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The team is proud to announce the release of LMDE 201204 RC with updated ISOs for MATE/Cinnamon and Xfce.

Screenshots


LMDE 201204 with MATE 1.2 (default environment)

LMDE 201204 with Cinnamon 1.4 (installed by default and available from the login screen)

LMDE 201204 Xfce

Highlights

  • MATE 1.2
  • Cinnamon 1.4
  • Kernel 3.2
  • Update Pack 4
  • Hybrid ISO images

If you’re new to LMDE, welcome to Linux Mint Debian!

Important links

LMDE in brief

  • Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is a semi-rolling distribution based on Debian Testing.
  • It’s available in both 32 and 64-bit as a live DVD with MATE/Cinnamon or Xfce.
  • The purpose of LMDE is to look identical to the main edition and to provide the same functionality while using Debian as a base.

FAQ

1. Is LMDE compatible with Ubuntu-based Linux Mint editions?

No, it is not. LMDE is compatible with Debian, which isn’t compatible with Ubuntu.

2. Is LMDE fully compatible with Debian?

Yes, 100%. LMDE is compatible with repositories designed for Debian Testing.

3. What is a semi-rolling distribution?

Updates are constantly fed to Debian Testing, where users experience frequent regressions but also frequent bug fixes and improvements. LMDE receives “Update Packs” which are tested snapshots of Debian Testing. Users can experience a more stable system thanks to update packs, or switch their sources to follow Testing, or even Unstable, directly to get more frequent updates.

4. How does LMDE compare to the Ubuntu-based editions?

Pros:

  • You don’t need to ever re-install the system. New versions of software and updates are continuously brought to you.
  • It’s faster and more responsive than Ubuntu-based editions.

Cons:

  • Although it’s using Romeo for unstable packages, LMDE continuously changes as it receives updates and new software. Compared to a frozen version of Linux Mint which changes very little once it’s publicly released, it’s not as stable. Things are likely to break more often but fixes can also come quicker. For this reason, LMDE requires a deeper knowledge and experience with Linux, dpkg and APT.
  • Debian is a less user-friendly/desktop-ready base than Ubuntu. Expect some rough edges.

Additional notes:

  • About the installer: The live installer is developed from scratch with Debian in mind. It’s configurable and it can be re-used by other Debian-based distributions. We noticed a lack in live technologies and in live Debian installers, so we’re happy to take the lead on this. If you’re a developer and you’re interested in using it, have a look at its source repository and don’t hesitate to contact us so we can help you fork it and merge upcoming changes between our two projects.
  • About bugs: Please use this blog to report bugs.
  • About the media: It comes as a liveDVD. Locales work differently in Debian and the package base requires more space.
  • Dedicated chat room: #linuxmint-debian is open to LMDE users on irc.spotchat.org.

Download links:

Torrents:

MD5 sums:

  • MATE/Cinnamon 32-bit: 20b70de983d2c832d33390c021704fb3
  • MATE/Cinnamon 64-bit: 6280daf43ba0dc410064b5d5311b0d8d
  • Xfce 32-bit: 43a5d81bab5893ff62cf5e5b703ff757
  • Xfce 64-bit: 6e591c13992dbe486825cbc339a63a19

MATE/Cinnamon 32-bit:

MATE/Cinnamon 64-bit:

Xfce 32-bit:

Xfce 64-bit:

Enjoy!

We look forward to receiving your feedback. Thank you for using Linux Mint and have a lot of fun testing the release candidate!

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Note about server speed

Current status:

  • The following servers are fully up to date with UP4:
    • Main Server: deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest (1Gbps, Colorado – USA)
    • Emergency cloud server: deb http://us.debian.linuxmint.com/latest (150Mbps, Texas – USA)
    • RTS Informatique: deb http://mirror.rts-informatique.fr/debian.linuxmint.com/latest/ (France)
  • The synchronization between the server and the mirrors was resumed (3 mirrors at a time).
  • If you experience issues or if you’re going through the update at the moment, don’t hesitate to connect to the IRC chatroom (irc.spotchat.org, #linuxmint-debian)

 

Introduction

Update Pack 4 was released as the “latest” update pack today. If you’re not using Linux Mint Debian, please ignore this post.

In Update Pack 4, the following significant changes occur which might cause regressions on your system:

  1. Gnome 2 gets “upgraded” to Gnome Shell
  2. The Linux kernel is upgraded to version 3.2

Changing your repositories

Please skip this paragraph if you already updated your APT sources for Update Pack 3.

Before you apply the updates for Update Pack 4, make sure you’re pointing to the correct repositories.

Edit your APT sources by running the following command in the terminal:

gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Within this file, replace the following:

  • Replace security.debian.org with debian.linuxmint.com/latest/security
  • Replace debian-multimedia.org with debian.linuxmint.com/latest/multimedia

Your APT sources, should now look like this:

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest testing main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/multimedia testing main non-free

Save and close the file.

Using the Update Manager

… to update itself

The Update Manager always updates itself before other packages. If you see an update for “mintupdate-debian“, accept it and wait for the Update Manager to restart itself.

