Two years ago, in June 2014, Linux Mint 17, codenamed Qiana, was released, based on the LTS release of Ubuntu 14.04. Now, two years later, we have its successor - Linux Mint 18 Sarah. During this time, a lot has changed. In many ways, the distribution has been greatly improved, some things have gotten worse. But most importantly, the development of Linux Mint is moving and moving in the right direction.
In this article, we will give a short overview of Linux Mint 18 Sarah, focusing on the MATE and Cinnamon desktop environments. Of course, XFCE and KDE are still supported, but the former are more popular.
One of the most important changes in this version compared to the previous release was the decision of the developers to remove the proprietary multimedia codecs that were previously supplied by default. This immediately caused a bit of buzz in the Mint community, but nevertheless they can be installed very easily in a couple of clicks after the installation is complete. This is more about free software politics than the technical side, so we won't talk about it anymore. Moreover, there are several more important and interesting changes.
Despite the fact that Linux Mint was released not so long ago, it is already quite stable and can be used on industrial computers. Linux Mint 18 ships with Linux kernel 4.4.0-21. This is not some kind of test version, but a completely stable and time-tested kernel. But if you want, you can update the kernel to a later version, for example, with the 4.6 kernel Linux Mint 18 will work fine too.
Since Linux Mint is a beginner distribution, most of the work has been done on desktop environments. Up until two years ago, Cinnamon, the official default desktop environment, was performing horribly. There were many flaws here and very few settings to personalize the look of the desktop. But during this time, Cinnamon has evolved a lot and became a full-fledged desktop environment, with additional interface and performance improvements.
Linux Mint 18 uses a new GTK theme called Mint-Y, which is unfortunately not enabled by default. But it can be very easily activated from the appearance settings menu. In Cinnamon, a theme is not a single, immutable whole. You can customize every single parameter - windows, buttons, icons, and so on. It's a little counterintuitive, but maybe that's the point. In MATE, however, everything is different, if you apply a theme, then it completely changes the appearance of the desktop.
Mint-Y is a great theme, so please activate this theme before doing anything else with the system. Also, the system has an excellent selection of desktop wallpapers by default, from which you can choose what you like. If you don't like the standard wallpaper, you can choose your own picture.
Both Cinnamon and MATE desktop environments show excellent performance. In tests, MATE is a little faster than Cinnamon, but most users probably won't even notice this difference.
Multimedia codecs
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, multimedia codecs are no longer shipped by default in Linux Mint 18. Instead of complaining about the developers' decision, just install them. To do this, just run a couple of commands:
sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install mint-meta-codecs
All the most commonly used and required multimedia codecs will be installed. Installation may take several minutes depending on the speed of your internet connection.
Download
You can download the Linux Mint 18 Sarah release from the following links from the official website:
conclusions
I think users will be happy with the new Linux Mint 18 Sarah release. Despite the fact that you need to manually change the theme and install codecs, everything else is the same as before. There is already a well thought out set of software, so you don't have to install anything. There is also an Ubuntu factor that cannot be ignored. The main packages are taken from the Ubuntu repositories, and only a few that are not updated in Ubuntu are downloaded from their own repositories. So you always have the software you need at your fingertips and you can install everything very quickly and easily. And our Linux Mint 18 review is coming to an end. Are you planning to upgrade to a new version of this system?
Linux Mint 18, this is already the second long-term support release, which is based on a package base Ubuntu 16.04 LTS... Beginning with Linux Mint 17, the distribution has switched to a new release generation scheme, using only releases Ubuntu Long Term Support (LTS). At the same time, intermediate releases Linux Mint will differ in the development of new versions of desktops Cinnamon and MATE, as well as backporting some new versions of programs, while maintaining compatibility with the repositories of the base LTS release of Ubuntu... All issues Linux Mint 18 / 18.1 / 18.2 and 18.3 will be supported until 2021 years, regardless of which version of the distribution you are currently using.
