Linux Mint 18.2, a new version of the popular Linux distribution, has been released to the public on July 2, 2017 in Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce and KDE flavors.
The new Linux Mint 18.2 is a long term support release which means that it will be supported until 2021 (as opposed to regular releases which are not supported that long).
The new version introduces new features and changes to existing features. These differ somewhat depending on the Linux Mint edition -- Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce or KDE.
Cinnamon
KDE
MATE
Xfce
Please click on the following link to open the newsletter signup page: Ghacks Newsletter Sign up
Ghacks is a technology news blog that was founded in 2005 by Martin Brinkmann. It has since then become one of the most popular tech news sites on the Internet with five authors and regular contributions from freelance writers.
Thanks for the “heads up” Martin. :)
Linux Mint MATE is my preferred distro.
Linux mint MATE is great on low memory systems
It’s a shame that it’s not released with an updated kernel. 4.4 is really old now, especially since it lacks AMD Ryzen CPU series support (4.10) and won’t be supporting AMD Vega GPUs (4.12). Additionally, 4.12 brings performance improvements – Budget Fair Queuing – for systems with traditional HDDs and security enhancements, such as KASLR.
It’s a real shame not to incorporate at least 4.10 into a new release, 4.12 is probably too fresh for an LTS based system.
4.10 is there. You need to go to the update manager and tell it you want it.
Mint works fine on the 4.12 (it’s much faster than 4.10) – use UKUU to install it:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:teejee2008/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ukuu
I would turn off the RC kernels
uname -r
4.12.0-041200-generic
lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: LinuxMint
Description: Linux Mint 18.2 Sonya
Release: 18.2
Codename: sonya
“Linux mint MATE is great on low memory systems”
Um, no.
XFCE and LXDE (and what about LXQT on the horizon?)
Those are two. You can go pure openbox or fluxbox too if you know what you’re doin’! And there are other small WM’s to use instead of DE’s.
LM 18.0 and 18.1’s default kernel 4.4 is supported by Ubuntu’s Canonical Inc until 2021. LM 18.2’s default kernel 4.8 is nearing EOL. Kernel 4.9 is supported until 2019 by Linuxdotorg.
……. All other stable sub kernels are supported with bug/security fixes for only a few months by Linuxdotorg.
So, unless you need newer Linux kernels for newer hardware, you should use the LTS kernel 4.4 for Ubuntu-based distros, eg LM 18.x. In the case of LM 18.2, revert to kernel 4.4 – if computer is stable under kernel 4.4, then remove kernel 4.8 through Update Manager.
i have cinnamon, but rarely use it as a double boot. question: can i update to the new version thru the updater in my cinnamon? or do i have to download and start over? thanks from a novice…Clas
@clasof56 You can upgrade from Linux Mint 18.1 to 18.2 via Update Manager. Check Mint website.
Great news, thanks!
Any recommendations for which version to load to replace Vista on a laptop for a non-techie relative?
Primary usage is to watch Youtube videos of paint classes and some YAHOO email.
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/mint
Also, Cinnamon is full-featured and uses 3D hardware acceleration = requires higher specs and a good graphics card. The other flavours use only 2D.
@ Alan Robertson July 5, 2017 at 12:25 am
“sudo add-apt-repository ppa”
Nope. Not one single ppa, not even once, no, never. I don’t trust any of them.
If it’s too difficult for a particular distro to offer the latest kernel in their normal repos then they can suck it, I’ll find a different distro that does – without adding untrusted ppa’s.
Really? Not even one? Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.
I also like Linux mint mate, it’s good for the lower end systems.