October 25, 2010, 9:20 AM — Canonical's newly released Ubuntu 10.10 -- or "Maverick Meerkat" -- may still be dominating the headlines in the Linux world these days, but it's by no means the only excellent distribution of the open source operating system. Following just behind Ubuntu on DistroWatch's list of popularity, in fact, is not just Fedora, at No. 2, but also--of particular interest this week--Linux Mint.
In addition to being the third most popular Linux distribution out there, Mint is of considerable interest right now because the release candidate (RC) version of Linux Mint 10 was just released. That means the next stable release is just around the corner. Also known as "Julia," the new version is based on Ubuntu 10.10 and offers a correspondingly improved level of user friendliness.
Even before this latest release, in fact, many people have found Linux Mint even easier to use than Ubuntu, thanks in part to a series of graphical tools for enhanced usability. New improvements in "Julia," however, appear to be making Mint even better.
Whether you're considering trying out Linux for your business for the first time or just interested in experiencing for yourself the cutting edge in Linux usability, Linux Mint 10 is well worth a look. Here are some of the enhancements you can expect in this new version.
1. System Improvements
Along with Ubuntu 10.10, Linux Mint 10 RC is based on version 2.6.35 of the Linux kernel along with version 2.32 of the GNOME desktop environment and X.org 7.5. All of these bring with them a raft of security and other improvements.
Also incorporated in Julia is the latest Adobe Flash "Square" running in full 32-bit or 64-bit native mode, depending on which Linux Mint edition you choose. This plug-in is faster than its predecessor, especially in full-screen mode, according to the Mint development team.
A new package in Julia, meanwhile, points to the non-open source version of Oracle's VirtualBox virtualization software and provides USB support.
2. Compatibility
