90 comments

1. I would like to send warmest greetings and love to all the team.

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2. Can’t get changed settings in CCSM to “stick”. While I have CCSM open, and while I make changes, the window flashes, disappears, then reappears, with my changes gone and the original settings in place.

   Happens after removing ~/.config/compiz-1 and logging out, too.

   Specifically, trying to disable cube effects, expo, scale, animation, and enable Desktop Wall and Viewport Switcher.

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3. I can’t seem to get Compiz to display the window boarders and it likes to reset itself to the default Compiz settings when I log out and log back in.

   I think the first problem Compiz specific though since I had the same problem with Ubuntu MATE and the Fedora MATE remix.

   However I know I never had the second problem before.

   Edit by Clem: Hi Justin. The window borders won’t work in virtualbox unfortunately or on some GPUs. Regarding the settings reverting to default, that’s an issue in the RC, we’ll fix that one.

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4. Also I would like to add that I’m running it in VirtualBox.

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5. Hi Clem,

   Is 17.1 still the Long Term Support release? And how long will it be supported for?

   Also I’ve had a problem with Google Chrome and work space switcher in Mint 17.
   When I try to change from a workspace using Chrome to another empty workspace chrome seems to follow into that work space, although I can’t use it. It’s a kind of “remnant’. BTW this also happens with Chromium.
   Also, If I upgrade to Mint 17.1, will I get rid of this Chrome problem.

   magicrob

   Edit by Clem: Hi Rob, yes, until 2019. Regarding Chrome/chromium it’s not very orthodox when it comes to window management. I know in Muffin (the Cinnamon WM) we’ve a couple of special cases just for these two apps. It’s possible Marco/Compiz weren’t as leniant towards Google on this. There might be an option in Chromium to tell it not to implement window borders on its own.

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6. Clem and team, thank you so very much for getting compiz to be one of the default WM’s for Mint 17.1 Mate. I LOVE IT!

   For those of you who are wondering, here is what it looks like with Emerald Theme manager working…

   https://backup.filesanywhere.com/FS/M.aspx?v=8a69638d5b9075759f6d

   And here is the PPA I used to install emerald theme maker:

   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/themes
   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install emerald

   And finally here are about 10 themes for you I tarzipped:

   https://backup.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8c72668b596370aa71a1

   Then you can call emerald with emerald–replace in compizconfig settings. I only hope we can convince Cleam et al to get fusion-icon working. Please!

   Thanks Cleam and company! 🙂

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7. Justin Wrote

   “I can’t seem to get Compiz to display the window borders”

   Same here, window borders dissapear everytime i run compiz

   Despite this

   Thank you guys, and good job, i cant wait to have my old ubuntu look, back. Im leaving ubuntu/unity as soon as compiz runs without those problems.

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8. First and most importantly, thanks for creating and maintaining this OS. I really appreciate all the time and effort everyone puts into this OS.

   After installing, the first thing I did was delete the folders under the user directory (Documents, Downloads, etc). I then attempted to remove the links under Places (left pane) and I’m unable to do so (even under root privileges sudo caja).

   I will be adding comments as I test.

   Thanks again for all the hard work.

   Edit by Clem: They’re XDG directories. They’re not removable. For this to work, Caja would have to stop showing XDG dirs, and only show bookmarks. You can ask upstream for this as a feature request by creating an issue at https://github.com/mate-desktop/caja/issues.

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9. Hello again

   I changed my power settings to turn off the monitor after 5 minutes of inactivity. When I watch a flash video on a website, the monitor turns off even when the video is in full screen mode playing. When I watch a video in VLC media player, the screen stays on.

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10. PS Sorry about the misspelling Clem.

    And it is supposed to be a double dash after emerald (- -) replace.

    Bill

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11. 17.1 MATE 64-bit on Lenovo G700

    – Bluetooth/Blueman NOT working
    – Network Monitor NOT working
    – System Monitor Network Speed NOT working
    – Sticky Notes NOT working

    Edit by Clem: I’m sorry I need more info here. The fact that it’s on a Lenovo G700 is completely irrelevant. What I’d be interested in is what exactly isn’t working.. i.e. describe what you’re doing, what you’re expecting to happen and what actually happens. If we can’t reproduce the issue, we won’t be able to fix it. Note also that bluetooh support isn’t installed by default in the MATE edition.

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12. I’ve now installed the 32-bit Cinnamon and MATE RC versions of Rebecca on several computers. My basic conclusion is that the C32 version is very much at RC stage, with only some cosmetic tidying up still to be done. By contrast, the MATE version has some structural problems that really need attention over the next few weeks – not least, the quite glacial performance of M32 on my old netbooks, which run C32 just fine. Other issues include freezing when I try to change the desktop background, and very noticeable lag in responding to track pad movements. No doubt this reflects the balance of resources directed to the two versions (and some very good work by the Cinnamon development team).

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13. hi 11 LM

    For me, your mentioned MATE-extrensions are fully working. Also sticky notes, network-monitor and system-monitor.

    The only thing I do not use is Bluetooth.

    But: everything seems working fine. I also love, that we have lots of fresh themes now, which are also in the package of the Revefinityy-project as well as in the project nooblab/themes. I had to uninstall all this, to be able to install these new themes.

    But I will try to re-install the project noobslab/icons because they have so lovely icons there…

    Greetings
    Mintkatze

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14. @ 6 Bill,

    yes, I agree with you and I would also love to have fusion-icon back please!! I would also love to have emerald working in MATE as well as in Cinnamon-Desktop. This would be so much to appreciate!!

    Greetings
    Mintkatze

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15. @ all,

    what I found out is, that gwheather does not work properly. One cannot choose his/her own town to have the correct weather-conditions shown. But: there is something better:

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/indicators
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install my-weather-indicator

    This works fine out of the box. And here you can choose your own town with the correct weather-conditions.

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16. Compiz Settings Manager does not keep its settings.

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17. I should elaborate on the last statement. CCSM keeps its settings until going back into CCSM, logging out, or rebooting. Then all selections required have to be set again.

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18. This release still has this serious bug: Selecting Encrypted Home Folder Always Breaks Swap
    https://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint/+bug/1367392

    Bug has been reported but has fallen through the cracks of our report system. It has not been looked at or acknowledged as submitted. It has been “New” for over two months.

    OTHER LONG TERM BUG WHILE WE’RE HERE: The release notes still use a wrong URL. We really ought to stop copy’n’pasting this error forward.
    http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_rebecca_mate.php

    Scroll bottom, to this line:
    ”
    If you’re experiencing keyboard or mouse freezes, please check the following bug report: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nfs-utils/+bug/1270445
    ”

    Edit by Clem: Thanks, I added the first bug to the roadmap. The link is correct for the second one though.

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19. @ Clem,

    I kust want to say: I love this new refreshed release. Especially the new gtk3-themes are really beautifull!! Contiune like this please and also please geht fusion-icon running in MATE-Desktop as well as in Cinnamon-Desktop for the future please. There I agree with Bill and other users.

