In general, Mint is Ubuntu for people who don't like the Unity desktop. And while Mint overall manages to be among the last holdouts of the traditional desktop computing paradigm, this iteration manages to feel both familiar and modern at the same time. The Mint project recently released Mint 17.2, a significant upgrade for the Ubuntu-based distro that has become one of Linux's most popular. They're both solid options, but the words 'fun' or 'exciting' don't exactly spring to mind.įurther Reading Linux Mint 17.1 review-less change is good changeLinux Mint on the other hand has managed to do something a bit different, particularly with its Cinnamon desktop. In the Linux world, holdouts including both KDE and Xfce continue to be more or less what they have always been. Apple's OS X has thus far been surprisingly conservative about changing its basic metaphors, but then the company has iOS to tantalize developers. These desktops defiantly stick with the traditional task bar and start menu-style interface. Windows 8 departed from the traditional desktop UI, and Windows 10 looks like it will continue that rethinking of the desktop, albeit with a few familiar elements retained. Whether it's driven by, in Ubuntu's case, a vision of 'convergence' between desktop and mobile or perhaps just the need for something new (which seems to be the case for GNOME 3.x), developers would have you believe that these mobile-friendly, search-based desktops are the future of, well, everything. For example, the upheaval of the desktop is also happening in Windows land. This is not a sea change that's limited to Linux, however. In the Linux world, the GNOME project and Ubuntu's Unity desktop interfaces both take this approach. These days, the desktop OSes grabbing headlines have, for the most part, left the traditional desktop behind in favor of what's often referred to as a 'shell.' Typically, such an arrangement offers a search-based interface.

Enlarge / The default Cinnamon desktop in Linux Mint 17.2.

Ffmpeg linux mint 17.2