Linux Mint 18 KDE Now Available (betanews.com)

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Linux Mint 18 KDE Now Available (betanews.com)

Posted by msmash on Friday September 9, 2016 @07:15AM from the affinity-for-linux dept.

Clement Lefebvre, otherwise known as the man behind Linux Mint, announced on Friday the release and immediate availability of the final version of Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" KDE Edition OS. Sarah KDE has been available in beta for a few months now, but you can get the Live ISO images from the company's website. The new version is based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) distro, Lefebvre said. The new version comes with Plasma 5.6 desktop environment and associated apps. BrianFagioli writes: If you have at least 2GB of RAM, the Linux-based operating system could bring your aging computer into 2016 and beyond. Plasma offers plenty of options to 'make it yours', but it can sometimes be confusing -- there can be such a thing as too much choice. If after installing it you find it overwhelming, I would suggest going with the tried and true Cinnamon desktop environment instead. That seems to be the major focus of the Linux Mint team too. The Mint team is also including the Kubuntu backports ppa, which it promises will provide newer updates to KDE Plasma. Fans of the desktop environment should enjoy this immensely.

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systemd? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 07:22 · Score: 1

no thanks!
1. Re: systemd? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 13:42 · Score: 0
  
  Amazing latest kde technology ! Wayland
2. Re:systemd? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 22:07 · Score: 0
  
  > systemd?
  > no thanks!
  Why exactly?
  +1 for being ignorant and posting stupid comments?
Re:The Letter K by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 07:33 · Score: 0

I'm offended by the letter K.
OK...
2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 07:39 · Score: 2, Insightful

Many netbooks still come with one gb. Linux getting obese again. Time to stop eating so much eye Kandy.
1. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 07:49 · Score: 0
  
  2GB is near obsolete, as is KDE. Nothing about that sentence from the summary says "2016" to me. Or even "post-2010".
2. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 07:54 · Score: 0
  
  [...] netbooks [...]
  Welcome to 2016! We hope you enjoy your stay.
3. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:00 · Score: 0
  
  2GB is near obsolete
  Spot on. 4 GB RAM is basically the minimum these days for comfortable computing. 2 GB is doable, but extremely slow and painful. The person you replied to talked about 1 GB netbooks. I had one way back when netbooks first were a thing. I had an HP Mini, and it was absolutely dreadful. Even in it's heyday, a netbook was painful. I ran a super barebones Arch install with i3wm and it was still extremely slow and painful. Windows was completely unusable.
  Unfortunately, that's just how it is now. We can bitch and complain about it, but that isn't going to change anything. 4 GB is just the baseline for RAM now.
4. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:15 · Score: 1
  
  2GB is near obsolete
  Spot on. 4 GB RAM is basically the minimum these days for comfortable computing. 2 GB is doable, but extremely slow and painful. The person you replied to talked about 1 GB netbooks. I had one way back when netbooks first were a thing. I had an HP Mini, and it was absolutely dreadful. Even in it's heyday, a netbook was painful. I ran a super barebones Arch install with i3wm and it was still extremely slow and painful. Windows was completely unusable.
  Unfortunately, that's just how it is now. We can bitch and complain about it, but that isn't going to change anything. 4 GB is just the baseline for RAM now.
  Bullshit.
  I have a 1GB netbook. I run straight openbox on top of X. No performance issues whatsoever.
5. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by zoom-ping · 2016-09-09 08:24 · Score: 2
  
  Many netbooks still come with one gb.
  Have you been in a coma?
6. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:34 · Score: 0
  
  Many netbooks still come with one gb.
  Have you been in a coma?
  Why, yes. Yes I have. A coma brought on by the rock I live under coming down on my head too hard -- been asleep for 8 years or so.
7. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:45 · Score: 0
  
  I run an old dual core 1.6GHZ 2GB RAM laptop with Debian and Openbox on X, using it as a full Ardour/Hydrogen/Various synths and whanot audio recording and editing system. Keeping base system resources to a minimum being an obsolete way of thinking in general is antithetical to significant aspects of the core UNIX way.
8. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:52 · Score: 0
  
  Quite. Typing this on a computer with 3gigs, and KDE 3.5 ran just fine on it with quite a bit to spare.
  Frankly KDE and Gnome jumped the shark somewhere around 2010. Thats when they decided that the future was in GPU powered eyecandy, not solid code.
  Aft5er that KDE evicted their programmers, let the designers run rampant, and left Gnome to dictate the future of the Linux desktop. This has culminated in the trainwreck that is systemd+wayland+Gnome, with KDE going along for the ride because they no longer have the manpower to do anything else.
9. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 09:40 · Score: 0
  