    Greetings and have a nice ans pleasant weekend with love and joy,
    Mintkatze

    Edit by Clem: Thanks, note that Compiz runs with MATE (possibly Xfce/KDE) but it won’t run with Cinnamon. The Cinnamon binary handles both DE aspects (panels..etc) and WM. It’s not using a separate muffin process. In fact it’s not using muffin at all. It’s using libmuffin.. at runtime. In brief, you can’t replace the WM in Cinnamon.

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20. Xavi Says:
    November 15th, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    Same here, window borders dissapear everytime i run compiz

    ONLY ON A VIRTUAL MACHINE, ON A REAL MACHINE W BORDERS DONT DISSAPEAR

    Edit by Clem: We’ll add this to the release notes. The decorator won’t work in Virtualbox, that’s a known issue.

    Reply

21. Instead of calling the choices “Marco (stable and reliable)” and “Compiz (impressive desktop effects)”, please try rewording it for the sake of new users who do not know what Marco and Compiz are. One possibility:

    Window Management
    * Desktop effects (requires compatible hardware)
    * No desktop effects (compatible with all hardware)

    Notice also that I changed the term Window Manager to Window Management in this example, because the idea of switching window managers is alien to non-Linux users.

    Reply

22. LM 17.1 MATE 64-bit Lenovo G700 – new bugs

    – COMPIZ
    added left or right panel in autohide doesnt work (not reshown with hoverd mouse)
    doesnt remember windows position ie FF
    doesnt respect top panel as border (apps go under left top corner)

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23. Major problem installing via USB stick – I’m attempting to install on an old netbook which has 12Gb internal space but split between two drives, one 4Gb, one 8Gb. The installer won’t progress as it requires 8.5Gb space, but I usually allocate various folders between the drives during the process.

    Is there a way I can get past this?

    Thanks,
    Dan

    Edit by Clem: /usr is 3.3GB, in the partitioning stage, give /usr to the 4GB HDD. That should make the rest fit on the 8GB HDD.

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24. As usual for safe evaluation I have installed the 32bit versions BrucesWay on fast Lexar USB3.0 ‘Purple’ or ‘Green’ Jumpdrive USBkeys, now that they have almost caught up with SanDisk Extreme devices in respect of the small file Write speeds that are needed for acceptable performance ‘Mint on a Stick’ which I can quickly try on other PCs.
    I’m afraid that the Cinnamon version still hasn’t restored Mint13’s GPU temperature applet and like version 17 is ‘glitchier’ than the MATE version when it comes to Kaffeine DVB-T use.
    As ever, I’ll wait for the definitive releases before getting serious.
    However, congratulations to the team for striving to make it all better.

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25. please bring back the “Mint-X-Dark” icon set. its important for dark themes..

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26. Found a few bugs and minor glitches:

    caja exits (“normally”) on clicking “smb-network”.
    > [Inferior 1 (process 7611) exited normally]
    (gdb) bt
    No stack. <

    —

    Kontrollzentrum (Control Center)
    – some "Lokalisierung" missing with "Most used" pane on the left

    —

    Compiz:
    Kbd/Mouse-shortcut for resize windows (in "Scale") set to button 2 – should IMO be Button 3 (standard and more usable with 2-Button Touchpads). Alt+Button3 is set to make popup the Window-Menu (in "Allgemeine Einstellungen" General Options)

    Würfel (Cube) disabling is reset on next start of compiz (and other plugins too)

    Feat-Req: Make cube functional on other Desktop-Layouts then 1×4 plz.
    – I prefer 2×2 which could easily be linearized

    — Usability things (not new):

    Mate-Menu – Search:
    After typing when the list of matches accidentally disappears (hovering the mouse in the menu while moving up) there is no way of making it appear again without retyping.

    — Feat-Req: For the Mate-Menu: Please add a "delete selection" Button for the Search-Field.

    —

    Installing from Search (gdebi?):

    The to be confirmed "Success"-Window is not visible in taskbar and the application blocks apt. This can lead to a little confusion ("Who is locking apt-get?"). Better: Unlock apt before showing this window, because all is done anyway (maybe, make window appear in Taskbar)

    —

    For the localized german Installer only:
    Keyboard is set to US/English (should probably be german, following the general language selection before)

    Edit by Clem: Thanks.

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27. hello to the community, how can i upgrade to 17.1, without using the new release of 17.1?, will it affect my current CCSM?

    Edit by Clem: There’s a known issue on Compiz settings. It’s best to wait for the stable release to stay on the safe side.

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28. Hi all,

    17.1 32 bit Mate RC1: like mentioned in post 12: application to change the background (wallpaper) hangs on start (every time).
    For the rest, nice and fast on a P4 2GB, not bad at all.

    Hope the final release will be available soon.

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29. I noticed that when using an upper panel on the desktop with compiz that items such as the terminal, caja, and so-on open in the left upper corner of the desktop with the upper portion of the window ‘underneath the upper panel’ rather than against the lower leading edge. Not being compiz affluent I simple went into compiz settings and had new windows open centered on the desktop until I get it all figured out.

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30. Also, if the workspace switcher applet is used on either lower or upper panel gets displayed differently than with marco. If you select more than one selection window in the settings only one window will be available on the panel and a higher number will not stick in the settings. How do I switch desktops? No fun having that cube if I can’t use it. 🙂

    Edit by Clem: That applet is part of MATE, it’s designed to work with Marco. With that said, you can switch workspaces using CTRL+ALT+RIGHT/LEFT or by dragging the desktop with the mouse while pressing CTRL+ALT.

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31. Compiz support! GTreat! One question though:

    Has the long-standing bug between Compiz and Firefox which results in the Firefox window decoration randomly vanishing been addressed? This has been happening since Ubuntu 9 and every Compiz implementation since (including the most recent ZorinOS) has this issue.

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32. Okay. Regarding my post concerning lack of workspaces:

    Goto CompizConfig Settings Manager/General Options/Desktop/Size

    You’ll find settings for vertical and horizontal workspaces

    Sorry about dummy me. Just getting used to compiz.

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33. I am a new user of Linuxmint Mate Qiana. I am a little confused about the release of Rebecca. Is Rebecca just an update to Qiana which I would get in the updates or is it entirely new ?

    Edit by Clem: It’s a new release but you’ll be able to upgrade to it, if you decide to (you’ll get the choice in 17, post-release).

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34. With compiz, after login the menubar first appears at the top of the screen (then disappers, then reappers at the bottom).

    Edit by Clem: Yes, that’s a side-effect. We kill the mate-panel and re-launch it at startup to force compiz to work with it and workaround a Compiz bug.

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35. \o/ Wobbly Windows

    Waiting the VISUAL EFFECTS tab: http://i.stack.imgur.com/67AII.png

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36. Re: 23 (can’t install on small internal hard-drives)

    Thanks for the reply, Clem! Unfortunately, the installer wot let me get to the partitioning stage. The continue button is greyed out if there’s a cross in any of the three conditions (drive space, internet and power).

