Contents.History Development of Linux Mint began in 2006 with a beta release of Linux Mint 1.0, 'Ada', based on. Following its release, Linux Mint 2.0 'Barbara' was the first version to use Ubuntu as its. Linux Mint had few users from these early versions until the release of Linux Mint 3.0, 'Cassandra'.Linux Mint 2.0 was based on, using its package repositories and using it as a.
From there, Linux Mint followed its own codebase, building each release from its previous one, but continued to use the package repositories from the latest Ubuntu release. This resulted in making the base between the two systems almost identical, guaranteeing full compatibility between the two rather than having Mint become a. In 2008, Linux Mint adopted the same release cycle as Ubuntu and dropped its minor version number before releasing version 5 'Elyssa'. The same year, in an effort to increase the compatibility between the two systems, Linux Mint decided to abandon its code-base and changed the way it built its releases. Starting with Linux Mint 6 'Felicia', each release was now completely based on the latest Ubuntu release, built directly from it, and timed for approximately one month after the corresponding Ubuntu release, usually in May or November.
In 2010, Linux Mint released Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE). Unlike the other Ubuntu-based editions (Ubuntu Mint), LMDE was originally a based directly on and was not tied to Ubuntu packages or its release schedule.
It was announced on May 27, 2015 that the Linux Mint team would no longer support the original rolling release version of LMDE after January 1, 2016. LMDE 2 'Betsy', the current release of LMDE, is a long term support release based on Debian. When LMDE 2 was released it was announced that all LMDE users would be automatically upgraded to new versions of MintTools software and new Desktop Environments before they were released into the main edition of Linux Mint.On February 20, 2016, the Linux Mint website was breached by unknown hackers, who briefly replaced download links for a version of Linux Mint with a modified version that contained malware. The hackers also breached the database of the website's user forum. After the attack Linux Mint was severely criticized as being a distribution that, unlike many others at the time, 'just worked' and became popular with non-technical users, but at the expense of security, with some security updates to the underlying Ubuntu or Debian blacklisted from running due to compatibility issues. Releases.
Main article:Every version of Linux Mint is given a version number and, until the 18.x series, was code-named with a feminine first name ending in 'a' and beginning with a letter of the alphabet that increased with every iteration. The 18.x series broke from the pattern with version 18 having the name 'Sarah'.Initially, there were two Linux Mint releases per year. Following the release of Linux Mint 5 in 2008, every fourth release was labeled a (LTS) versionindicating that it was supported (with updates) for longer than traditional releases. Versions 5 and 9 had three years of support, and all LTS versions following received five years of support. On May 31, 2014, with the release of Linux Mint 17, the Linux Mint team adopted a new release strategy.
Install Wine on Linux Mint 19.1 in Terminal. Open up a terminal window by pressing the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T, or by clicking the terminal icon in the tool bar. Then run the following command to check if you have a 32 bit or 64 bit system. If your system is 32 bit, you will see. If your system is 64 bit, you will see.
Starting with the release of Mint 17, all future versions were planned to use a LTS version of Ubuntu as a base, until 2016. Under this strategy, Mint 17.1 was released on November 29, 2014, Mint 17.2 was released on June 30, 2015, and Mint 17.3 was released on December 4, 2015.
The 17.x releases are intended to be an easy, optional upgrade. All three versions included upgrades to the Cinnamon and MATE Desktop Environments and various Mint tools. In addition, Mint 17.2 and 17.3 included an upgrade to the suite. The 18.x series follows the pattern set by the 17.x series, by using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS as a base.Linux Mint does not communicate specific release dates as new versions are published 'when ready', meaning that they can be released early when the distribution is ahead of schedule or late when critical bugs are found. New releases are announced, with much other material, on the Linux Mint blog.Reviews of Linux Mint 18 'Sarah' were somewhat mixed, with several that were quite favorable and others critical of several specific new problems, with multiple reviews complaining about the lack of multimedia/codec support by default. Multimedia codecs that had previously been included in the standard Mint distribution were no longer included in 'Sarah', but could be loaded with a graphical application that one reviewer said should be obvious for new users.On January 3, 2018, the Linux Mint Team released news of Linux Mint 19 'Tara.' The team has stated that the 19.x releases will be using GTK 3.22, and will be based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, which will be supported until 2023.
