'Linux Mint Debian Edition 7' Gets OEM Support

Linux Mint Debian Edition 7 'will come with full support for OEM installations,' according to their monthly newsletter, so Linux Mint 'can be pre-installed on computers which are sold throughout the World. It's a very important feature and it's one of the very few remaining things which wasn't supported by Linux Mint Debian Edition.'

Slashdot reader BrianFagioli speculates that 'this could be a sign of something much bigger.'
OEM installs are typically reserved for operating systems meant to ship on hardware. It's how companies preload Linux on laptops without setting a username, password, or timezone... Mint has supported this for years — but only in its Ubuntu-based version. So why is this feature suddenly coming to Linux Mint Debian Edition, which the team has repeatedly described as a contingency? In other words, if the Debian variant is merely a plan B, why make it ready for OEMs?

Their blog post goes on to speculate about possible explanations (like the hypothetical possibility of dissatisfaction with Snap packages or Canonical's decisions around telemetry and packaging).

Slashdot reached out to Linux Mint project leader Clement Lefebvre, who responded cheerfully that 'I know people love to speculate on this. There's no hidden agenda on our side though.

'Improving LMDE is a continuous effort. It's something we do regularly.'

'Any LMDE improvement facilitates a future potential transition to Debian, of course. But there are other reasons to implement OEM support.

'We depend on Ubiquity in Linux Mint. We have a much simpler installer, with no dependencies, no technical debt and with a design we're in control of in LMDE. Porting LMDE's live-installer to Linux Mint is something we're looking into. Implementing OEM support in live-installer kills two birds with one stone. It improves LMDE and opens the door to switching away from Ubiquity in Linux Mint.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.