MATE is visually appealing, and in my opinion it is the prettier desktop. I also agree that Ubuntu MATE is missing some of the features that Linux Mint likes to add in, such as the new Software Sources, and Mint Backup.

I find that the Mint Menu is rather laggy at times, compared to the traditional Gnome menu in Ubuntu MATE. I'm still curious about the default ram / cpu usage in Mint MATE vs Ubuntu MATE. Once I configure my desktop to the extent that I've configured my Netbook, I'll be able to do a better comparison. Perhaps I'll load both into virtual machines to compare them as well. The lighter of the two will be the one installed on my Netbook come 2016.
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by Monsta »

Ubuntu MATE has:
  • mate-menu, a generic fork of mintMenu with Mint-specific stuff and package management stuff removed;
  • mate-tweak, a heavily modified fork of mintDesktop. For example, it allows you to quickly change the panel(s) layout, or switch from Marco to Compiz on-the-fly (no session restart required).
All that work has been done by Martin Wimpress, Ubuntu MATE maintainer and MATE developer.
The source code can be found in Bitbucket repos.

Both packages are also available in the current Debian Testing for those who's interested. :)
JohnBobSmith

Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by JohnBobSmith »

Perhaps its just me, but I feel that Linux Mint is Ubuntu done right. As such, my vote lies with Mint.

But really, for the most part you are comparing, at least software wise, fairly close to the same thing. It would be like comparing a red apple (Ubuntu) to a green apple (Mint). At the end of the day, they are both apples (OS's). The differences would be how the apple was grown (company backed or community driven) and what colour of apple you like (other mainly philosophical issues). So can you really compare them well? :?

I still say green apple (Mint) all the way. :)
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by exploder »

I still think you can't go wrong with either if you want Mate, Both have some really great features and the developers of both really put a great deal of hard work into these releases. Both have their different and interesting features. Mint Mate 17.2 might be a game changer though, we will just have to wait and see! :)
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by English Invader »

JohnBobSmith wrote:Perhaps its just me, but I feel that Linux Mint is Ubuntu done right. As such, my vote lies with Mint.

But really, for the most part you are comparing, at least software wise, fairly close to the same thing. It would be like comparing a red apple (Ubuntu) to a green apple (Mint). At the end of the day, they are both apples (OS's). The differences would be how the apple was grown (company backed or community driven) and what colour of apple you like (other mainly philosophical issues). So can you really compare them well? :?

I still say green apple (Mint) all the way. :)
I love the community ethos of Mint but I've generally found Ubuntu to be more compatible with the software I use and even programs that run on Mint often have issues upon exit from full screen mode like system crashes/screwed up resolution etc.

Some people find Ubuntu's corporate concessions distasteful but someone had to do the dirty work for all the advances we've had in recent years.
guimaster

Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by guimaster »

English Invader wrote:
JohnBobSmith wrote:Perhaps its just me, but I feel that Linux Mint is Ubuntu done right. As such, my vote lies with Mint.

But really, for the most part you are comparing, at least software wise, fairly close to the same thing. It would be like comparing a red apple (Ubuntu) to a green apple (Mint). At the end of the day, they are both apples (OS's). The differences would be how the apple was grown (company backed or community driven) and what colour of apple you like (other mainly philosophical issues). So can you really compare them well? :?

I still say green apple (Mint) all the way. :)
I love the community ethos of Mint but I've generally found Ubuntu to be more compatible with the software I use and even programs that run on Mint often have issues upon exit from full screen mode like system crashes/screwed up resolution etc.

Some people find Ubuntu's corporate concessions distasteful but someone had to do the dirty work for all the advances we've had in recent years.

Definitely I haven't appreciated Ubuntu's direction since 11.04. At first I didn't mind the new desktop, but eventually I began to notice just how much longer it took for me to get things done in Unity, compared with Gnome 2.x. Then they added that Amazon spyware. :lol:

I've got Mint MATE 17.2 on my Netbook and I love it loads. Well, except when it's sluggish from loading stuff... But back in the day Ubuntu 10.04 and 10.10 were my favourite desktops. There is a lot of nostalgia for me, with Ubuntu MATE.

