by ·73 Comments

The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 9 KDE RC.


Linux Mint 9 KDE

New features at a glance:

For a complete overview and to see screenshots of the new features, visit: “What’s new in Linux Mint 9 KDE“.

Known problems:

  • Localization (keyboard layout)
  • Linux Mint branding in mint4win and Plymouth’s text theme
  • Ubuntu branding in Software Sources
  • Splash screen resolution
  • Moonlight
  • Upstream issues

To get more information about these problems and their solution, read the “Known problems” section of the release notes

System requirements:

  • x86 processor
  • 512 MB of system memory (RAM)
  • 5 GB of disk space for installation
  • Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution
  • CD-ROM drive or USB port

Bug reports:

Please report any bug you may find in Launchpad.

Download:

Linux Mint 9 KDE RC is available as a 32-bit liveDVD, via Torrent and HTTP download:

Enjoy!

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

by ·17 Comments

A new command line utility called “iso-localize” is now available. With this tool, users, magazines and communities from various parts of the World can now produce official Linux Mint ISO images in their language and distribute them as such.

From a technical point of view, the utility reads from an existing ISO file, downloads the language packs for the selected language, sets that language as defaults and asks the user to translate the labels found in the liveCD/DVD menu. It then creates a new ISO file, which behaves in every way like the original  and boots directly, with full support, in your language.

The branding aspect is important. As you probably know, we’re strict on quality and testing and we only release images when we thing they’re ready. Thanks to the open-source nature of our project, anybody can remaster our releases and modify them in many ways. These modifications result in custom systems which quality and features we’re not able to assess and for this reason we’re reluctant to see them distributed under our name. Sharing and opening software for others to modify is great, as long as modified versions aren’t distributed as if they officially came from us. We recently faced a problem with the Russian community where someone produced ISOs of extremely poor quality and the Russian community’s website was distributing them as “Linux Mint” ISOs. This is unfair to us and although people are free to modify our images, they should at least do so using their own name and their own branding. Many communities expressed the need for localized ISOs and this branding issue was a concern to us. This new utility solves both problems by allowing communities to create custom ISO images while restricting the scope of this customization to localization.

Of course, we still provide mintconstructor for people who are interested in remastering our images. Images produced manually or using remastering tools (mintconstructor, reconstructor or remastersys, etc…) should be considered unofficial and should not be publicly distributed with our name and branding. Our policy in that regard is to ask distributors of these custom images to create their own name and branding.

Images created with iso-localize can be considered official and distributed as such, using our name and branding.

To know more about iso-localize and how to use it, please read the dedicated tutorial.

by ·10 Comments

Donations & Sponsorships:

Many thanks to the following donors and sponsors for financially supporting Linux Mint:

Donors:

