Hi, I been a Mint user for some time now and I do like it, but I always like to explore other distros (Deepin, Zorin, PCLinux, FerenOS, etc…) and recently I came across Manjaro-cinnamon This looks like what I was looking for (cinnamon desktop with more uptodate software and rolling updates - great). I downloaded the iso and gave a spin (as a live distro - not installed) whoa! looks almost identical to Mint, but I suppose it’s very different under the hood!
What advice can you give a newby to make a smooth transition from Mint to Manjaro?
What app that work natively in Mint (if any) will I not be able to run in Manjaro? like: Libreoffice, Audacity, Bleachbit, BalenaEtcher, Evolution, Gparted, etc… I usually prefer to install apps directly rather than use snaps.
Before you install Manjaro, it should be clear, how to partition.
Hi Chameau, Welcome to the forum 
Check out this link, here you can search through specific sources (applications/package/flatpack/snap) (top right)
There is also the AUR
Indeed it is, get up to speed en start reading from here.
In Manjaro’s repos you find
libreoffice, audacity, bleachbit, etcher, evolution, gparted and many more packages
Check out here for specific packages of Manjaro repos:
Manjaro - Branch Compare
In case you find something missing you could consider to install them from AUR.
Most likely the selection of up-to-date programs is better than in Mint.
A difference is the way to update and to install packages as Manjaro use primarily pamac (GUI or CLI) or pacman (CLI). As Manjaro based on Arch (rolling release distro) you should update at least once a month and check #announcements before doing this.
Manjaro nicely supports installation of several kernels e.g. via Manjaro Settings Manager and it provides different branches.
Best advice I can give you is take the time to learn the new package management mainly pacman and pamac (I know there’s others).
Mhwd (manjaro settings gui) will take care of any drivers and kernels you need
Keep your system upto date and do regular backups
I came from mint to manjaro-cinnamon and have yet to find an app that was in mint and not available on manjaro. If something isn’t in the official repos it will be in the AUR, flatpak or snap which are all available
Thanks to all for the advice - a lot to read… One thing that occurred to me in relation to a ‘Rolling Distro’ is that my hardware is quite old (for the desktop: series 4 intel cpu, motherboard with Z68 chipset. and laptops Thinkpad x220 and x230) and as the system continuously updates to newer/better software, is there a risk the distro will become incompatible with my hardware and break the system? Thanks guys.
It’s all up to the Linux kernel. Mint and Manjaro in the essence use same Linux kernel, Mint lags a bit with versioning.
That said, you can stay with 5.10 kernel till 2025 I believe, it’s LTS version (Long Term Support). So if there is any incompatibility going forward, you can always go back to 5.10.
If I may, you may be interested in my spin of Manjaro Cinnamon called DeLinuxCo. It is a reconfigured version of Cinnamon Desktop more suited for use as a Workstation. https://www.delinuxco.com
If you have enough RAM It’ll run fine. Updates sometimes break stuff, specially the kernel, butt you can always run an older kernel.
Until recently I ran Manjaro in an 2007-era laptop with a Turion X2, 4GB RAM and an 80GB SSD. The kids (5 and 7) used it to play some basic games and do homework. The laptop finally died and got replaced.
I will have a look at it thanks, is it a sub-edition of Manjaro-cinnamon?
Assuming an update breaks something and in order to fix it I go back to a previous kernel. What happens thereafter to the rolling updates if I don’t apply the Kernel updates?
Its unusual for an update to break things but yes it does happen. When it does a fix is usually pushed quite quickly.
If you are on a lts kernel like 5.4 you will still get updates and so will the kernel but lts kernels usually just get security updates but the rest of the system will update just the same
Distrowatch lists 275 active distributions. You just added 276th.
Your customizations could have been achieved by simple install script.
Congratulations on further fragmenting Linux. 
(sound of clapping with one hand)
Just read the website, that’s some pretty high minimum recommended specs for a manjaro spin or any linux distro tbh. Nice website though
No, I refuse to go there. We already have 275 distros without that one.
@cryptocurious A quick note to your warm and inspiring words of encouragement. What DeLinuxCo is not a “distro”, it is a spin, Manjaro Cinnamon is still the core os. What I did was tailor the existing distro, Manjaro Cinnamon desktop, with tools and a layout that appeals to the person more inline with using it as a workstation. There is a reason why under the Heading it specifically states it is a “Manjaro Cinnamon Spin”. This was a collaboration of friends and family that we decided to create an ISO for us to use. We have about 20+ devices installed locally and we just wanted to share.
Although I appreciate your sarcasm, it is not really needed.
@sawdoctor I am sorry that you feel the system requirements seem “extreme” to you, but let’s be honest! Any modern OS can run on 2GB of memory, but can you work with 1080p video with that memory? Can you run a VM while editing a 4k image? No, you can’t, it is ridiculous. People seem to have a hard time understanding the meaning of minimum requirements to run the OS versus what is needed to do production work. Apple, HP and Dell all advertise 1Tb + of memory for their workstations must be for shits and giggles!
It wasn’t a dig at your spin, you clearly stated its meant for workstations which tend to be high spec. It was merely an observation that its designed for more modern hardware
Dude, just stop.
Be a real developer. Help create Manjaro, Arch. Be useful. Help fixing bugs. Do something. These are words of encouragement, honestly.
Don’t create 276th distro with it’s own unique name, because it boosts your ego.
Maybe I should just concentrate on Arch, why bother with Manjaro?
My ego is just fine…
Maybe you could tells these people to drop their egos too?
If your ego is fine, why did you create 276th distro with unique name? To show off your friends and family?
Why didn’t you contribute to Manjaro and create Manjaro Cinnamon community spin? Nah, better to create yet-another-useless Linux distro.