Mint 11 - Preview

Linux Mint 11 – Preview



Linux Mint 11 – coming up May 2011

I received many emails and questions about Linux Mint 11, whether it was coming with Unity or Gnome 3, when it was going to come out and what should be expected from it… so, here’s a bit of information about our upcoming release.

ETA (Estimated time of arrival)

We’re on schedule.

Linux Mint 11 should have two releases:
an RC release in the middle of the month
a stable release by the end of May.

As always, we release “when ready” and we can delay a release if we’re not happy with its quality.

The Desktop

Linux Mint 11 comes with Gnome 2.32, the traditional Linux Mint desktop layout, mintMenu and the same desktop elements featured in previous releases.

Compiz is installed by default and so is fusion-icon, which lets you switch easily between Compiz and Metacity.

Software Selection

LibreOffice replaces OpenOffice.org as the default office suite.
Banshee replaces Rhythmbox as the default music player.
gThumb replaces F-Spot as the default photo application.
Gwibber is no longer installed by default.
padevchooser, paman, paprefs, pavumeter and pavucontrol are no longer installed by default.

Changes

The update manager is faster than before and comes with numerous bug fixes. It also features multiple UI improvements.

The deskstop settings tool is now desktop-agnostic and serves both generic settings (such as the ability to enable/disable fortunes in the terminal) and desktop settings specific to Gnome, KDE, Xfce..etc. In Xfce it will eventually replace mintconfig-xfce and mintdesktop-xfce.

The software manager looks much more polished. It loads marginally faster and now features a splash screen. Its templates were refined to give the user a much nicer browsing experience. The installation and removal of applications are now simulated before the application screen is shown, allowing the software manager to show precisely how much data is to be downloaded, how much space is required on the hard drive and exactly which packages are to be installed and/or removed.

Mint-x-theme comes with numerous improvements, bug fixes for Gimp, Banshee, Synaptic, Deluge and round radio buttons.
A new “apt download” command was introduced which downloads a .deb package locally along with all its dependencies.

Flash Square runs in native 64-bit while 32-bit users can choose between the stable 10.2 and beta 10.3 plugins and have both installed at the same time, easily switching between them using “update-alternatives”.
Firefox 4, Chromium and Opera come with an improved mint-search-addon plugin.

With the upstream changes in Unity and Gnome 3, some of the big Linux Mint projects (netdiscovery, restoration snapshots) were postponed and more time was given to ensure this release would feature a functional yet traditional desktop. In many ways, Linux Mint 11 feels like a more modern and more polished version of Linux Mint 10. In contrast with the many distributions adopting new interfaces, Linux Mint 11 will feature the best Gnome “2″ desktop you’ve ever got to see.

 

It's so nice they aren't drastically change the GUI and are focusing on stability and refinements. Mint, how I love thee..

I do wonder though which kernel it uses as there still doesn't seem to be a fix for the 2.6.38 power management problem. The solution will likely come with 2.6.39 stable.

[Phoronix] Linux Kernel Power Bug Now High Importance In Ubuntu

 

Amen, I have a weakness for Mint too.

 

I too love Mint! After not really liking (K)Ubuntu 11.04, I gave mint a try and was immediately very impressed. I can't wait for the newest version to come out too!

 

I liked Kubuntu 11.04, looks awesome but I still prefer the UI of Mint. My only issues with Mint 10 were all the redirects I was getting with the OS when using a browser. At the time of my disappointment some had said it could be my ISP. But it didn't happen with Windows 7 only Mint 10 and not Mint 9.

I had to stop using Mint 10 for that reason.

 

Will Linux Mint outdo the popularity of Ubuntu?

Will Linux Mint outdo the popularity of Ubuntu?

"The team had recently announced the release of Linux Mint 11, codenamed Katya. Although, its usual to give a feminine name to each Mint release, this one seems to have a meaning. Katya which means "pure" I n Russian seems to hint subtly that the Mint team is upto something."

 

Wow that looks pretty neat! Might have to make a vm and try it out. Glad to see some are still using normal gnome and compiz still. When I went to debian I was so happy to have my cube back.

 

RC has been leaked well more like unofficially posted or Clem would have requested to take down the link on his Mint 11 Blog. Downloading now

Index of /pub/linuxmint.com/testing

CD
http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/testing/linuxmint-11-gnome-cd-nocodecs-32bit-rc.iso
http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/testing/linuxmint-11-gnome-cd-nocodecs-64bit-rc.iso

DVD
http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/testing/linuxmint-11-gnome-dvd-32bit-rc.iso
http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/testing/linuxmint-11-gnome-dvd-64bit-rc.iso

 

I have been working with mint for two three years. Now mint 11 and the new ubuntu give me two choices. Hope that mint 11 will make thing a bit better (like a bit more responsive), but i dont hesitate to try something new like ubuntu with gnome 3. So bad that i am not pro enough to config linux for my laptop, I am gonna use mint on desktop and win 7 on my laptop.

