Linux Mint started off as a tiny project, but has managed to gain a fairly large following over the years. Distrowatch ranks it as the third most popular Linux distro, after Ubuntu and Fedora. In many ways, Linux Mint is Ubuntu simplified.
Linux Mint 9 is based on the recently released Ubuntu 10.04. If you are an existing Mint user, you will feel right at home, since this release looks and feels the same as Helena. The planned metallic visual refresh was dropped from this release due to performance issues. However, this is not to say that there aren’t big changes in this release.
Some of the major changes in Linux Mint 9 are:
New Software Manager
The Software Manager was re-written from scratch and now integrates the best ideas from the original Software Manager, Gnome App-Install and the new Ubuntu Software Center. Get access to around 30,000 packages along with user reviews with the new software manager.
New Backup Tool
The backup was also re-written and features huge improvements. You can now backup your files, software selection and system preferences with Mint’s Backup Tool.
Mint4Win
Mint4Win – the Windows installer for Mint (based on Wubi) makes a comeback in this release.
Improved Appearance
Mint 9 includes new artwork (wallpapers), with tons more being available from the software repository. Mint also includes other visual tweaks including transparent Menu.
The full changelog is available here. Be aware that this is an RC release and has several known issues.
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