Whenever a new version of Ubuntu is released, a new version of Linux Mint soon follows. This time around it’s Linux Mint 9. Linux Mint 9 is based on Ubuntu 10.04.
I gave Ubuntu 10.04 a big thumbs up in my review, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of Linux Mint 9. So how does Linux Mint 9 stack up? Is it still “a better Ubuntu” than Ubuntu itself?
Read on to find out…
What’s New In This Release
There’s a lot of new stuff in this release and here’s some of what you will find in Linux Mint 9.
The Linux Mint Menu
The menu has been improved. If you turn on 3D effects, you can view a partly transparent menu. You can also now right-click on an item in the menu to edit it. You also have the option of changing the menu’s default behavior from showing what you looked at last to defaulting to your favorites. You can even right-click items to add them to your desktop and panel. I love the right-clicking features in the menu, it makes it very fast to change items or put them on your panel or desktop.
You can right-click an item on the menu to edit its properties.
Windows Installer
This release also marks the return of the Windows Installer (mint4win). I don’t generally run Windows so it’s not much use to me, but I’m glad to see it back for those who wish to use it.
The Windows Installer returns in Linux Mint 9. (Screenshot courtesy of LinuxMint.com)
New Backup Tool
Linux Mint has a new backup too. The new backup tool preserves your data and preferences. It also tracks the software you installed. When you go to upgrade to a fresh install of Linux Mint, the backup tool will restore your data as well as the software you had installed on your Linux Mint system.
You can also opt to restore your software selection on a different computer. The backup tool can perform incremental restorations and backups, and it can compress and archive “on the fly.” It also performs an integrity check on each file (but you can turn this off if you want to speed up your backup).
The new backup tool can backup and restore your data, preferences and software.
New Desktop Settings Tool
This release also includes a new desktop settings tool. The new tool has an improved appearance, and changes take effect immediately.
Remember those controversial changes Canonical made to the title bar buttons in Ubuntu? They were placed on the left instead of the right. This infuriated many Ubuntu users who claimed it was too “Mac-like.” Well Linux Mint fixes that too by giving everybody a choice in the matter.
The desktop settings tool lets you pick where you want the buttons, on the right or on the left. This is sure to soothe some of the intensely ruffled feathers of angry Ubuntu users.
The new desktop settings tool lets you place the title bar buttons on the left or on the right.
New Software Manager
The new Software Manager has been built again, from the ground up.
It’s essentially a blend of the Ubuntu Software Center, GNOME App, and the old software manager. The Software Manager interface is highly reminiscent of the Ubuntu Software Center. That’s not really a surprise given that Software Manager uses Webkit.
It features more than 30,000 packages, and you can read user reviews of each application. You can also post your own reviews. Applications are sorted by score, so it’s easy to see the highest rated software.
Software installations will run in the background. You can continue browsing through the Software Manager or shut it down.
The new Software Manager is an excellent addition to Linux Mint 9 (see the software section of the review for more screenshots and commentary).
Use Software Manager to add or remove applications.
Another item to take note of is the new, community website for Linux Mint users. The new site lets Linux Mint users share their thoughts about software, hardware and other topics. By registering for the site you will also be able to write software reviews that will appear in the Software Manager.
Visit the Linux Mint Community site to register to write software reviews.
Hardware Requirements & Installation
Hardware Requirements
Here’s a list of what you’ll need to run Linux Mint 9:
x86 processor (for both 32 & 64-bit versions)
x86_64 compatible processor (for the 64-bit version)
512 MB of system memory (RAM)
3 GB of disk space for installation
Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution
CD-ROM drive or USB port
Installation
The install is what you’d expect from an Ubuntu based distro. The screenshots below walk you through the install. It’s very easy, even for beginners.
Booting & Login
Bootsplash
You’ll only see the bootsplash screen if you hit Enter when first booting up Linux Mint. After you install it, it will skip the bootsplash screen and take you right to the login screen.
You’ll only see the bootsplash screen if you hit Enter when first booting up Linux Mint, before your install.
Login Screen
The login screen has the familiar Linux Mint wallpaper in the background. You can edit your language, keyboard and session settings.
You can change your language, keyboard and session settings at the login screen.
