Linux Mint is a Linux distribution based on Debian and Ubuntu. Mint provides full out-of-the-box multimedia support by including some proprietary software such as Adobe Flash. Mint was started by a couple of guys who though Ubuntu (the old Gnome desktop version) was great but they thought they should add some proprietary software by default. They later added the Cinnamon menu system which became very popular. When Gnome desktop went to version 3 the Mint team decided they would fork the Gnome code and create the Cinnamon Desktop Environment.

Linux Mint is now a full featured OS the is a very light install and performs well on the desktop. The latest version Linux Mint 17.2 is the lightest and fastest ever with some great software and features.