On June 29, 2018, Linux Mint 19 'Tara' Cinnamon was released.As of August 4, 2019, the latest release is Linux Mint 19.2, 'Tina.' Linux Mint 19.2 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2023. Features Linux Mint primarily uses, making exceptions for some software, such as and that provide, and playback. Linux Mint's inclusion of proprietary software is unusual; many do not include proprietary software by default, as a common goal for some Linux distributions is to adhere to the model of free and open-source software.Linux Mint comes with a wide range of software installed that includes,.
Additional software that is not installed by default can be downloaded using the package manager. Linux Mint allows to be closed using its, with customized port selection available. The default Linux Mint, and, support many languages. Linux Mint can also run many programs designed for (such as ), using the Windows software for Linux, or software, including and, or (Kernel based Virtual Machine, built into the Linux kernel) hypervisor using Virtual Machine Manager.Linux Mint is available with a number of to choose from, including the default desktop,.
Other desktop environments can be installed via, Synaptic, or via the custom Mint Software Manager.Linux Mint actively develops software for its operating system. Most of the development is done in Python and the source code is available on GitHub. Software by Linux Mint. The Linux Mint Software Manager allows users to view, install, and uninstall programs. Cinnamon is a fork of based on the innovations made in Mint Gnome Shell Extensions (MGSE). It has been released as an add-on for Linux Mint 12 and available as a default desktop environment since Linux Mint 13. MintTools.
Software Manager (mintInstall): Designed to install software from the Ubuntu and Linux Mint software repositories, as well as Launchpad PPAs. Since Linux Mint 18.3, the Software Manager has also been able to install software from remotes, and is configured with Flathub by default. It features an interface heavily inspired by, and is built upon. Update Manager (mintUpdate): Designed to prevent inexperienced users from installing updates that are unnecessary or require a certain level of knowledge to configure properly.
It assigns updates a safety level (from 1 to 5), based on the stability and necessity of the update. Updates can be set to notify users (as is normal), be listed but not notify, or be hidden by default. In addition to including updates specifically for the Linux Mint, the development team tests all package-wide updates. In newer versions of the operating system, this safety level mechanism is largely deactivated in favor of system snapshots created by the Timeshift tool. Main Menu (mintMenu): Created for the. It is a menu of options including filtering, installation and removal of software, system and places links, favorites, session management, editable items, custom places and many configuration options. Backup Tool (mintBackup): Enables the user to back up and restore data.
Data can be backed up before a fresh install of a newer release then restored. Upload Manager (mintUpload): Defines upload services for, and servers. Services are then available in the system tray and provide zones where they may be automatically uploaded to their corresponding destinations. As of Linux Mint 18.3, this software is no longer installed by default but is still available in the Linux Mint software repositories. Domain Blocker (mintNanny): A basic domain blocking parental control tool introduced with v6.
Enables the user to manually add domains to be blocked system-wide. As of Linux Mint 18.3, this software is no longer installed by default but is still available in the Linux Mint software repositories. Desktop Settings (mintDesktop): A tool for configuration of the desktop. Welcome Screen (mintWelcome): Introduced in Linux Mint 7, an application that starts on the first login of any new account. It provides links to the Linux Mint website, user guide and community website.
USB Image Writer/USB Stick Formatter (mintStick): A tool for writing an image onto a USB drive or formatting a USB stick. System Reports (mintReport): Introduced in Linux Mint 18.3, the purpose of System Reports is to allow the user to view and manage automatically generated application crash reports.Installation Linux Mint can be booted and run from a on any PC capable of booting from a USB drive, with the option of saving settings to the flash drive. A program is available to install an Ubuntu (but not LMDE) Live Linux Mint on a USB drive.The Windows installer 'Mint4Win' allows Linux Mint to be installed from within Microsoft Windows, much like the installer for Ubuntu. The operating system could then be removed, as with other Windows software, using the. This method requires no of the. It is only useful for Windows users, and is not meant for permanent installations because it incurs a slight performance loss.
