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this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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This is what I got blindsided by when I tried out Mint a decade ago. OS is up to date and pretty, but kernel/drivers? Old, or "stable".
And it's weird seeing all of these recommendations for Mint on YouTube/social media this past year. And then watching the videos everyone is just gawking about Cinnamon...which you can install on any other distro too.
Lots of normies hopping on the Linux train and have no idea what they're getting into lol
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when people insist that the kernel is not old, it's "stable" lol
Honestly if you're running the latest Mint, then you're on 6.14, which is barely a year old...but it's still a year old kernel.
Probably fine for mom's laptop that is 5 years old, but if you bought something that came out in the last 6 months or you're building a new gaming PC, then you're really gambling on Mint being "stable" for your system.