Fancy a minty fresh Linux distro?
Nadia’s got you covered
For those of you who aren’t familiar with
the dynamic world of Linux, Linux Mint is a distribution that offers both the
new user and the advanced Linux advocate an operating system filled to the brim
with all the stuff that makes Linux such an appealing alternative to the likes
of Microsoft Windows.
With this new release, Linux Mint 14:
Nadia, we see Canonical’s package base from Quantal Quetzal, mixed with the
very latest desktop offerings from MATE and Cinnamon, along with the usual
wealth of applications and rebranded software. However, the big question is:
does it work?
Version
14 of Linux Mint running Cinnamon 1.6
Before we answer this, let’s see what you
get here. To start with, Mint’s flagship desktop environment, Cinnamon has had
an overhaul with version 1.6 and it certainly shows. Gone are the previous
glitches, and it's now a very impressive environment, one that, dare I say it,
represents a worthy investment for Windows 8 and Unity refugees.
The overall feeling of Cinnamon, with its
vastly improved Workspaces, pop-up notifications, applets and the Window Quick List,
is very similar to Android, but without the entire operating system becoming a
slave to the tablet industry. The new features are many, and they work
alongside each other without fighting for space or system resources. Indeed,
Cinnamon 1.6 is as responsive a desktop as they come; install this onto a
decently powered PC and you experience the exceptional.
The
Window Quick List is great to access windows across multiple workspaces
MATE, Mint’s brother desktop environment,
hasn’t seen quite as much publicity as Cinnamon, but that’s not to say it’s the
black sheep of the family. With Mint 14, MATE has been upgraded to version 1.4
and with it comes many an update and bug fix. It’s a high-quality desktop
environment and certainly deserves the title of the new Gnome 2. As an active
project, MATE goes well beyond the confines of Gnome 2, taking the baton from
the former king of the DE’s and carrying it onward while removing the bugs that
plagued Gnome for years. MATE isn’t going to be left without its fair share of
decent features either. A new MDM, customizable notifications and a choice of
thousands of themes means that MATE can easily stand toe to toe with other
desktop environments and come out on top.
Back to the question of whether it works:
in short, yes. In fact, I would go so far as to say Linux Mint 14, using
Cinnamon in this example, is an absolute pleasure to work with. It represents
the best example of when developers, contributors and the community work in
tandem to produce something that not only works extremely well but contains the
day to day elements that people actually want from an operating system.
Mint 14 is perfect for the home user,
perfect for the new Linux user and can provide a safe haven for the experienced
user in these times of tablet centric operating systems.
User
lists and faces support in MDM
Clement Lefebvre and his team have
undoubtedly come up with a winner. Will it sway users from the mainstream OSs
and into the arms of Linux? Who can tell? Linux itself still has a long way to
go in terms of offering the computing community an encompassing alternative,
but as we’ve seen in recent months, with Valve taking an interest in Linux
development of Steam, there could very well be a flurry of new users in 2013.
And what better way to start their Linux experience off than by installing
Linux Mint 14 and seeing what the best of Linux has to offer. Linux may not be
to everyone’s tastes, and those who use it regularly have their favourites, but
do try Linux Mint 14, and enjoy it.
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Details
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Price: Free
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Manufacturer: Linux Mint
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Website: linuxmint.com
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Required spec: 32-bit PAE enabled CPU (or
64-bit CPU), 512MB RAM, 5GB HDD space, graphics capable of 800x600
Ratings
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Quality: 8
·
Value: 9
·
Overall: 8
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