Review Linux Mint 18 Sarah Mint tools-Part 5

It's worth adding a post focusing on Mint-specific software. They put out more than just the distro. They put out the Cinnamon Desktop and mint-tools. I don't really want to get deep into the Cinnamon focused stuff, I'm sitting on that for when I do desktop Environment reviews.

The overall layout, navigation and feel of Cinnamon is great. It's very familiar to pre-windows metro and Gnome2. For a long time, I thought it was a Gnome 2 fork and was surprised to learn it was forked from Gnome 3 (which is radically different). It's easy, intuitive and feature-rich.

Hooray for actual effort in distros!

Software Manager (mintInstall)
Wow, there's some stuff in here that is definitely not normally included in default repos. Right off the bat I see Skype, Spotify and Dropbox. As a whole, it's similar to the other "store" type, modern package managers. I do like that it has this additional software that I normally have to track down and install separate.

Update Manager (mintUpdate)
As far as I can tell, there's nothing special about this. It's an updater.

Main Menu (mintMenu)
The Main menu has three vertical columns with a search bar at the top. The left column is for your favorite apps, the middle is for categories and the right is the sub-categories. Very simple and easy.
You can drop and drop apps to the bottom panel to create a launcher or add it to the desktop if that's your thing (...but why?)

Backup tool (mintBackup)
Backups sound great to me in theory, but I just don't ever use them. I tend to compulsively distro-hop (Massive ADHD) and even staying with distros consistently for a week is an exercise in patience for me. I generally backup as I go to make sure I don't lose information whenever I wipe and install something new. However, if you're the sort that can actually stick with a distro long term (and bless you if you can), then a backup restore option is a great thing.

In the Backup or Restore program, you can backup and restore files and software.

Duh..

Files looks like it allows you to backup specific folders through the entire system file structure. There are a few little additional options (including confirming integrity which is always a good thing).
Backing up and restoring system software is a nice feature that everyone should do. It's one thing to restore after a crash, it's a nice cherry on top to not have to go through and individually reinstall everything just the way it was. There are certainly other options for these sorts of things in Linux, but this appears to make it nice, easy, and convenient. Set something up to run these automatically and export the files to somewhere safe and you're golden.

Upload Manager (mintUpload)
I have no idea what this does at first glance.

In the "About mintupload" it says "Upload Manager". Obviously I'm supposed to know what that means. Upload to what? Absolutely nothing within the software that indicates what it does, other than...upload something to somewhere.

On to google...

Looks like it's an uploader for FTP, SFTP or SCP services. I set it up for a test to my webhost and it worked. May be a neat tool after all. It's funny, the ratings and general thoughts on the internet seem to dislike it.

Domain Blocker (mintNanny)
This is exactly what it sounds like. If you have kids or want general domain blocks on your machine, this looks to be quick and simple to use. There are of course other options on Linux that do the same thing and apparently better. But it's included, it's simple and apparently works just fine.

Desktop Settings
I can't seem to find this, maybe it's no longer in Mint? Or more likely integrated into system settings

Welcome screen (mintWelcome)
Some distros have welcome screens. I think it's a helpful thing to have. Especially for people new to Linux.

Mint Gnome Shell Extensions (MGSE)
Looks like a built-in extension manager. I can get behind that. It looks like it pulls down about thirty extensions to select from. I imagine there are quite a few more available online that can be manually installed. Looks like a good feature.

Mint-tools summary
I am honestly not sure whether this suite of tools are developed by Linux mint or not. I couldn't find a clear answer online, though the Mint Wikipedia page certainly says it is.

If these are completely developed by the Linux Mint team, then kudos to them. I don't pretend to know what's involved in software development, especially open-source. But I like that these tools are there. Some would undoubtedly be used by every user, some probably are used very little. There is definitely room for improvement here, but with SO many distros basically slapping an icon over Ubuntu, it's nice to see a distro that brings so much to the table.