Linux Mint 21.1 “Veraâ€
was released on December 20, 2022, a full 14 days after the beta
appeared. The popular Ubuntu-based distribution’s intuitive desktop
environments make it especially popular among newcomers to Linux.
Linux Mint 21.1 code name
“Veraâ€, brings several interface changes including a cleaner desktop with more
vibrant colors. Vera also sees the arrival of more controls in the update,
driver, and software managers. New system sounds, ISO tools, and mouse pointers
round out this update to the popular Linux distribution.
Let’s see what new Linux
Mint 21.1 has in its store for users.
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is one of the
most successful distributions based on Ubuntu. And with the number of Ubuntu
derivatives out there, that’s saying something. Linux Mint must be doing a lot
of things right—at least, according to its passionate user base.
Linux Mint is focused on
desktops and laptops. It provides customized desktop environments with a choice
of Cinnamon, Xfce, and Mate. It has the Snap store disabled by default;
a move first made in Linux Mint 20.
Linux Mint doesn’t have a
server version. Its purpose is to provide a simple, intuitive, attractive
desktop Linux experience for its users, especially newcomers to the Linux
world. The Linux Mint team want a mac or Windows user to be comfortable with
Linux Mint within a short time.
Linux kernel
The release will continue
to use the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel under the hood, based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
A Refreshed User Interface
When you first boot into the desktop, you should quickly notice the new look of the cursor. It features the new Bibata theme by default.
The cursor icon theme
inventory has new options like Yaru, Breeze, and GoogleDot along with the
traditional DMZ theme.
Users will also find a unique
set of app icon themes to choose from in addition to the traditional Mint-X,
Mint-Y, and Mint-Legacy themes. This includes Papirus, Breeze, Numix, and Yaru.
Another interesting thing
you may notice is the default accent color isn’t the traditional green anymore,
and that’s because the desktop theme is now switched to Aqua. The accent color
library offers more vibrant colors and gives the desktop a clean and attractive
look.
For those who want the
legacy look back, there exists a “Mint-Y-Legacy” option in the theme
options.
Moreover, the Computer, Home, Networks, and Trash icons previously visible on the desktop are removed by default and can be accessed in the file manager. The Home folder icon is displayed on the panel instead. If you want to return the old arrangement, you can do so by heading to the system preferences.
Cleaner Desktop
The desktop has been
purged. The “homeâ€, “computerâ€, “trashâ€, and “network†icons have been removed.
Clicking the folder icon
pinned to the panel opens your “home†directory in the Nemo file browser, so it
is still only one click away. Counter-intuitively, its tooltip reads “Filesâ€,
but it gives you a fast way to get to Nemo and your “home†directory all in
one.
The “computerâ€, “trashâ€,
and “network†locations are available through the “Go†menu in Nemo or by
searching in the start menu.
Files that you copy or
save to “~/Desktop†still show up on the desktop, as do mounted devices.
There’s the usual
selection of new background wallpapers. You’ve got access to the generic Linux
Mint wallpapers, the backgrounds from the Linux Mint 21 Vanessa release, and
the new Vera-specific backgrounds.
It’s a stunning collection
of images by skilled photographers. Whoever curated these backgrounds did a
great job too.
There’s a new “Show
Desktop†button at the extreme right-hand end of the panel. It hides all open
windows, clearing the desktop with a single mouse click.
It’s practically
invisible, but it’s there. Point at it, and you’ll see its tooltip.
A Modern Mouse Pointer
The default mouse pointer
has changed. Linux Mint 21.1 uses “Bibata Modern Classicâ€, which has a gently
rounded shape without a tail.
With all of these cosmetic
tweaks, what looks good is subjective. If you don’t like the defaults, you can change
them in a flash to something more agreeable to you.
New System Sounds
The system sounds have
been updated. As before, the volume can be adjusted, and individual sounds can
be switched on and off if they’re too distracting.
A Liberated Driver Manager
The Driver Manager
application has been changed to run in user mode. This means it’ll run without
the need for a password.
It searches your computer
for drivers that are installed and in use, then lists them. It’ll also identify
missing drivers and offer to install them.
Our test machine didn’t
require any additional drivers, but it’s nice to know that you’ve got a helping
hand if your computer does need them.
Enhanced Update Manager
A similar amount of
assistance and hand-holding is available in the Update Manager. It makes what
can become a complicated task very easy. You can select the packages that you
want to update, and exclude those you’re not interested in at this time.
Significantly,
support for updating flatpaks has been added.
