Linux Mint Debian Edition 5 is available

The Linux Mint team has released Elsie, version 5 of their Debian distribution.

A new version of the operating system, especially Linux Mint Debian Edition 5, has been released and is capable of meeting the needs of all types of users, both new and advanced.

Linux Mint is one of Ubuntu's longest-running and most widely distributed versions, and it really took off once Ubuntu switched to the contentious Unity desktop in 11.04.

Mint 12 at the time preserved the appearance and feel of Windows, which later evolved into the Cinnamon desktop. This has drawn many converts who were unconcerned about Ubuntu's appearance, which is more akin to a Mac.

Even if Ubuntu was supposed to have killed Unity and returned to GNOME, it is still GNOME 3 - a far cry from Windows.

Mint allows you to meet many people who prefer the taskbar, start menu, and so on. Another variant of Mint is Linux Mint Debian Edition, abbreviated LMDE.

Rather than being built on a stable LTS version of Ubuntu, LMDE is based directly on Debian, which is primarily Ubuntu's upstream.

LMDE 5 is based on Debian 11, also known as Bullseye. The problem is that it's difficult to say. The Cinnamon desktop is used by both LMDE and its Ubuntu-based counterpart. It has the most recent version of Firefox from Mozilla, rather than Debian's old ESR version, which is impossible to upgrade.

It also has an integrated Flatpack, as well as multimedia codecs and other utilities. It has the same tools for software upgrades, backups, and so on as the standard Ubuntu-based edition.

There are benefits to utilizing a popular desktop distribution. Desktop users, for example, may require third-party drivers for devices such as graphics cards or printers. Drivers are well supported in Ubuntu. If you run into problems, it's often simple to locate Ubuntu-based remedies online, and they're almost always reliable.

Debian is also considerably smoother than it was previously. Modern Debian is quite simple: you can quickly add support for Flatpak - or Snap, or both if you choose - and install non-FOSS firmware.

Cinnamon is also included in Bullseye, albeit in an older edition. Despite this, LMDE 5 makes the process lighter and easier, and it also looks excellent.

Elsie is a decent choice if you want to run Debian on a desktop or laptop, don't mind (or even actively require) non-FOSS codecs or firmware, and aren't a Debian guru. The Mint Project and Ubuntu appear to hold opposing views.

GNOME 3 is the official desktop of Ubuntu, although Mint has created its own next-generation desktop. Ubuntu prefers Snaps, but Mint prefers Flatpak.

Ubuntu uses Snaps to store frequently updated programs like Firefox, whereas Mint prefers browsers that are pre-installed. And, as is customary, Mint includes free non-FOSS software in its repositories, like codecs and programs like Spotify.

Other Ubuntu-based distributions, such as the late Crunchbang Linux, have moved to Debian in the past. It used Ubuntu until version 9, and it still uses Debian, as well as its continuous variants BunsenLabs and Crunchbang ++.

We wouldn't be shocked if a future version of Mint replaces the Ubuntu edition with the Debian edition, or perhaps eliminates it entirely.

This latest distribution, Linux Mint Debian Edition 5, may be downloaded directly from its official website.