  • $200 (3rd donation), Terry Mansfield aka “tmansfield” (USA)
  • $127, Thomas L. (Germany)
  • $127, funkajja (Germany)
  • $101 (4th donation), Robert D B. (USA)
  • $100 (2nd donation), Andrew Grace aka “crushedbyadwarf” (USA)
  • $100 (2nd donation), Richard M. (Canada)
  • $100, About Canada (Canada) – http://www.aboutcanada.ca
  • $100, Mogens Andersen (Sweden)
  • $100, Josep B. A. (Spain)
  • $100, Richard Z. (USA)
  • $100, Stefan G. (Norway)
  • $100, Bjorn N. (Norway)
  • $100, Wei-chien H. (USA)
  • $100, Robin C. (USA)
  • $63 (4th donation), Eric H. (Germany)
  • $63 (3rd donation), Frans Van O. (Netherlands)
  • $60, Trenton Isaacson aka “Mr_Shifty” (USA) – http://linuxcritic.wordpress.com
  • $50 (6th donation), Jonathan B H. (USA)
  • $50 (3rd donation), Barry Patterson (United Kingdom) – http://www.redsandstonehill.net
  • $50 (2nd donation), Eugene C. (USA)
  • $50 (2nd donation), Andrew Grace aka “crushedbyadwarf” (USA)
  • $50 (2nd donation), Mark B. (Australia)
  • $50 (2nd donation), Peter S. (Australia)
  • $50 (2nd donation), Gary M. (USA)
  • $50, Malcolm B. (USA)
  • $50, Mark A. (USA)
  • $50, Nora Elisabeth F. (Norway)
  • $50, Anthony L. (Australia)
  • $50, Nathan H. (United Kingdom)
  • $50, Adrian S. (United Kingdom)
  • $50, David W. (USA)
  • $50, James L Bowen (USA)
  • $50, Christian Porter (USA)
  • $50, Nyan W. (South Africa)
  • $50, Bruce R. (United Kingdom)
  • $50, Victor Skovorodnikov aka “victorsk” (Canada) – http://www.victorskovorodnikov.com
  • $50, Louis P. (USA)
  • $50, F. Reinbold Translations (Spain)
  • $38, Richard C. (Germany)
  • $38, Jan S. (Denmark)
  • $32 (6th donation), Philippe W. (Switzerland)
  • $32, Nils G. (Belgium)
  • $32, Graham C. (United Kingdom)
  • $32, Holger H. (Germany)
  • $30 (7th donation), Pete Molina aka “pmolina” (USA)
  • $30 (2nd donation), Bevan Hay (Australia)
  • $30, David deSouza-Kirby (United Kingdom) – http://www.g3vfp.org
  • $30, Dominic M. (USA)
  • $27 (3rd donation), Olli K. (Finland)
  • $25 (10th donation), Manuel F. (Portugal)
  • $25 (8th donation), Francisco C. C. (Spain)
  • $25 (5th donation), Dan B. (USA)
  • $25 (2nd donation), Tim B. (USA)
  • $25 (2nd donation), John M. (USA)
  • $25 (2nd donation), Happy Nerds Workshop (USA)
  • $25 (2nd donation), Dominik H. (Germany)
  • $25, John Abbott aka “FewClues” (USA)
  • $25, John S. (USA)
  • $25, James S. (USA)
  • $25, Terry H. (USA)
  • $25, Sergi S. S. (Spain)
  • $25, Eric J. (France)
  • $25, Charlene Craig (USA)
  • $25, John S. (USA)
  • $25, Julian D. (USA)
  • $25, Georg B. (Belgium)
  • $25, Jozef M. (United Kingdom)
  • $25, Michael D. (Canada)
  • $25, Jonathan B Alden aka “briggs_1978” (USA)
  • $25, Ian Dunn (United Kingdom) – http://www.salutus-solutions.com
  • $25, Jack H. (USA)
  • $25, Pascual S. (USA)
  • $20 (4th donation), Phillip H. (Australia)
  • $20 (3rd donation), Bernard S. (Netherlands)
  • $20 (2nd donation), Henry W. (USA)
  • $20 (2nd donation), Sebastian C. (Australia)
  • $20 (2nd donation), Matthew M. (USA)
  • $20 (2nd donation), Graham C. aka “gee7” (United Kingdom)
  • $20, Tim D. (USA)
  • $20, Stephen V. (USA)
  • $20, Christopher Y. (USA)
  • $20, Javier G. M. (Mexico)
  • $20, Reiner K. (Germany)
  • $20, Paul T. (USA)
  • $20, Steven Heidel aka “stevenheidel” (Canada) – http://www.livingskyweb.ca
  • $20, mitch (France)
  • $20, Vance R. aka “helmsdeeper” (USA)
  • $20, James T. (USA)
  • $20, Abraar S. (United Kingdom)
  • $20, James K. (USA)
  • $20, Morten H. (Norway)
  • $20, Stuart H. (United Kingdom)
  • $20, Darryl E. (USA)
  • $20, Bill Goebel (USA)
  • $19, C J van den B. (Netherlands)
  • $19, Raymond T. (United Kingdom)
  • $19, Mark Wolstenholme aka “markfiend” (United Kingdom)
  • $19, David R. (United Kingdom)
  • $19, Mike S. (Germany)
  • $19, Neal Quincey (United Kingdom)
  • $19, Intars Students aka “mobix” (Latvia) – http://intarstudents.lv
  • $15 (11th donation), Slavoljub M. (Norway)