More Control in Software Manager
If a flatpack is available for an application, the Software Manager let’s you choose
between installing a DEB “System Package†or a flatpack.
It’s not the
flashiest software store application, but it looks good and works well. You can
find what you want quickly from a huge choice of software, and you get a choice
of install types, too. I’ll take that over eye candy any day.
New USB Tools
As you’d expect USB Image Writer tool lets you select
an ISO image and the USB stick you want to write the image to. It
also has a “Verify†button which lets you verify the authenticity of the
ISO image before you burn it, which is convenient.
The USB Stick Formatter
tool formats USB sticks for you. You can pick a USB stick, set its device name,
and choose a file system. There are four file systems supported:
FAT32
exFAT
NTFS
ext4
Other improvements
The code which lets you
remove applications from the main menu was reviewed and password prompts were
removed in situations where administrative permissions weren’t required.
Removing a Flatpak will no
longer require a password to be entered. Same goes for simple shortcuts and
local applications (i.e. applications which aren’t installed system-wide).
Synaptic and the Update
Manager will now also ask pkexec to remember your password so you won’t have to
enter it every single time if you perform multiple operations.
Following the upstream
deprecation of apt-key, the Software Sources received changes to rework the way
it handles PPA keys.
When a PPA is added its
key is now only accepted for the PPA itself, not globally for all APT Sources.
Continuous integration for
all Linux Mint projects moved from Circle CI to Github Actions. This gives the
development team greater control over docker.
Documentation was written
and added to the User Guide to cover the following topics:
How to reset a forgotten password
How to have Bluetooth disabled at boot
How to make a Windows live USB stick or a
multiboot USB stick
Summary of changes
First point release of Linux Mint 21, based
on Ubuntu 22.04.1 release
Linux Kernel 5.15 LTS
Cinnamon 5.6.4 desktop
Xfce 4.16 desktop
MATE 1.26 desktop
Friendly driver manager
Cleaner default desktop view with fewer
icons
Default theme changes to “Mint-Y-Aqua†from
the green-based icons
New cursor theme: Bibata (one of the best
cursor themes in Linux)
A bunch of stunning wallpapers
And an array of bug fixes
Including these, there are
lot of new features in this new release. Start using new Linux Mint 21.1 to get
the full experiences.
To get the Linux Mint 21.1
on your system, simply upgrade the existing Linux Minx 20.x or do a clean
install.
Upgrading to Linux Mint 21.1
Upgrading
to Linux Mint 21.1 is simple. Long-time users of the distro will be familiar
with the steps needed to do so:
Use the Timeshift app
to make a system snapshot
Update
any/all Cinnamon spices/applets/themes
Open Update
Manager and install any updates
Select the
“Upgrade†option in the ‘Edit’ menu of Update Manager
Hit Install
Once
all updates are downloaded, unpacked, and installed it’s advised to restart the
computer. A reboot ensures all changes take effect, and that the system comes
back-up functioning as intended by Linux Mint’s developers.
As
mentioned, Linux Mint 21.1 includes a number of visual changes and new artwork.
Anyone who makes the upgrade but doesn’t like the new folder icons or aqua
color accents can revert to Linux Mint’s older look using the Welcome app
available in the applications menu.
Before upgrading or clean
install, make sure your system meets the minimum requirements. The system
requirements are as follows.
System requirements:
2GB RAM (4GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
20GB of disk space (100GB recommended).
1024×768 resolution (on lower resolutions, press ALT to drag windows
with the mouse if they don’t fit in the screen).
Conclusion
If your system doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements, or you need clean pre-installed new system, you can always get one from eRacks Systems store as pre-configured with Linux Mint 21.1.
Ubuntu
22.10, codenamed “Kinetic Kuduâ€, is here with eRacks
Systems. This
release continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and
greatest open-source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux
distribution. The team has been hard at work through this cycle, partnering
with the community and our partners, to introduce new features and fix bugs.
Ubuntu
Desktop 22.10 users will benefit from the refinements in GNOME 43, including
GTK4 theming for improved performance and consistency. Quick Settings now
provide faster access to commonly used options such as wifi, bluetooth, dark
mode and power settings.
Since Ubuntu 22.10 “Kinetic Kudu†will be supported for 9 months until July 2023, it was released to the wider public on Oct 20, 2022. Here’s in short, what you can expect from the Ubuntu 22.10 release.
Linux kernel
Ubuntu 22.10 is
shipped with the new 5.19 Linux kernel that brings the most relevant features
(in addition to many other new features, new drivers, improvements and fixes.
