I'm been looking around at the mainstream Linux distros with a view to replacing Windows 8.1 on a family member's laptop (they can't stand it and I'm not keen on Windows 8.1 either).
So I've been trialling
Linux Mint 17.1 / Cinammon 64-bit on a persistent liveUSB and have to say I'm impressed with it. Not run into any issues yet and I like the level of customization (desklets, background auto-changers, nice panel at the bottom with weather widgets, auto-pop-up of Menu and such-like). Sure - this is kind of superficial in many ways, but in terms of providing a good-looking and reliable alternative to Windows that mirrors a lot of that functionality, I think it ticks a lot of boxes. LibreOffice even came with the correct UK dictionary (an issue I have had with other distros where I have struggled to get the right language dictionary to work).
So the
'out of box' experience I have found to be very good indeed and better than I was expecting. I last played with the Ubutnu and Mints of this world some years ago and neither impressed at that point.
For personal use I'm happy with PM5 (plus the smaller community who are great). But as a possible Windows 8.1 replacement for family member, Linux Mint 17 is my front-runner.
Only thing holding me back is the knowledge that Windows 10 is around the corner and it may just be easier to do an upgrade from 8.1 to that (as by all accounts it will be a lot better than 8.1).
Any one else have experience or thoughts on Linux Mint 17?