New opportunities in Linux Mint 18
First of all, I would like to note that Linux Mint 18, this is the first release to feature multimedia codecs ( flash plugin for internet browser and codecs for common audio and video files) are not installed by default. This is due to legal or copyright in some countries, such as USA... The user himself must install them in the second step of installing the distribution kit by checking this item:
But even if for some reason you did not do this during the installation, then you can install the codecs immediately after the first login after installing in one click in Welcome window:
Or by searching in the system menu:
2. Update manager
Update manager also underwent changes. Now, after the first login to the system, the user is also prompted to update the system, but before starting the update, the manager's welcome window opens with the ability to select updates from three options:
Here in Update Manager - View - Kernel Update a warning window opens, where the user is introduced to the possible risks of installing new kernels:
And the option to install a new kernel, after pressing the button Continue:
3. New themes for applications and icons - Mint-Y
By default in Linux Mint 18, as always, there is a theme and icons Mint-X, but as the developers promised earlier Linux Mint in release 18 experimentally added new app theme and icons Mint-Y which the user can activate and use at his discretion in System Options - Themes:
Themes and icons Mint-Y consist of two themes to choose from: light - Mint-Y and dark - Mint-Y-Dark.
This is done so that users can test new themes for six months before the release is released. Linux Mint 18.1 and give your feedback about them. If most of the reviews are positive, then the topic Mint-Y and new icons in Linux Mint 18.1 will be enabled by default.
4. Sound settings dialog
V Cinnamon now a new sound settings dialog, completely rewritten to Python.
5. X-Apps
X-Apps are unified (cross-desktop) applications. The goal or idea behind this project is to use the same application in all traditional desktop environments. GTK.
Note... Cross-desktop applications - xapps, these are applications with the same interface and capabilities that will be used in all environments Linux Mint 18.
Currently, five cross-desktop applications have been developed - xapps:
xplayer- Multimedia player, based on Totem
:
xed - Text editor(text editor) based on Pluma:
xviewer - Image Viewer(picture viewer) based on the gnomish "eye" - Eog:
xreader - Document reader(document viewer) based on Atril:
pix based on gThumb which is an app for organizing photos:
6. HiDPI support
HiDPI is an abbreviation Hi gh D ots P er I nch. This term is used to refer to screens with high pixel density or simply high resolution. This pixel density renders text and graphics in greater detail than conventional displays. As well as porting many applications GTK3 / python3 / Gsettings and improving their support HiDPI which includes most of the tools Mint and Xapps.
Firefox will now also support HiDPI.
7. Touchpad (touch panel)
V Cinnamon and MATE improved scrolling support. Touchpad now supports two-finger scrolling, just like in MacOS... In addition, a reverse scrolling option has been added, in the settings parameter - Mouse and touchpad:
8. New context menu for launcher icons
Now the icons for launching programs on the panel have acquired a new context menu by right-clicking on the icon, with possible options for launching the program:
9. Improvements in the system
V Linux Mint 18, terminal command "apt" continues to support all previous features, but also supports the new Debian syntax "apt" with some changes and improvements.
Here's a quick overview of some of the changes:
When executing commands "apt install" and "apt remove", and "sudo apt autoremove" a progress bar is displayed in the terminal:
- New commands have been introduced to support syntax Debian... So the new team apt full-upgrade- is equivalent to a command apt dist-upgrade.
Now with the terminal command add-apt-repository with argument --remove you can delete an unnecessary repository, which previously could only be done in a graphical version, i.e. across Sources of applications.
New demon Thermald monitors temperature sensors and prevents overheating Cpu(CPU).
File system exFAT are now supported out of the box.
The default file system is again supported Btrfs.
Correct execution is good news Standby mode what in Linux Mint 17x it was impossible to achieve with any settings:
10. Other improvements
Popular apps like Steam, Spotify, Dropbox and even Minecraft were added to Program manager and are now easier to install.
All versions of the distribution now support installations OEM.
Gufw, a graphical tool for configuring firewalls, is now installed by default.
Main components of the system
Cinnamon 3.0
MATE 1.14
MDM 2.0
Linux kernel 4.4
Ubuntu 16.04 base package
Also considering the transition to MATE 1.16(in preparation for Linux Mint 18.1).
Linux Mint 18 final release schedule.
Final release Linux Mint 18 expected in late June, early July. No fixed dates will be published in advance and distribution ISO images will be released "on final readiness".