If there’s a new Update Manager available, it will only list itself as an update

… to check your APT sources

At the time of writing this blog post, the latest version of mintupdate-debian is 1.0.5. From this version onwards the Update Manager is able to check your APT sources and tell you if they are properly configured.

  1. Click on the “Update Pack Info” button
  2. Make sure “Your system configuration” shows up as green and doesn’t show any warnings or errors
  3. If you see a warning or an error, follow the instructions given and repeat the process until they’re gone.

Check the system configuration and read the Update Pack information

… to know more about Update Pack 4

In the “Update Pack Info” window, make sure to read all the information related to Update Pack 4. Some of it might be irrelevant to you, but it will only take you a minute and it might you save you hours.

… to upgrade to Update Pack 4

When you’re ready and you know all that there is to know, press the “Install Updates” button.

During the update you’ll be asked a few things. One is quite important.. the new kernel will ask you where to install Grub. Answer with the location of your current Grub menu (which on most systems is “/dev/sda“).

FAQ

Will upgrading to Update Pack 4 mean I will lose Gnome 2?

Yes. But you will also gain access to MATE (which is almost the same as Gnome 2). To install MATE install the package “mate-desktop-environment”.

Is Cinnamon included in Update Pack 4?

Yes. To install it, simply install the package “cinnamon”.

Can I keep Gnome 2 and ignore Update Pack 4?

Although it’s not a long-term solution.. yes, you can. Please read the following blog post for more info on Gnome 2, Update Pack 4 and alternative desktops.

Will LMDE get new ISO images with Update Pack 4?

Yes, in the coming days/weeks, LMDE will be released in two editions featuring Update Pack 4:

  • The traditional XFCE edition
  • The main LMDE edition featuring MATE 1.2 as the default desktop and Cinnamon 1.4 as a secondary desktop. MATE will work with Compiz (also installed by default) and Cinnamon will work in Virtualbox, so you’ll be able to enjoy both desktops and see which one you like best.

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LMDE Update Pack 4 is being prepared and tested at the moment.

Among other important updates this new update pack features:

  • Linux 3.2 kernel
  • MATE 1.2 (with mintMenu and mintDesktop now fully ported to MATE)
  • Cinnamon 1.4
  • KDE 4.7.4
  • Gnome Shell 3.2.2
  • Xfce 4.8

The one thing it’s missing is Gnome 2.

Gnome 2 is, by far, the most used and popular Linux desktop. It’s also the environment we’ve been improving and polishing since we started in 2006 and it’s been a core component of the Linux Mint desktop. Gnome 3 carries the same name but the similarities stop there. It’s a new and radically different desktop and it has very little in common with it.

As you probably know, Gnome 3 conflicts with Gnome 2 and so most distributions lost Gnome 2 about a year ago. Linux Mint 12 lost it in November and LMDE is about to lose it as well with this update pack.

As more and more Gnome 2 users couldn’t use it anymore, many people migrated to other existing desktops such as KDE, Xfce or LXDE. Some people used Gnome Fallback (a Gnome 3 environment which looks like Gnome 2 but which lacks support for Gnome 2 applets and is meant to disappear) and others migrated to a distribution which still had Gnome 2 (Linux Mint 11 or LMDE for instance).

Since that happened, we’ve been worried about the lack of satisfactory alternatives to Gnome 2. Looking towards the future of LMDE and the upcoming Linux Mint 13 release, our top priority was to get to the stage where we can provide our users with something most people would find as good or better than Gnome 2.

We worked extremely hard on Linux Mint 12 and provided an early release of MATE 1.0 and a set of extensions to Gnome Shell called MGSE.

LMDE was frozen at Update Pack 3 with a Gnome 2 desktop until we reached the point we are at today, where both MATE  and Cinnamon are ready.

MATE is basically Gnome 2 renamed. The more the Mate team works on it, the more stable it gets. What it looks like and how it behaves is exactly like Gnome 2. So for most people, this is probably the best alternative.

Cinnamon is a brand new desktop which looks modern (like Shell and Unity) but which works in a similar way than Gnome and Compiz. It’s also a desktop we develop ourselves, which is tailored to the vision we have and so which fits the purpose of Linux Mint perfectly. For this reason Cinnamon is both extremely innovative in the features and polish it gets and very traditional in its layouts and paradigms.

Like Gnome Shell, Cinnamon uses Clutter and needs 3D acceleration. It’s stable and full-featured but it might not work well for you, depending on your graphics card.

With Update Pack 4 LMDE users will gain access to new versions of KDE, Xfce and LXDE, but also for the first time to Gnome Shell, MATE and Cinnamon.

We’re delighted with the current state of these desktops. It’s still too soon to predict which of MATE or Cinnamon will become the most popular desktop in the future, but they both, and in a very different way, represent viable and quality alternatives to Gnome 2.

Last but not least, if you’re still not convinced by the alternatives you can freeze your LMDE system and avoid Update Pack 4 (thus keeping Update Pack 3 and Gnome 2), by pointing to the following repositories:

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/gnome2-frozen testing main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/gnome2-frozen/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/gnome2-frozen/multimedia testing main non-free

We hate to put people in a position where they can’t choose, so we will maintain these repositories for a little while, but please consider your options going forward as Gnome 2 will eventually completely disappear.