New to Linux Mint? Focus on These Three Tools

It's FOSS reader Dave Merritt explains how Linux Mint is excellent in doing some basic stuff like customization, updates and system settings.
Warp Terminal

I have switched to Linux Mint Cinnamon, and at this point, itā€™s hard for me to imagine using any other OS.

I have already told you about things I like in Linux Mint. In this article, I hope to further explain why Linux Mint has become my go-to operating system.

Since I stumbled onto Mint while distro-hopping, I thought it best to present a few of Mintā€™s ā€œdeepā€ features in the same order I first encountered them.

1. Update Manager: Setting your own update policy

As any veteran distro-hopper can tell you, the first boot of a new OS only puts you sort of near to almost having a finished OS. The next step is to overwrite almost everything the installer just wrote on your drive and replace it with both the latest versions and with versions that most closely match your hardware configuration. So shortly after the first boot, most distros will then open their updater and display a long list of updates.

Quickly we see that Mint separates itself from the pack because in Mint weā€™re first asked to set a backup to your system. And itā€™s worthwhile to stop and consider how clever this is. By choosing to create a snapshot of your system at the beginning, you are making sure that, any updates/upgrades in the future wonā€™t create a headache for you.

Linux Mint Welcome screen, which is opened immediately after install, suggests the steps to follow after installation.
Linux Mint Welcome Screen

As you can see, I chose to have a snapshot in hand, ready for any unpleasant incidents. I was still smarting from a kernel regression a year earlier which had knocked out my Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Bad kernels can be removed very easily if you have a decent system backup, and especially easily if you use Timeshift.

Guide to Backup and Restore Linux Systems with Timeshift
This beginnerā€™s guide shows you how to back up and restore Linux systems easily with the Timeshift application.

But Mint doesnā€™t stop there. Click on ā€œViewā€ and then ā€œLinux kernelsā€ in the Update Manager, and a window opens allowing you to view your Linux kernel history, and allowing you to view Bug reports and the CVE tracker on yet to be installed kernels. Further, it also allows you to remove or install particular kernels.

Linux Mint Update Manager showing the details about installed/available kernels
Kernel Details

Of course, none of this prevents you from installing a bad kernel, but it does give experienced users a solid framework to avoid kernels which might be.

A final feature is that when updates appear, you are provided with a full description, including any additions deletions or alterations to your libraries. The same feature also allows you to read the changelogs as well.

Linux Mint pdate Manager displaying the changelog of linux-firmware package before updating
Changelog of Packages

There is a Driver Manager tool, that helps you find and install necessary drivers for your system.

The Linux Mint Driver Manager tool reports "no additional drivers needed" message
Driver Manager
Beginnerā€™s Guide to System Updates in Linux Mint
New to Linux Mint? It has an excellent system updater tool. Learn about this tool and the best practices you should follow.

2. Software Manager: An ever-improving tool

Now that youā€™ve booted up Linux Mint Cinnamon for the second time, and In a certain sense the first time as a full-blown system, itā€™s usually time to add all the applications big and small, that make your computing environment perfect. For me, this is easy because Mint comes with most of my go-to applications already installed.

Linux Mint Software Manager application home page
Software Manager

Further, Iā€™ve never had any trouble installing applications on Linux. If they arenā€™t in the official repositories, I can add PPAs either in the terminal or by downloading and letting Package Manager install .deb packages. In fact, I donā€™t even bother checking if the distroā€™s repositories have ā€œGrub Customizerā€: I simply enter three commands into the terminal and 2 minutes later Iā€™m using it.

But more timid usersā€”users who would prefer to use a graphical software manager at all times - are in for a treat. Mint has expanded the number of available programs along with successively tweaking both its appearance and functionality. I noticed, as a single example, that with the latest releases, Mint now includes an ever-growing ā€œFlatpakā€ section as well.

Flatpak Tips, Tweaks and Tutorials Collection
Flatpak is an increasingly popular sandboxed packaging format from Fedora Linux. It is a good idea to get familiar with it even if you are not Fedora user.

3. System Settings: Your Customization Central

The next and usually final thing a self-respecting distro-hopper does is to attempt to bend the desktop to their will. We want our new OS to look and behave in accordance with our preferences even when weā€™re being dumbā€”rather than being forced to live with someone elseā€™s dumb ideas. For me, switching from ā€œdouble clickā€ to ā€œsingle clickā€ is my first priority. So far as Iā€™m concerned, the failure of a distro to provide this option is grounds for dismissing it outright.

(If I live to be 1,000 Iā€™ll never understand the double click. Is our OS so busy pursuing such a hyperactive inner life that the first click is meant as a polite tap on the shoulder? Or is it like a practice swing in golf, so that when we click a second timeā€”the click that really mattersā€”our click will be in absolute top-top form? And if a left click has to be done twice, why do right clicks only have to be done once? Why does the OS trust a right click but treat a left click with extreme skepticism? Is there lateral bigotry at work here? I find the issue baffling, and if anyone can come up with a good reason for it, I wish theyā€™d tell me. Whew, I fell so much better now!)

Eventually, however, we all get around to appearance. Some distros are gorgeous. Does anyone still remember Ultimate Edition, for example? If not, consider the current version of Elementary OS. Itā€™s so beautiful, you almost fear touching it. I fell the same about every version of Zorin Iā€™ve used.

