Linux Mint 18 Beta Released And Running Without Any Issues

Linux Mint is an open source, free and Ubuntu-based Linux distribution. This is the distribution with which I started exploring Linux. It was the simplest one I could try out. Today it is simple plus more stable. Recently the Linux Mint team announced the next version Linux Mint 18 beta release with some great changes and improvements. I have tried it out. In this article, Let’s see in brief what’s new in this beta release.

Linux Mint Is Simple, Easy And Stable

The most recommended Linux distribution for Linux newbies is the Linux Mint. It’s easy to understand and easy to use. I remember when I first tried to switch to Linux using Ubuntu, I could not. I could not understand that strange look of Ubuntu. Although today I use Ubuntu as a primary operating system. I quickly realized that I should figure out the correct distro for me. Then I found this video of Nixie Pixel. That’s the smallest video I could get. I quickly downloaded the distro, installed it. I learned it very quickly, understood how stuff works in Linux.

Linux Mint 18 “Sarah” Beta

Although this is Linux Mint 18 “BETA” release so some lags are expected. So far I have been using it without any issue. This is pretty stable on my system. The release comes with many changes and improvements. There are many new things that Linux lovers will want to try in this beta release. Do report to the community, if any error you come across.

What’s New In Linux Mint 18 “Sarah” Beta

Linux Mint has been in the list of top distributions and it’s currently ranking #1 on Distrowatch in terms of popularity. It’s known for its simplicity and ease of use. The same legacy they have continued with Linux Mint 18 Beta. This seems to be more stable plus more features and more improvements. So let’s see what’s new in Linux Mint 18.

Linux Mint New Look In Arc Based Theme — Mint-Y

Arc theme has become very popular among Linux users. It’s one of the top themes on Linux desktop environments. Linux Mint has now made it available to use by default. Mint-Y is an Arc based theme in Linux Mint 18 with the three variants namely, Mint-Y, Mint-Y-Dark, and Mint-Y-Darker. The screenshots are below of each variant.

Mint-Y

Mint-Y-Dark

Mint-Y-Darker

Cinnamon 3.0

All we know the main Linux Mint distro uses Cinnamon. Linux Mint 18 “Sarah” has Cinnamon 3.0 version with more features and improvements.Cinnamon 3.0 has more features –

Window Management Improvements on Tiling
Mapping and unmapping window
Animations on Dialogues and Menus are enabled by default
Improved Touchpad Support
Panel Launchers now include actions
Many more…

Here is the video that shows you off all the new features that Cinnamon 3.0 has –

Linux Mint 18 Will Have Its Own Apps: X-Apps

X-Apps project was started to produce generic GTK3 applications for the traditional desktop environment.

The idea behind this project is to replace applications which no longer integrate properly outside of a particular environment (this is the case for a growing number of GNOME applications) and to give our desktop environments the same set of core applications, so that each change, each new feature being developed, each little improvement made in one of them will benefit not just one environment, but all of them.

As stated above from the original post, X-Apps project will allow applications improvements to take effect on multiple desktop environments.

Improved Update Manager

Update manager in Linux Mint already has the great features that help users choosing the fastest update server and also let users know what update they should install and what not. In Linux Mint 18 the update manager has been improved even more. Users now have the ability to first decide what type of updates they should installed to make their system stable. The very first time users start the update manager, they have three options.

There are many more new things in Linux Mint 18. For the complete review, you can visit the changelog page. It has mentioned each and every change that this release has.