The Desktop
The first thing you’ll notice on the desktop is the new Welcome Menu. This menu is now rendered in HTML and looks better than ever. The menu contains the following helpful categories and links:
Documentation (New Features, Known Problems, User Guide)
Support (Tutorials, Forums, Chat Room)
Project (Sponsors, Donations, How To Get Involved)
Community (Idea Pool, Software Reviews, Hardware Database)
The Linux Mint 9 desktop features an attractive but unbranded wallpaper. The desktop contains two icons, the Computer icon and Home folder. The panel contains the Menu button, show desktop icon, volume, date, update manager, and the network connection icon.
As I noted on the first page of the review, you can now use the new Desktop Settings tool to change where the title bar buttons appear. I work on Macs frequently so I decided to move mine to the left. When Canonical did this in Ubuntu 10.04, it caused a major backlash among angry Ubuntu users. Linux Mint’s solution is perfect, it puts the power in the hands of the user.
I definitely prefer the buttons on the left but your mileage may vary.
You can now place title bar buttons on the left side, if you wish.
Wallpaper
One of the nice things about this release is that it comes with a number of very attractive Linux Mint 9 themed wallpapers. Right-click your desktop and choose Change Desktop Background to pick a new wallpaper. The choices are all very attractive. If you prefer to see more, just click the Get More Backgrounds Online link.
You can also adjust your theme, fonts, and visual effects from the Appearance Preferences menu that contains the background controls.
Use the Appearance Preferences menu to change your desktop wallpaper.
Bundled Software
Here’s a sample of the software included in this release.
Games
No Games
Graphics
F-Spot
GIMP
OpenOffice.org Drawing
Simple Scan
Internet
Firefox
Giver
Gwibber
Mozilla Thunderbird
Pidgin IM
Sun Java 6
Transmission
XChat IRC
Multimedia
Brasero
GNOME MPlayer
PulseAudio Device Chooser
PulseAudio Volume Control
Rhythmbox
Sound Recorder
VLC Media Player
Office
Dictionary
OpenOffice.org
Those who were annoyed that GIMP is not bundled with Ubuntu will enjoy the fact that it is bundled with Linux Mint. If you want games, you’ll have to download them from the Software Manager. There are no games bundled by default with Linux Mint 9.
The default selection of software is quite good and should meet the needs of most users. If you find that you need more applications, just open up the Software Manager.
Software Management
I really like the new Software Manager in Linux Mint 9.
I love that application installations happen in the background. Who wants to sit and wait for one application to finish installing before looking for more? I loved being able to keep looking for additional applications while my first install finished.
I also love being able to read reviews of applications. You never know what juicy and helpful tidbit of information you’ll find in a review. The reviews and scoring definitely help save time. You can skip over crappy applications and find the best software for your needs.
To write your own reviews, click the Edit link in Software Manager and type in your Linux Mint Community user name and password. If you aren’t a member, you can easily register on the site. Once you are registered and logged in, you can write a user review for any application in the Software Manager.
As an online community manager, I find this kind of community integration in the Software Manager to be delightful. There’s nothing like leveraging the experience and judgement of an entire community.
Software Repositories
If you want to add more repositories, click the Edit link at the top of the Software Manager and then choose Software Sources. Frankly though, there’s so much software available already in the Software Manager that I don’t think it’s worth bothering to add more repositories.
Adding & Removing Software
To add a program or remove a program, find it in the Software Manager and then click the Install or Remove button.
Browse the featured applications category to find outstanding software.
Read application reviews written by other Linux Mint users.
Sound and Multimedia
I had no problems playing YouTube videos in Linux Mint 9. The sound and video worked perfectly when I played videos in Firefox.
If you want to play DVDs, you’ll need to download libdvdcss2 from the Software Manager first. You may also need to restart Linux Mint 9 after installing libdvdcss2.
Unlike Ubuntu, the PiTiVi video editor is not included in the Sound & Video applications menu in Linux Mint 9. If you want to use the PiTiVi video editor, you’ll need to use the Software Manager to download and install it.
Also, the Ubuntu One store is not available in Rhythmbox player, but the Jamendo and Magnatune stores are available.
YouTube videos looked and sounded great in Firefox.
