The development team behind the popular Linux Mint operating system has just recently announced that Linux Mint 10 ‘Julia’ RC (Release Candidate) has been rolled out. The final version of Linux Mint 10, which is based in Ubuntu 10.10, Linux 2.6.35, Gnome 2.32, and Xorg 7.5, is supposed to be released this November.

“The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 10 RC. As an RC (Release Candidate) this release is targeted at developers and beta-testers who want to help Linux Mint find and correct bugs before the stable release. Please do not use this release as your main desktop,” announced Lead Linux Mint Developer, Clem Lefebvre.

To run properly Linux Mint 10 needs:
- A 32-bit processor if you go with Linux Mint 32-bit; or a 64-bit processor if you go with either Linux Mint 32-bit or Linux Mint 64-bit.
- 512MB or RAM
- 4Gb of available disk space
- A graphics card capable of 800x600 resolution
- A CD-ROM drive or a USB port.

Here are the main new features you can expect to see in Linux Mint 10 RC:

Welcome screen

• Codecs can be installed from the welcome screen
• You can upgrade to the DVD edition from the welcome screen

Menu

• Freshly installed applications are highlighted
• It is now easier to find and install applications because the menu is aware of what's available in your repositories so you can search for software and install packages without opening the software manager.
• The menu also works as search engine
• The menu supports GTK bookmarks and GTK Themes

Update Manager

• You can right click a package and instruct the Update Manager to ignore updates for that particular package.
• The size of selected updates is now displayed

Upload Manager

• The system tray icon is now launched automatically at startup by Linux Mint Iif services are defined.
• The File Uploader merged with Upload Manager
• ‘Check connection’ button to test a connection while defining
• Uploads can run in the background
• Uploads can be canceled

Looks

• Linux Mint 10 RC features the new Mint-X theme which is like the traditional light theme and dark background, but with the illusion of a metallic looking theme.

Apps

• Linux Mint 10 comes with Adobe Flash Square and Oracle Virtualbox.

System Improvements

• Faster, more reliable "highlight" command, used by "apt"
• You will no longer get a warning when using unsigned repositories
• Codecs are now tracked by "mint-meta-codecs" and applications included in the DVD edition are tracked by "mint-meta-gnome-dvd"
• The mintsystem adjustment system is now LSB compliant.

A detailed presentation of what’s new in Linux Mint 10 is available here. .
If you would like to get Linux Mint 10 RC, you can download the 32-bit edition here and the 64-bit edition here.