Linux Mint EDGE ISOs To Help With Running On Newer Hardware

[gary7]

On a very recently installed Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon I have the option of installing the 6.2 kernel so I'm
not exactly sure what this announcement is about. On the last two releases much newer LTS kernels were
available for installation and I have taken advantage of this with no problems. I will not be installing the 6.2
kernel because its support only lasts until Feb. 2024. If a newer kernel with a year or more of support
becomes available I will install it to check it out. I have also seen numerous web articles on installing the
latest kernel available on Ubuntu and Linux Mint. The biggest drawback to this is that they are not officially
supported by Linux Mint so i stay away from them.

As far as older kernels go if you want to ride the bleeding edge go right ahead there is nothing stopping you,
just don't whine when you get cut. Like many others I prefer stability over unpredictability and I have that
option too. When I finish my gaming computer (almost done!) I will consider using a very recent LTS kernel
mainly due to better hardware support. This will cause a level of uncertainty if/when any problems arise that
I would rather not have to f*** with. I'd rather be gaming.

[Dukenukemx]

Or at least provide the option, agreed. However, perhaps actively supporting a non-default kernel introduces too much maintenance/support overhead for their team?

As someone who exclusively uses Linux Mint, I can tell you that they don't like people messing with their distro. When I post on their forum and give them my my info, they hate all the PPA's and kernel I put in it. A poster there called SMG will just belittle you for daring to modify the distro. I use Oibaf PPA for updated MESA graphics and at the time Liquorix kernel, though now I use Xanmod, and instead of helping me they instead just belittle me about all those things. zcot though is a nice guy who actually did help.

I still use Linux Mint because in terms of time needed to get it the way I want, it's less time than Ubuntu and especially Debian. I have no problem just installing Ubuntu and then installing Cinnamon, which will basically get me an UbMintu. The problem they don't see is that over time the software on their distro will get old and will need updating. To this day Pronterface a 3D printing tool is still broken off Ubuntu's repository and therefore also Linux Mint's. I get that Ubuntu doesn't care, but if Mint wanted to be more than Ubuntu then they should have done something to fix it. This is why we install PPA's and kernel's because we need these things to keep things running. Also, I'm not about to keep using an outdated piece of software when I could just update it. I can totally see the appeal of using something like Arch, because this isn't a problem they have to deal with.

[esbeeb]

Mint's rationale makes sense to me, and I remain impressed by Linux Mint - for their pragmaticness. Their decisions have praiseworthy pragmaticness - of maintainer effort - behind them at every turn, to my eye. They are managing to avoid burnout like champs, IMHO; they know where to invest their energies well.

Those who need something even fresher than this offering (and hopefully accept the higher commensurate risk), have suitable cutting-edge distros to turn to - with no need to sneer at Linux Mint.

[antonyshen]

Why not just use Xanmod and Kisak or Oibaf ppa for better HW support?

[billyswong]

Why not just use Xanmod and Kisak or Oibaf ppa for better HW support?

The "EDGE ISO" is about having better hardware support in installation phase, so that it will be easier for a newcomer to install Linux into their new computer.

[Paradigm Shifter]

As someone who exclusively uses Linux Mint, I can tell you that they don't like people messing with their distro.

I still use Linux Mint because in terms of time needed to get it the way I want, it's less time than Ubuntu and especially Debian.

I can totally see the appeal of using something like Arch, because this isn't a problem they have to deal with.

I don't exclusively use Mint, but it is my dominantly used distro. Not on their forums so can't comment on anything there.

Mint used to be the distro with least setup time for me - as in, install, update, install a few QoL applications and done. With the new default cursors, now I have to poke around so that the cursor is a) something that doesn't drive me insane and b) consistent across all applications. Mint has gone all-in on Flatpaks, so I expect that they want people to use those if they want more current versions. I was testing Ubuntu 22.04.2 on an ARM64 box last week, and the speed... or lack thereof... of the Firefox snap just made me groan. Even updating it took forever - and gave zero feedback so I thought maybe the system had hung (never a good feeling during an update run).

I like Arch as well; it's served me well on some hardware which, at the time, nothing else would boot on. People complain that Arch is always breaking, but that box has been Arch for just over three years now with regular updates and nothing has broken (yet?). Having the latest of everything is usually great, but there are times when it would be nice to be a bit behind (some programs I use do not like CUDA 12)...

[partcyborg]

The "EDGE ISO" is about having better hardware support in installation phase, so that it will be easier for a newcomer to install Linux into their new computer.

Xanmod insists on using some half baked scheduler without support for cgroups. Liquorix does not and therefore is a much saner choice

[DL9220]

As someone who exclusively uses Linux Mint, I can tell you that they don't like people messing with their distro. When I post on their forum and give them my my info, they hate all the PPA's and kernel I put in it. A poster there called SMG will just belittle you for daring to modify the distro. I use Oibaf PPA for updated MESA graphics and at the time Liquorix kernel, though now I use Xanmod, and instead of helping me they instead just belittle me about all those things. zcot though is a nice guy who actually did help.

I still use Linux Mint because in terms of time needed to get it the way I want, it's less time than Ubuntu and especially Debian. I have no problem just installing Ubuntu and then installing Cinnamon, which will basically get me an UbMintu. The problem they don't see is that over time the software on their distro will get old and will need updating. To this day Pronterface a 3D printing tool is still broken off Ubuntu's repository and therefore also Linux Mint's. I get that Ubuntu doesn't care, but if Mint wanted to be more than Ubuntu then they should have done something to fix it. This is why we install PPA's and kernel's because we need these things to keep things running. Also, I'm not about to keep using an outdated piece of software when I could just update it. I can totally see the appeal of using something like Arch, because this isn't a problem they have to deal with.

Yeah, right. I'm on Xanmod and Oibaf, and there's a lot of the 'regulars' on the Mint-forum that prefer you to die before giving info or even help. So, if in doubt I turn to the ARCH-wiki.
Cheers

[stiiixy]

Yeah, right. I'm on Xanmod and Oibaf, and there's a lot of the 'regulars' on the Mint-forum that prefer you to die before giving info or even help. So, if in doubt I turn to the ARCH-wiki.
Cheers

Nothing worse than the sound reverberating in an echo chamber.

Arxh wiki is still the forerunner for me. Not to technical, not overly simplistic. Not akways complete, but it's freely given info!

[Estranged1906]

They need a better release schedule, not this.

The major reason why I prefer Fedora over Mint is the release cadence and freshness of packages (kernel being the most important).

Disagree. Mint is the "just works, doesn't break" distro. So being based on Ubuntu LTS makes absolute sense. Having a newer kernel only makes sense for users with brand new hardware that's not completely supported by the old LTS kernel - hence the Edge ISO. But for those who already have Mint up and running, there's no sense in updating the kernel because it means something could break. For newer applications you can just use Flatpaks or Snaps. And the desktops (Cinnamon, Xfce, Mate) are very slow-moving anyway.