WHILE NOT QUITE in the big league of distributions, Linux Mint 6 is very popular and isclimbing the charts with more people choosing to use it. It is based on another Linux distribution - Ubuntu 8.10 (which itself traces its lineage back to Debian Linux). The primary differentia tors of Mint over Ubuntu are the extra packages included out of the box, unlike Ubuntu that requires you to download them separately.

Mint includes improvements such as in-box multimedia codecs (your songs and movies can be played right out of the box, with no need to separately download sources and compile them).

Linux Mint 6 also has a new software manager, easy firewall, file transfer over lAN, tabbed browsing in Nautilus the file manager, a Mint installer to install the distro from within Windows, built-in parental control to limit children's usage of the computer, and more.

It uses the latest GNOME 2.24 desktop as the graphical interface, and version 2.6.27of the Linux kernel. All standard applications are present to make Web browsing, printing, and editing office files a breeze. Editing photos, playing MP3s, viewing movies and YouTube videos, running Java applications, have all been taken care of as well.

Mint includes two tools to configure compiz for desktop 3D effects - one full-featured and effects - one full-featured and one simplified. It supports dual-monitor view to expand your desktop area. The application launcher has been reworked to provide quicker access, and for simplicity. Updates are plenty and quick to come by, automatically handled by the built-in Updater.

Good for Linux newbies and featuring a number of mintspecific applications, Linux Mint 6 is more than just a modified Ubuntu-clone. It also doubles up as a LiveCD.