Linux distribution
Nate Drake keeps things Minty fresh with this incredibly intuitive and powerful Linux distro. Be sure to add some spices.
Originally released in 2006, Linux Mint is one of the most popular distros. This may be because it uses the Cinnamon desktop environment by default, which provides a more familiar Windows-like interface for newcomers to Linux.
Alternative downloads are also available, which bundle the MATE and Xfce desktop environments.
The latest version of Mint (code name Virginia) is an LTS release based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, so will be supported until April 2027. It uses version 5.15 of the kernel.
Mint now comes with support for Secure Boot and is compatible with a much wider range of BIOS/ EFI implementations The tools and framework that are used by the Linux Mint team to create its ISO images have been updated and are now based on the latest version of live-build.
We downloaded the 3GB ISO of Linux Mint 21.3 and tested the live environment in a virtual machine. We noted that as with the previous version, the Snap Store is disabled. This has to do with the Mint team’s concerns over auditing and patching software made available via what they see as Ubuntu’s commercialised store. You can re-enable and install the Snap Store via the command line if you wish.
If you choose the default version of Mint, as we did, you benefit from the latest spices. These are nothing new, as for some time Cinnamon has supported spices such as applets, which can be placed on the panel, and desklets, which do the same on the desktop.
Cinnamon 6.0 introduces a new type of spice called actions, add-ons for the file manager’s context menu. This hugely expands its functionality. For example, you can right-click an ISO and choose Make Bootable USB Stick. There’s also a new Verify action, which can process checksums for downloaded ISOs. These are Nemo actions care of the mintstick package.
The Cinnamon edition of Mint also now bundles experimental support for Wayland sessions. You can try this by logging out and then choosing Wayland(experimental) from the login screen. From our tests, it was clear this has a little way to go, as when we changed the screen resolution, the desktop wallpaper didn’t expand accordingly. In fairness, we were able