  Both kde and gnome are obsolete. If you use linux desktop then you use ubuntu's default unity. If you're on server then it doesn't matter, it's bash.
10. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by bigfinger76 · 2016-09-09 10:12 · Score: 1
  
  I use XFCE myself.
11. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 13:02 · Score: 1
  
  Yup. Utter bullshit.
  I have an XP machine with 2Gb RAM which is used mainly to run Logic Audio 5.5.1. I did a track last week that had 18 audio files and 12 VSTs. It ran perfectly.
  Truth is modern operating systems are bloated pieces of shit with innumerable unwanted, unnecessary services and other crapola that think they can run all the time stealing CPU cycles performing pointless shit that I do not want.
  Similarly I also did a great little song using my old Atari ST1040FM. 1Mb of RAM but using CLAB Creator it's rock solid and just works. Saved the finished MIDI data to a 720Kb floppy disk to boot.
  Modern technology has become bloated crap. Hipster cretins writing crap using Gbs of shitty "frameworks" which need 4Gb of RAM just to draw a capital letter "A" on the screen (with fancy shading, etc. etc.)
  The story of Mel seems more pertinent every day !
12. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 16:40 · Score: 0
  
  The MATE version will run happily on 1GB. You can disable compositing if wanted, with one click in the right place.
  If it still sucks, there's browser ad-blocking, and going into the BIOS setup to set shared video memory to 16MB or 32MB, down from 128MB.
  If you want to shave another 100MB or so, you may 'apt-get install lxde' (you get to keep the GTK theme and icons and installed software etc.)
  Note that 2GB is a much recommended capacity. If you happen to have a good Pentium 4 desktop or good netbook on which you put 2GB, it will be good (ditto if you replace a crappy 40GB hard drive with either a good 500GB to 2TB hard drive or a good low end SSD)
  For a netbook, it's usually done with replacing a 1GB ddr2 stick with a 2GB ddr2 stick. I knew a computer illiterate homeless person who somehow did that.
13. Re:2GB is not a "aging computer" by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-10 00:19 · Score: 0
  
  Doesn't that depend on what you are doing with it? The problem is with web browsing, most web sites are bloated making them slow and unpleasant to use on old low-end machines.
Windows virtual machine? by goombah99 · 2016-09-09 08:03 · Score: 1

I recently got a chance to see someone using unbuntu inside linux and I'm curious how this works. Is it running a virtual machine or re-implementing the low level system calls or what? If it needs to talk to the network or use a USB device is it a virtual connection to the Windows Drivers or does the linux have to have it's own drivers.
Finally, since it's ubuntu does this mean I could give it a linux Mint character or is that pointless since it is using Windows as the desktop

--
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
1. Re:Windows virtual machine? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:15 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe they were using VirtualBox on Linux, it's really simple.
2. Re:Windows virtual machine? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 13:29 · Score: 0
  
  I presume you meant Ubuntu inside Windows. Think of it as reverse WINE, so yes, it translates system calls, environment variables, and does some sort of impression of /dev and /sys. So with drivers there is something of a translation layer, but probably they took the simpler route and didn't do much in the way of emulation. Also, keep in mind that Ubuntu on Windows does not include all packages, it's focused on the command line (and it does do a lot there to make sure there's not much difference in scripting for the system), and I don't believe that there are currently any graphical programs allowed. So yeah, you're still going to want cygwin or virtualbox for graphical stuff, and there's no real reason to prefer Mint's repos anyway, those guys are clowns when it comes to security and integration.
3. Re:Windows virtual machine? by Arashi256 · 2016-09-10 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  You download and install VirtualBox. You define a new virtual machine (File -> New) for the operating system you want to run as a virtual machine. You define it's memory, ethernet, HDD size, etc. You attach the operating system ISO file to the virtual optical drive of the new virtual machine you created and then you start it. It installs the operating system as normal and now you have an operating system in a window in your physical operating system. That's it. Hardly wizardry.
WTF? by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · 2016-09-09 08:15 · Score: 0

I downvoted this news but it wasn't enough. Will ./ announce various spins of various distros every day from now on? This will surely make ./ more popular ... except not. People who use certain distros are usually subscribed to distrowatch or their distro news website, while all others simply don't care and won't switch anyways.
Is it a slow news day or what?
1. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  I've been given to understand that Mint is the most popular distro on Slashdot.
  And KDE happens to be my personal religion, but Mint has taken a while to get this one out.
  It's obvious to me why this matters.
2. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 11:10 · Score: 1
  