Problems & Headaches
Linux Mint & the Cloud
One thing I missed in Linux Mint 9 was Peppermint OS One’s Prism integration. Linux Mint 9 is great when it comes to multimedia if everything you want to watch is local. But what if you want quick and easy access to Hulu? You’ll have to start your browser than navigate to Hulu’s site, etc. But wouldn’t it be nice if the Hulu service was in the Sound & Video application menu? And a Prism-based window popped up and loaded Hulu?
I’d really like to see Linux Mint begin to integrate the cloud more than it has to date. It does the local applications stuff very, very well indeed. But why not begin to move beyond that and integrate cloud computing much more directly? It would only make Linux Mint that much better than it already is. I hope the developers take this idea into consideration for future releases. Peppermint OS One can teach Linux Mint a thing or two about the virtues of cloud computing.
My minor cloud gripe aside, I did not find any significant problems with Linux Mint 9. The system was quite stable and fast. I hate it when this happens as it leaves me little to write about in this section. I can only hope the next release of Linux Mint is wildly buggy and unstable. Just kidding.
Where To Get Help
Please take a moment to register for the DLR forum (registration takes less than a minute and you can login with your Facebook account if you want); everybody is welcome. You are welcome to post a message in the Linux Help section and we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction. The forum contains discussions about Linux, but also many other topics. Please stop by and say hello when you have a chance.
Drop by the forum to get help, talk about Linux or just hang out.
You might also want to check out the Linux Mint forum, the wiki and the blog.
Final Thoughts & Who Should Use It
Linux Mint 9 lives up to the reputation earned by its predecessors. It takes Ubuntu 10.04 and makes it even better in most respects.
I happily recommend Linux Mint 9 to beginner, intermediate and advanced Linux users. This is probably the best Linux distro for beginners. It’s extremely easy to install and includes plenty of software. It includes most codecs necessary for multimedia and it has an enthusiastic community, ready to lend support and guidance to newbies.
My hat is off to the Linux Mint developers, they did a great job with this release. The only potentially bad thing about Linux Mint is that it might have a negative effect on distrohopping. Oh well, I guess that’s the price we pay for having such a great desktop distribution.
Well, what are you waiting for? You might as well get your Linux Mint 9 download started right now.
What’s your take on this distro? Tell me in the comments below. Visit the DLR forum for more discussions. Visit JimLynch.com for opinion columns.
Summary Table:
| Product: | Linux Mint 9 |
| Web Site: | http://www.linuxmint.com/ |
| Price: | Free |
| Pros: | New Software Manager adds ease of use, and many more applications. This release includes a new backup tool, editable menu items, and a new desktop settings tool. The welcome screen is now rendered in HTML, and Linux Mint 9 comes with improved backgrounds and art. The Windows installer (mint4win) returns in this release. |
| Cons: | Lacks the Prism-based cloud integration of Peppermint OS One. |
| Suitable For: | Beginner, intermediate and advanced Linux users. |
| Summary: | Linux Mint 9 improves on Ubuntu 10.04 and makes a great distro even better. This release includes many enhancements and additions. It’s well worth upgrading to Linux Mint 9. |
| Rating: | 5/5 |
does it need any antivirus to be installed or d os is simply resistant to virus?? :cool:
@ ChiJoan:
have a look here:
http://mac.linux.be/content/mintppc-9-released
MintPPC 9 was released. MintPPC is a port of Linux Mint LXDE to Debian for 32-bits PowerPC computers. This version of MintPPC is based on Mint Isadora and Debian Squeeze.
http://mac.linux.be/content/mintppc-9-released
I installed Linux Mint 9 on a system where my windows XP pro version died. It was a legal copy but because it was over 2 years old Windows insisted I purchase it again when my system crashed. Because I have a good XP system on my laptop, I decided to look into a free OS for my PC. I have a friend that is a die-hard Ubuntu fan, plus I have experience on Linux servers.
I am glad I took a look at Mint 9. My system is really running great with this OS. It seems more stable than XP and has many of the same features. I am looking into a Win4Lin system that will give me access to the 2 programs I need that are windows based. I am totally surprised by the ease of use, comprehensive software and community support. I am a true convert that will never again pay for Windows. Hats off to Linux Mint!!!
Lori Andersoon
Can I and how would I install the latest iteration of Mint on my intel iMac OS X 10.6.4. Also I am only a little over a year into my joining of the computer age, so I need very concise and detailed instructions and explanations, please. Your help and insight will be greatly appreciated. Newby!