    Any ideas?

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37. Hi,

    Great looking release, love the new icons (though I’m keeping to classic green) – any chance that MATE will get a decent dark desktop panel theme like the Cinnamon edition?

    Thanks for all your hard work, you guys are heroes ^_^b

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38. I am curious, how long does it normally take from the point the RC has been released to a stable release? I want the new features but I don’t want to reinstall Mint at this time. The new features sound amazing. Thanks to all the Mint team for such an awesome distro.

    Edit by Clem: Usually around 2 weeks.

    Reply

39. Will Compiz run without a discrete GPU. I am using Intel integrated GPU 82Q35.

    Edit by Clem: If the GPU doesn’t work with it, you can make it render with the CPU instead: LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 compiz –replace

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40. what is the difference between (linux mint 17) qiana and rebecca?

    Edit by Clem: This –> http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_rebecca_mate_whatsnew.php

    Reply

41. Will Bluetooth work on MATE 17.1? Or will it be as now on 17?

    Edit by Clem: It will be the same as on 17.

    Reply

42. @comment-#21-Bamm:

    <>

    Instead of calling the choices “Marco (stable and reliable)” and “Compiz (impressive desktop effects)”, please try rewording it for the sake of new users who do not know what Marco and Compiz are. One possibility:

    Window Management
    * Desktop effects (requires compatible hardware)
    * No desktop effects (compatible with all hardware)

    Notice also that I changed the term Window Manager to Window Management in this example, because the idea of switching window managers is alien to non-Linux users.

    <>

    I understand the suggestion [and the reasoning behind it] but I don’t think that should be done. Unfortunately [to put it simply], it (ie. your solution) is oversimplified.

    I’m a new Linux user (so to speak); my most-recent time touching Linux before Linux Mint 16 “Petra” 64-bit with the “Cinnamon” desktop, was trying “Red Hat” on a friend’s desktop back in 1996. (Linux has had some MAJOR changes since then, O_O ).

    If we “dumb down” the user-interface/choices THAT much (ie. specifying what Window-Manager/Window-Management you are using (ie. Compiz, KWin, Marco, etc.) and just [dumbly/vaguely] say “with visual effects / without visual effects”, people (especially new Linux users) aren’t gonna KNOW *WHAT* Window-Manager is being used to GET (ie. obtain) the special effects.

    [And as Spatry (ie. http://www.youtube.com/user/LinuxSpatry ) can tell you, “there’s a little bit of a learning curve”.] (the video where he says this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6nqQrJx78 ).

    Edit by Clem: The OP is making a good point, we can make it easier to understand while keeping the info pertinent and without removing the mentions of Compiz and Marco in there. We’ll tackle this with radio buttons in 17.2.

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43. I have a problem with languages.
    Mate x64 by the way.
    I kept only the french language. Removed every english locale.
    I set the default to French-Canadian.
    Synaptic is still in english, and other things as well.
    Rebooted, but still the same.

    Thanks.

    Edit by Clem: In mintlocale, go to add/remove languages and make sure to install all language packs for French. Also note that synaptic is running as root.. so you need to apply French system-wide (main page of mintlocale).

    Reply

44. @comment-#42-Mel:

    Hi Mel,

    I don’t think they need to know *what* Window Manager is being used to get the visual effects. These are implementation details, and can be put into the documentation for those who want to understand what is behind the scenes, but not in the user interface.

    For example, how many Windows users know that the name of the Window Manager in Vista onwards is DWM, formerly known as DCE? I believe the majority haven’t heard of them (have you?). But they do know that they can prevent crashes by turning off some effects when their hardware doesn’t support it.

    Most users probably don’t know either that disabling Aero switches to the XP stacking window manager. And they shouldn’t. It certainly hasn’t prevented them from using Windows properly.

    Linux Mint uses two different WMs, but the user should be shielded from the fact that the OS actually changes the WM when he enables/disables the effects.

    Ubuntu gets it right: http://i.stack.imgur.com/67AII.png

    It is not good to always assume that users are technical people, because if you do, then your OS will only attract technical people.

    Cheers,
    Bamm

    Reply

45. Continued from #11 and #22

    VMWare Player or Wks RAM usage is not shown in System Monitor (bug since LM 17)
    VMWare VMs tab window in fullscreen mode disappears almost (moves beyond Monitors visible edge)

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46. at Clem (answer from # 11)

    Im happy to provide more information. Let me know, how i can forward it or what you need (command line output etc)

    As to what i do? Nothing special:
    After install of blueman or any other avail software, BT simply doesnt work, meaning BT symbol is shown, it seems to be found but doesnt find any device. It says “Host down” or any other error message. It can only find and connect BT devices after firing up Win10TP in VMWare VM, activating it there and then handing it back to LM17 (Host).

    It must have to do with this Broadcom WLAN/BT combo on LenG700, cause on another box BT works.

    And ty for paying attention 🙂

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47. Another possible bug is during install process: When choosing “Erase/use all of disk” it will install 2 “Boot” partitions on some boxes like Lenovov G700: 1 for UEFI (fat32/500mb), 1 /Boot (ext3/200mb)… now if for some reason there s also Win8 or later on board, it might “overwrite” bootloader, so hence later LM17 cant be found 🙁 Maybe a simple tut on how to recover should be prominently posted here for newbies.

    To avoid above, better install “custom” aka “something else”

    PS: 200mb for /Boot is gd enough for people who never install additonal kernels, otherwise there wont be much space left for a third Kernel!

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48. at #38 Fuzzm4n: Usually 2 weeks (here end of Nov 2014)
    at #41 buayadarat: It depends on your laptop/Computer .. on mine it didn’t, always need to install “blueman” separately

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49. Thank you, LM, then I will stick to MATE and wait for 17.1. On Mint 17 MATE Bluetooth is not working, even with “blueman” installed (several threads about it in the forum).

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50. Problem with Compiz. While it implements configuration changes, it doesn’t save them – meaning that if you call up the Compiz configuration dialogue again or logout/restart, your Compiz configuration setup will undo all your changes and reset to default values.

    Audio-preview causes the window in question to freeze, requiring the user to forcibly close it. Just moving the mouse pointer over the audio file is enough to cause it to lock up at times. Happens 25-50% of the time.

    Movie Player closes without an error message when switching from full-screen. This happens with both audio & video files and whether you double-click on Movie Player or select ‘Leave Fullscreen’. Happens about 50% of the time.

    Movie Player’s screensaver/display-sleep-inhibit feature (still) doesn’t work. When enabled, either the screensaver and/or Powermanager’s display-sleep feature cuts in on queue. Maddening…

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51. Great job, Clem! Keep it up!

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52. After upgrading to 17.1 (not a clean install) there are less than half the previously available keyboard shortcuts, and Workspace Switcher preferences do not include the ability to change the number of workspaces or change the names of workspaces. Previous settings are preserved.

