Linux Mint 8 Released

The world of Linux is a fun one to be part of, because when it comes down to it, the sheer amount of choice, from applications to distributions, is unparalleled. For desktop Linux, some of the most popular options are Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE and a couple of others, but according to the top chart at DistroWatch, the third most popular version of Linux over the past six months was Linux Mint, and chances are, if you’re a Linux enthusiast, you know all about this one.

Linux Mint is the most popular distro based on Ubuntu, so that in itself means it has a solid base. But Mint takes things a bit further by doing more to make the OS feel like a desktop OS, rather than a work OS, by customizing the UI, including its own set of tools to make administration a simple task, among other interesting things that I won’t touch on here. For the most part, though, Mint is for those who want the robust security, and repositories of Ubuntu, but want something a bit different, with a fresh coat of paint.

I have been meaning to take a good look at Mint for the past few months, and until now, I still had an ISO on my PC for Linux Mint 6, which seems mighty foolish now that Linux Mint 8 has just been released. There are a few major changes to this new version, including an upgrade to the boot-loader, which is now GRUB 2. Because of this change, the ability to install Mint through Windows is no longer possible, and I’m not sure if it is possible as I’m not sure exactly how GRUB 2 differs from older versions.

In addition to the “Main” edition, which includes everything you need to get your desktop up and running, there’s a new “Universal” LiveDVD edition which includes a slew of languages, and no codecs support and no restricted formats. This is to assure that there are no legal issues in any country (the developers make it easy to install them, however… it’s just a menu item). Of course, Linux Mint is based on the latest Ubuntu codebase, 9.10, so that means it supports more hardware than ever, and also a new installer. I’m downloading this one, and I am going to give it a go soon (at least, well before Linux Mint 10 comes along!).

The 8th release of Linux Mint comes with numerous bug fixes and a lot of improvements. In particular Linux Mint 8 comes with support for OEM installs, a brand new Upload Manager, the menu now allows you to configure custom places, the update manager now lets you define packages for which you don’t want to receive updates,the software manager now features multiple installation/removal of software and many of the tools’ graphical interfaces were enhanced.