What mintBackup Can Do in Linux Mint 9 Isadora
This May the upcoming version Linux Mint 9 codename Isadora will be rolled out to awaiting fans. Lead Linux Mint Developed Clem Lefebvre has recently made public a few more details about Isadora.
Lefebvre announced that Isadora will come with a completely rewritten version of mintBackup. The “Backup Tool” as mintBackup is known, was rewritten by a new member of the Linux Mint development team – Ikey. The new tool can perform the following tasks: backup and restore files and directories, backup and restore your software selection, check differences in files and perform incremental backups/restorations, check the integrity of the files after it copies them, backup straight to an archive and compress it on the fly.
“Being written in Python, it’s not as fast as copying files directly or using rsync (unless you turn off the integrity checks and the checksum verifications) but it’s quite robust and it’s extremely easy to use. The software selection backup/restoration is also very intuitive and will be of tremendous help for people upgrading to a newer version of Linux Mint,” explained Lefebvre.
In case you were wondering what else Linux Mint 9 Isadora has to offer, here are the details we are already aware of:
System Changes
- USB-Creator to be added to the default software selection.
- apturl to be added to the system.
- A new fortune database to be added in memory of Mats Geier a.k.a Husse. When you open a terminal, the random messages that show up will feature one of Husse’s best quotes.
- Three new commands for apt: “apt hold <package>”, “apt unhold <package>” and “apt held”.
Menu Changes
-Edit items directly from the menu by right clicking on them and selecting “Edit Properties”.
- Change the menu’s transparency, if your graphics card allows it.
- Two new context menu items that let you add shortcuts to the panel or to the desktop.
- “Always start with the favorites” option.
Update Manager Changes
- Brown lock icons to be replaced with white shields.
- An error icon will appear only when something actually goes wrong, like when software sources are malformed, not when your internet connection is down.
Software Manager Changes
- Completely rewritten Software Manager and mintInstall. “It features the best ideas from the original mintinstall, Gnome App-Install and the new Ubuntu Software Center. It’s also much more efficient than the previous version, handling 30,000+ packages and asynchronous installation/removal of applications in less than 1,000 lines of code,” explained Lefebvre.
- Features all the packages available on the user’s system, some 30,000 compared to the current version of mintInstall, which offers some 300 packages.
- Uses and monitors the APT daemon, so clicking “Install” means the action is queued and processed in the background. You can cancel actions, see on-going actions, view action progress.
- Completely asynchronous and independent from APT. The actions you selected will run in the background even if you close the Software Manager.
- Modified user interface.
Potential Changes (should be implemented if everything goes according to plan)
- Review applications directly from the Software Manager.
- Better and fewer suggestions in the Menu.
- Improved layout in the Menu.
- New artwork.
- New modules in the community website.
Lefebvre announced that Isadora will come with a completely rewritten version of mintBackup. The “Backup Tool” as mintBackup is known, was rewritten by a new member of the Linux Mint development team – Ikey. The new tool can perform the following tasks: backup and restore files and directories, backup and restore your software selection, check differences in files and perform incremental backups/restorations, check the integrity of the files after it copies them, backup straight to an archive and compress it on the fly.
“Being written in Python, it’s not as fast as copying files directly or using rsync (unless you turn off the integrity checks and the checksum verifications) but it’s quite robust and it’s extremely easy to use. The software selection backup/restoration is also very intuitive and will be of tremendous help for people upgrading to a newer version of Linux Mint,” explained Lefebvre.
In case you were wondering what else Linux Mint 9 Isadora has to offer, here are the details we are already aware of:
System Changes
- USB-Creator to be added to the default software selection.
- apturl to be added to the system.
- A new fortune database to be added in memory of Mats Geier a.k.a Husse. When you open a terminal, the random messages that show up will feature one of Husse’s best quotes.
- Three new commands for apt: “apt hold <package>”, “apt unhold <package>” and “apt held”.
Menu Changes
-Edit items directly from the menu by right clicking on them and selecting “Edit Properties”.
- Change the menu’s transparency, if your graphics card allows it.
- Two new context menu items that let you add shortcuts to the panel or to the desktop.
- “Always start with the favorites” option.
Update Manager Changes
- Brown lock icons to be replaced with white shields.
- An error icon will appear only when something actually goes wrong, like when software sources are malformed, not when your internet connection is down.
Software Manager Changes
- Completely rewritten Software Manager and mintInstall. “It features the best ideas from the original mintinstall, Gnome App-Install and the new Ubuntu Software Center. It’s also much more efficient than the previous version, handling 30,000+ packages and asynchronous installation/removal of applications in less than 1,000 lines of code,” explained Lefebvre.
- Features all the packages available on the user’s system, some 30,000 compared to the current version of mintInstall, which offers some 300 packages.
- Uses and monitors the APT daemon, so clicking “Install” means the action is queued and processed in the background. You can cancel actions, see on-going actions, view action progress.
- Completely asynchronous and independent from APT. The actions you selected will run in the background even if you close the Software Manager.
- Modified user interface.
Potential Changes (should be implemented if everything goes according to plan)
- Review applications directly from the Software Manager.
- Better and fewer suggestions in the Menu.
- Improved layout in the Menu.
- New artwork.
- New modules in the community website.