GNOME 43
In Ubuntu 22.10, GNOME 43
is the base desktop version. GNOME 43 is an impressive release in terms of
features and work around the GTK4 and libadwaita. A lot of features which was
missed to reach in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, finally arrived in this version.
Qemu
Qemu was updated to version
v7.0.0 which brings many major and minor improvements.
libvirt
Tracking the releases of libvirt continuously version
v8.6.0 is now provided in Ubuntu 22.10 which – among many other fixes,
improvements and features.
Docker.io 20.10.16
This new version contains fixes to avoid potential lock
issues and update its dependencies internally.
Security
Improvements
AppArmor gained support
for restricting access to unprivileged user namespaces. This allows a system
administrator to configure their system so that only applications and services
which are confined by an appropriate AppArmor profile can use this feature.
Summary of the key changes
in Ubuntu 22.10
Linux Kernel 5.19
GNOME 43
Pipewire by default
IWD is replacing wpa_supplicant
KDE Plasma 5.25 in Kubuntu
LXQt 1.1.0 in Lubuntu
Firefox 106
LibreOffice 7.4
Thunderbird 102
Including these, there are a lot of improvements. To experience the full improvements, you need to use one. You can download an installation file directly from here, or get a pre-installed ready to use system fromeRacks Systems’ Store.
Released in 17th
May 2022, Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 9 helps users innovate, optimize, protect,
and trust their traditional and modern workloads across their datacenter,
cloud, and edge environments. Red Hat Enterprise Linux remains an economic
driver, with the overall Red Hat Enterprise Linux footprint forecast to touch
more than $13 trillion of the global economy in 2022. RHEL 9 is now available with the following major features
with all of the systems in
eRacks.
Enhanced web console performance metrics
This feature makes it easy for the
system admin and operation team to monitor and identify performance metrics. It
allows quick report generation and presentation with one click.
Kernel live patching
It is one of the best features for
managing kernel update, RHEL 9 provide the ability to manage kernel patching
with a cockpit web console.
Streamlined image building
RHEL 9 comes with various improvements
like an image builder that gives the ability to build RHEL8 and RHEL 9 images
through a single build node. This feature is very useful for the developer
community.
Improved container development
RHEL 9 ships launch with upgraded
version podman with new features and advanced technology.
Link Time Optimization
It allows speeding up various
applications and running services as well as source code inspection at the time
of compilation.
Application Updates
You can find all application releases
with new versions which available in RHEL8 such as newer versions available of
Perl, python, ruby, git, apache, Nginx, MySQL, MariaDB, and more.
Enhanced security
Smart card authentication via the web
console.
Additional SELinux security profiles.
Detailed SSSD Logging and search
capabilities.
Integrated OpenSSL 3.
Integrity Measurement Architecture
allows you to dynamically verify the integrity of the OS.
The SSH root password is now disabled
by default.
Support for Newer
Versions of Programming Languages
RHEL
9.0 offers
the following new versions of dynamic programming languages:
PHP
8.0
Node.JS
16
Perl
5.32
Python
3.9
Ruby
3.0
Download Red Hat®
Enterprise Linux® 9 (RHEL 9) for Free.
Or you can get the
hassle free Pre-Installed Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 9 (RHEL 9) or your preferred versions or any of your preferable Open-Source
Distribution by purchasing any systems from eRacks
Systems’ Store.
The Ubuntu 20.10 code name ‘Groovy Gorilla’, Yes, “Groovy Gorilla†is the development code name chosen for the next stable Ubuntu release, which is currently earmarked for general availability on October 26, 2020.
Now, I probably don’t need to tell you what a gorilla is — and if you don’t know, I don’t believe you !!, and the term groovy is… Well, the dictionary definition of “Groovy†describes it as an informal adjective meaning ‘fashionable and exciting’, e.g., “That’s a groovy new wallpaper!†or generally ‘excellent, e.g., “A groovy release filled with greatnessâ€.
Ubuntu 20.10 establishes another milestone in Canonical’s long-term commitment to delivering a carrier-grade private cloud with “Groovy Gorillaâ€. The 33rd release of the most popular Linux distribution in the data center space, Groovy Gorilla, brings various improvements that enable easier consumption of the fast-networking stack across both VMs and containers, straightforward compliance with common security benchmarks and a reference telco cloud implementation.
Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorilla†is a short-term release supported for 9 months until July 2021. So, with its imminent release on 22nd Oct 2020, Ubuntu 20.10 will be getting support from Canonical till July 2021. This includes access to new app releases, bug-fixes, and security patches. This release mostly the testbed for the latest application, Kernel stack to provide users stable packages back to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
I personally have been using it for the past couple of days, and it’s reasonably stable. It also feels snappier compared to its predecessor, which isn’t a surprise considering it was primarily focusing on performance enhancements.
That being said, I won’t keep you waiting with the formalities. I know you came here to get a tour of what’s new with Ubuntu 20.10, and I have put together a few new changes in Ubuntu 20.10. Only you can feel the exact changes when you start using it.
let’s what’s new in latest Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorillaâ€;
Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorilla†Some Major Features:
Linux Kernel 5.8
When development for Ubuntu 20.10 started, it was based on Ubuntu 20.04 and used the same kernel base – Linux kernel 5.4 LTS. But then, Linus Torvalds released Linux kernel 5.8 in May, and everyone in the Linux community was suspecting that “Groovy Gorilla†will ship with it.
Now, after a long wait, the Linux 5.8 kernel has popped up in the Ubuntu 20.10 archives, and that too only a month ago. This means that the new iteration of the popular Linux distro will benefit from the sweep of features that comes with the new kernel.
Some notable examples include:
Airtime Queue limits for better WiFi connection quality
Btrfs RAID1 with 3 and 4 copies and more checksum alternatives
USB 4 (Thunderbolt 3 protocol) support added
X86 Enable 5-level paging support by default
Intel Gen11 (Ice Lake) and Gen12 (Tiger Lake) graphics support
Initial support for AMD Family 19h (Zen 3)
Thermal pressure tracking for systems for better task placement wrt CPU core
XFS online repair
OverlayFS pairing with VirtIO-FS
General Notification Queue for key/keyring notification, mount changes, etc.
Active State Power Management (ASPM) for improved power savings of PCIe-to-PCI devices
Initial support for POWER10
Easy Wi-Fi Hotspot Configuration
The Wi-Fi tab in “Settings†allows you to use your laptop as a Wi-Fi hotspot. If you scan the QR code with a mobile device, like your smartphone or tablet, it will connect to your hotspot.
Security Improvements
nftables is now the default backend for the firewall.
Ubuntu 20.10 Desktop
Ubuntu 20.10 is the first Ubuntu release to feature desktop images for the Raspberry Pi 4.
GNOME 3.38
Ubuntu 20.10 is shipping with GNOME 3.38 out of the box, released on 16th Sept 2020. It is a welcome upgrade over GNOME 3.34, which is being used in Ubuntu 20.04 by default.
GNOME 3.38 brings many excellent features and functionalities to the table. Here is a list going over the most notable ones:
Better Fingerprint Support
Intelligent Web Tracking Prevention
Updated GNOME Maps with Performance and UI Improvements
A Redesigned Sound Recorder and Screenshot App
Support for QR Code WiFi Hotspot
Tons of New Default Wallpaper
Folder Support in Application Grid
Restart Button Added to System Tray
New Icons for Various Apps
New Parental Controls Under Settings
Apart from this, you will get to see many more bells and whistles. We have a detailed article covering the best features in GNOME 3.38 if you are looking for more information.
Now, as you know, Ubuntu is not known for shipping with vanilla GNOME. As such, you won’t get the authentic experience that was intended by the GNOME developers. We will talk more about the new interface and overall end-user experience in a later section.
ZFS Becomes Less Experimental
The Ubuntu Unity installer hasn’t changed significantly. The installation process is almost the same as it was on Ubuntu 20.04, and the black disk checking screen is the same.
One notable change is tucked away in the “Advanced Features†dialog box. The ZFS file system installation option no longer has the word “Experimental†in capital letters beside it. Confidence must be building within Canonical about the durability and readiness of its ZFS implementation as a daily driver file system.
After you install Ubuntu 20.10 and sign in, you’ll see the Groovy Gorilla, positioned prominently amidst the familiar purple hues of the Ubuntu color palette.
He looks like an ape that’s got it together, but let’s see if that’s true.
Updated Applications:
Firefox version 81
LibreOffice version 7.0.2
Thunderbird version 78.3.2
Updated Subsystems:
BlueZ 5.55
NetworkManager 1.26.2
Noteworthy changes Ubuntu 20.10 Server:
squid: the NIS basic authentication helper was removed (LP: #1895694 34)
adcli and realmd: many upstream fixes were applied to these packages, improving on the compatibility with current Active Directory changes
samba 4.12 40 has switched to GnuTLS for most of its cryptographic operations and that has a huge performance improvement in SMB3 encryption
QEMU was updated to the 5.0 release. See the upstream changes 40 for an overview of the many improvements.
