Linux Mint Xfce Community Edition Released

A Community Edition of Linux Mint using the Xfce desktop was announced over the weekend. This combines two of my favorite things in Linux - the Mint distribution, which I think is absolutely wonderful for most end users, and the Xfce desktop, which I think is an excellent choice for netbook users, and in fact is very good for general use. I have loaded it on my Fujitsu Lifebook S6510 notebook and both of my netbooks (HP 2133 Mini-Note and ASUS N10J), and I am very pleased - it is every bit as good as I hoped it would be.

Installation is quick and easy, exactly as it is with Ubuntu 9.04, from which Linux Mint is derived and whose installer it uses (well, Xubuntu to be exact). Once the installation is complete, it boots up to the familiar Linux Mint background, but with an Xfce desktop, using a single panel at the bottom of the screen. The desktop can then be easily customized, as I have described previously, to add a second panel on the right side of the screen, and distribute various icons and widgets between the two panels. The end result is what I find to be an excellent environment for both netbooks and notebooks.

I have written previously about Linux Mint 7, and about using Xfce for a netbook desktop, so I won't waste time repeating those here. I will just say that having both of them together really does make an excellent combination that is well worth investigating.

jw 14/9/2009