Mint #1 distro on Distrowatch in the last 7 days

I have said it before. I will say it again. People want their codecs. I know many Linux users that get so sick of having to thumb through repositories trying to find just the right combination of codecs to get OS to “just work.”

Ubuntu is a good distro however, Mint 2.0 Barbara based on Ubuntu is far better due to the fact that it provides a more complete out-of-the-box experience by including browser plugins, media codecs, support for DVD playback, Java, and other components. You still for now have to install the Mplayer's browser plugin, but Synaptic makes that an easy process. I hear Mplayer will come standard with the next version of Mint,as well as some graphical updates.

If you have MP3's, download Exaile which is a media player similar to KDE's AmaroK. Like AmaroK, Exaile also includes a built in shoutcast directory browser and tabbed playlists. It's GTK+ based, so it runs more smoothly in GNOME.

Even the Ubuntu developer community has decided that with the next version of Ubuntu, Feisty Fawn, it will be including some proprietary drivers.

All you Ubuntu fan boys will be really impressed with Mint 2.0 Barbara . It just works, and you guys should highly recommend it to people that you're trying to convert to Linux since there's very little tweaking necessary. Mint has one of the best out-the-box experience around.