The new version of Linux Mint 19.2 has just been released. This is the second update of the Linux Mint 19.x branch, based on the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS package and supported until 2023. The distribution is fully compatible with Ubuntu, but differs significantly in its approach to organizing the user interface and selecting default applications.
This new version of the distribution includes the MATE 1.22 and Cinnamon 4.2 desktop environment versions , and the design and organization of the work continues the development of the ideas of GNOME 2: the user is offered a desktop and panel with menus, a quick launch area, a list of open windows and a system tray with running applets.
Main new features of Linux Mint 19.2
The desktop environments have been updated, and in the case of Cinnamon 4.2, memory consumption is significantly reduced ; for example, version 4.2 consumes approximately 67 MB of RAM, while version 4.0 consumes 95 MB.
Added an applet to manage print output. By default, the display of recently opened documents is enabled.
In addition , new widgets were added to create configurators, simplify the writing of configuration dialogs, and make their design more complete and consistent with the Cinnamon interface. The appearance and thickness of scroll bars were also added to the configurator.
In MintMenu, the search bar has moved to the top . In the plugin for displaying recently opened files, documents are now shown first.
In addition, MintMenu's performance has also been significantly improved , now running twice as fast. The menu settings interface has been completely rewritten, translating to the Python-XApp API.
When installing multiple programs of the same type, the name of each program is now also displayed in the menu. A similar indicator has been added for duplicate applications installed via Flatpak.
In Nemo's file manager, the ability to pin favorite directories and files to the top of the list has been added.
An indication of the cache update and the ability to determine manually installed programs have been added to the Application Installation Center. The interface is optimized for use on low resolution screens.
Buttons have been added to the "Software Sources" utility to search for missing keys for PPA repositories and to remove duplicate repository definitions.
The system reporting utility interface has changed. Added a separate page with system information. Ported to systemd-coredump and discontinued use of the Ubuntu application, which made it possible to achieve compatibility with LMDE and other distributions.
Continuous improvement of applications developed as part of the X-Apps initiative aimed at unifying the software environment in Linux Mint editions based on different desktops. X-Apps use modern technologies (GTK3 to support HiDPI, gsettings, etc.).
Of the other changes that stand out in this version we find:
- Among such applications: Xed text editor, Pix photo manager, Xplayer media player, Xreader document viewer, Xviewer image viewer.
- Added support for Ctrl + Q and Ctrl + W keyboard shortcuts for photo manager, text editor, document viewer, video player, and image viewer.
- The Blueberry systray menu has the ability to install and disconnect paired devices with one click.
- The Xed text editor (a branch of Pen / Gedit) has the ability to convert lines to comments (you can select a block of code and convert it to a comment by pressing "Ctrl + /" and vice versa).
- The "Boot Repair" utility has been added to the installation image, allowing you to solve the most common problems when configuring the boot.
- The Mint-Y design theme has been revamped. By default, the Ubuntu font set is used.
Download and get Linux Mint 19.2
For those who want to obtain this new version, they can do so from the following link where they will find the versions of MATE 1.22 (1.9 GB), Cinnamon 4.2 (1.8 GB) and Xfce 4.12 (1.9 GB).