Installation
The first job is to get the distro up and running.
As these are Ubuntu-derived distros, it’s not surprising that all but one uses a variation of the Ubuntu installer. Unlike the other distributions here, Linux Mint is a rolling release, which means that it’s continually updated rather than requiring a distribution update for periodic major releases. The Cinnamon desktop environment edition of Linux Mint is the most popular edition, and that’s what we’re going to look at. In addition, there are also editions that feature customised Xfce and Mate desktops respectively for an experience with the same sharp looks while consuming fewer resources. In our experience, Cinnamon isn’t a slow desktop, but those other two options feel faster on the same hardware, and it’s nice to have alternatives.