This installer was included on the Live DVD until Linux Mint 16, but removed in the Linux Mint 16 'Petra' release because the size of the Live DVD images would have exceeded what the software could reliably handle.Installation supports a (LVM) with automatic partitioning only, and since Linux Mint 15., the default, supports a variety of non-.Editions Linux Mint has multiple editions that are based on Ubuntu, with various available. Linux Mint also has an edition based on.Ubuntu Mint As of Linux Mint 13, there are two main editions of Linux Mint developed by the core development team and using Ubuntu as a base. One includes Linux Mint's own as the desktop environment while the other uses. Linux Mint also develops an additional version that features the desktop environment by default but has generally had secondary priority and is usually released somewhat later than the two main editions.Beginning with the release of Linux Mint 19, the edition will be officially discontinued; however, the KDE 17.x and 18.x releases will continue to be supported until 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Older releases, now also obsolete, included editions that featured, and desktop environments by default.OEM version. Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon Edition's live CD boot menuThe distribution provided an version for manufacturers to use; however, this version was discontinued with the release of v18 Sarah in order to reduce the number of that needed to be maintained. Manufacturers wanting to perform an OEM install now have the option to choose so in the live CD boot menu.No Codecs version The distribution provided a 'No Codecs' version for magazines, companies, and distributors in the United States, Japan, and countries where the legislation allows and distribution of restricted technologies may require the acquisition of 3rd party licenses; however, this version was discontinued with release of v18 Sarah.
Users now have the option whether or not to install multimedia codecs during the installation; additionally, multimedia codecs can also be installed via a link on the Mint Welcome Screen any time after the installation.LMDE The Linux Mint Debian Edition uses as the software source base rather than. LMDE was originally based directly on, but is designed to provide the same functionality and as the. LMDE has its own.LMDE claims certain advantages and disadvantages compared to 'Mint Main' (i.e., the Ubuntu-based editions):. LMDE is faster and more responsive than Ubuntu-based editions. LMDE requires a deeper knowledge and experience with Linux and. Debian is less user-friendly and desktop-ready than Ubuntu, with some rough edges.LMDE 1 The original LMDE (now often referred to as LMDE 1) had a semi- development model, which periodically introduced 'Update Packs' (tested of Debian Testing).
Installing an Update Pack allowed the user to keep LMDE 1 current, without having to reinstall the system every six months as with Mint Main. As of May 17, 2015, it has an upgrade path to LMDE 2. LMDE 2 'Betsy' running Cinnamon 2.8LMDE 2 (a.k.a. Betsy) was released on April 10, 2015, becoming the current version of LMDE. LMDE 2 is based on, but receives automatic updates to the latest versions of MintTools and the installed before they are released into the Mint Main edition. LMDE 2 is available with both the and desktop environments. Both image versions received an update in January 2017.
As of the start of 2019, this version is no longer supported.LMDE 2 remains based on but with a 'functional logind' from. LMDE 3 LMDE 3 (a.k.a. Cindy) is 'very likely' to complete the switch to systemd from sysvinit. It is based on Debian Stretch, and was released on August 31, 2018, shipping as a single edition with Cinnamon. Development Individual users and companies using the operating system act as donors, sponsors and partners of the distribution. Linux Mint relies on user feedback to make decisions and orient its development. The official blog often features discussions where users are asked to voice their opinion about the latest features or decisions implemented for upcoming releases.
Ideas can be submitted, commented upon and rated by users via the Linux Mint Community Website.The community of Linux Mint users use to participate in the translation of the operating system and in reporting bugs.Most development is done in and organized online using, making it easy for developers to provide patches, implement additional features, and also fork Linux Mint sub-projects (for example the Linux Mint menu was ported to ). With each release, features are added that are developed by the community. In Linux Mint 9, for instance, the ability to edit menu items is a feature that was contributed by a Linux Mint user.
Reception In May 2013, David Hayward of praised Linux Mint for focusing on desktop users.In a 2012 online poll at, Linux Mint was voted the second best Linux distribution, after Ubuntu, with almost 16% of the votes. In October 2012 (Issue 162), named Linux Mint the best distro for 2012. In July 2013 (Issue 128), gave Linux Mint 15 'Olivia' a score of 5/5, stating 'We haven't found a single problem with the distro. We're more than satisfied with the smooth, user-friendly experience that Linux Mint 15, and Cinnamon 1.8, provides for it to be our main distro for at least another 6 months.'
Provides information and statistics of Linux distributions. Since 2012, DistroWatch's Page Hit Ranking listed Linux Mint as the most viewed profile page there. In December 2011, Wikimedia Traffic Analysis Report showed 29 million hits on Wikimedia pages from computers running Ubuntu and 642,000 hits from those running Linux Mint.
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