  It's currently the most popular linux distro according to this site
3. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 12:16 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not subscribed to distrowatch and so was happy to see the new article here. I'm downloading it now as it looks like KDE is a better choice for me that Cinnamon. Had it not been for my regular browsing of Slashdot I wouldn't have seen this.
Not yet ready for prime time by DougDot · 2016-09-09 08:26 · Score: 1

The Mate version, anyhow. A couple of weeks ago Linux Mint 18 thoroughly borked my Intel Pentium G4400 Skylake desktop. It went through the install with no issues. I rebooted, did all the updates, rebooted and voila: Black Screen Of Death, X was totally hosed.
I diddled with it for about a day and could not make it work trying just about everything, so I rolled back to Mint Mate 17.3.
1. Re:Not yet ready for prime time by DougDot · 2016-09-09 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  Again, the Mate version had serious issues a couple of weeks ago.
2. Re:Not yet ready for prime time by bigfinger76 · 2016-09-09 10:14 · Score: 1
  
  We've got it, thanks.
3. Re:Not yet ready for prime time by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 11:07 · Score: 0
  
  Once again, if you're just tuning in now, the Mint Mate version 18 had some major issues for DougDot a couple of weeks ago.
4. Re:Not yet ready for prime time by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 11:19 · Score: 0
  
  How da fuck did this post get modded up twice????
Betanews - groan by itomato · 2016-09-09 08:32 · Score: 2

I might as well start submitting DistroWatch updates:

Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of Linux Mint 18 "KDE", an edition of the Mint family featuring the KDE Plasma 5.6 desktop: "The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 18 'Sarah' KDE edition. Linux Mint 18 is a long-term support release which will be supported until 2021. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use. This edition of Linux Mint features the KDE Plasma 5.6 desktop environment. The default display manager is SDDM. The APT sources include the Kubuntu backports PPA, which provides updates to newer versions of the Plasma desktop. The update manager received many improvements, both visual and under the hood. The main screen and the preferences screen now use stack widgets and subtle animations, and better support was given to alternative themes." Here is the brief release announcement, with further details, screenshots and videos provided in the new features page as well as the release notes. Download: linuxmint-18-kde-64bit.iso (1,622MB, SHA256, signature, torrent).
1. Re: Betanews - groan by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 13:43 · Score: 0
  
  Awesome
Let the fighting commence! by ilsaloving · 2016-09-09 08:41 · Score: 1

Oh look, a new version of a distro has come out!
Quick everyone, lets flood the forums with complains about using systemd and about not using systemd is.
Also, a new distro story is never complete with out arguments over bout how crappy gnome is, or kde, or unity, and oh, I dunno, lets throw twm in there too. I haven't seen complains about twm for quite a while now.
The last thing I wanna read about are the genuine efforts of the distro maintainers to improve their operating system!
1. Re:Let the fighting commence! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 09:09 · Score: 0
  
  Just imagine, if Lennart Poettering was alive 74 years ago he would have been strangling Jews with his bare hands.
2. Re:Let the fighting commence! by ilsaloving · 2016-09-09 10:36 · Score: 1
  
  Just imagine, if Lennart Poettering was alive 74 years ago he would have been strangling Jews with his bare hands.
  Interesting tactic. Skipping over the whole systemd/pulseaudio thing and going straight for Godwin's Law is definitely more efficient. Saves on ramp up time.
lacks multimedia support by frovingslosh · 2016-09-09 08:53 · Score: 1

If you're looking for multimedia support in the browser, particularly if you plan on running from the live DVD rather than installing (after all, if you want to install you don't need a live DVD and might as well install Debian), then 18 isn't for you. Grab a copy of 17.3 while you can still find it.

--
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
About time by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 08:58 · Score: 0

I've been hoping for this update for about half a year. Not doing the same mistake twice. Now that I'm finished with exams, I'll just install Kubuntu. What's the difference anyway, except that I get updates 3 months later on Mint?
Linux bloating is not the problem by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 09:09 · Score: 0

Some complain Linux distro's are getting bloated and not efficient. However the problem to me is driver's not being as good and causing these problems with the extra eye candy effects of user interface. I've experienced this with my SkyLake core i5 on my notebook. Ubuntu, Mint Cinnamon both drag the proverbial graphic wagon because GPU drivers are basically still stuck supporting older kernels. Just look at Intel's site in regards to Linux support. Just nothing supports above 4.2.
Might as well dial down the graphics because Linux can't deal with it well. It's pretty bad when Windows 7 aero runs better on my core i5 Skylake then a recent release of Ubuntu or Mint.
1. Re: Linux bloating is not the problem by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 12:09 · Score: 0
  
