Linux Mint 14 vs Ubuntu 12.10: A Comparison

I have a lot of friends asking me of whether they should install Ubuntu 12.10 or Linux Mint 14, which is also Ubuntu - but a bit refreshed. Given that I reviewed both of them on the same system - Asus K54C, 2.4 Ghz Core i3 processor with 2 GB RAM, I thought a comparison between the mother distro and it's most famous derivate deem rational.

Results - table

Parameters	Ubuntu 12.10	Mint 14 Cinnamon
Size of ISO	790 MB	922 MB
Booting time (post installation)	9 sec	20 sec
Desktop	Unity with Gnome 3.6	Cinnamon 1.6.7
Linux kernel	3.5.0-17	3.5.0-17
CPU Usage (post installation)	1-5%	1-5%
RAM usage (post installation)	412 MB	221 MB
Installation time (with 1 MBPS connection)	30 min.	30 min.
Wifi detection	Immediate	Immediate
Touchpad detection	Automatic	Automatic
Ease of use	A bit on the slower side	Really smooth to use
Eye candy factor	Looks awesome!	Looks good with application colors matching the ash colored theme
Repository	Ubuntu Software Center 5.4.1.2	MintInstall 7.4.4
File Manager	Nautilus 3.4.2	Nemo 1.1.2

As evident, the results highlight Unity makes Ubuntu a bit slower compared to Linux Mint with significantly higher RAM consumption. Cinnamon 1.6, on the other hand, gets it right.Ubuntu 12.10 is ahead in terms of booting time. Linux Mint, conventionally, take a bit of time to boot. 

On aesthetics department, Unity looks simply awesome but a bit buggy and crashes often. Also, Unity is not customizable. Cinnamon 1.6 is more customizable and looks good with Nemo file manager the grey and dark colors complementing each other. Especially Nemo is way ahead of Nautilus in terms of looks. Linux Mint has some cool new wallpapers as well. Still, I'll keep Ubuntu marginally ahead in terms of looks.

Linux Mint is more or less complete, even on live boot, in terms of applications and support to multi-media or flash plugins. Ubuntu too downloads these multi-media support and adobe flash support at the time of installation though these are not there at time of live boot. Except VLC (absent in default installation of Ubuntu), rest of the applications are more or less same for both Ubuntu and Mint. Actually, Ubuntu is marginally ahead as some additional features like Web apps, enhanced social media integration with photo lens in addition to music and video lens, etc. are not there in Linux Mint though Mint has the new workspace naming and notification applet to showcase.


Final Verdict

This is my final verdict:

• Performance: Linux Mint 14 is miles ahead
• Aesthetics and Attractiveness: Ubuntu 12.10 is marginally ahead though Mint aesthetics are really good.
• Applications: Linux Mint applications work out of the box.
• Social Media Integration: Ubuntu 12.10 is miles ahead

Final verdict depends on the user - if you are looking for a rock-solid operating system where everything just works, Linux Mint 14 is the best for you. However, if you are looking for a more social network oriented operating system (similar to Android) and you don't mind occasionally hiccups, then Ubuntu 12.10 is more suited to you. Personally, I go for rock solid performance and Linux Mint is my preferred operating system.