My First Rolling-Release Distro

[nujinini]

I have been using ubuntu 9.04 for quite a while and have not been getting any updates. And so I decided to get my first rolling-release distro. LMDE-Linux Mint Debian Edition.

I am very happy with it and was able to make wireless work using Method One found in this tutorial.

FWIW.

[Bemk]

Is there any differences from regular mint, besides the rolling release cycle?

[elija]

It's based on Debian as opposed to Ubuntu so yeah, quite a few although it is being "mintified"

[nujinini]

Is there any differences from regular mint, besides the rolling release cycle?

Well, I had to set-up the wireless manually but besides the rolling release cycle, everything seems to be similar.

I read somewhere though that since this is a rolling-release, it easily breaks. I had my first experience of a "break" this morning when I accidentally unplugged my machine. When I restarted, I still have to do an # fsck. But afterwards, it was business as usual

Yes Elijah, I couldn't have said it better. It's minitified. Firefox is firefox and not iceweasel

[Bemk]

So if I get this right, since it's directly based on Debian, it doesn't have all the funny things of Ubuntu, but still works and feels like a regular mint installation.

Does this rolling release also mean that packets get upgraded through versions, for example a normal update would do linux-2.6.39 to linux-3.0.0 or does that still require a dist-upgrade?

[elija]

It has it's own update manager and repositories to handle all that for you although you can still use apt from the command line. You can track Debian testing directly if you enjoy that kind of thing or use Mints "incoming" repo to help them test update packs. If you want a smoother ride you can track "latest" which gets updated every 4-8 weeks with an update pack.

Update pack 3 has just come down and gives kernel 3 among many other goodies. (Blog post about update 3)

[Bemk]

I think I'll go check this out my self. I kind of require some updates.

At the moment I'm using Mint Isadora, but this sounds promising.

[cynwulf]

Debian is not a rolling release, thus LMDE isn't either. It's based on testing, so when testing/unstable freezes prior to a new stable release, LMDE will also freeze.

[nujinini]

@cynwulf, just in case you have not seen this, I think this site says it all.

@Bemk, hope you enjoy it too. I find it to be a very sturdy distro, so far.

@Elijah, yes it has it's own repos and is fully compatible with Debian's. But unlike Debian, it has been "mintified" and you get to enjoy the best of both worlds. Debian's stability and Mint's usability.

[Dapper Dan]

I might give this a look as well. I've been using Mint 11 LXDE and really like it but am open minded enough to try another version of Mint. After CRUX, Mint is almost too user friendly...