Linux Mint

Linux Mint 8 ("Helena")
Developer	Linux Mint Team
OS family	Unix-like
Working state	Current
Source model	Free and open source software
Initial release	27 August 2006
Latest release	Linux Mint 8 ("Helena") / November 28, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-11-28)
Available in	Multilingual
Update method	APT
Package manager	dpkg
Platforms	IA-32, x86-64
Kernel type	Monolithic (Linux)
Default user interface	GNOME (KDE & Xfce available in community editions)
License	Mainly the GPL, and various others
Official website	www.linuxmint.com

Linux Mint is an operating system for personal computers, based on (and compatible with) Ubuntu,^[1][2] with integrated media codecs.^[3] Mint also has design differences from Ubuntu, including:

• A distinct user interface, including the custom Mint menu.^[3]
• The Mint Tools, a collection of system tools designed to make system management and administration easier for end users.
• As of Linux Mint 6 'Felicia', a Windows installer is included as one of the installation methods, called mint4win, a rebranded version of Wubi.^[4] It is activated when the CD is inserted into a computer under Windows, providing AutoRun is enabled. However, in Linux Mint 8 'Helena' this feature was no longer available, due to incompatibility with GRUB 2, which was first used in that release.

Linux Mint is available for download in the form of ISO images, which can be used to create Live CDs or Live USBs.

Like many other GNU/Linux distributions, Linux Mint has different repositories, or "branches". The branch with the newest features, or "unstable branch" of the repositories, is called "Romeo". New packages are first released in "Romeo", where they are tested by developers and community members who use it. It is not activated by default in Linux Mint releases.

Linux Mint comes in several editions including GNOME, the main one being a x86-32 edition. There is also a x86-64 version, called 'x64 Edition', which is designed to be as similar as possible to the main edition. There is also the Universal Edition, which doesn't include proprietary software, allowing easier redistribution.^[5] Linux Mint is also distributed via Community Editions, with the KDE, Xfce and Fluxbox versions.

Originally, Linux Mint did not follow a predictable release cycle. From the release of "Daryna", however, it was decided that Linux Mint will correlate with the 6 month Ubuntu release cycle and Linux Mint releases will now reach end of life when their corresponding Ubuntu releases do.

Starting from "Elyssa", the minor version number has been dropped (e.g. "Linux Mint 5.0" is now "Linux Mint 5"). This was due to a decision to follow Ubuntu's 6 month release cycle; there should no longer be more than one release per Ubuntu base.^[6]

Linux Mint is maintained by the following people:

• Clement Lefebvre - Founder, project leader, developer and maintainer of the Main, Universal and x64 editions
• Don Cosner - Release manager and internal tester
• merlwiz79 - Maintainer of the Xfce edition
• Jamie Boo Birse - Maintainer of the KDE edition
• Shane Joe Lazar - Maintainer of the Fluxbox edition (for versions 5 and 6 of Mint)
• Kendall Weaver - Maintainer of the Fluxbox edition (version 8)

A full listing is available on the distribution's website: http://www.linuxmint.com/about.php

Linux Mint comes with its own set of tools aimed at making the experience easier for the user.

• MintInstall: Lets you run .mint files, which are files containing instructions to install packages. As of Linux Mint 6, this tool has been revamped, and now lets you view all the applications on the Mint Software Portal offline, providing you have an Internet connection to download the information first. Also allows you to install any of the programs listed directly from the desktop, instead of going to the site.^[4] The option to use the old MintInstall program is available, where you can go to the Ubuntu Repositories or the Getdeb.net website from a search. Neatly organized in categories, featuring descriptions, ratings and reviews, applications couldn’t be easier to locate and install.^[7]
• MintUpdate: Update-software designed specifically for Linux Mint. MintUpdate 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 Mint distribution, the development team tests all package-wide updates. This system is designed to prevent inexperienced users from installing updates that are unnecessary or require a certain level of knowledge to configure properly. If mintInstall is used to install a program from the default repositories, that program is able to receive updates via mintUpdate.^[8]
• MintDesktop: A desktop configuration tool for easy configuration of the Gnome desktop. Also acts as a background process to do various tasks upon login. Also network browsing is made easier (through fusesmb). MintDesktop has received a major overhaul in Mint 4.0.^[9]
• MintConfig: (Obsolete from Daryna.) A customizable control center. It gathers all the tools from "Preferences" and "Administration" and organizes them into categories. The purpose of mintConfig was to give users a control center since GNOME didn’t have one. In Daryna only the GNOME Control Center is present.
• MintAssistant: A customization wizard that appears during first log-in for users, asking a few questions to customize Mint based on the user's level of knowledge and comfort with various components. It currently asks if the user wants to enable or disable fortune-cookies in the terminal, and if the root account should be enabled or disabled. As of Linux Mint 7, this tool has been replaced with MintWelcome.
• MintUpload: An FTP client that uploads files to a server by right-clicking on the icons and selecting upload. The user will then be given a link he or she can give to other people for quick and easy sharing.
• MintSpace: The larger sibling of MintUpload. Provides an additional 1 GB of storage space and files stay on the server for seven days (rather than 2 days).^[10]
• MintMenu: A python-coded menu that allows for fully customizable text, icons, and colors. It shares the same hotlinks to software as the Gnome main menu.
• MintWifi: Drivers for quite a few wlan gadgets and mintWifi.py. Located in /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintWifi
• MintNanny: A basic domain blocking parental control tool. Lets you manually add domains to be blocked system wide. This tool was introduced with the release of Linux Mint 6.^[4]
• MintMake: A command line tool that allows you to make .mint files for programs.
• MintWelcome: Introduced in Linux Mint 7, MintWelcome is an application that starts on the first login of any new account. It shows a dialogue window welcoming the user to Linux Mint, and providing links to the Linux Mint website, user guide etc.

Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu and the two distributions have much in common. Both distributions use the same software repositories.^[3] For instance, release 6 (“Felicia”) uses the package pools of Ubuntu “Intrepid Ibex” (8.10). Most packages are the same on both distributions, and as of Linux Mint 6 'Felicia', each Linux Mint release is based on Ubuntu, whereas before they were based on the previous Linux Mint release.^[11]

Most differences are on the desktop. Linux Mint has a stated focus on elegance, and it includes a number of applications that are not available in Ubuntu and vice versa (see aforementioned Mint tools).

• Official Linux Mint website
• Official Linux Mint ftp server with newest stable release Helena
• Linux Mint at DistroWatch