Archives For November 30, 1999

Linux Mint, the popular Ubuntu based Linux Distribution, announced the beta release of 22.1 today!

The new Linux Mint 22.1, code-name Xia, is based on Ubuntu 24.04 with long term support until 2029!

It features Cinnamon Desktop 6.4, that includes new default theme with rounder design and flat style buttons.

Following GNOME and Plasma 6’s design, the start menu, indicator applets, and panel context menus in Linux Mint 22.1 are now rounder and floating away from the bottom panel, which looks more modern.
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Linux Mint, the popular Linux Distribution for desktop PC and laptops, finally rolls out the new 22 major release images.

Linux Mint 22, code-name “Wilma”, is based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. It features Kernel 6.8, Cinnamon Desktop 6.2, and supports until 2029.

The stable release .iso images were rolled out few days ago on July 21 through the Linux Mint Community page. Most download mirrors have include the new .iso images in their websites.

If everything’s going well, the official website should update the download link and announce the release very soon.

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Linux Mint, the popular Linux Distribution, announced version 22 Beta release this Monday!

The new release is based on Ubuntu 24.04, features Cinnamon Desktop 6.2, and supports until 2029.

Thanks to the upstream changes, the release now is powered by Linux Kernel 6.8 with updated drivers and modern hardware support. The default PulseAudio is replaced by the low latency Pipewire sound server. JPEG-XL (.jxl) is supported out-of-the-box with the default Pix image viewer. The boot splash and login screen have better HiDPI support.


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Linux Mint announced new 21.3 release, code-name “Virginia”, this Friday.

It’s the 3rd update for the Mint 21 release series, which is based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and uses Kernel 5.15 LTS.

The new Linux Mint 21.3 features Cinnamon Desktop 6.0, with experimental Wayland support. Which, has been default in Ubuntu (since 22.04), Fedora Workstation, and other Linux with recent Gnome. However, there are still many applications do NOT work on wayland.

Mint Wayland session

The new desktop also features a new “Actions” page in System Settings. Like Applets, Extensions, and Desklets, it allows to add context menu (right-click menu) options to file browser & desktop, by downloading add-ons from the official cinnamon spices.
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Linux Mint announced the new 21.2 point release this Sunday!

The new release introduced Cinnamon Desktop 5.8 with built-in gestures support for touchpad and touchscreen. With the touchegg service running in the background, System Settings now provides a ‘Gestures’ option, allowing to configure actions for 3-finger/4-finger swipe, 2-finger/3-finger/4-finger pinch, and activation thresholds.

Another big change is the “Themes” setting page. It now features “Style” option for changing theme, and each style has light, dark, and mixed, as well as accent colors to choose from.

Other changes in Linux Mint 21.2 include:

  • MATE Desktop 1.26.
  • XFCE Desktop 4.18.
  • Kernel 5.15.
  • Ubuntu 22.04 package base.
  • Enable touchpad tap-to-click on login screen.
  • On screen keyboard now is configurable.
  • Pix 3.0 with AVIF/HEIF and JXL formats support.
  • XDG Desktop Portal for better non-native apps (such as Flatpak) support.
  • Start Menu now is resizable.
  • Tooltips, icons, and other minor changes.

How to Get Linux Mint 21.2

For the .iso disco image, go to its website via the link below:

Linux Mint 21.1 user can upgrade to the new release by launching “Update Manager” (upgrade the app itself if prompted), then use menu ” option.

For Ubuntu (Cinnamon) user who want to try out the new Cinnamon Desktop 5.8, I’ve created an unofficial PPA for choice.

This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest Cinnamon Desktop 5.8 in Ubuntu 22.04 or Ubuntu 23.04 via PPA.

The source of Cinnamon 5.8 was out a few days ago! It will be officially announced later in this month along with Linux Mint 21.2.

Cinnamon 5.8 features built-in touchpad / touchscreen gestures support! There will be new “Gestures” option in System Settings utility. Where, provides options to configure actions for 3-finger/4-finger swipe, 2-finger/3-finger/4-finger pinch, and activation thresholds.

The new release also added new theme option (prefer light, prefer dark, left app decide) to switch between light and dark mode.