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53. With today’s update on the mintdesktop package, the Compiz settings should be configurable and no longer get reset when you logout/login.

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54. Clem and team, in a previous version of Cinnamon you separated the functions for turning off the Screen (under Power options) and Screen Locker (under preferences). This is unchanged in 2.4 but I have only just noticed an issue; can I suggest for a future release that you make a change to the Screen Locker. As is stands, a user who disables the screen turn-off under Power options without looking at the Screen Locker dialog may not realise that the Screen Locking will not now work. Could the Screen Locker dialog’s control for “Lock the Computer when the screen turns off” be disabled if the screen is set to NOT turn off in Power options? And perhaps a little text beside it to say Automatic Screen Lock requires the relevant setting in Power Options to be set to something other than ‘never’.

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55. I have since determined that the Workspace Switcher problem happened on a Mate upgrade. The Mint 17.1 upgrade was coincidental and not causal.

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56. at Mintkatze #13: Im happy for you it works well… in ref to addons…

    a) LAN (eth0) doesnt work (in live CD neither, so it cant be a setting), in VPN mode it works 🙁

    b) Sticky Notes works now only in “system colors”, not in orig yellow … I did uninstall tom* and installed xpad

    c) System Monitors RAM usage doesnt work when VMWare is in use (doesnt add the RAM used by VM 🙁 – problem since LM17; vbox works

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57. at buayadarat #43: TY, im “glad” Im not the only one with BT problems … if it s import for you, fire up Win10TP in VMWare, give it the BT thru the VMWare menu, and then back to LM … not perfect, but at least working …

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58. Thank you, LM, but I still don’t understand, what exactly I have to do.
    I think it would be helpful, to keep it sticky, to add it in the release notes, where it now says: To add Bluetooth support, please install the package “blueman”. If possible step by step, for “non-pro-users” as me.

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59. Success!! Took some fighting with ATI driver, but I got Catalyst 14.9 (14.301.10010) working with 3.17.3 kernel on otherwise stock 17.1 Mate 64 install. This on my Toshiba Satellite C55D-B5214, quad core A8-6410 with R5 graphics.
    If anyone wants to know, the ATI 14.9 driver worked to generated packages on 3.13.0-37. You do need to figure out the package set you need for the build.
    If you move up to kernel 3.17.3 you will need to patch kcl_acpi.c:
    #if LINUX_VERSION_CODE >= KERNEL_VERSION(3,12,7) to
    #if LINUX_VERSION_CODE >= KERNEL_VERSION(3,12,7) && LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(3,17,0)
    Everything in the box works, amd video, enet, Aetheros wireless. Even watches a custom kernel build and cpufreq was working, it raised and lowered the clock on the cpus for load, and idled them down when the load tapered off.
    I didn't like 15 but 16 was bad for me. 17 was good, but 17.1 is really nice. Kernel 3.13.0-37 works nice out of the box. (That was the first upgrade I made to my 17 Qiana installs.) Well worth the dozens of installs on three different computers that finally got me what I wanted.

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60. Re restoring window title bar in CCSM…

    You need to enable the “Window Decoration” option under ‘Effects” in CCSM before you switch from Marco to CCSM.

    Ofcourse once you’ve switched to CCSM, you need to logout and back in for it to take effect.

    Credit goes to webupd8.org for this fix.

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61. Unfortunately my issue that appeared in Linux Mint Mate 17 is not solved in release 17.1
    I wrote some time back that my HP ProBook 4540s (Intel chip i3 and intel Integrated video) is running Linux Mint Mate very smooth but when adjusting the brightness with hot keys the brighness indication bar is not displayed. Sound indication is OK. (I did not have this issue with Mint Mate 13 or 16). Any ideas how to fix it? My guess it is the problem with Mate 1.8. I even tried to install Ubuntu 14.04 (indication bar OK) and then install Mate 1.8 (indication bar disppeared) – the bug appears steadily.

    Edit by Clem: It’s a known issue in the MATE dev team, and it’s not fixed yet. If you’re ok with enabling compositing tough (in Desktop Settings -> Windows), that fixes the issue.

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62. I have the same issue with the brightness indication with MATE 17 on a ThinkPad E130.

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63. Hi Clem,
    I have the same issue with the brightness indication bar with my Dell Inspiron 5447 (14 5000) and the Thinkpad X220.
    It is the same with the Mate 17.0 release.
    Excelent job! Thank you so much.

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64. Hi Clem. I’m having a problem adding a few ppa so I can load the AWN Dock and the Variety background changer.

    When I try to add the ppa
    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peterlevi/ppa
    or
    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:awn-testing/ppa

    I’m getting this back:
    aptsources.distro.NoDistroTemplateException: Error: could not find a distribution template for LinuxMint/rebecca

    Edit by Clem: /usr/bin/add-apt-repository is part of the package mintsources and it does not need a distro template. If you’re using software-properties-gtk instead please note that it is not designed to work with Linux Mint.

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65. @comment-#44-Bamm:

    I see your point, but if we dumb down the user-interface[s] THAT much, Linux is no longer Linux. part of what makes Linux special (and/or makes it Linux) is the level of customization it has, and the freedom of choice it has (Linux is both free as in “free beer” and “free speech” (I have already seen comments on YouTube and in other places, from people with statements [and/or opinions] similar to yours, say “that’s wrong. Linux is not free. Red Hat isn’t free”. duh, the “enterprise”/”for usage by companies & corporations”-distros aren’t $0.00).

    also, again, Linux IS *NOT* Windows. In Windows, the “window manager”, “desktop environment”, and all that other stuff (including but-not-limited-to the file manager), are all a major part of the operating-system. they are not “separate” and/or “independent” of the operating-system like in Linux.

    so again, “Linux IS NOT Windows”. stop trying to make Linux into Windows, and stop trying to make Windows into Linux. that just goes on to prove what people [who have already said it] are saying that “Microsoft has always stolen from the best/Microsoft has always copied from the best”.

    [(And I saw the screenshot (ie. http://i.stack.imgur.com/67AII.png), by the way).]

    Ubuntu?, is “Linux, for the computer-illiterate”, basically. (Or, “Linux for Dummies”/”Linux for Morons”. My point is, Ubuntu’s focus (including their purpose[/reasoning] for creating the “Unity” desktop-environment) is for creating a computer-environment/computer-interface/computer–operating-system for people that have never even TOUCHED a computer before, let alone seen one and/or interfaced with one (and I mean “interfaced with one” as in “used one”)).

    Linux Mint’s focus is somewhat different. And it allows a much greater level of customizability and other stuff that Ubuntu ever could (not to mention, Ubuntu (& Canonical, one of Ubuntu’s main backers) is just not interested in putting the level of customizability [into their OS] that Linux-Mint and other Linux distros have.

    Heck, Ubuntu (when someone I know first told me about it back in 2007) had a motherload more customizability than what it does now. Ubuntu and Canonical removed alot of the customizability from the Ubuntu-distro that it had before. What’s that tell you?

