Originally posted by: RobertAlvarez
Originally posted by: Crusty
Can you install/use Mint without touching the Ubuntu repositories?
Crusty, I don't believe so. Mint Main (Gnome) and CE versions (KDE, XFCE, Fluxbox) use Ubuntu packages, so I am assuming no, but that is not a bad thing. By using Ubuntu packages, Mint mainains close (99% compatibility) to Ubuntu, which means you can use the thousands of software titles that are compiled for Ubuntu.
A working Debian version of Mint was developed and there have been efforts by some in the Mint to develop a CE of Mint using Debian instead of Ubuntu, so it is possible in the future, although there isn't a great deal of clamor in the community for it. If you want to learn about the community's efforts at a Debian version of Mint, you should check the Mint forum for the Debian CE section.
Personally, it doesn't make sense to much sense to me to go to a pure Debian distro, unless Ubuntu changes for the worst. Since Ubuntu continues to improve with each release, compatibility with it continues to be a good thing for Mint in my opinion.