  What a surprise you will get when you realise that the Intel drivers are upstream in the kernel these days, only Windows people download drivers from vendors web sites.
been running it for weeks by drewsup · 2016-09-09 09:11 · Score: 1

fast, stable, no gremlins so far... using xfce on an old L500 Tosh Satellite, my usual compliments to the mint team,great work again!!
1. Re:been running it for weeks by KozmoStevnNaut · 2016-09-09 09:24 · Score: 1
  
  I've been running Mint 18 Cinnamon for a while, but this article is specifically about the KDE edition, which was only just released.
  
  --
  Eat the rich.
Fantastic operating system by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 10:18 · Score: 0

I have been running Linux Mint Mate 18 for a few weeks now.
The installation was flawless, and so is the operating system.
It is a diamond compared to the turd that is Windows.
Thanks Mint developers!
How about a link to the Linux Mint page? by sconeu · 2016-09-09 10:23 · Score: 2

The Linux Mint announcement of Sarah

--
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
Kernel is 4.4... by LTIfox · 2016-09-09 10:29 · Score: 1

Can they override Ubuntu on this? For a long term support release they have really fucked up choosing the kernel version. Skylake support is buggy as hell. People are forced to manually upgrade kernel to 4.6...
1. Re:Kernel is 4.4... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 10:47 · Score: 1
  
  It's a decent reason to go with UbuntuMate instead. That way you get the better security coverage provided in the Ubuntu update methodology (and more frequent kernel updates). That combined with the superior Mate and Cinnamon UIs from the Mint side is a pretty good compromise.
2. Re:Kernel is 4.4... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 17:05 · Score: 0
  
  Ubuntu ppas are a way to upgrade kernel ("manually" would be a stretch if you use a linux kernel .deb package and DKMS takes care of stuff if it's needed at all)
  Another way is Ubuntu's hardware enablement stack (will come out around the time there's final Ubuntu 16.10 and Ubuntu 16.04.2. Similar to the first way)
  Lastly there will be Mint 18.1 : might be based on Ubuntu 16.04.2 to get newer kernel, else it will have a newer kernel anyway ; slightly newer Desktop Environment versions, slightly newer versions of software like LibreOffice or VLC on a case by case basis.
  In the mean time, of course it may suck on recent computers. So, there's the other advice you got, which might entail running Ubuntu 16.10 beta 1 (may have a silly bug or two, but ought to reasonably work I think). Later, there would be Ubuntu 16.10 final and Ubuntu 16.04.2.
  I remember the times Ubuntu was the default choice anyway, even with 11.04 (had Unity, but Gnome 2 too). Well Mint has something closer to the old gdm than lightdm, and a bland theme rather than a flashy one, and the Update Manager. I think Ubuntu might be great with a bland theme and some hiding of software crap in the Applications menu if needed.
3. Re:Kernel is 4.4... by syzler · 2016-09-09 21:51 · Score: 2
  
  The 4.6 kernel series is already end of life, 4.7 is only marked stable, and 4.8 hasn't yet been released.. Currently Linux Kernel 4.4 is the latest longterm Linux kernel and is projected to be supported until Feb. 2018. With the exception of kernel 3.2, support will end for the other Linux longterm kernels either this year or next year.
  If you are creating a long term support release of a Linux distro, it makes sense to choose a longterm support kernel over either an EOL kernel release or an unreleased kernel (which likely bring its own set of issues). If the distro did choose to kernel without long term support, they would be on the hook for back porting critical patches into the kernel. Since they did choose a long term kernel release, they can focus on what sets Mint apart, maintaining their Cinnamon interface, rather than maintaining a custom kernel release.
  On a related note, Alpine Linux and Slackware Linux also chose the 4.4 kernel.
sometimes be confusing by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-09 16:48 · Score: 0

"...Plasma offers plenty of options to 'make it yours', but it can sometimes be confusing -- there can be such a thing as too much choice...."
I do not think so. This kind of overbearing attitude leads to Gnome. KDE is perfectly OK, I don't use the "activities" shit, I don't even want to know what it is, but I'm sure I can do without it. That is choice. Not everything is perfect with KDE, they keep reinventing the wheel.
Re: The Letter K by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-10 02:42 · Score: 0

I use KDE a lot and it makes finding apps a lot more annoying when most of them start with K.