You can keep Windows 11 and macOS on your computers. There’s nothing like good old open source Linux on a PC. In particular, there is no such thing as Linux Mint. Why ? Because this OS is free, easy to use and much more secure than its proprietary competitors.
The latest version of Linux Mint 21.1, Vera, is better than ever. Let me show you around the owner.
Discover Linux Mint on the official website
Complete software offer
Linux Mint 21.1 is a complete operating system that includes everything you need to work at home or in the office. It ships with LibreOffice 7.3.7 for office automation, Firefox 108.0.1 for web browsing, Thunderbird 102.4.2 for mail and calendar, and GIMP 2.10.30 for graphics editing. And it doesn’t cost you a dime.
Mint gives you the choice between three desktop interfaces: Cinnamon 5.6, MATE and Xfce. For me, Cinnamon’s interface is the easiest to use. I recommend it to anyone who wants to move from the world of Mac and Windows to Linux. It’s very easy to handle.
Image: Linux Mint
Experienced Cinnamon users will notice that the default Vera theme has brighter colors than usual. The familiar mint green has also changed to bluer tones. If you prefer the old one, no problem. Select the Mint-Y-Legacy option in Theme Options and you will be back to your old habits. You’ll find this setting option, along with many others, in System Settings.
Improved performance
The desktop itself has also been changed. There are far fewer icons by default. Home, Computer, Trash, and Network icons are missing. If, like me, you still love icons, you can easily add them via System Preferences. Mint gives you all the control you need to create an experience that suits you.
The interface has also become more responsive. Many changes have been made under the hood to make the OS more efficient. I immediately noticed this on my main computer. The new Mint works great on my 2020 Dell Precision 3451. This PC is equipped with an 8-core Intel i7-9700 processor with a clock speed of 3 GHz. It also comes with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
This is a far superior configuration to what Linux Mint needs. This OS will run on almost any computer. If your PC has 2 GB of RAM, any video card, and a monitor that supports 1024×768 resolution, you won’t have any problems. If you’re not sure you want to switch to Mint right away, you can literally buy any used computer to test out the OS.
Improved business compatibility
This version of Mint is based on Ubuntu 22.04 known as Jammy Jellyfish. Therefore, it inherits many features designed for companies, such as full Active Directory (AD) support. If you want to use Mint on a professional network, your machine will be ready to go right away.
It’s also worth noting that Mint 21.1 is a Long Term Support (LTS) release. It will be supported for five years, that is, until 2027.
Image: Linux Mint
It also uses the Linux 5.15 kernel. It has some great features such as improved support for the Windows NTFS file system and a built-in SMB 3.0 file server. It also facilitates integration with Windows-based systems and servers.
Mint also includes the Blueman Bluetooth stack, which improves support for Bluetooth peripherals such as keyboards, mice, and smartphones.
The latest version of Performance Monitor notifies you when important activities such as backups are running in the background. The default Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) makes it easy to set up printers and scanners without having to install drivers. Of course, you can always install third-party drivers if necessary.
By the way, with regard to drivers, the software manager can also clean up packages, that is, not only remove them, but also erase their configuration files. This means the Driver Manager is now cleaning up the removed drivers. This fixes an issue that affected NVIDIA drivers on Linux when switching between versions.
FlatPak and Snap supported
Mint also supports installing Flatpak software from the package manager and update manager. Flatpak allows developers to provide easy-to-install software in containers. Two software installation interfaces make it easy to see the difference between a regular installation and a Flatpak installation.
The FlatPak installation process is very similar to what the Snapzu software manager offers. If you also want to use the Snap app store, just enter these few commands in the terminal.
- sudo rm /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref
- suitable update
- apt installation of snapd
If you want to install Linux Mint 21.1, you can download the OS right now. If you are already using Linux Mint 21, you can easily switch to the latest version through the update manager. With my 1 gigabit fiber connection, it took me less than 15 minutes.
If you want to go on a Linux adventure while on vacation, or if you’re ready to say goodbye to Windows, try Mint, you won’t be disappointed.
Source: “.com”