    [(They’re not INTERESTED in Linux users, computer-literate users, technical users, somewhat-technical users, etc. They’re pretty much aiming to provide computers for all the babies, grannies and grandpappies, etc. etc., that haven’t [even] TOUCHED a computer before.)]

    Reply

66. for @Bamm and any other Linux user and/or any other person interested in knowing what [some] of the differences between Linux and Windows are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6nqQrJx78 , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqLmOPap6u0

    Other videos that also talk about what [at least some] of the differences between Linux and Windows are:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE7N510tQCc

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G7TJyZPKPo

    A video released [on YouTube] by the Linux Foundation that explains how Linux (the kernel) is built:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE

    A video that talks about Ubuntu (in this video, Richard Stallman (one of the geniuses behind Open-Source Software [and the concept of Open-Source Software and the concept behind Open-Source Software]) talks about one (and/or some. I’m not sure which of the two) of the bad things about Ubuntu): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP8CNp-vksc

    Enjoy.

    Reply

67. I have been using linuxmint since it was started. I use my computer for OpenGL simulations and Mate is the best for me. It is super responsive and like the old fashioned GUI without lot of aesthetics.

    Thanks Clem and the team!

    Reply

68. Many thanks to the dev team for their hard work in delivering another great new LM release! Re. Compiz, I’ve tried testing it while running from the live CD and although I can “flip” the cube from workspace to workspace using Ctrl-Alt-Left and Ctrl-Alt-Right, I can’t actually view the cube itself. What’s the keyboard shortcut to do that? I’m running on an old Sony laptop with only a touchpad for a mouse (so I don’t have a mouse “wheel” exactly)… Also, I can’t seem to make any changes at all to the current Compiz settings. No matter what I change, there’s no difference in how Compiz acts. For example, if I try enabling “Wobbly Windows” they don’t actually enable. Even running on the live CD, I was able to upgrade the system but that doesn’t seem to help. I’m still unable to alter any Compiz settings. 🙁 Any ideas anyone?

    Edit by Clem: This was a bug in the RC, it’s fixed now.

    Reply

69. I notice that posts 22 (LM) and 29 (Trapper) above talk about the
    ‘top panel’ of the MATE desktop. They report an issue with windows
    opening with their top portion underneath that ‘top panel’.

    Apparently, they like the old Gnome2 ‘top panel’, like I do, and
    have found a way to restore it — since Linux Mint chooses not
    to display it.

    I have done a lot of web searches and had a hard time finding
    info on how to restore that ‘top panel’. I finally think I
    have found a workable technique. I have documented it at

    http://www.subdude-site.com/WebPages_Local/RefInfo/Computer/Linux/MATEinfo/recoveringTheTopPanel_ofTheMATEdesktop_forLinuxMintMATEusers.htm

    — including screenshots of relevant ‘Add to Panel’ windows.

    I plan to try this technique when I finally upgrade my 5 (going on 6)
    year-old Ubuntu 9.10 installations — on several desktops and
    several netbooks — if I use Linux Mint MATE or LMDE MATE.

    An alternative is to use Ubuntu MATE (from ubuntu-mate.org), which
    seems to have the top panel available by default — according
    screenshots. (Arch Linux MATE may also have the top panel
    appear by default.)

    This may be of help to those who like the ‘lightness’ of having
    ‘Places’ in a menu separate from ‘Applications’ and ‘System’.

    I tried finding a way I could make an icon for ‘Places’ on a
    Linux Mint installation, but, on looking at the processes running
    when I click on ‘Places’ in my Ubuntu 9.10 instllation,
    it looks like there is not a separate process that performs
    the show-Places-menu action. Hence I could not associate
    a simple command with a desktop ‘Places’ icon. It appears
    that the show-Places-menu action is built into a bigger
    process — maybe ‘gnome-panel’.

    Reply

70. @uneekname I use both upper and lower panels and getting an upper panel was as easy as right clicking on lower panel and left click on New Panel. Also, to simply use the lower panel at the top just right click on panel, left click on Properties and select the position you want from the Orientation drop down menu.

    Reply

71. Trapper at 69: Yeah, who would know to do that? Also, I think the ‘Add to Panel’ step is needed (and choose ‘Menu Bar’, not ‘Main Menu’) after ‘New Panel’. It certainly is not readily available info via web searches — nor on Linux Mint web sites.

    Reply

72. Hmn. Installed this RC for fun. Tried the encrypted setup for / and /home. Works great. And everything looks neat.
    But since I’m no ubuntu fan, I’d rather stay with Mint Debian Edition, I would love to have an installer for encrypted setup there too. It’s not provided so far, right? Any plans about it?

    Reply

73. Did a new clean physical install of the Mate RC. The Compiz fix works: Settings made in CCSM are retained.

    However, after closing CCSM, the panel is unresponsive for upwards of a minute. I.e., left-click on the menu icon is ignored; right-click on the panel displays popup appropriate for the desktop and not the popup appropriate for the panel.

    Reply

74. The best feature of Linux Mint when I started using it (Bianca IIRC) was the addition of software like DVD codecs and the Sun JRE that were annoying to install on Ubuntu.

    Are you able to add the JRE back to Mint? It was paradise for a couple of years when Ubuntu was able to distribute the JRE, but now it is back to being hours of time wasted after every install. At least OpenJDK is much more usable these days.

    Thanks,

    Edit by Clem: in one word, “Oracle” 🙂 Of course we can reconsider and look into licensing again but we’d need strong technical arguments to ship Oracle’s JRE instead of the one provided by OpenJDK.

    Reply

75. @clem re post #43:
    Yes, all four french language packs are installed, and french defined system-wide.
    It’s strange because I never had this problem with any Mint release I installed before this one.

    I’m back with LMDE Mate x64 by the way.
    I guess Update #9 is going to be released soon?

    Thanks!

    Edit by Clem: I’d need to troubleshoot, see your locales …etc. It definitely looks like a configuration issue.

    Reply

76. As LM (56) also pointed out, on a Dell OptiPlex 390, Mint 17.1 RC, the LAN (eth0) does not work (on live USB). Don’t know if this might help… Windows 7 says this is a Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller, and the Windows drivers are: Rt86win7.sys, RtNicProp32.dll, RTNUninst32.dll. Thank you to all who worked on this otherwise nice distro!

    Reply

77. Test LM 17.1 MATE RC 64-bit LiveCD

    – Brightness indication bar is not displayed (gray square) -Dell Studio 1558
    – Control Center-PopUp Notifications-Help-doesn’t work
    – Click on keyboard hot key “Power Information”(F3), PopUp Notification no disappear after a few second. Still on the top.
    – Caja crash if connecting USB portable music player and trying play file song. Can’t run again Caja. Solution: Menu-Log Out-automatic login after 10 sec. and Caja back to life 🙂

    In future please add to Mint distros:
    – application- simply voice recorder
    – simply switching hybrid graphics cards
    – better support for mobile phones and tablets

    Reply

78. I really enjoy Mint. Just got a Dell Inspiron 17.3 with NVidia GeForce 840M. Installed 17.1 with no problems but Driver Manager does not see the GeForce. Tried installing the NVidia 304 driver through Synaptic and seemed to work fine but still no NVidia driver installed.
    Keep up the good work.

