Clement Lefebvre announced the release of Linux Mint 19 (code-named Tara).This release of Mint contains improvement in performance and visual appearance.Here is the review of the new Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon edition.
What’s NEW?
1) NEW FLAT THEME
Linux Mint 19 comes with a modern flat GTK theme called ‘Mint -Y’.It has been under development for past two years and preview was available in previous Linux Mint editions.Now it is production ready and shipped by default in the new edition.Mint-Y gives a fresh look to the installation.If you want, you can always go back to previous Mint-X theme in the settings.
2) FASTER APP LAUNCH
The new Linux Mint is powered by Cinnamon 3.8 desktop environment, with performance improvements.The team behind the Linux Mint observed faster app launches in other desktop environments compared with Cinnamon.This lead to some optimizations to fix the issue.Read more here.
3)TIMESHIFT FOR BACKUPS
Timeshift was first introduced on Linux Mint 18.3 and backported to previous releases.It undergone many revisions and now, it is integrated with the update process too.If any error occurs after update, you can always restore a previous backup.
4)IMPROVED FLATPAK SUPPORT
Flatpak is a solution to the long standing package management problems in Linux. Software manager of Linux Mint Tara now made improvements on dealing Flatpak applications.Great number of Flatpaks are available on the Software manager too.
5)AUTOMATIC UPGRADES
Update manager now supports automatic upgrades.If the corresponding option is enabled, the system will be upgraded in the background without manual intervention.
6)UPDATED XAPPS
The default applications of Linux Mint especially Nemo file manager and Xreader pdf reader underwent many changes.
8)SWAP FILE
Ubuntu 18.04, the base of Linux Mint 19 introduced swap file instead of swap partition.New installations can benefit from this.
7)A NEW WELCOME SCREEN
The new welcome screen is designed to accompany new users to familiarize them with new operating system.It will help users to installing codecs, new apps, taking backups etc.
You can read the complete list here.
PREINSTALLED APPLICATIONS
These are some applications shipped by default in the new MInt.
- Firefox web browser
- Xplayer media player
- Rhythmbox music player
- Xreader pdf reader
- LibreOffice
- GIMP
- Timeshift
- Some basic utilities and applications like Calendar, Calculator etc.
MEMORY USAGE AND PERFORMANCE
The Cinnamon 3.8 desktop took about 950 MB ram after boot.This around 100 MB more compared to previous version.But we are getting a stunning new visual appearance.If you want an operating system light on resources, there is Linux Mint Xfce available on officially.Boot time was less than 10 seconds.(I have SSD for operating system partition)
HARDWARE DETECTION
I didn’t experienced any issues with my Nvidia GPU and wifi.Linux Mint also detected audio devices I have connected.
ISSUES
I was able to notice some glitches on my daily usage.
- Unable to install any Flatpak apps..!The software manager of Linux Mint 19 comes with a major bug which affects multiple users.I think this was a bug which should had fixed before final release. Linux Mint team is aware of this and the fix is on the way.(Edit :The fix has been released)
- Delay switching GPUs.There is an annoying delay while switching GPUs which was not there in previous releases.Additionally, a complete restart is required instead of log out.
- Hibernate not working.There seems be some issues with the new swap file setup.Hibernate was working fine on previous versions.It seems like Linux Mint is discouraging hibernation.The upgrade instruction from beta suggests to disable hibernation from power menu.
There are also some minor bugs in Cinnamon applets and the new Mint-Y theme.
VERDICT
Even though there are some minor bugs which have to be fixed, Linux Mint still is the best Linux distribution available.Linux Mint Tara has a great improvement in both visual appearance and performance aspects.It is my primary operating system now and it is worthy to try out.
It is the first time I’m reviewing a Linux distribution.Suggestions are always welcome.Use the comment box below to share your experience with the new Linux Mint.
Great review. True, Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon is the “best” Linux Desktop System. Many improvements, especially like the new update policy, automatic upgrade (for noobs) and Flatpak support in Program manager.
If you deliberately add a swap partition like Mint 17 & 18 then the hibernation issues solved.
I have the whole 120 GB ssd dedicated for this installation.I don’t want to further split it for swap partition.Also, I’m not going to use hibernation too much and I can live without it.But there is no other way if laptop battery goes down and immediately cant plug power.
