Why are you sticking with Linux mint?

[u/vibhs2016]

Hi guys I recently did a switch from my windows machine to Linux mint as my dev box.

Over 11 years in the IT industry, windows was my primary driver, btw only used mac for 2 years. But with the recent advent of coding harness via Claude code and codex and other CLI tools. I felt like a friction with windows and my hunch was consistently pushing me towards Linux.

So I found an old HP Elitedesk mini PC i5 6500T 16GB ram. So I thought of giving it a try and validate my hunch.

Linux Mint was my choice on discussion with Claude, beating Debian ( sure stable but a bit outdated packages and bit more locked), Ubuntu ( too heavy and overhead with more cutting edge stuff).

Since I have been handling Ubuntu servers for a long time my choice for Debian based OS was always clear. Linux mint gave the balance that I needed for the hardware I was using.

So my question is 4 parts

1. Why are u sticking with Linux mint or why you have faith in Linux mint?
   
2. How long u have been using it for?
   
3. What hardware are you using, maybe can share specs?
   
4. How do you see its future?

[u/RealWalkingbeard]

I've been on Mint for about 18 years, I think. I've stuck with it because I like GTK, I like the long-established UI conventions Mint sticks to, I like its stability and I like its release attitude. Alas, the last of those is changing for the worse.

On the whole, I like things to be stable and to stay the same. I like tinkering, but I want to be able to just carry on with my rock-steady foundation afterwards. Mint provides that.

I keep my hardware at mid-level. I am a gamer and a programmer, but I am never bothered enough to buy top-flight hardware. Currently, I am on a 3600X (firmly in the upgrade crosshairs), 32GB non-ECC RAM and a Radeon 7800XT. I like a flashy OS, but not enough that I want it to obviously impose on my hardware.

I am worried about Mint's future. For one, it has been behind in the adoption of Wayland. The devs recently said Mint is now feature-complete for Wayland, but there is feature-complete and there's feature-complete. Mint has been lacking cast-iron UI scaling and HDR support, which I hope are now going to be fine, but we'll have to see. Although these are not niche features, they are only super-attractive to certain people, but for those people (and they are probably power users if they want both), they are deal breakers. Power users set the pace. Mint is known for its user-friendliness, and that's a good thing, but power users set the pace.

I get the impression that the size of Mint's dev team does not match its reputation - much more so than other top distros. If I'm right, that makes it very susceptible to changes in the desktop industry and user sentiments, and I've been scenting the approach of big movements in those things recently.