Introduction
The most significant improvements in Nadia are being backported to Maya.
Among other things, this gives Linux Mint 13 LTS users access to the following packages:
- MDM 1.0.7
- Cinnamon 1.6.7 (with Nemo 1.1.2 and Muffin 1.1.2)
- MATE 1.4
How to
To enable the backports in Linux Mint 13, follow the steps below:
1. Open the “Software Sources” tool from “Menu -> Preferences -> Software Sources”
2. Click on the “Backported packages (backports)” checkbox as illustrated in the picture below
3. Launch the “Update Manager” from “Menu->Administration->Update Manager”
4. Select all level 1 and level 2 updates
5. Click on “Install Updates”
Once you’re finished installing the updates, restart your computer.
Enjoy 😉
FAQ
– Why isn’t this happening automatically via the “main” components of the repositories?
It’s an opt-in. Some people are interested in getting the latest features (and they can follow the easy steps described above). Others prefer not to change what already works. By using the backports component of the repositories, which are disabled by default, people have the choice to upgrade these components or to keep them from being upgraded.
As with every upgrade and new version of software, there is a risk of regression. These upgrades have been thoroughly tested in Nadia and are known to work in Maya, but the decision to stick with the current versions or to upgrade to the newer ones is entirely yours. Note that both versions are available in the Linux Mint 13 repositories (via main and backports) and that although the process is a bit tedious, it is possible to downgrade all or some packages back to their original versions.
– Will these backports also find their way into LMDE?
Yes, they should do so in the coming days. Unlike Linux Mint 13 though, the upgrade in LMDE will be automatic since LMDE isn’t a frozen but a semi-rolling distribution.
