It's time to Try out Mint Linux again. Especially if you still love Gnome 2, like I do. I run Fedora 14, to this day. Just because I love Gnome 2. The Mate Desktop is based on Gnome 2 and they say it is now Read for Prime Time. Cinnamon Desktop had quite a few changes too. So, which ever Desktop you prefer. Is ready to go...

Don

New features in Linux Mint 14

Linux Mint 14 is the result of 6 months of incremental development on top of stable and reliable technologies such as MATE, Cinnamon and MDM. This new release comes with updated software and brings refinements and new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use.

MATE 1.4

MATE is working hard at providing a rock-solid environment in the continuation of GNOME 2. In 2011, GNOME 2 was renamed "MATE" and MATE 1.x made it possible for GNOME users to continue to use their favorite desktop. There were a few hickups along the way and a few regressions. 6 months later, MATE 1.2 brought many bug fixes and a much more solid experience. This time around MATE 1.4 not only strengthens the quality and stability of the desktop but it goes beyond GNOME 2 by fixing bugs which were in GNOME 2 for years and by providing new features which were previously missing.

Linux Mint 14 "Nadia" MATE Edition

MATE 1.4 comes with numerous bug fixes, bluetooth and mate-keyring are now functional and caja features support for Dropbox.

Choose your favorite notification style in MATE 1.4

MATE now includes its own character map, fast alt-tabbing with Marco compositing, a selection of notification styles (although this was included in Linux Mint 13, it wasn't part of MATE 1.2), and Caja improvements such as a toggle button to show and edit the path and a new button to compare files in the file conflict dialog.

The toggle button is back in Caja

Cinnamon 1.6

Cinnamon is full of new features and among the most active projects in the Linux community. Within this release cycle, Cinnamon developed at an amazing pace and its development was frozen in preparation for Linux Mint 14. The result is impressive and despite all these new features, Cinnamon 1.6 is more stable than its predecessor.

Linux Mint 14 "Nadia" Cinnamon Edition

Workspace OSD

Workspaces are “persistent” in Cinnamon. This means you can create a workspace whenever you want by clicking the “+” button and it will remain there until you decide to delete it. You can log off or even reboot, your workspaces will remain the way you defined them.

In Cinnamon 1.6 you can give them a name.

You can name your workspaces

This allows you to define distinct and memorable environments and to separate and gather your windows according to your activities.

The name appears when you switch workspace

When you switch workspaces, the workspace name appears on the screen. So you always know where you are.

The Workspace OSD (On-Screen-Display) is also configurable. You can set its duration, its position on the screen and whether you want it to show up or not.

Window Quick-List

The Window Quick-List is a new applet which lists all your windows across all workspaces.

The Window Quick-List is great to access windows across multiple workspaces

Scale also received improved keyboard navigation, so whether you prefer to find your windows by name or by looking at them, you can do so quickly and easily in Cinnamon 1.6.

Finally, both Scale and Expo are now also available as applets (as opposed to hot corners). This means they can be added wherever you want in the panels, in complement or replacement of the window quick-list.

Notifications Applet

When you add the notifications applet to your panel it keeps track of any notification you didn’t dismiss.

The notification applet keeps track of what happened when you weren't looking

Cinnamon notifications are ephemeral; Either you click them and they disappear immediately or they disappear by themselves after a few seconds.

The notifications applet acts like a tray which collects the notifications you didn’t click on. This is particularly handy when you’re busy doing something else and you just happened to see a notification in the corner of your screen but didn’t have time to read it, or when you’re away and you want to catch up with what happened during your absence.

Alt-Tab Thumbnails and Window Previews

The Alt-Tab window switcher is now configurable. Cinnamon 1.6 features the following switchers:

Icons (default, similar to Cinnamon 1.4)
Icons + Thumbnails
Icons + Window Previews
Window Previews

Alt-Tab with Icons and Thumbnails

“Window Previews” shows a preview of the selected window while switching with an effect similar to the Compiz Fusion switcher. The window in question comes to the front of the screen and is displayed prominently. If the theme defines it, the window can also be highlighted with an outline border/color.