Keeping the tradition of releasing a new version just weeks after a new version of Ubuntu, the distro Linux Mint recently announced the launch of the RC (Release Candidate) for Linux Mint 11. GNOME fans can be happy, because the Mint will use the default window manager instead of the Unity.
Linux Mint 11: GNOME instead of Unity
Codenamed "Katya" (the Mint's releases are named after women, and in alphabetical order on the first letter), the Mint has kept 11 more classic look, eschewing the Canonical Unity and GNOME 3 (unlike what it had announced few months). A great decision, since it is apparent that both window managers still need some tweaking. In their place comes the latest version of GNOME 2 (version 2.32.1).
Thus, although several programs have received updates, Mint is in the same general visual appearance of the previous releases, and icons mintMenu basically equal.
But there are major changes! The OpenOffice.org leaves off and gives way to LibreOffice, and becomes the new Banshee media player, replacing Rhythmbox. Moreover, the F-Spot was replaced by gThumb as the default application for files, and Gwibber is no longer installed by default.
Linux Mint is an interesting alternative to Ubuntu, already bringing in the default installation supports multiple media types, plugins for common web browsers (such as Flash and Java), support for displaying DVD movies, and other components that usually need to be installed Ubuntu. You can download the RC directly on the site of the distro, and there are versions for both 32-bit and 64-bit.