 

If you're computer isn't responsive with Gnome 2 (I'm assuming you're on Mint 9 or 10?), then Gnome 3 or Unity will be even worse. IIRC, Gnome 3 uses GPU acceleration, I don't remember if Unity does but both are meant to take advantage of modern graphics processing, be they IGP or an actual card. Mint 11 won't use Gnome 3 anyway. *Praise be to Clem & devs!*

 

Clem just verified those leaked links I posted. Mint 11 RC is now available @ Main Page - Linux Mint

 

I think there must be a problem somewhere else, not the GPU. Some simple task such as open a text file with gedit sometime took more then 20second! Thats unbelievable. My computer is not that slow. In win7, everything run smoothly, i can even run some 3d program on win 7 such as 3d max, houdini. Currently i am running mint 10, but i thought that mint 9 worked better.

 

how's it working? it looked like there were some mixed reviews and big bugs that needed tweaking (unsatisfactory compiz performance, ATI drivers crashing)

 

Yeah i'm waiting for final but it feels and looks like Mint. It's still hard getting used to the silver desktop wallpaper.

 

Mint 11 has been released!

The Linux Mint Blog Blog Archive Linux Mint 11 “Katya” released!

 

LOL, I was just about to post that.

 

Newb question: is there a way to move from the release candidate to the official release without wiping and re-installing?

 

YES !

Just get the updates and it will change from RC to Final !

 

Thanks!

What can I say? I'm used to pain at OS upgrade time.

 

It is nice being able to upgrade from RC ---> final without reinstalling. Mint 11 is nice, I set it up on my netbook, but I think liking the debian edition much more now.

 

from the official release notes:

 

I'm dual booting openSUSE 11.4 and Mint 11. What an elegant, classy looking OS Mint 11 is. It's not flashy, never thought i'd like the gray-understated green theme but it looks clean and very professional.

This OS is just awesome, keeps getting better as they continue to add to it.

 

Im a M17x R3 owner and I cant install it because it stays on blank screen during boot. =( anybody with a M17x with this problem?

 

Wow what a release !!!

Everything and I mean everything works out of the box. It's also very stable and i've gotten accustomed to the new theme for Mint 11. It's their best release ever.

I also like the one click downloads from the repo, nice idea and great for noobs.

Sorry don't have your laptop but I checked Google and there are others who have the same issue. The black screen on boot straight from the Mint team is on purpose to help the OS boot faster and boy does it ever. Can you at least boot to the desktop from the Mint 11 disc?

 

I got to check this out, I've been trying out Mint 10 for a while but the new changes look interesting.

 

I just checked and did a boot from the DVD.

How long did you wait? While using a disc it takes around 5 minutes to boot and the screen stays black during the duration. If you see activity on the DVD LED then you should be alright. Give it time.

I've always been a big fan of Mint. It's the only distro that had what I was looking for, i.e. easy to use, works out of the box, easy to figure out and most of all it's STABLE. I started with Mint 9 and it's been my primary distro.

 

I added KDE to Mint 11 and absolutely NO issues. It booted up into KDE, not one crash and no policykit1-kde crashes which happened both in Kubuntu and openSUSE while logging out or restarting the computer.

 

No I cant go to the desktop from the Mint 11 disc only a blank screen

I waited about 10-15 minutes and the blank screen continues

 

Btw what are the specs of your machine??? Try booting off the disc and booting Mint 11 in failsafe mode.

Oh have you checked into this? :

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-alienware-rep-regarding-m17x-r3-recall.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...sandy-bridge-issue-what-does-mean-m17xr3.html

 

My first experience with Mint was with Mint 8, I was looking for a Linux live CD that I could use to recover data from a crashed Windows laptop and that's when I found out about Mint. I really liked it, I've previously had a look at Ubuntu but never really enjoyed it much. I then for quite some time had forgotten about Linux as I was mainly using Windows and just recently installed Mint 10.

 

Different experience for me. My first distro was Ubuntu 9.04 and thought to myself, meh. I tried a couple of others that were suggested and they were way over my head and didn't have the time nor desire to figure it out.

I tried Kubuntu and thought hey that looks very Vista like but it just kept crashing. Someone on this forum suggested Mint and it all just clicked. I've been hooked ever since. It's a distro that's not intimidating to me and i've just built on my learning curve and added to my knowledge of Linux. The best thing about Mint is the overall stability of the OS.

My only issues ever with Mint was Mint 10 which kept causing me redirects and putting the statement "I am alive" in my browser. I dropped Mint 10 because of that. I liked openSUSE 11.04 which was recommended by weinter but it had stability issues on my laptop. Mint 11 OTOH has been rock solid and even my webcam with Skype works out of the box with no configuration or additional drivers.