Hi TJGeezer,
Thanks for the kind words, welcome to DLR. I'm very glad that the review was useful to you. Congrats on finding Mint. But don't forget to install VirtualBox on it so you can play around with other distros too. It's a good idea to remain a distrohopper even if you use Mint as your base distro.
:smile:
I've been frustrated by Linux for years, partly because I'm stuck in Windows for work reasons. No time to play. Ubuntu 10.04 was widely reported as breaking the dual boot, which I can't afford to take a chance on, so the ISO sits on my hard drive.
Based on your review, I tried Mint 9 and it is by far the best Linux experience I've had since I started fiddling around with early versions of Red Hat. Never could get it to do what I needed without tackling a complete unix training manual. I'm too old and wrinkled to survive that experience on pizza and Jolt, so Windows stayed my fate.
You got me to try Mint 9 and it's actually fun. Maybe Mint is to Linux as Discovery Magazine is to a scientific journal, but I don't care, I got no ego involvement in this. Mint is just the first Linux I've tried that I find actually enjoyable.
It has some wrinkles. The weird Ubuntu (and Mint) habit of offering to execute any text file you double-click on but refusing to just run "real" executables on a double-click has me bemused. But everything else is fine, it works, easy to use, easy to customize, and above all fun to tinker with because it doesn't easily break.
Finally found a Linux I can ride, so to speak, so thanks for a fine and useful review.
:w00t:
Based on your review, and comments here, I decided to give Mint a try after using Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10, and 10.04 over the past year.
Mint seems like the easier transition for a Windows user, since it has a Menu bottom at bottom left, while Ubuntu with panels at top and bottom and control buttons on the left seems like an easier transition for a Mac user.
A single panel minimizes screen real estate used by Mint, but that single panel gets somewhat crowded on a 10.1" netbook screen. Similarly, the Mint menu is constrained by the small screen, which leads to a log of hierarchical menus and scrolling, although I can minimized this by de-activating some apps that I don't care about.
Overall, I would call it a draw. Mint was more difficult to install from a USB, but overall, both Mint and Lucid required about the same amount of effort to install and configure (both had about the same number of post-install issues, such as the Windows (Super_L key not being mappable, and window borders being so small that resizing is difficult). Both seem to be about the same speed and stability, which is hardly surprising.
I'll probably keep Mint around for experimentation, but Ubuntu is likely to remain my primary Linux distro.
Mint 9 is a very good choice for home users, with pre-installed media codecs etc… But I think the new Pardus 2009.2 with KDE is one to. I hope I can see a review of it to to compare it with Mint 9. :smile:
Nice review, i have not actually run mint 9 though have indeed run prior versions and found it just continues to improve rather solidly. Being part of the distro hoping scene i can earnestly state out of the box mint has been pretty much trouble free in all departments allowing novices and newbies to just get on with their work or playing media. Great stuff. Linux will NEVER attract windows users by the masses UNLESS they implement mint's philosophy. Debian/Ubuntu have laid a very solid foundation and structure that mint has capitalized on by adding the necessary trimmings or cream so to speak, THIS is what will draw windows users away to trial linux. The majority DON'T want to play around with the system, most don't have the time to even learn how, and even those that do, even less have the patience, and even less the ability. Ubuntu has done a very remarkable job with it's documentation and support, this combined with an os of mint's caliber, solid advertising, is what will move the masses away from 'that other' os.
You were right . Linux Mint brings an end to distro hopping :sad: .But it is a almost perfect OS :biggrin:
Have used Ubuntu for 3 years.
The thing I have learned is that waiting for about 4 months before upgrading is a good idea.
To get a stable 9.04 I got a trouble free installation after 5 months.
Much trouble getting up to 9.10,succeeded after 7 months.
Got keen to get 10.4 as it is said to very good.
Tried 4 different disks to get onto 10.4.
One 64 bit purchased from a local(reliable)source, and 3 of 32bit,one downloaded , and the other two purchased.
All failed- would not connect to Internet.
If Mint 9 is able to be installed without hassles I will very likely become a long term user of Mint.
I expect to get a disk in the mail tomorrow.