How to Install Cinnamon 5.8 via Ubuntu PPA

Cinnamon 5.8 will be default in Linux Mint 21.2 coming later in this month. Ubuntu user can try my PPA repository instead.

NOTE 1: This is an unofficial PPA!
NOTE 2: The packages seem working good in my case in Ubuntu 22.04, but WITHOUT well testing! It MAY or MAY NOT WORK due to various reasons!
NOTE 3: light/dark switching feature does not work in my case. Not sure if something is missing!
NOTE 4: Do NOT install this PPA in production machine!
NOTE 5: New gestures feature seems using touchegg as background service. If the feature does not work, try installing touchegg from its official PPA.

1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/cinnamon

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2. While adding PPA, it should automatically refresh package cache. When done, run command to upgrade to Cinnamon 5.8 in Ubuntu Cinnamon:

sudo apt upgrade

For non-Cinnamon desktop environment, run this command instead to install it:

sudo apt install cinnamon-desktop-environment

It’s better to write down what packages it’s going to install, in case you want to completely remove Cinnamon desktop later!

After installation, restart your computer and go to “System Settings -> System Info” to check the desktop version. You need to of course switch to ‘Cinnamon’ session from login screen.

Uninstall:

To restore the original Cinnamon desktop environment, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/cinnamon

The previous command will restore Cinnamon to stock version in Ubuntu repository. To completely remove the desktop environment, use sudo apt remove package1 package2 package3 ... by replacing the package names to what you installed in previous step.

The first point release of Linux Mint 21 is out! Code-name ‘Vera’, Kernel 5.15, Ubuntu 22.04 package base, and Cinnamon 5.6, MATE 1.26, XFCE 4.16 for each desktop edition.

The default theme for mouse pointer in Linux Mint 21.1 now is Bibata-Modern-Classic, a modern black and rounded edge bibata cursors. Though, user can easily choose another one from System Settings -> Themes. For those like it, the cursor theme is available in the github page.

New default Bibata Modern Classic cursor theme

The default icon theme Mint-Y now has always yellow folders with different accent colors. The previous default icons are now Mint-Y-Legacy available in Themes selection page. The accent colors are also revamped in this release, compare to the legacy ones they look more vibrant.

New default Icons

The release also improved the Flatpak package format support. Update Manager utility can now update Flatpak applications as well as the run-time libraries just like classic .deb packages. And, Software Manager now provides an option to choose between Flatpak and Deb if an app is available to install in both formats.

For 3rd repositories, Linux Mint 21.1 now follows Debian’s (rather than Ubuntu’s) new policy! When adding an Ubuntu PPA, it automatically install the key into ‘/etc/apt/keyrings‘ and adds signed-by section in source file, so the GPG key can only be used for that PPA repository.

Other changes in Linux Mint 21.1 include:

  • Hide Home, Computer, Trash and Network icons from desktop by default.
  • New sounds come from Material Design V2
  • New icons pre-installed: Breeze, Papirus, Numix, Yaru
  • Replace ‘Show Desktop’ panel applet with Microsoft Window style button in bottom right corner.
  • Add dummy hardware device, dummy packages in Drive Manager for debugging.
  • Add right-click menu option to verify ISO file checksum (sha256sum).

Get Linux Mint 21.1:

For the release note, as well as download link for the new ISO images, go to Linux Mint website:

For Linux Mint 21 user, it’s possible to upgrade to new 21.1 release via ‘Update Manager’ utility.

Linux Mint team announced the second point release for Mint 20 today. Features Kernel 5.4, Ubuntu 20.04 package base, and Cinnamon 5.0, Xfce 4.16, MATE 1.24 for each desktop edition.

Linux Mint 20.2 will be supported until 2025. It comes with improved Update Manager that supports installing updates for applets, desklets, themes, and extensions.

As well, it now displays software update notifications if it has been available for more than 7 logged-in days or older than 15 calendar days. However, you can change the time period or disable the notification entirely.

The release comes with the new Bulky batch file renamer out-of-the-box. As a desktop independent app, you can install it on Ubuntu easily via the .deb package.

For Cinnamon edition, the new Cinnamon 5.0 features file search and content search in Nemo file manager, memory limit for the desktop usage, new CLI and python3 module.