One noteworthy new feature is virtiofs 42 which allows better sharing of host file systems to the guest compared to the older 9p fs 4 based approach.
Libvirt has been updated to version 6.6. See the upstream Changelogs 34 for the many improvements and fixes since version 6.0 that was in Focal.
Libvirt 6.6 also supports the new virtiofs that was mentioned in the QEMU section above.
System Requirements for Ubuntu 20.04:
2 GHz dual-core processor
4 GiB RAM (but 1 GiB can work)
25 GB of hard-drive space
VGA capable of 1024×768 screen resolution
Either of the two: a CD/DVD drive or a USB port for the installer media
Note: Optionally, Internet access is helpful.
Download Ubuntu 20.10
You can download Ubuntu 20.10 for 64-bit computers using the link below:
As the Ubuntu 20.10 desktop image is 2.9GB in size do make sure you’re on a decent internet connection before you hit the download button!
When the download completes you need write the Ubuntu 20.10 ISO image to a USB stick using a tool like Etcher. Then pop the USB in an empty port, reboot your computer, and choose to boot from the USB.
No one ever expects to be in an accident, but the fact is that they can happen to anyone at any time. In order to reduce your chances of being injured or killed in a car crash, it’s important to learn and practice Defensive Driving techniques at the best online driving education.
What is Defensive Driving? Defensive Driving is a set of skills that allows you to operate your vehicle in a way that reduces your risk of being involved in an accident. It involves scanning the road ahead for potential hazards and taking steps to avoid them.
Why is Defensive Driving Important? Cars are becoming more and more advanced, with features like blind-spot monitoring and automatic braking. However, these technologies cannot replace the skills of a defensive driver. By being aware of your surroundings and taking steps to avoid potential collisions, you can greatly reduce your chances of being in an accident.
Defensive driving is not only for new drivers-it’s important for everyone on the road! By being aware of potential hazards and taking steps to avoid them, you can help keep yourself and others safe.
The importance of Defensive Driving
There are many things that go into being a safe driver, but one of the most important is defensive driving. Defensive driving means being aware of your surroundings at all times and taking steps to avoid potential collisions. This is not just for new drivers-it’s important for everyone on the road!
One of the best ways to become a defensive driver is to take a defensive driving course. In these courses, you’ll learn about different traffic scenarios and how to best avoid them. You’ll also learn how to react if you find yourself in a dangerous situation. After taking a defensive driving course, you’ll be much better prepared to handle whatever comes your way on the road.
If you’re not able to take a defensive driving course, there are still things you can do to improve your defensive driving skills. One is to always be aware of your surroundings. This means keeping your eyes peeled for potential hazards and being ready to react if necessary. Another is to give yourself plenty of space between yourself and the car in front of you. This way, if they do break suddenly, you’ll have time to react.
Defensive driving is one of the most important skills you can have while operating a motor vehicle. By being aware of your surroundings and taking steps to avoid potential collisions, you can greatly reduce your chances of being in an accident. So make sure to brush up on your defensive driving skills-it could save your life!
10 ways to stay safe on the road
Always be aware of your surroundings.
Keep your eyes peeled for potential hazards.
Give yourself plenty of space between yourself and the car in front of you.
Take a defensive driving course.
Be prepared to react if necessary.
Don’t tailgate.
Use your turn signals.
Yield to pedestrians.
Drive defensively in bad weather conditions.
obey the speed limit.
How to avoid common driving mistakes
One of the best ways to stay safe while driving is to be aware of your surroundings and avoid making common mistakes. Here are a few tips for avoiding accidents:
– Always wear your seat belt, and make sure your passengers are also wearing their seat belts.
– Never drink and drive.
– Use your turn signals when changing lanes or making a turn.
– Obey the speed limit and never drive too fast for conditions.
– Don’t tailgate other drivers.
– Avoid distractions while driving, such as using your cell phone or eating.
By following these simple tips, you can help to avoid accidents and keep yourself and others safe on the road. Remember, defensive driving is not just for new drivers-it’s important for everyone!
Conclusion
Defensive driving is one of the most important skills you can have while operating a motor vehicle. By being aware of your surroundings and taking steps to avoid potential collisions, you can greatly reduce your chances of being in an accident. Defensive Driving is not only for new drivers-it’s important for everyone on the road!