Linux Mint is a computer operating system based on the Linux distribution Ubuntu .

Linux Mint is intended to be a modern, elegant and comfortable operating syste m which is both powerful and easy to use. [1] Linux Mint provides a more complet e out of the box experience by including proprietary and patented software.[2] Linux Mint introduced its first release, named "Ada", in 2006. Its latest and 13 th release is "Maya". Contents 1 History 1.1 Releases 2 Features 2.1 Software developed by Linux Mint 2.2 Installation 3 Editions 3.1 Main Edition 3.1.1 OEM 3.1.2 No codecs 3.2 Linux Mint Debian Edition 4 System requirements 5 Development 5.1 Package classification 6 Reception 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History Linux Mint started in 2006 with a beta release called 1.0 "Ada". The project was n't well known at the time and this version was never released as stable. With t he release of 2.0 "Barbara" a few months later, the distribution caught the atte ntion of many people within the Linux community and started to build an audience . Using the feedback given from its new community, the distribution released a q uick succession of releases between 2006 and 2008. 5 versions were released as f ollows: 2.1 "Bea", 2.2 "Bianca", 3.0 "Cassandra", 3.1 "Celena" and 4.0 "Daryna". Version 2.0 "Barbara" was based on Ubuntu 6.10, using its package repositories a nd using it as a codebase. From there, Linux Mint followed its own codebase, bui lding each release from its previous one but it continued to use the package rep ositories from the latest Ubuntu release. As such the distribution never really forked. This resulted in making the base between the two systems almost identica l and it guaranteed full compatibility between the two operating systems. In 2008, Linux Mint adopted the same release cycle as Ubuntu and dropped its min or version number before releasing version 5 "Elyssa". The same year, in an effo rt to increase the compatibility between the two systems, Linux Mint decided to abandon its code-base and changed the way it built its releases. Starting with v ersion 6 "Felicia" each release was now completely based on the latest Ubuntu re lease, built directly from it, timed for approximately one month after the corre sponding Ubuntu release (i.e. usually in May and November). In 2010 Linux Mint released Linux Mint Debian Edition. Unlike the other Ubuntu-b ased editions, this is based directly on Debian and is not tied to Ubuntu packag es or its release schedule.