You can run Jollicloud within easypeasy which is an Ubuntu clone as well. Will it run in Mint. This will help with the cloud concerns.
I've used various distros over the years and settled on Ubuntu when it was first released but Mint is my final distro. It is the single most user friendly distro available, in my opinion.
I am not a big fan of Mint 9. I have an AMD Athlon desktop that runs Mint 8 just fine, it won't run Mint 9. Ubuntu 10.04 will run on my old Pentium II notebook just fine. I also don't like the fact that Mint makes you do a fresh install every 6 months instead of an upgrade. I did a fresh install of Mint 9 on my AMD Athlon 64 notebook and Firefox keeps crashing, not good. I do like the fact that Mint 9 uses SUN Java 6 JDK instead of OpenJDK like Ubuntu 10.04. Ubuntu dosen't even have it in the repos, very bad. I am a Java programmer so I like to keep my system up to date and running after I set it upso, I love that Update manager update both the OS and all the software. I have found Ubuntu and Mint have very deep repos for this. I tried Fedora and OpenSUSE but I can't get LAME (no mp3) or MySQL to work. PCLinux and Mandriva are nice but they don't have very deep repos. I like SUN Solaris 10 alot and have used it for a long time but it is very had to install software and resize a ZFS partition. I refuse to use Windows since it requires the expense of virus software with slows down the PC. I've been considering Mac OS X but I don't think it can keep all the software up to date like software manager does in Ubuntu. I also still feel both Ubuntu and Mint need to work or the look and feel. I like the looks of Mac OS X the best maybe Ubuntu should have a window border like Mac but in a bronze color instead of silver. GRUB is also an ugly boot manager something graphical like Chameleon would be much better. Mint 9 and Ubuntu 10.04 are the best OSes right now but in my opinion still need some work to be perfect. :smile:
Installed Mint9 last night on my main gaming machine, and installed Quake Wars and UT2k4. Both games run very well on it, and only makes me sad that more game companies don't do Linux ports.
If games were more available for Linux, I'd ditch Windows and never look back.
Does anyone know if Mint includes a driver built-in for the rt2870? I have a USB WiFi adapter based on the rt2870 and want to be sure that a driver will install for it.
Regarding getting help for Mint, you correctly point out Mint's forums and the wiki, but Mint's IRC help channel needs mention also. It is on irc.spotchat.org in #linuxmint-help.
When visiting the channel, bear in mind that it is family-friendly (watch your language). If you have a question or are unsure about something, just ask or state your problem, and be patient waiting for an answer.
Why is it so easy for Clem and his relatively small team to make so many improvements to Ubuntu? I've been using Ubuntu and Mint for more than a year now and I just can't figure out why Ubuntu with all its resources can put out a distribution that always has this much room for improvement. If Ubuntu was simply better made then there would be nothing for Linux Mint to add.
When I upgraded from Ubuntu 8.04 to 8.10, Ubuntu wouldn't even boot anymore. I installed the Mint equivalent, Felicia, Mint-6 and it worked with no problems at all. What Linux Mint seems to have going for it is that Ubuntu -even the final releases- are still a little rough around the edges and need work. Linux Mint simply fills that niche of putting the final touches on Ubuntu. It really is "Ubuntu done right".
I was using Ubuntu 10.04 and was waiting for Mint9 to come out to try it. I must say that I love Mint 9 much more that the standard Ubuntu 10.04. Everything works out of the box and I still have the flexablity of Ubuntu/Debian base.
Linux Mint preloads Moonlight and its closed-source (binary blob) codecs from Microsoft, which are like gaping wounds to the Firefox browser — an invitation for infection of an otherwise hardy OS.
Any distro that preloads Moonlight should also preload antivirus software.
I don't see any advantage Mint 9 has over Ubuntu 10.04. Installing GIMP and the few missing video codecs is a breeze with Ubuntu 10.04.
Ubuntu 10.04 GNOME is what I'm using on my main computer and I will test Fedora 13 on my 2nd computer.
There are hundreds of Linux distros out there, and Mint is certainly one of them.
Based on the information I see here, both in the review and in the comments section, this version is at least worth a look in a Virtualbox OSE session. It doesn't, however, good as it is, sound like my kind of distribution.
