Linux Mint Debian (201012/201101)

What a better time than Christmas to bring all the best from 2010 into an updated release of Linux Mint Debian.

All Mint 10 features

64-bit support

Performance boost (using cgroup, the notorious “4 lines of code better than 200” in user-space)

Installer improvements (multiple HDDs, grub install on partitions, swap allocation, btrfs support)

Better fonts (Using Ubuntu’s libcairo, fontconfig and Ubuntu Font Family) and language support (ttf-wqy-microhei, ttf-sazanami-mincho, ttf-sazanami-gothic installed by default)

Better connectivity and hardware support (pppoe, pppoeconf, gnome-ppp, pppconfig, libgl1-mesa-dri, libgl1-mesa-glx, libgl1-mesa-dev, mesa-utils installed by default)

Better sound support (addressing conflicts between Pulse Audio and Flash)

Updated software and packages

If you’re new to LMDE, welcome to Linux Mint Debian. Enjoy the release, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

Important links

LMDE in brief

Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is a rolling distribution based on Debian Testing.

It’s available in both 32 and 64-bit as a live DVD with a Gnome desktop.

The purpose of LMDE is to look identical to the main edition and to provide the same functionality while using Debian as a base.

FAQ

1. Is LMDE compatible with Ubuntu-based Linux Mint editions?

No, it is not. LMDE is compatible with Debian, which isn’t compatible with Ubuntu.

2. Is LMDE fully compatible with Debian?

Yes, 100%. LMDE is compatible with repositories designed for Debian Testing or Debian Squeeze.

3. What is a rolling distribution?

LMDE constantly receives updates. Its ISO images are updated now and then but users do not require to re-install it on their systems.

4. How does LMDE compare to the Ubuntu-based editions?

Pros:

You don’t need to ever re-install the system. New versions of software and updates are continuously brought to you.

It’s faster and more responsive than Ubuntu-based editions.

Cons:

Although it’s using Romeo for unstable packages, LMDE continuously changes as it receives updates and new software. Compared to a frozen version of Linux Mint which changes very little once it’s publicly released, it’s not as stable. Things are likely to break more often but fixes can also come quicker. For this reason, LMDE requires a deeper knowledge and experience with Linux, dpkg and APT.

Debian is a less user-friendly/desktop-ready base than Ubuntu. Expect some rough edges.

5. Will it come with KDE or other desktops?

The decision wasn’t made yet. When it’s fully on par with the Main Edition and if there is a demand for it, further editions will come for LMDE.

Additional notes:

About the installer: The live installer is developed from scratch with Debian in mind. It’s configurable and it can be re-used by other Debian-based distributions. We noticed a lack in live technologies and in live Debian installers, so we’re happy to take the lead on this. If you’re a developer and you’re interested in using it, have a look at its source repository and don’t hesitate to contact us so we can help you fork it and merge upcoming changes between our two projects.

The live installer is developed from scratch with Debian in mind. It’s configurable and it can be re-used by other Debian-based distributions. We noticed a lack in live technologies and in live Debian installers, so we’re happy to take the lead on this. If you’re a developer and you’re interested in using it, have a look at its source repository and don’t hesitate to contact us so we can help you fork it and merge upcoming changes between our two projects. About bugs: Please use Launchpad for bug reports.

Please use Launchpad for bug reports. About the media: It comes as a liveDVD. Locales work differently in Debian and the package base requires more space. We made LMDE compatible with unetbootin though, so you can install it using a USB stick.

It comes as a liveDVD. Locales work differently in Debian and the package base requires more space. We made LMDE compatible with unetbootin though, so you can install it using a USB stick. Dedicated chat room: #linuxmint-debian is open to LMDE users on irc.spotchat.org.

Download links:

Our forums go down regularly these days due to an increase in traffic and activity within the community. Our servers couldn’t deal at all with the recent release of Linux Mint 10 and this made it hard for many people to download the ISO files the day of the release. If you can’t access the website, please use the links below to get access to our HTTP download mirrors and torrent files.

Md5 sum:

32-bit*: daeabb182b016cd62bfced5483441b5a

64-bit: 1284feca2dff0ec76c6be6825a71f9b7

Torrents:

HTTP Mirrors for the 32-bit ISO*:

HTTP Mirrors for the 64-bit ISO:

* An issue was addressed in the 32-bit ISO and a new re-spin was made available under the name “201101”. For more information about this re-spin please read this blog post.