 

My specs are:

i7 2630QM
AMD 6970m
Intel HD 3000
4GB DDR3
320gb HDD
1080p

And i my motherboard is the new fixed. So i dont know what it is

 

I think I know what the problem is. Mint doesn't know which GPU it's dealing with.

Disable the 6970 GPU in the BIOS and install Mint 11 using the Sandy Bridge GPU. Once you install Mint and do your updates then enable the 6970 and install those drivers from either from the repo or ATI.

 

I played around with the live cd of linux mint 11 on my t500 and enjoyed it. Seems less buggy than Ubuntu 11, but that could be the whole gnome vs Unity thing.
Cant wait for my X220T to arrive so I can fully install it.

 

I dont know how to do it but i asked to someone and say me that it cant be possible without removing the card completely.

 

I don't know what level of knowledge you have on Linux (in general) but if you're still learning you might find How Linux Works: What Every Superuser Should Know an interesting book to read. Just saying, as I myself like it.

 

You should ask this very question in the Alienware forum and NO removing the card should not be necessary. Laptops or computers with switchable graphics should allow the ability to disable one of the GPU's via thru the BIOS or via a switch.

Limited and enough to be dangerous I'll check it out, thanks !

 

So I put both openSUSE 11.4 and Mint 11 thru it's paces and in the end for me and my needs Mint 11 is the winner !

Some of the things you take for granted using Mint it requires extra setup entries getting it to work in SUSE. My .mkv files work flawless in Mint right out of the box. My wireless radio requires no setup other than inputting my WEP key. It senses when there is a disconnect and when a wireless signal is present. If it finds it, it connects automatically.

Setting up Wifi in openSUSE and to be fair KDE (Kubuntu) as well is tricky and redundant to say the least. No such issues in Mint. Mint 11 knows the difference between LAN and WLAN and will adapt to the change in conections. But once openSUSE is setup it works quite well once you're past the initial setup. As I mentioned the Wifi setup in Mint is silly easy i.e. Windows 7 easy.

As weinter suggested, you need MUZLOCKER fonts in openSUSE because the stock fonts in SUSE are fuzzy, no such issues in Mint. Fonts are crystal clear and easy to read in any resolution under Mint 11.

Navigation and UI speed, openSUSE/KDE wins hands down. Once your desktop is ready in SUSE, the UI and program loads are ultra fast.

Mint lags behind, tbh. There is an initial lag in the UI until it's cached in to memory then clicking on the Menu button is responsive. I'm not sure if indexing of the drive would or might fix this issue but it's nitpicking.

As far as stability goes Mint beats openSUSE and SUSE is pretty stable. In SUSE i'd get random policykit crashes on logouts or restarts. With Mint everything works, no hiccups, nothing. You know you have a stable OS when you can install the full KDE package and no problems. It can boot into KDE or Gnome effortlessly with no error messages.

As far as looks go, it's a preference thing really. I like both in their own way. SUSE looks very Windows 7 like while Mint reminds me of XP. Either distro is a solid choice but as a well rounded, stable package you still can't beat Mint. Out of the box you have a fully featured, everything is ready to run OS.

To bad Mint is not sold in stores because if a noob EVER wanted to try Linux, this would be it.

 

OpenSUSE has different types of Kernel compiled for different purpose.
I believe the default kernel for workstation is kmp Desktop tuned for responsiveness moreover if you are on 11.4 Tumbleweed you can get the latest release kernel version 2.6. 39 and tumbleweed is surprisingly as stable or even better than 11.4.

 

Rodster: I've found that Linux Mint Debian Edition is actually super, super quick, even on my lowly netbook, so maybe you can give that variation a whirl. The trade offs are that its a bit harder to set up, and it requires a bit of tinkering to get all the graphics drivers and wireless installed out of box (thankfully, there are tons of guides online). Another is that because some of its packages are outdated (it runs firefox 3.6.13 by default, and the chromium in the repos are at version 6.0). I haven't had anything break on me yet, but I hear that that is a very real possibility, since it is based off of Debian testing.

Mint 11 is definitely nice, but I've been having problems with Compiz where the titlebars will suddenly disappear, and it definitely is slower than LMDE.

 

Yeah the lag in Mint 11 doesn't bother me a bit although it would be nice to have the UI snappiness of KDE but the trade off is all the stuff they've thrown at Mint 11. If I want I can always install the KDE package but I like the iTunes look of Mint 11.

 

Another thing that i'm impressed with are the amount of devices Mint recognizes part of it's drivers list. One in particular is a Nintendo Wii USB LAN dongle, Windows 7 doesn't recognize it but Mint 11 sees it immediately.

Oh I forgot to mention re openSUSE 11.4 and what really stands out about that release is YaST 2. That is an amazing utility and set of tools. Weinter mentioned that because of YaST 2 there's ever any need to use the Terminal to config the OS and that was spot on.