    Reply

79. @Mel,

    I understand everything you said and have been through that enthusiasm and advocacy before in the decades I have been using Linux, when I tinkered with Slackware in the 90s. Being an RH-Certified SysAd, I understand how the different tools work together and the Unix philosophy of single-purpose tools working for a whole.

    Through the years, I have learned to see how the Linux experience can still be improved to support the end users. That is more true today that I am a lead developer and project coordinator of our own astronomy-oriented distro based on Mint, and I am mindful to submit any improvements I made upstream to Clem, so that my base distro Linux Mint also benefits from the changes I make in our astronomy project.

    The choice of Mint is natural, being an end-user oriented distro which does the job even better than Ubuntu. The beauty of Linux is that there is something for everybody. For tinkerers who want to understand how things work, there is Arch, Gentoo, Slack, and LFS. For end users who just want to get things done, there is Ubuntu and Mint. You are correct that we can’t make every distro like Ubuntu (or Windows for that matter) but the same argument holds both ways: we can’t make every distro like Arch. It goes against the ideals of open source to prevent people from pursuing their objectives in the way they distribute Linux. From its inception, the objective of Mint is clearly to make things easier for the average person, and Mint has been very successful in that.

    And with tools like Relinux and Remastersys, it is very easy to roll your own distro with your own objectives, if you wish. That is the beauty of Linux.

    Reply

80. I hope it (and Cinnamon) will work with Nvidia. Linux Mint 17 doesn’t work AT ALL with my PC, yet every release up to (and including) 16 has worked perfectly. I can’t move off 16 because the Nvidia drivers consistently crash the entire system with Cinnamon. XFCE works with 17, but using non-nvidia drivers makes the screen not as sharp and bright.

    Otherwise, I’ll have no option but to stick with 16.

    Reply

81. Hi, Clem! (Ref: post #61)
    You’ve given me a kind hint how to fix my issue (hot-key brightness adjusting bar not properly displayed) with laptop HP ProBook 4540s. I check-boxed “enable windows compositing manager” and “I’ve witnessed a miracle” – brightness bar is now perfectly displayed! I’ve have been into Linux Mint Mate for the past year and a half without any previous experience with Linux systems. And I am loving it. Great job. Thanks.
    My best wishes and respect.
    Vladimir

    Reply

82. @comment-#79-Bamm: Best of luck with your distro 🙂 . I will check it out whenever I can 🙂

    That being said, I also agree with what you said (in paragraph 79). I checked again Clem’s-&-the-other-developers’ solution to the “graphics” situation you were talking about, and I think the solution proposed by Clem is more than handy [and useful]: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/rebecca/mintdesktop.png

    It says the name of the Window-Manager, and it also shows what it does and/or what effects it has and/or what it’s useful for. MAYBE (but I highly don’t think it is necessary) they can add some additional information (that appears when you put your mouse-cursor over the option (ie. those “bubbles” of extra info, that appear when you put your mouse-cursor over something)), like what you said ” ‘Compiz’ would be for better graphics & [better] effects (like the ‘desktop cube’) and other additional things that ‘Marco’ doesn’t have”, and ” ‘Marco’ would be for more stability and less newfangled stuff and less graphics-intensive [and no ‘desktop cube’] stuff and other stuff like that”).

    All in all, it all seems a bit complicated (what you are proposing). In my own experience, people like that you are proposing are the Linux newcomers (the grannies and granddaddies and kids who have never touched a computer before) just want to turn on the computer and use it and turn it off and that’s it. they don’t want to worry about the “desktop cube” (or whether or not they have it) or “how much graphics do they have” etc etc. HOWEVER, that being said, the age of the person cannot determine their usability of computers and/or knowledge of computer. my dad’s older brother has way more technical knowledge regarding computers, and my dad can’t even turn ON a freaking computer, let alone how to type on one. (and he can type (and type without looking at the keyboard-keys) on a typewriter like nobody’s business). (and despite how many times he’s been explained that typing on a computer is the same thing as typing on a typewriter – the paper’s just been replaced by a ‘screen’, he still doesn’t get it).

    [also,] that being said, i respectfully disagree on what you said that Linux Mint is also designed for the “Linux Morons”. I leave you this article to peruse at your own leisure and your own reading. http://lifehacker.com/5993297/ubuntu-vs-mint-which-linux-distro-is-better-for-beginners

    (Also, if you were to look up in duckduckgo.com for “articles about Linux”, “Linux for newbies”, “Linux for beginners”, “Ubuntu versus Linux Mint”, and other things like that, you will find more articles that sustain what I’m trying to say that Ubuntu & Linux Mint cater to different markets/computer users. They are not aiming for the same thing as each other. If they were, Canonical [& Ubuntu] would not have made their “Unity” desktop, nor would they have removed a motherload of the customizability that was found in Ubuntu (and was one of the reasons why so many people [that started using Linux with Ubuntu as their first distro] liked it: It made Linux MUCH *MUCH* easier and more “user-friendly” than the “1996-Red-Hat” days, but it also kept allowing the same customization [and freedom] and usability that Linux is well-known [and well-reknowned] for). (When Ubuntu & Canonical released “Unity” as the main [and default] desktop-environment, it really turned off practically ALL the people that had gotten turned-on by Ubuntu [when Ubuntu first came out]. My ex-fiancee included. (And she didn’t even LIKE computers and/or technology (she’s not a geek like me). Until a mutual friend of ours that died (he was a hacker and a geek and liked computers and technology even more than you-and-i-*COMBINED* like computers and technology) in a car accident died and she, in honor of him, started trying to get more into the computer thing. and liked it after she got more into it. (she was even the one who tried to convince me to look more into Ubuntu. But I was fine with Windows XP, and politely refused. Then when I saw what Microsoft was aiming for with Windows 8 and where they were headed (plus that crappy desktop-interface “Metro”/”Modern”), and the fact that you now pretty much CANNOT log-in to Windows unless you have a MICROSOFT account (ie. Hotmail, Skype, Outlook.com, XBox, etc. etc.), I decided “the HELL with this!” and got the eff out of there. And started looking for Linux distros to use. And that’s how I discovered Linux Mint. (through tons of articles online, reviews, Linux articles, videos on YouTube about Linux, etc. etc.).
    Plus I also like the fact that it’s seriously light, and much much lighter than Ubuntu.
    Personally, I agree with some of the stuff you said, but I disagree that Linux Mint should dumb-down the interface THAT much (ie. as much as you think they should). If they do that, me and tons of other users will say “I’m out of here!”). (If you want to do that with YOUR distro, by all means, but please don’t dumb down a distro that some other people already like, and turn off [and alienate] loads more people. It’s the mistake MICROSOFT did with Windows 8, and with Windows XP when they rearranged where everything was (the settings and all. [and where people were accustomed to finding it at] (example: the keyboard language was not found in “keyboard” anymore. now it was found in “regional” settings). as well as making it not be backwards compatible with all the programs that were compatible with Windows 98 and Windows Millenium-Edition), and with Windows Vista when they rearranged everything AGAIN and made people AGAIN have to “HUNT” where things were (just like they had to do when Windows XP was released. ie. Again, moving things around from where they were before and where people were accustomed to finding it at). And it’s the mistake Ubuntu/Canonical did when they released their “for idiots only. smart people need not apply” ‘Unity’ desktop-environment. “Create ‘Unity’?”, it does not [do]. [it pretty-much ALIENATED *loads* of Linux users, and it basically created the two camps, “I like ‘Unity'” camp and “I hate ‘Unity'” camp.]

