Linux Mint 20.2 arrives: Top desktop Linux keeps improving

[RV_]

I tried Mint with Cinnamon 18 and even ordered the disks for five bucks for the 32 bit and 64 bit versions. I have one correction to this otherwise excellent review. Modern Linux versions are just that-Modern powerful OS'. I tried to run the 32 bit Cinnamon 18  on a 32 bit Dell XP SP3 computer that ran XP just fine and fast. Well it took forever to get screens etc. and getting it installed was impossible.

Steven makes the same statement you hear all over, it will run on any old machine. Maybe ten years ago but today Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop is a terrific version of Linux even non-tech folks can use and I like for experimenting. Having said that it is free and if you have decent computer, older or newer lying around that you are going to sell or don't use, order the disks or make one from the free image and run it from the disk so you can see how it runs on that hardware without messing up the computer if it has issues running this modern OS version.

I agree with the rest of the article.

Excerpt:

"New desktop Linux distros arrive a couple of times a week, but Linux Mint retains its hold on my desktop because it works well, and with every release, it only gets better.

The years go by, and I keep trying one Linux desktop distro after the other. But for more than a decade now, I come back to Linux Mint. Why? It's simple: Year in and year out, Mint remains the best, easiest-to-use Linux desktop. That's the case again with the latest release, called Linux Mint 20.2 "Uma."

I like running the fastest and best hardware, but let's face it, sometimes we can't afford the latest and hottest. That can be a real problem. For example, Windows 11 won't run on hardware dating from 2016 and earlier. It also won't run on some processors from 2019 or earlier. Linux Mint? I know people who are running it on 2009 Intel Core i5 desktop processors. To get the most of your old gear, you want to use Linux Mint.

This latest version of Mint is a long-term support (LTS) release. It will be supported until summer 2025. Under the hood, you'll find Linux firmware 1.187 and the Linux kernel 5.4.0-80. For its foundation, Mint is still based on Ubuntu 20.04. Looking ahead, Mint has no plans to move off Ubuntu 20.04 until 2023. Unlike Fedora, Linux Mint is not a cutting-edge distribution. It puts stability over experimentation.

Let me sum this up for you. I run Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Windows 10, Windows 11, Chrome OS, MacOS Catalina, and MacOS Big Sur regularly. But what I use every day is Linux Mint. And, today, I'm using Linux Mint 20.2. It's my desktop operating system of choice, and if it keeps up improving the way it has, it will be tomorrow, too."

If you are confused by the terminology fire up a YouTube video and you'll find the strange terms become a bit more familiar.

Much more in the article here: https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-20-2-arrives-top-desktop-linux-keeps-improving/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid={%24external_id}&mid={%24MESSAGE_ID}&cid={%24contact_id}&eh={%24CF_emailHash}#comments-show-b9fe9a0f-808c-4f67-83e9-5f799c8314a2

Edited July 30, 2021 by RV_

[Pieere]

I am on Linux Rafaela  19.2 on my Lenovo Model Name: 20137; Date 01/30/20. 

I wonder if it works on Uma 20.2?

[Dutch_12078]

Is Mint a rolling release? Or do you have to reinstall it with each major update. 

[RV_]

Dutch,

Excerpt:

"e: Will Linux Mint become a rolling distribution?

by xenopeek » Mon Jan 21, 2019 3:01 am

Welcome to the Linux Mint forums.

Our Debian edition (LMDE) was a semi-rolling distribution on version 1 many years ago, but version 2 and 3 of LMDE are point-release distributions just like our main edition.

Linux Mint is not a rolling distribution and has no plans for such either."

 

Source:

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=1583079#p1583079

[Ray,IN]

Mint is a great platform IMO. I uninstalled Windows xp on an old Dell the installed MInt. Then gave the laptop to a grandson Feb. '20 for stay home+ school use.

[Dutch_12078]

On 8/6/2021 at 6:49 PM, RV_ said:

Dutch,

Excerpt:

"e: Will Linux Mint become a rolling distribution?

by xenopeek » Mon Jan 21, 2019 3:01 am

Welcome to the Linux Mint forums.

Our Debian edition (LMDE) was a semi-rolling distribution on version 1 many years ago, but version 2 and 3 of LMDE are point-release distributions just like our main edition.

Linux Mint is not a rolling distribution and has no plans for such either."

 

Source:

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=1583079#p1583079

One advantage of a rolling release: I installed PCLinuxOS in 2008 and the only time since then it's been reinstalled was when I changed from a PC to laptops. Periodic updates keep it fully up to date including the latest kernels. I recall testing Mint a number of years ago, but I don't recall what I thought of it at the time. I assume it's progressed a bit since then...

[RV_]

The nice thing about Linux Mint is you can try it free. However it is a powerful Modern OS and it will not run on tiny MBs of RAM and old Dell XP processors like it will on more recent hardware.

Some older Linux Distros might be more tolerant of old hardware.

Ray I don't doubt you did that but I do want to reiterate that I tried it on old XP hardware that was running great and seemed fast enough without any lag running the OS it came with.  

So before you waste time trying that just make a live disk and run it on the computer first and see if all is well. I had both the 32 bit and the 64 bit disks I ordered to be sure it wasn't me messing up the install which literally took forever. But it was running XP just fine before the disk install.

I'm only saying that like any OS it will always run better on modern hardware.

As far as Linux goes I really like Mint Cinnamon but I prefer Windows by far.

And Microsoft is making Linux easier than ever to run dual boot or however you want these days.