Linux Mint, however, is different. To be charitable, letā€™s simply say that Mint invites a high degree of customization.

Linux Mint System Settings page, where various options are present in icon view
System Settings

As all distro-hoppers know, we next need to open the System Settings menu. The first thing that struck me on opening Mintā€™s for the first time was its sheer size in comparison to every other Linux distro Iā€™ve seen.

And the place we usually start is with replacing the wallpaper. As with all Linux systems, right-clicking on any photo file offers an option to set it as your background. But with Mint, you are given several version-specific sets of photos to choose from. And if none appeal to you, you can create your own sets and add them to Mintā€™s roster.

Linux Mint Wallpaper (Backgrounds) selection page
Wallpapers

The reason I mention sets of photos is that under ā€œsettingsā€ you can toggle the desktop slideshow feature on. The system will default to the source folder that holds your current background, and will then cycle through the entire folder eitherā€”in order or at randomā€”and at intervals of your choosing.

The Wallpaper settings page, with options like Wallpaper slideshow, order of image in slideshow etc.
Wallpaper Settings

But probably the most pleasant surprise for me when I booted up Mint for the second time was opening the ā€œThemesā€ tab. Instead of being able to adjust some elements to some degree, Mint places everything in front of you and allows you to easily and independently make many changes.

Themes Settings page, with options to change Application/Desktop theme, mouse pointer and Icons.
Themes Settings

At this point, each section is already populated with a wide selection. But using the ā€œAdd/Removeā€ feature allows you to download, install and use scores of alternative desktop designs. Most of these give alternative looks to the panel, the main menu and panel sub-menus. Some themes are larger and come with their own ā€œcontrolsā€ and ā€œwindows bordersā€ designs as well. These elements are then made independently available, so for example, I can apply the ā€œZorin 8-Blackā€ window border to the ā€œGlass-Glaucousā€ panel theme.

Add/Remove page in themes tab, which is used to download and install themes, that are not pre-installed on your system
Additional Themes

None of these adjustments will make the Cinnamon desktop look or act like a Mac. Or Unity or Gnome or KDE for that matter. Though Iā€™ve never seen a mission statement on this point from Linux Mint Cinnamon, they obviously seem to be about offering a maximally Windows-like environment (Which explains why so many of the alternate desktop themes are Windows related.) I think this design strategy makes Linux Mint Cinnamon the perfect landing spot for users fleeing Microsoft. The familiarity of its look and behavior will certainly flatten the learning curve.

7 Ways to Customize Cinnamon Desktop in Linux [Beginnerā€™s Guide]
Linux Mint is one the best Linux distributions for beginners. Especially Windows users that want to switch to Linux, will find its flagship Cinnamon desktop environment very familiar. Cinnamon gives a traditional desktop experience and many users like it as it is. It doesnā€™t mean you have to coā€¦

Bonus tool: Hot Corners: An elegant alternative to Desk Cube

Normally once weā€™ve personalized the desktop thereā€™s not much left to do but use it. Really, with every other distro Iā€™ve used, this is as far as you can go. But subsequent poking around revealed to me a wealth of other things waiting in the weeds. I discussed the flexibility of Mintā€™s sound scripts in an earlier article. But the final feature Iā€™d like to discuss here is called ā€œHot Cornersā€.

The "Hot Corners" feature in Linux Mint. In the image, all four corenrs are set with different actions like show overview, show desktop etc.
Hot Corners

Based, Iā€™d guess, on the same digital foundation as the Gnome activities dash, Mint has added features to it so that it can, among other things, be made to act as an elegant workplace switcher and previewer.

Hovering in the top right corner of my desktop activates it. All workplaces are shown, all active applications are shown, and if more than one application is running on a given workplace they are separated, so they can be clearly displayed. One click will switch your application and/or desktop.

4 Workspaces are shown, similar to GNOME Dash. Separate windows are opened in all workspaces, which is visible in the overview type mode
Workspaces

I found that when I first started using it I was forever setting it off my mistake if, for example, I was a little too slow in closing off a maximized window. But like most of the problems Iā€™ve found in Mint, it comes with its own solution. In this case, I simply increased the delay time to .4 seconds, and it works exactly as and when I want it to.

Conclusion

In many ways, Linux Mint is too deep to discuss in one article; in writing this, I had to discard quite a lot. Mintā€™s Screensaver comes to mind, but also Nemo File Managerā€™s many right-click options. But the plain truth is that there are widgets and applets, especially in ā€œExtensionsā€ I still have not gotten around to experimenting with.

Finally, Iā€™ve been using a computer of some sort for at least 30 years. I had a Commodore, an Apple, and a DOS PC. Iā€™ve used Microsoft ME through to Windows 10. In Linux, Iā€™ve used Ubuntu pre- and post-Unity, Linux Mint Mate, Fedora, Arch and Zorin. Overall, these machines and systems and all this time, Iā€™ve never had what Iā€™m enjoying right now.

āœšŸ»
Dave Meeitt is a 60 years old, fullĀ­time landscaper and partĀ­time PCmedic. He has been an avid Linux user for over ten years. In that time, he does not claim to have made every possible mistake, only most of them. A big fan of prog rock, avantĀ­ jazz and J S Bach, Dave enjoys reading Neal Stephenson and anything to do with the foundational problems in modern physics.
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Written by a community member, a reader who is not part of the It's FOSS writing team. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect that of It's FOSS.

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