    Again, if you want to create that level of “dumbing down” (and removing the level of specificity [and names] of the two window-managers Linux Mint “Mate”-desktop-environment is using), please do that with your OWN desktop-environment. (like you said, that’s the beauty of Linux. Linux users have CHOICE (if they know software and/or computer-programming) whether they want to create a desktop-environment that dumbed-down or not. and they can pick which one they like). I like Linux Mint just the way it is. [If you don’t like the way Linux Mint and/or Ubuntu currently is, please create your own distro.] [I will check it out whenever I can 🙂 .]

    (I’m certain that many more Linux users like the way Linux Mint is currently headed (Distrowatch certainly seems to agree with me). Just as I’m certain that many more Linux users disagree with how Ubuntu is going, and/or agree with some of your suggestions, and/or wonder how your distro is coming along. (I’ve certainly heard about your distro before you mentioned it. I just didn’t know that you were one of the developers. That being said, it doesn’t change my opinion about Linux Mint, nor about your distro. I’m not biased towards either of them)).

    Reply

83. <>

    @comment-#21-Bamm:

    Instead of calling the choices “Marco (stable and reliable)” and “Compiz (impressive desktop effects)”, please try rewording it for the sake of new users who do not know what Marco and Compiz are. One possibility:
    Window Management
    * Desktop effects (requires compatible hardware)
    * No desktop effects (compatible with all hardware)
    Notice also that I changed the term Window Manager to Window Management in this example, because the idea of switching window managers is alien to non-Linux users.

    I understand the suggestion [and the reasoning behind it] but I don’t think that should be done. Unfortunately [to put it simply], it (ie. your solution) is oversimplified.
    I’m a new Linux user (so to speak); my most-recent time touching Linux before Linux Mint 16 “Petra” 64-bit with the “Cinnamon” desktop, was trying “Red Hat” on a friend’s desktop back in 1996. (Linux has had some MAJOR changes since then, O_O ).
    If we “dumb down” the user-interface/choices THAT much (ie. specifying what Window-Manager/Window-Management you are using (ie. Compiz, KWin, Marco, etc.) and just [dumbly/vaguely] say “with visual effects / without visual effects”, people (especially new Linux users) aren’t gonna KNOW *WHAT* Window-Manager is being used to GET (ie. obtain) the special effects.
    [And as Spatry (ie. http://www.youtube.com/user/LinuxSpatry ) can tell you, “there’s a little bit of a learning curve”.] (the video where he says this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6nqQrJx78 ).

    Edit by Clem: The OP is making a good point, we can make it easier to understand while keeping the info pertinent and without removing the mentions of Compiz and Marco in there. We’ll tackle this with radio buttons in 17.2.

    <>

    <>

    Hi Mel,
    I don’t think they need to know *what* Window Manager is being used to get the visual effects. These are implementation details, and can be put into the documentation for those who want to understand what is behind the scenes, but not in the user interface.
    For example, how many Windows users know that the name of the Window Manager in Vista onwards is DWM, formerly known as DCE? I believe the majority haven’t heard of them (have you?). But they do know that they can prevent crashes by turning off some effects when their hardware doesn’t support it.
    Most users probably don’t know either that disabling Aero switches to the XP stacking window manager. And they shouldn’t. It certainly hasn’t prevented them from using Windows properly.
    Linux Mint uses two different WMs, but the user should be shielded from the fact that the OS actually changes the WM when he enables/disables the effects.
    Ubuntu gets it right: http://i.stack.imgur.com/67AII.png
    It is not good to always assume that users are technical people, because if you do, then your OS will only attract technical people.
    Cheers,
    Bamm

    <>

    I have no idea what the heck Clem meant by RADIO buttons (ie. When he said “Edit by Clem: The OP is making a good point, we can make it easier to understand while keeping the info pertinent and without removing the mentions of Compiz and Marco in there. We’ll tackle this with radio buttons in 17.2.”), but if he means the “bubble”-extra-info–things that I was talking about (ie. “those “bubbles” of extra info, that appear when you put your mouse-cursor over something”) (and that, you put your mouse-cursor over “Marco (stable and reliable)” and more information appears in a “bubble” like it sounded like you (and Clem. and I) were talking about, and you put your mouse-cursor over “Compiz (impressive desktop effects)” (ie. http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/rebecca/mintdesktop.png ) and it gives you more[/additional] information about what “Compiz” and “Marco” are (ie. example: “‘Compiz’ would be for better graphics & [better] effects (like the ‘desktop cube’) and other additional things that ‘Marco’ doesn’t have”, and ” ‘Marco’ would be for more stability and less newfangled stuff and less graphics-intensive [and no ‘desktop cube’] stuff and other stuff like that”), (which I’m guessing is also what @Clem was trying to say (ie. “Edit by Clem: The OP is making a good point, we can make it easier to understand while keeping the info pertinent and without removing the mentions of Compiz and Marco in there. We’ll tackle this with radio buttons in 17.2.”)), I would agree with that. (We shouldn’t remove the information Clem was suggesting we provide, but we also add additional [and/or ‘extra’] info for those users that don’t know what “Compiz”, “KWin”, and/or “Marco” are (or what a “window-manager” says, does, and/or is). (although again, like I said (and like Garrett, Diana, Spatry, MatthewMoore, and tons of other Linux users say), we can’t do too-much “hand-holding” in Linux, and/or remove functionality, and/or usability, and/or “dumb down” the Interface to such a point that we have everything done for us and we don’t USE-our-*BRAINS* and we don’t INVESTIGATE things and LOOK THINGS *UP* like we SHOULD be doing (ie. what Ubuntu has basically created (ie. referring to the distro they created). Lord knows I also have a ton of technical problems trying to figure out how exactly the “interface” would be changed and/or “made different” with some of the technical and/or non-technical speak Microsoft uses in their Windows operating-system (especially in the sections you are talking about @Bamm: the sections of Windows OS that allow you to select which “effects” you want to minimize, disable altogether, or enable). Quite too often Windows is not specific enough in what they say this particular setting and/or option will do. And I like Clem’s solution[s] much much better: It tells you what it is or does, but if you’re still not sure, then DON’T *MESS* with it. Likewise: timestamp “12:21 to 13:00” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6nqQrJx78. (I’ll leave it for you to watch it. I’m not going to attempt to type word-for-word what he said in the video, in here in the text-box).

