Linux Mint vs. openSUSE Leap

Linux Mint is a great, stable product when you need an OS and software to "just work". I use it for file servers, docker, scripting, air-gapped backups, email notifications and more. Simple, inexpensive and stable. That's how software should be, and that's what Mint delivers on. The main thing holding Mint and other Linux distros back is the corporate walls that have been built shutting everything out except Microsoft. If companies would start supporting Linux better with their hardware and software we could and would ditch Microsoft in a heartbeat. but, alas, Microsoft has a stranglehold on businesses.

Incentivized

OpenSUSE Leap is well suited for just about any Linux task. Especially I like to use it as Docker base image for my software deployments, because it has a wide variety of software packages available already precompiled and packages are well maintained - vulnerable software versions are patched in reasonable time. OpenSUSE Leap is rpm based system, and it wouldn't install Debian or other systems packages. If your software is not an rpm package then OpenSUSE Leap would not be suitable for your system.

• terminal
• file management
• OS and software updates

Incentivized

• Maintenance of software packages using YAST
• Availability of patches when a vulnerability is discovered
• Distribution upgrades

• some more User Interfaces - like for services

Incentivized

• Commercial packages not always available
• Stable packages sometimes lag behind the latest releases

Incentivized

Pure Debian OS, freshly installed, is missing some Quality Of Life tools that need to be installed to make it usable. Ubuntu has not a great user interface for work purpose, seems more like a toy than an OS. Both Mint and Ubuntu are derived from Debian, so same great package manager, but for work purpose I think Mint is a great OS.

Incentivized

openSUSE Leap has wide variety of already precompiled software packages in default repositories. It even has some specific packages in official repositories that are not available in other Linux distribution repositories. It is also very stable and reliable distro - we can predict when new versions will be released and when we should make system upgrades.

• It has saved tens of thousands of dollars just for being our air-gapped backup solution. other software would have been very expensive, and harder to manage
• Providing simple, easy to use applications (docker, for example) that can quickly, easily, and inexpensively deployed saves many, many hours and dollars

Incentivized

• More effective maintenance means a smaller headcount needed for running the production servers.
• The easiness of deployment means more time we can spend on software development of company-specific applications.
• Great community support and overlap with other Linux systems mean that an answer to nearly any problem is usually one google query away.