Linux Mint rolls out an impressive version 7 RC of its own
You'd never know it from looking at your RSS reader right now, but there are operating systems other than Windows 7 pushing out new releases. One of my favorite Linux distributions, Linux Mint, has just made a release candidate of their seventh version available for download.
Not familiar with the distro? It's based on Ubuntu - the Mint v7 core is Jaunty Jackalope, which Canonical recently freed from its cage. Apart from providing a solid foundation, that also means you can install Mint from within Windows using Mint4Win (Wubi, modified) (quick update: this is not working in the RC, but will be ready to go in the stable release).
For Windows users looking to try out a Linux distribution, Mint is a nice choice. The Gnome interface is set up Windows-style, with a taskbar along the bottom and menu button in the left-hand corner.
Apart from the obvious visual updates, Mint has introduced a few core features that have improved ease-of-use. The MintMenu system now offers a more intuitive search box (similar to the one in Vista and Windows 7). If Mint can't find an exact match for your query, it will provide suggestions. Results appear in an flash, and sugegstions are generally spot-on.
Mint Install and Update have also been improved, and they make adding applications and keeping your system current a breeze. Screenshots offer a welcome visual preview before you download - especially handy if you want to check out some the dozens of available games - including great ones like Wormux, FreeCiv, Nexuiz, and Warzone 2100.
Mint is a great distro, and the version 7RC is very enjoyable to use. Don't want to install it? Mint plays well with VirtualBox and VMware, and you can also run it as a LiveCD.
I'm enjoying the new release so far, and look forward to seeing it evolve into its final form.
Not familiar with the distro? It's based on Ubuntu - the Mint v7 core is Jaunty Jackalope, which Canonical recently freed from its cage. Apart from providing a solid foundation, that also means you can install Mint from within Windows using Mint4Win (Wubi, modified) (quick update: this is not working in the RC, but will be ready to go in the stable release).
For Windows users looking to try out a Linux distribution, Mint is a nice choice. The Gnome interface is set up Windows-style, with a taskbar along the bottom and menu button in the left-hand corner.
Apart from the obvious visual updates, Mint has introduced a few core features that have improved ease-of-use. The MintMenu system now offers a more intuitive search box (similar to the one in Vista and Windows 7). If Mint can't find an exact match for your query, it will provide suggestions. Results appear in an flash, and sugegstions are generally spot-on.
Mint Install and Update have also been improved, and they make adding applications and keeping your system current a breeze. Screenshots offer a welcome visual preview before you download - especially handy if you want to check out some the dozens of available games - including great ones like Wormux, FreeCiv, Nexuiz, and Warzone 2100.
Mint is a great distro, and the version 7RC is very enjoyable to use. Don't want to install it? Mint plays well with VirtualBox and VMware, and you can also run it as a LiveCD.
I'm enjoying the new release so far, and look forward to seeing it evolve into its final form.













Comments
12
Subscribe to commentsrothgarMay 8th 2009 12:30PM
+1 for Linux Mint
And a shameless plug for the Linux Mint podcast (aka mintcast)
http://mintcast.org/
Enjoy the release guys!
Pakito_CMay 8th 2009 1:58PM
Mint 7: the best linux distro ever! My Dell XPS 1530 works perfect now.
Congratulations!! Good Job!!
AbdoMay 17th 2009 6:50AM
What are the minimal requirements to run Linux Mint? I can't find any info on the wiki...
rothgarMay 17th 2009 12:26PM
To be honest I couldn't find it either, but I know they are the same as Ubuntu:
minimum
# 300 MHz x86 processor
# 64 MB of system memory (RAM)
# At least 4 GB of disk space (for full installation and swap space)
# VGA graphics card capable of 640x480 resolution
# CD-ROM drive or network card
recommended
# 700 MHz x86 processor
# 384 MB of system memory (RAM)
# 8 GB of disk space
# Graphics card capable of 1024x768 resolution
# Sound card
# A network or Internet connection
MaherMay 8th 2009 12:31PM
Mint is a wonderfull distro.
alex1jamMay 8th 2009 2:54PM
Can some one tell me if this is going to have intel chip regression like Ubuntu 9.4??
Mint is the best :)
genryMay 8th 2009 3:35PM
? ????????? ??????????? ? 1992 ????. ?????? ??? ???? ? ????????.
????????? ????????? ????? ???????????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????????, ???
???????? ??????? ?????????? ? ????????, ??????? ?????????? ????? ? ?????. ???????????? ? ?? ?????????, ?????? ?????? ? ???? ????? ??????:
XPress, BSD, Zenwalk, LinuxMint - KDE. ????????? ????? ?? ???? ?????????? ??????, "???????????" ? XP SP2. ?????? ???????? ????????????? ???????? ?????? - ????? ?? ??????????? ? ??, ??????
??????????????, ??????? ?????????, ?? ????? ????????????? ? ????????,
????? ???? ? ????????? ? ????????????. ?_???? ???????????? ??? ??????????? ? ?????????, ??? ? ???????? ??? ????????. ??????.
(translated w/google)
I have a computer in 1992.
It has been all DOS and windows. The latter is so poorly organized and overpriced(?) that I looked to Linux, which became better and better. I try them a little, I mention the best from my point of view:
XPress, BSD, Zenwalk, LinuxMint - KDE. The latter is on my computer now
dual booting with XP SP2. Many of the properties
listed like Linux - you can
them without installing, or just install, it looks nice, is not very demanding of resources, just go in with
applications. Mint was the only distro that connected to my Internet, and this
won my respect. Heinrich.
Computer PlanetMay 10th 2009 7:51AM
Great operating system that i've used on a lot of stable computer systems.
laeroMay 9th 2009 2:53PM
Used Mint for a while but as my knowledge of the commadn line increased I replaced my GUI with a CLI +Openbox and replaced Mint with a minimal ubuntu setup (tried Arc but ended up with something very similar to an ubuntu installation.)
With that said, Mint was a great distro to start with. User friendly, printer/network friendly.
AsokMay 11th 2009 7:09PM
Great distro, I'm on 6 (Felicia) right now, going to update to 7 when it releases. Definitely worth checking out for Linux newbies.
juvenal menaMay 14th 2009 10:15AM
hi, if i install linux mint 7 rc1, i can update to the final release when go out ? (sorry i speak spanish)
MartinMay 29th 2009 3:53PM
Hi Juvenal,
from 'http://www.linuxmint.com/blog/?p=847':
Upgrade instructions:
To upgrade to Linux Mint 7 from Linux Mint 7 RC1, launch mintUpdate, enable the “dist-upgrade” option in the preferences window and refresh the list of upgrades. Make sure to apply all level 1 and level 2 upgrades. Among level 3 upgrades make sure to select gtk2-engines-aurora, gufw, smplayer, and nautilus-sendto.
Greetings from Martin.