For a first time new distro review this was a good effort. Keep at it and keep the reviews coming!
My own experience with Linux Mint 19 Mate’, after more than a decade of using Mint as my daily OS, was mostly positive. The only real glitch I found was that WINE 3.x wouldn’t install with the WINE menu system available. Turns out this is an upstream issue originating from WineHQ, not something peculiar to Ubuntu 18.04 or Mint 19. Once it’s fixed and the WINE installs normally I’ll go ahead and upgrade from 18.3 to 19. In the meantime 18.3 continues to work flawlessly, so I’m in no rush..
George, Does 18.3 really run flawlessly? I have 18.3 on my Lenovo T420 and it has a bug with waking from suspend. Instead of restarting wireless, the wireless networks disappear and the icon changes to an Ethernet icon. Do you have that problem? And if so how did you solve it? None of the Level 1,2,3 updates has made any difference as I still have the bug.
Rick, sorry I took so long answering your question. I haven’t experienced the problem you mentioned with waking from suspend with Mint 18.3. My machines are on 24/7 and suspend is never used, so that’s an issue that never came up and something I can’t comment on from personal experience.
I’m sure you’ll get plenty of people happy to debate on the “best” claim you’ve made, as no distro is perfect, hence there’s plenty of room to debate. e.g. I noticed a bug in Mint 19 as soon as its beta came out and it still isn’t resolved (see https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=272139 for details). Plus I don’t believe mintinstall has Snap support, even though GNOME Software and KDE Discover do. I’ve also had Cinnamon crash on me on it a few times.
Due to distro imperfections I have several, including Mint, installed on my PC and I switch frequently between them.
As a fellow blogger, however, I have to say this post is a great first distro review.
Lovely review, been running Linux Mint since 2014 and before that Ubuntu since Ubuntu 12.04. Switched to xfce last year, IMO xfce is even better than cinnamon. Best OS I ever tried including IOS and windows. I’m still running Mint 18 on my main computer, will upgrade to 19 soon.
As a relative newcomer to Linux, I thought that I’d give the much praised Mint 19 a try – well I guess it is just me but I find things that I want to do are either impossible or hard to get info on. E.g. I just want a plain light blue screen as my desktop – can’t do; I’d like to use Desklets, downloaded them but how to get to use them; Timeshift backups – told to use them but have no idea what the menu items mean. As I say, probably just me, but I certainly haven’t found any of it obvious – LinuxLite, on the other hand (and my only other Linux experience), is much easier for this Windows convert to work with.
Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon, standard install vs DROPBOX
sharing to you (https://linuxloves.com/linux-mint-19-cinnamon/) my ‘conversation’ with Dropbox
Is there anybody who has an answer for this problem?
“” Begin quote:
explaing my problem:
In this newly installed Linux19 laptop, the setup of the system was made
by the standard settings of the live-usb, and the 100% harddisk use was
partitioned with LVM (for partitioning) and LUKS (for the actual
encryption).
I am fairly new to this Linux-world, and do not understand why Dropbox
cannot identify ANY part (but 1) or directory of the harddisk where the
Dropbox-synchronize-map can be set!
The only allowed directory was the Tmp directory in the Rootmap, BUT
that cannot and may not be the case (I hope that this is not nessary to explained):
Is it the now the case that Dropbox identifies this
data-part of the Linux installation as raw-formatted because of the
encrypted-environment?, without this encryption the format would be
identified as formatted-Ext4 (I think).
I cannot believe it is the intention to use as a
dropbox-synchronise-environment this Tmp-dir from the Root.
Hoping you and/or Linux can give a solution to this nasty “format –
identifying – problem”.
“” end quote…
Is there anybody who has an answer for this problem?
My Sisters name is Tara
Not ‘still the best’. MX is better in my humble opinion. And a smaller footprint too.
Way too much memory worst than gnome 3 I have 3,7 Gig usable and its maxed with 1 window firefox opened.
May I suggest you look around a little more before declaring anything the ‘best’.
MX – 16 ,17 & now 18 ,I feel are better & funner
I have always found mint to be a bit tedious for my taste.