End of Life Announcement: Linux Mint 6
At the end of the month, on April 30th, Linux Mint 6 codename “Felicia” will reach end of life. In case you forgot, Felicia was launched back in December 2008. Ubuntu 8.10, on which Linux Mint 6 is based on, will reach end of life on the same date – April 30th, 2010.
As Lead Linux Mint Developer Clem Lefebvre explained, repositories will remain open for a little more time. No more security fixes or updates will be made available for Linux Mint 6 though. If you are currently using Linux Mint 6, you are very well advised to upgrade. The latest version is Linux Mint 8, codename Helena. The Main and Universal Editions of Linux Mint 8 Final were released back in November 2009. They were followed by Linux Mint 8 x64, Linux Mint 8 KDE and KDE64, Linux Mint 8 Fluxbox, Linux Mint 8 Xfce and LXDE.
Support for Linux Mint 8 Helena will be provided until April 2011. Here are the bits and pieces you can expect to get from this operating system:
- Based on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic koala
- Linux 2.6.31 kernel, Gnome 2.28 and Xorg 7.4
- The user can define his own Places in Menu Preferences
- Enable/disable any button for the System and Places section in Menu Preferences
- The user interface has been enhanced. It is now easier to use and it displays more content.
- The Update Manager will automatically inform the user when a new version of mintInstall-data is available. This way the user does not have to manually refresh the Software Manager.
- Software Manager is ware of the APT status of each application.
- The user can mark several applications for installation/removal.
- The looks of the Update Manager have been improved.
- Update Manager now uses Synaptic to refresh the list of update. When Update Manager is visible, the user will see progress information on the screen.
- If a problem occurs, Update Manager displays an error message in the main window (previously the error message was displayed only in the logs).
- Software Sources tool can be accessed in the Edit menu (this is another Update Manager improvement).
- The user can define a list of packages for which updates will not be received. Wildcard characters can be used to define groups of package updates the user wants to ignore.
- Faster and more reliable update detection.
- Brand new Upload Manager (mintUpload has been split into Upload Manager and File Uploader).
- Gnome Colors icon theme and the Shiki gtk theme.
- Firefox comes bundled with the Stylish add-on.
- Removed branding from Mint tools
- OEM installation can be launched from the LiveCD boot menu.
- Community editions use their own repositories
- Community editions can pin packages to from the main edition
- Mint tools are more modular
- Added Inxi buttons to xchat
If you do not feel like upgrading to Linux Mint 8, perhaps you are willing to wait for Linux Mint 9 Isadora, which will be launched this May. Support for Isadora will be provided until April 2013.
“Linux Mint follows the Ubuntu release cycle with a new release every 6 months, a lifespan of about 1.5 years per release and 3 years per LTS release. LTS stands for Long Term Support. Linux Mint 9 will be an LTS release,” explained Clem Lefebvre.
As Lead Linux Mint Developer Clem Lefebvre explained, repositories will remain open for a little more time. No more security fixes or updates will be made available for Linux Mint 6 though. If you are currently using Linux Mint 6, you are very well advised to upgrade. The latest version is Linux Mint 8, codename Helena. The Main and Universal Editions of Linux Mint 8 Final were released back in November 2009. They were followed by Linux Mint 8 x64, Linux Mint 8 KDE and KDE64, Linux Mint 8 Fluxbox, Linux Mint 8 Xfce and LXDE.
Support for Linux Mint 8 Helena will be provided until April 2011. Here are the bits and pieces you can expect to get from this operating system:
- Based on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic koala
- Linux 2.6.31 kernel, Gnome 2.28 and Xorg 7.4
- The user can define his own Places in Menu Preferences
- Enable/disable any button for the System and Places section in Menu Preferences
- The user interface has been enhanced. It is now easier to use and it displays more content.
- The Update Manager will automatically inform the user when a new version of mintInstall-data is available. This way the user does not have to manually refresh the Software Manager.
- Software Manager is ware of the APT status of each application.
- The user can mark several applications for installation/removal.
- The looks of the Update Manager have been improved.
- Update Manager now uses Synaptic to refresh the list of update. When Update Manager is visible, the user will see progress information on the screen.
- If a problem occurs, Update Manager displays an error message in the main window (previously the error message was displayed only in the logs).
- Software Sources tool can be accessed in the Edit menu (this is another Update Manager improvement).
- The user can define a list of packages for which updates will not be received. Wildcard characters can be used to define groups of package updates the user wants to ignore.
- Faster and more reliable update detection.
- Brand new Upload Manager (mintUpload has been split into Upload Manager and File Uploader).
- Gnome Colors icon theme and the Shiki gtk theme.
- Firefox comes bundled with the Stylish add-on.
- Removed branding from Mint tools
- OEM installation can be launched from the LiveCD boot menu.
- Community editions use their own repositories
- Community editions can pin packages to from the main edition
- Mint tools are more modular
- Added Inxi buttons to xchat
If you do not feel like upgrading to Linux Mint 8, perhaps you are willing to wait for Linux Mint 9 Isadora, which will be launched this May. Support for Isadora will be provided until April 2013.
“Linux Mint follows the Ubuntu release cycle with a new release every 6 months, a lifespan of about 1.5 years per release and 3 years per LTS release. LTS stands for Long Term Support. Linux Mint 9 will be an LTS release,” explained Clem Lefebvre.