What "dirty work" do you speak of? What "Advances" are you referring to?
JohnBobSmith

Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by JohnBobSmith »

I feel that English Invader was referring to the generalized idea of technological advances due to hackers (please correct me, English Invader, if I am wrong). For example, if we did not have hackers pushing the limits of technology (and some times legality), we would not have made much technological progress. The "dirty work" could be, say, writing a virus to learn how networks work. Now, I am not in favour of illegal activities. But if hackers didn't write viruses, would our systems (Linux) be as secure as they are today? In this example, the "dirty work" is the virus, and the advances are more secure systems. Something to think about. :)
English Invader
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by English Invader »

JohnBobSmith wrote:I feel that English Invader was referring to the generalized idea of technological advances due to hackers (please correct me, English Invader, if I am wrong).
I was thinking more of commercial things like Steam and Netflix. Wouldn't have happened without Canonical.

And the so called "Amazon Spyware" is easily disabled from the System Settings menu.
JohnBobSmith

Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by JohnBobSmith »

Ah. So then, shady business practices? Is that what you (English Invader) were going for? Something along the lines of that, without companies, we would not have advanced? I'm not quite following you, that’s all.
guimaster

Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by guimaster »

I found what I have been looking for here: http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.ca/2014/ ... eview.html

According to the reviewer, Linux Mint MATE 17.1 uses 349 MB of Ram when idle. Ubuntu MATE 14.10 uses 308 MB of Ram when idle. The Mint MATE installation is a whopping 1 GB larger. Mint MATE boots slightly faster, and has lower power consumption.
benali72
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by benali72 »

In the choice between Mint MATE and Ubuntu MATE, I'd say that Mint MATE gives you greater long-term stability and committment. Ubuntu's been going another direction for a long time now with its Unity interface being their primary focus, and they only added MATE recently. To me, that's no vote of support. Just my opinion.
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by sdibaja »

exploder wrote:I still think you can't go wrong with either if you want Mate, Both have some really great features and the developers of both really put a great deal of hard work into these releases. Both have their different and interesting features. Mint Mate 17.2 might be a game changer though, we will just have to wait and see! :)
I agree, but I much prefer the little tweaks that Mint does with Mate.

That said, I really hate the default layout that Mint has adopted. The Mint Menu sucks, so I immediately switch to me Menu Bar... and a single panel on the bottom does not work for me.
Yup, I kinda looks like the Cinnamon but really, If I wanted Cinnamon I would use it, bugs or not.

I am a LMDE user, but I have Mint installed also as a backup. I just did the upgrade to M17.3 and I will be dammed, we got that weird new set of near empty folders in the System/Preferences.... I thought only LMDE was getting saddled with that... just more clicks and more work for me to but things back where they belong...

End Of Rant :-)

OK, does somebody know an easy way to get a Traditional panel/menu layout? like a tweak tool? I can do it manually but more gets thrown at us each "upgrade"
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frodopogo

Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by frodopogo »

I've been using Mint for years, since Elyssa. I've always used the MATE version on my main computer since that came out. When the Ubuntu MATE project went official, I got curious, downloaded and installed it on another partition, and put the dash panel at the bottom where it's supposed to be.
After a while, I heard about Cubuntu, and that has Ubuntu MATE plus the Unity and Cinnamon desktops.... but it's in French, which you can change to English or whatever.
Anyway, I found Ubuntu MATE to be perfectly useable, but a bit drab, and the menu was a bit confusing since I personally really like and am used to MintMenu.
But it was still far easier for me than using Xfce, for example.

I didn't have any problems with Ubuntu MATE, in fact, there was one obscure, poorly written music program that got from the Ubuntu repository that ran okay on Ubuntu MATE but not on Mint... but then I discovered that VLC Media player had the same functionality and stopped using it, and Ubuntu MATE with it.

I keep it around as a backup, just in the unlikely event my Mint install has a Mint specific problem.
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Re: Linux Mint Mate vs. Ubuntu Mate

Post by Lykaestria »

I absolutely love Linux Mint, but I've recently been having display problems while using the latest VMware Workstation 12. I'd recently installed Ubuntu Mate in another partition to give it a try out. Everything looks as nice as Linux Mint does - it has a later nvidia driver available, and best of all my VMware Workstation 12 works perfectly on it! I'd originally planned to use Ubuntu Mate as a back-up os and use Linux Mint as my primary os... but now I've decided to do the reverse.
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