I downloaded 3 flavours of Linux a couple of days ago. I was looking for revamping my Linux box to look as cool as possible, and I was also looking to upgrade my current Mint 6 distribution to Mint 7, as I had only heard good things about it. I have been using Mint 7 since yesterday after experimenting with the other downloaded distros of Good OS and Elive. So far I am happier with 7 than I was with 6. Even though there are no visibly ground breaking changes to the system, Linux Mint 7 does what is expected of it and much more and delivers a consistency that is very… refreshing. The best part… no manual configuration of my wifi card as it worked out of the box. This is the firs time that this has even happened in all my time of using the various distros of Linux.
This screenshot tour will give you a overview of whats new and whats not from what I have seen thus far.
The desktop after loading from the live CD. All the usual stuff that mint users are used to.
The install process keeps the same look and feel and flow. Language choice.
Partitioning during install is simple and takes just a few minutes. It does look a little bit more colourful than the partitioner in mint 6
Putting in your personal and login information
During install, if your internet is up, the installer looks online to add additional language packs. This can be easily skipped.
After the installation is complete you can choose to continue using the live CD or you can restart and go to the Real McCoy. Why would I want to remain in the live CD anyway… right?
The mint startup after Install. You can just about make out a slightly differently coloured box under the loading bar. This is probably where the messages would appear in case you switch them on.
The login screen has been changed and looks more console like than before. I liked it although I have read mixed review about it in the forums. However, since you can easily change this screen, there is really nothing to be concerned about.
This dialog appears at startup giving you something to do even before you get into the distro completely. Where I haven’t been is the chat room. That’s where I will head next.
The mintMenu looks the same at first glance but has captions of applications on by default and also other interesting addtions like suggested actions and pre-populated favourites section.
The mintMenu already has some of the frequently used applications listed in the Favourites
If the filter in the mintMenu doesnt find what you are looking for it suggests some common/useful takes that you can perform using the phrase that you looked for. “Install Package” is what I found most useful.
Shiki-Mint is the default theme now. Nice, clean and easy to work with. The older default thems are also there and of course customization is possible to all the elements of the theme.
The theme customizations are pretty much the same although I did see a fe wnew and improved border styles
A very useful feature that has been added to mintInstall is the Featured Applications area. From here you can install the most commonly used applications that didn’t make it to the live CD. I thought that this could have been more comprehensive, maybe even segregated by intended use.
This image is actually to show the ”busy“ animation at the top right of the window. This is a new addition although purely for asthetics.
Firefox 3 does duty as the default browser. I would have much rather liked a mint optimized version as suggested by some of the users.
Open Office.org 3.0 does duty as the office suite. I haven’t taken it for a spin yet but I am sure that there is nothing much to write about. The load time does seem to have improved.
The Shut Down dialog.
I dont know if this was part of Mint 6, but I just noticed that Mint 7 allows me to connect to an ftp server directly from Nautilus.
The location gets mounted as a partition that you can browse like any other folder. This means that I wont really need Filezilla to move file from here to there and vice versa. Quite frankly, I find ftp clients very irritating and slow.
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Abhilash is a part time blogger and blogs about photography, technology and travel. When not blogging Abhilash is either selling outsourcing solutions to companies or indulging in marathon episodes of various science fiction shows and movies.
[...] Linux Mint 7 [Gloria] [...]
Linux Mint 7 is great. I don't know what else to say
I agree! I tried many others and then came back to Mint! Ah the freshness…
Found your blog through DPS, on their recent GIMP article.
I've been using ubuntu for several months now, and actually didn't find out about Mint until after I'd become comfortable with ubuntu. I may have to create a Live CD and take it for a test drive. The only thing that I'm unhappy with ubuntu right now is that it isn't picking up my 3-D graphics very well on my laptop. Therefore, apps like Google Earth become impossible to run. I've researched forums and have come to the conclusion that my particular card isn't supported very well by ubuntu. Windows Vista, which is what was on that machine before, did great with it. I wonder if Mint would support it any better? It's worth a shot.
Mint 7 detected all my hardware well. My laptop has the GeForce 7000m chip
and the packages for that were downloaded after first boot. Wifi worked out
of the box. Mint is the best experience I have had with linux. Although,
ubuntu also took care of the graphics drivers, it didnt do the wifi part
well.
[...] Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) is out. I have yet to try it out as mintUpdate seems to think that my system is up to date. The forums are abuzz with people who seem to be having the same issue. I think that upgrade method from Felicia to Gloria is not up yet. Probably that’s why I am not able to upgrade. I might even download the CD to do it. I really can’t wait! [...]
Hi! I (accidentally) managed to change my login screen from the default to a xubuntu version.
Now I’d like to know how to switch back to the default.
Please help!
@ack.inc
To change your login screen look, just go to System ? Administration ? Login Window. Choose from the available options there.