  • $15 (3rd donation), George R. aka “Az4x4” (USA)
  • $15 (2nd donation), Aleksander S. (Norway)
  • $15, George D. (USA)
  • $15, James Masek aka “vineyardtechie” (USA) – http://www.sculpturebyjamesmasek.com
  • $15, German Heberto Duran (Mexico)
  • $15, Fabio Baratti (Italy)
  • $15, Dennis T. (Brazil)
  • $15, David M. (United Kingdom)
  • $15, Jason R. (USA)
  • $13 (7th donation), Emil Pavlov aka “emil_pavlov” (Bulgaria)
  • $13, Henk Oegema aka “henkoegema” (Belgium)
  • $13, Mark L. (United Kingdom)
  • $12 (8th donation), Marco R. (Italy)
  • $12 (3rd donation), Miguel Cunha Duarte aka “mcduarte2000” (Portugal) – http://www.miguelduarte.net
  • $12 (3rd donation), Samuel M. aka “vtired” (Italy) – http://it.ismico.org
  • $12, Philippe S. (Luxembourg)
  • $12, Adrian Gudas (Canada)
  • $12, Anonymous aka “MrNiceGaay” (Netherlands)
  • $12, Jens C. (Germany)
  • $12, Peter Portin (Finland)
  • $12, Alexandru L. (Italy)
  • $12, Damian H. (Spain)
  • $12, Gernot W. (Italy)
  • $12, Jose Luis F. M. (Spain)
  • $12, Gisbert H. (Germany)
  • $12, Giacomo from Ripon (United Kingdom)
  • $10 (4th donation), Jennifer McBride (Canada) – http://www.only-green.ca
  • $10 (3rd donation), Juergen G. (Canada)
  • $10 (2nd donation), Jeff Reid aka “jlr1701” (USA) – http://channelsforthelight.com
  • $10 (2nd donation), John Minear aka “sparky51” (United Kingdom)
  • $10 (2nd donation), Clemens N. (USA)
  • $10 (2nd donation), Paul V. (Canada)
  • $10 (2nd donation), Platypus Products (USA)
  • $10, Jose A. (USA)
  • $10, Mansour K. (USA)
  • $10, Wyramuttu N. (Canada)
  • $10, BJ S. (USA)
  • $10, Luis D. (Brazil)
  • $10, Jon F. (USA)
  • $10, bwjpg (United Kingdom)
  • $10, Nicolas J. (Belgium)
  • $10, Алексей Калюкин (Russia)
  • $10, John P. (USA)
  • $10, Ben Barnes (USA) – http://www.e-lectiostore.com/store.html
  • $10, Michael Meehan aka “uirusu.ningen” (New Zealand)
  • $10, Magnus Olsson aka “XeroXer” (Sweden) – http://www.xeroxer.com
  • $10, Steven K. (USA)
  • $10, Francois H. (Canada)
  • $10, Mary F. (USA)
  • $10, Ashish S. (USA)
  • $10, Jonathan T. (Singapore)
  • $10, Stephen T. (Australia)
  • $9, Richard L. aka “rlindsey0” (USA)
  • $8, Divyesh K. (Canada)
  • $7 (3rd donation), Johan T. (Sweden)
  • $7, Pedro Almeida (Portugal)
  • $7, Lukas E. (Germany)
  • $6, Joao E. (Portugal)
  • $6, Stuart C. (United Kingdom)
  • $6, Christopher D. (United Kingdom)
  • $6, Marcin Skiba aka “marcinski” (United Kingdom)
  • $6, Sylwia Bialczak (Finland)
  • $6, Daniel an der B. (Germany)
  • $6, Tolga K E. (Australia)
  • $6, Goran K. (Croatia)
  • $5 (6th donation), Savant B.D. (USA) – http://www.allyourprices.com
  • $5 (4th donation), Dan Jackson (United Kingdom)
  • $5 (2nd donation), Tauras G. (Lithuania)
  • $5 (2nd donation), Michael G. (Germany)
  • $5, Micko C. (Ireland)
  • $5, Lee S. (New Zealand)
  • $5, Alejandro Q. H. (Mexico)
  • $5, Jacob M. (USA)
  • $5, Redouane B. S. (Spain)
  • $5, Ciglet (United Kingdom)
  • $5, Sascha H. (Germany)
  • $5, Tyra K. (USA)
  • $5, David Wands (United Kingdom)
  • $5, Martin F. H. (USA)
  • $5, Cagatay C. (Turkey)
  • $5, Normunds Mazurs (Latvia) – http://mazurs.livejournal.com
  • $5, Mr Steven J Murray aka “mintymintminty” (United Kingdom)
  • $5, Craig Stock aka “craig10x” (USA)
  • $4, Mark F. (USA)
  • $4, Richard Cross aka “blip” (United Kingdom) – http://www.printeng.co.uk
  • $3 (4th donation), Inga Muste (Latvia) – http://inga.lv
  • $3, Kollar K. (Hungary)
  • $2.5, Le T. (Vietnam)
  • $2 (2nd donation), Carl K. (USA)
  • $2 (2nd donation), Carl K. (USA)
  • $2, Evgeny D. (Russia)
  • $2, Nandor T. (Hungary)
  • $2, Yu Tor Ho (Malaysia)
  • $2, Rini D. (Indonesia)
  • $1 (2nd donation), Ryan C. (Philippines) – http://wartrolreviews.info
  • $1, Ahmad K. (Indonesia) – http://feedvillages.com
  • $1, Kevin K. (Norway)
  • $1, Islam C.I. (Turkey)
  • $1, Louis G. (USA)
  • $1, Kevin Naidoo (South Africa)