    Reply

84. LM 17.1 MATE RC LiveCD (pendrive)

    CD Audio Disc (CD drive) opened in Banshee Media Player.
    Control Center- Pop-Up Notifications – Theme:Coco, Position:TopRight

    Issue:
    Pop-Up between songs is showing in DownRight! screen corner (black rectangle) and music stop or long pause.
    Other Pop-Up Themes have similar problem between songs long time pause or sometimes stop music.

    Regards

    Reply

85. @Mel,

    Hi Mel,

    I think what Clem is planning is a good compromise between our positions. It will still mention Marco and Compiz for the sake of those who specifically want to switch between them, but will give more information for those who do not know what they are (e.g., that Compiz may not work on some hardware but Marco does). I agree about using radio buttons instead of a dropdown, because it will give more space to put an explanation of what the choices mean.

    It is good to hear that your wife is also a Linux user. It was my wife who introduced me to Mint (I think it was Mint 5?) at a time when I was more into rpm-based distros. I saw it was good and two releases later (Gloria?) I switched to Mint for good. My favorite version ever was Katya, the last to be based on Gnome 2, and even the latest Mate versions do not feel as polished as Katya.

    It was Mint that taught me that Linux can look polished and end-user friendly, and I think it is the best distro to recommend to the general user. I was confused about your comments about “dumbing down” and “removing options”, surely I wasn’t advocating removing and option; in fact Distro Astro has more entries in the Control Center than Mint. I believe in options but I also believe in making them understandable. Case in point – my wife who has been using Mint longer than me doesn’t know what Marco is when I showed her the new option. She knows Compiz since the Gnome 2 days, and she knows it is something that adds effects, but she doesn’t know Metacity. I believe she is not the only person who knows how to use Linux but does not know about the internals. The astronomy students at our university use Linux because the astronomy tools (e.g., IRAF) are in Linux; not because of any ideology or hatred for Windows or love for hacking. I recommend Mint to them because unlike other distros, they can just use it and customize it to their liking, without having to know what is a kernel, shell, DE, toolkit, or window manager. Today of course, I recommend Distro Astro to them because aside from the Mint base, it already has all the programs they need.

    In the end, I think we both made a good point and I am glad that Clem had a Solomonic insight to implement a solution that satisfies all kinds of users. This is why Mint is the best.

    Bamm

    Reply

86. At post #69 above, I pointed to posts 22 (of LM) and 29 (of Trapper) above
    that talk about the ‘top panel’ of the MATE desktop. They report an issue
    with windows opening with their top portion underneath that ‘top panel’.

    Apparently, they like the old Gnome2 ‘top panel’, like I do, and
    have found a way to restore it — since Linux Mint chooses not
    to display it. In posts 69 and 71, I indicated how to get/restore
    the ‘top panel’.

    Probably LM and Trapper know how to work around the problem of the
    title-bar of windows being hidden behind that ‘top panel’. But,
    for the newbies and memory-challenged, I would just like to point
    out several ways that the user can get windows out from under
    that top panel — or resolve any ‘stuck window’ situation with
    the title-bar of the window out of sight.

    I have documented the several ways of moving such partially-hidden
    windows at

    http://www.subdude-site.com/WebPages_Local/RefInfo/Computer/Linux/UbuntuInstalls/LinuxWindowMoveIssues/linux_window_move_issues.htm

    Basically, several methods of moving a ‘stuck’ window are

    1) Use Alt-and-F7 (WITHOUT a click of MB1; just move pointer over
    the window with mouse)
    2) Use Alt-and-click-MB1-on-window (then move mouse pointer)
    3) Use Alt-and-right-click-on-body-of-window (then choose ‘Move’
    from the popup ‘Window Menu’)

    where MB = MouseButton.

    In case Clem and company do not provide a solution to the tops of
    windows being under the ‘top panel’ (when there IS a ‘top MATE panel’),
    these are some ways the windows can be moved.

    Reply

87. Great release. It installs (LM17 Qiana didn’t on my system). Thanks!

    Two bugs:
    1) LM17.1 RC Rebecca won’t restart after either Suspend or Hibernation.

    2) sound OK from laptop jack but not from docking station jack. (LM13-64bit Maya does deliver sound through the docking station jack correctly.)

    My system:

    Linux Mint 17.1 RC, 64bit, MATE (LM17.1)
    Dell Latitude D630 laptop with 4MB RAM (Core2 Duo CPU)
    nVidia Quadro NVS 135M graphics
    Seagate Laptop Thin SSHD 500GB (hybrid HDD) (brand new)
    dual booting with Windows Vista (installed fresh, came free with the laptop)
    docking station

    Reply

88. Linux Mint 17.1 MATE looks very promising. I’m seriously considering trading in Ubuntu MATE for this!

    I did, however, notice a bug in the Live session when Compiz is enabled. It’s about the Mint Menu not receiving focus when opening it with the keyboard shortcut.
    Steps to reproduce:
    1) Switch to Compiz
    2) Open a new window and position it near the Mint Menu button.
    3) Make sure this window has focus.
    4) Now open the Mint menu by pressing LWin (are whatever key you set)
    5) => The menu opens BEHIND the active window and the search field does not get keyboard focus
    6) Close the menu and click somewhere on the desktop, outside the window you opened in 2) so it loses focus.
    7) Open the menu again by pressing its shortcut key
    8) => Now the menu opens in the foreground and the search field receives focus.

    When using Marco, the menu always opens in the foreground and the search field always gets keyboard focus when the menu is opened using the shortcut key.

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89. In addition to my last message:
    This problem only seems to occur when the ‘Enhanced Zoom Desktop’ plug-in is enabled.

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90. I’m seriously impressed.
    I found an interesting issue just yesterday with the Mint 17 mdm login screen, which has been around since at least 16 Petra (but not present in an old Ubuntu 11.04 install that I tested). When mdm is waiting for a graphical login, there seems to be a busy loop somewhere in mdmwebkit; “top” (run from a text virtual console) reports that the Xorg process and the mdmwebkit process are doing their best to suck up CPU cycles. Xorg runs one core of a quad core i7 at about 100%, and mdmwebkit runs another at a bit over 10%. On a single processor machine, the two manage to keep the poor CPU running flat out.
    Lo and behold, it seems to be fixed on the 17.1 RC. mdmwebkit does seem to spin a bit, running one core of the i7 at about 3% usage, for some reason, but it is much nicer. Since I was considering running some server function on a Mint machine, the old behaviour was a bit of a concern. Nice work.

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