Other changes include:

  • Automated Flatpak updates in Update Manager preferences. It will automatically remove unused flatpak run-times to free up your disk space.
  • Replace GNote with Sticky Notes as default note taking app.
  • Improvements for the ‘Warpinator’ file transfer app.
  • HPLIP 3.21.2 as well as the latest ipp-usb and sane-airscan
  • The WebApp manager now supports for incognito/private browsing.
  • The NVIDIA Prime applet can now switch between AMD onboard chipsets and discrete GPUs.

How to Get Linux Mint 20.2:

You can get the Linux Mint 20.2 upgrade wizard easily via “Edit->Upgrade to Linux Mint 20.2 Uma” menu in Update Manager. However, it’s recommended to backup, disable screensaver, and update Cinnamon spices (applets, desklets, extensions, themes) before getting started.

For the ISO images as well as release notes, go to linuxmint.com.

Linux Mint 20.1, code-name “Ulyssa”, was officially released. It includes Linux Kernel 5.4, based on Ubuntu 20.04, and features Xfce 4.14, Cinnamon 4.8, and MATE 1.24 for each desktop edition.

Linux Mint 20.1 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2025. New features in the release include:

  • Web App manager to turn any web page into desktop application.
  • A new IPTV Player, Hypnotix
  • Favorites support in Nemo file manager, Xed, Xreader, Xviewer, Pix and Warpinator.
  • Removed ippusbxd, printing and scanning work the same way as in Linux Mint 19.x.
  • Updated to HPLIP 3.20.11.
  • Hardware video acceleration enabled by default in Celluloid.
  • The driver manager was migrated to PackageKit.
  • Added Chromium browser package to the repository.
  • Clock format in the login screen is configurable.
  • A unified filesystem layout, superb collection of backgrounds, and more.

Linux Mint 20.1 system requirements:

  • 1GB RAM (2GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
  • 15GB of disk space (20GB recommended).
  • 1024×768 resolution (on lower resolutions, press ALT to drag windows with the mouse if they don’t fit in the screen).

Download / Upgrade to Linux Mint 20.01:

For the official announcements as well as iso images download link, simply go to LinuxMint.com.

To upgrade from Linux Mint 20 to Linux Mint 20.1:

1. Use TimeShift to create a system snapshot, so you can easily restore your system if anything goes wrong.

2. Disable your screensaver, and upgrade installed Cinnamon spices (applets, desklets, extensions, themes) from System Settings.

3. Open Update Manager and click on the Refresh button. If there are updates for mintupdate or mint-upgrade-info, apply them.

Then go to menu “Edit->Upgrade to Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa” to launch system upgrade.

Follow the wizard and reboot once the upgrade is finished.

4. (optinal) To convert the system with usrmerge, simply run command:

sudo apt install usrmerge

The beta of Linux Mint 20.1 “Ulyssa” Xfce, Cinnamon, and MATE editions were released for testing and to help the Linux Mint team fix issues prior to the stable release.

Linux Mint 20.1 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2025. It features Linux Kernel 5.4, Ubuntu 20.04 package base, and Xfce 4.14 / Cinnamon 4.8 / MATE 1.24 desktop environment.

In the new release, it also features a new Web App manager to turn any web page into desktop application. Like normal desktop applications, each web app has its own window, icon, and available in application menu.

The new IPTV Player, Hypnotix, is shipped with Linux Mint 20.1. It supports live TV, movies or even TV series if your playlist or IPTV provider also has a VOD section. The player comes with Free-IPTV as default IPTV provider.

Other changes include:

  • ippusbxd was removed so printing and scanning work the same way as in Linux Mint 19.x and prior releases.
  • Updated to HPLIP 3.20.11.
  • Hardware video acceleration enabled by default in Celluloid.
  • The driver manager was migrated to PackageKit.
  • Added Chromium to the repository.
  • Clock format in the login screen is configurable.
  • Aunified filesystem layout, superb collection of backgrounds, and more.

Linux Mint 20.1 system requirements:

  • 1GB RAM (2GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
  • 15GB of disk space (20GB recommended).
  • 1024×768 resolution (on lower resolutions, press ALT to drag windows with the mouse if they don’t fit in the screen).

The iso image is available to download at the link below:

via: blog.linuxmint.com