I am totally set when it comes to my every day systems: I have three really solid ones in sidux as my cutting edge, rolling release system. It's definitely not for the average consumer, but it's just right for me, cutting edge, yet easy to maintain with fast, flexible, customizable tools.
Then there is antiX, a light desktop system that can run live, from SSD media, CD, DVD, or disk, and though it uses Debian Testing repos by default, it has commented out entries for Sid and Stable, and it has admin tools that allow you to customize it into whatever you want. So I have the light, flexible arrangement as well.
Then finally, I have the really boring, but completely stable SimplyMEPIS environment. Available in both KDE 3.5.10 (Version 8.0.15) and KDE 4.3.4 (Version 8.5) forms, backed by a Stable Debian binary tree, this is a simple, extremely stable system.
Mint may have it beat on fancy features, but no way is it beat on simplicity and stability.
At the same time, for the average Linux user, this release seems to be a great alternative to the recent Long Term Support (LTS) release from Ubuntu 10.04. To me, this one, for such users, ought to get more points even than Ubuntu. Easy to install, easy to use, and easy to modify. Those are my three criteria for simplicity, and that's why, even though I have my own personal favorites, I want to give this one a good look.
I am suspecting that for most routine Linux users, Mint is likely to be one of the most appropriate systems to use, and based on early feedback, that certainly seems to be the case. I will weigh in later with more once I actually get to test this most current version.
Nice review! Finally, a holistic one! Very true about prism. It needs to be integrated with mint by default. It's usually one of the first addons I install in firefox.
@david
Left click on panel, add either: main manu, or menu bar, whichever you like, then left click on mint menu icon, remove.
Then you have classic menu in either variation and move it around the panel as you like.
While on the subject of panels, I see that annoying bug with new panels going invisible when added is in the final version.
Otherwise I'm testing it on a partition and it looks fine. Will try it some more and then decide if I'll use it.
One small complaint I have with mint(and really the reason I use ubuntu instead) is the menu. I hate the new menu style used in kde4, and mint. I like how kde4 is so easy to switch to the classic version by simply right clicking on the menu and choosing classic. I think mint (or gnome) should make this option available.
Installed Mint 9 after work today while I made cookies. It's that easy to install. So far no complaints. Everything works how I want. I did a clean install but for my netbook I'm going to try out the upgrade instructions from the Mint blog. Mint is by far my favorite but Puppy is a close second. This version of Mint feels faster but it could just be me. It definitely feels faster than Windows 7 on the same computer.
Hello Joan,
I parted with my PPC Mac Pro ages ago. I gave it to my friend Katherine and it promptly died! She claims she had nothing to do with it, but I suspect foul play. That Mac Pro was fine, I never had a problem with it but shortly after she got it, it died.
Hmm. I suspect malicious intent on her part. :wink:
Didn't I read Mint could be launched on top of Debian PPC? Where's your review Mac-man? Don't you have a G3 or G4 PowerPC in a closet somewhere? I got my G4 tower for only $25.00 without an OS or RAM and had to find an old Ubuntu 6.0 PPC Live CD to see if it was a lemon at that price. Luckily, I had the right PC100/PC133 RAM that worked in it. Of course, without Flash games and my favorite Firefox Extensions, I searched out Tiger OSX for it, but with less software than my Windows or Linux computers…it's in the closet as back-up.
Thanks for the review of my favorite Mint and Puppy Linux, let me guess you like the one that looks like a Mac. :wink:
Now I'll find out if my Intel dual-P3 650 MHz slot1 computer can run the new Mint. Funny last time I had to run the KDE version on it and my Gateway P4 I had to go Gnome because the KDE wouldn't load, now it has KDE added though.
Joan in Reno
Hi Shane,
The review is actually 7 pages. The last page is an image gallery. The reviews are set up to make it easy for people to hop to the sections they want to read. Some folks have no interest in certain sections of the review and prefer to skip to the sections that interest them.
Please note also that there are about 27 screenshots in this review. You do not want them all to load on one page, trust me. Even on a fast broadband connection, it would be very annoying.
Thanks for the feedback though, I hope you'll reconsider a digg in a future review. :wink:
I love Mint… but 8 pages for this review?… Do you hate your readers that much? I understand ad income… but don't make it irritating for us. No digg.
And the background Tuxes… lose them IMO.