LMDE 201108 Gnome

The team is proud to announce the release of LMDE 201108 RC with updated ISOs for Gnome and Xfce.

Highlights

All Linux Mint 11 features

Installer improvements (keyboard variants, locale, bug fixes, UUID in fstab)

Update Packs, dedicated Update Manager and staged repositories

GTK2/GTK3 theme compatibility

Updated software and packages

If you’re new to LMDE, welcome to Linux Mint Debian!

Important links

LMDE in brief

Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is a rolling distribution based on Debian Testing.

It’s available in both 32 and 64-bit as a live DVD with Gnome or Xfce.

The purpose of LMDE is to look identical to the main edition and to provide the same functionality while using Debian as a base.

FAQ

1. Is LMDE compatible with Ubuntu-based Linux Mint editions?

No, it is not. LMDE is compatible with Debian, which isn’t compatible with Ubuntu.

2. Is LMDE fully compatible with Debian?

Yes, 100%. LMDE is compatible with repositories designed for Debian Testing or Debian Squeeze.

3. What is a rolling distribution?

LMDE constantly receives updates. Its ISO images are updated now and then but users do not require to re-install it on their systems.

4. How does LMDE compare to the Ubuntu-based editions?

Pros:

You don’t need to ever re-install the system. New versions of software and updates are continuously brought to you.

It’s faster and more responsive than Ubuntu-based editions.

Cons:

Although it’s using Romeo for unstable packages, LMDE continuously changes as it receives updates and new software. Compared to a frozen version of Linux Mint which changes very little once it’s publicly released, it’s not as stable. Things are likely to break more often but fixes can also come quicker. For this reason, LMDE requires a deeper knowledge and experience with Linux, dpkg and APT.

Debian is a less user-friendly/desktop-ready base than Ubuntu. Expect some rough edges.

5. Will it come with KDE or other desktops?

Yes. It will support KDE and Fluxbox in the near future.

Additional notes:

About the installer: The live installer is developed from scratch with Debian in mind. It’s configurable and it can be re-used by other Debian-based distributions. We noticed a lack in live technologies and in live Debian installers, so we’re happy to take the lead on this. If you’re a developer and you’re interested in using it, have a look at its source repository and don’t hesitate to contact us so we can help you fork it and merge upcoming changes between our two projects.

The live installer is developed from scratch with Debian in mind. It’s configurable and it can be re-used by other Debian-based distributions. We noticed a lack in live technologies and in live Debian installers, so we’re happy to take the lead on this. If you’re a developer and you’re interested in using it, have a look at its source repository and don’t hesitate to contact us so we can help you fork it and merge upcoming changes between our two projects. About bugs: Please use Launchpad for bug reports.

Please use Launchpad for bug reports. About the media: It comes as a liveDVD. Locales work differently in Debian and the package base requires more space. We made LMDE compatible with unetbootin though, so you can install it using a USB stick.

It comes as a liveDVD. Locales work differently in Debian and the package base requires more space. We made LMDE compatible with unetbootin though, so you can install it using a USB stick. Dedicated chat room: #linuxmint-debian is open to LMDE users on irc.spotchat.org.

Download links:

Enjoy!

We look forward to receiving your feedback. Thank you for using Linux Mint and have a lot of fun testing the release candidate!