[blabbaboo]

I've tried Kodi 15.1 on Linux Mint 17, because it was the only Kodi version I could get to install. The Wiki gives instructions, but only to install the latest build. I really want to use 14.2, but after enabling ppa's and updating, there is no 14.2 available. Is there a way to install it using Synaptic or the Software Manager? I've never had trouble installing any other software on Mint, but this won't work at all! I don't want to give up Mint for OpenElec or KodiBuntu, but if needed, are they any good as an OS? I want to still be able to use the computer for computer tasks. Thank you for any suggestions.

[Prof Yaffle]

Presuming you mean 15.2 and not 14.2, it's almost certainly because you have a dubious PPA definition somewhere... Mint doesn't always handle the PPA names properly and, instead of inserting the relevant Ubuntu distro name (Trusty in this case, because I believe Mint 17 is based on 14.04 LTS) it puts in the Mint name. Lo and behold, lookups then fail, as no-one really build packages specifically for Mint, as they're not necessary.

You can get 15.2 and all the trimmings from here: https://launchpad.net/~team-xbmc/+archiv...ter=trusty

So, check your PPA definition (/etc/apt/sources.list and similar), use apt-cache policy to see what's available and where it's coming from, and adjust the PPA as needed to point to the Trusty definition. Then sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade, or Synaptic should see it on a refresh (I seem to recall you can view and edit your sources through Synaptic as well if you're uncomfortable with the command line).

[Prof Yaffle]

To answer part 2 of your question - any Ubuntu derivative is fine as a full-fat OS, so Kodibuntu is also fine. You simply have to drop out of Kodi and back into a normal desktop session, and everything is there - otherwise, it boots straight into Kodi as an 'appliance'-like experience.

OpenELEC takes this to the extreme: it boots straight into Kodi and only does Kodi to a very great extent. It's not intended to be a full desktop OS and you can't easily run browsers (there are some hacks), let alone word processors or graphics applications (these just won't work).