Sponsors:

Money raised in May:

* Donations: $5117.5 (202 donors)
* Sponsors: $658 (72 sponsors)

http://www.linuxmint.com/donors.php
http://www.linuxmint.com/sponsors.php

User Stats:

Repartition of Linux Mint users across releases:

  • Linux Mint 9 Isadora: 39% (-26%)
  • Linux Mint 8 Helena: 35% (+35%)
  • Linux Mint 7 Gloria: 18% (-8%)
  • Linux Mint 6 Felicia: 3% (-2%)
  • Linux Mint 5 Elyssa LTS: 2% (-1%)
  • Linux Mint 4.0 Daryna: 2% (-0%)

Web Stats:

  • Visits: 2,940,652 (+20%)
  • Unique views: 4,035,597 (+26%)
  • Pageviews: 5,255,355 (+27%)
  • Page impressions: 2,605,594
  • Search queries: 6,066,755
  • Forum users: 32,150
  • Forum posts: 270,743

Rankings:

  • Distrowatch (popularity ranking): 1599 (3rd)
  • Distrowatch (traffic share): 5% (2nd)
  • Alexa (website ranking): 17,239

Events:

Summary:

  • May was marked by the release of Linux Mint 9. There was a significant increase in traffic on the website (about 25%) and the user base grew by 6%. As with every release, we’re expecting the numbers to drop a little bit next month.
  • We received more donations than ever before. 202 people supported us this month, for a total of $5,117. Whether this was in appreciation of the latest release or in reaction to the poor results the project got in April, it’s really appreciated. It is often said that Linux Mint doesn’t benefit from corporate funding, but we’ve got such a strong community. There aren’t many projects like ours with that level of support from their community. This is really inspiring. Many thanks to everyone involved in helping us.
  • The overall income went up by 24%. May 2010 was the best month for the project since its creation in 2006.
  • June 2010 should see the releases of two additional editions: LXDE and KDE.