A new IRC client (but don’t call it an IRC client) is being developed by Linux Mint. The Ubuntu-based distro currently includes Hexchat in its default software set. IRC isn’t as trendy as Discord or Telegram but it is a free, open standard that no single entity controls, is relatively low-bandwidth, interoperable, and efficient. But as I reported in February: Hexchat is no more. Hexchat quitting the chat leaves —I so badly want to type leafs there— Linux Mint with a dilemma and an opportunity. The dilemma being: “should we continue shipping an IRC client, and what role does it […]

You're reading Linux Mint is Building a New Desktop Chat App, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Linux Mint is Building a New Desktop Chat App

When Linux Mint 21.2 is released this June it’ll come with a selection of new visual “styles” for users to choose from. Announcing this visual buff in its latest monthly update, Mint says the feature will simplify the Cinnamon desktop’s extensive customisation capabilities whilst still satisfying those looking to fine-tune the way their desktop looks and feels. “A style has up to three modes: mixed, dark and light. Each of these modes can contain color “variants”. A variant is a combination of themes which work well together,” Mint says of its new feature. Effectively, Linux MInt’s new “Styles” are “one-click” […]

This post, Linux Mint 21.2 Simplifies Theming with ‘Cinnamon Styles’ is from OMG! Ubuntu!. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Linux Mint 20.2 is making it easier to bulk rename files, and to find files using the Nemo file manager. These improvements will ship in the next release.

This post, Linux Mint 20.2 Adds Bulk Rename Tool, Improves File Search in Nemo is from OMG! Ubuntu! . Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Mint is one of the most popular Ubuntu-based distributions, mainly due to its easy-to-use interface. Apart from that. Mint’s ability to run smoothly even on older machines is truly amazing. Another good thing about Mint is that the download page allows you to choose between three desktop environments, Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce, with Cinnamon being the most popular.

Mint is a great distro for people who want to try out Linux and are unsure where to start. If you own an ancient PC that can hardly run Windows, install Mint on it and see the magic. In this article, let’s look at how to install Linux Mint easily. Additionally, we’ll also be looking at how you can dual-boot it alongside Windows.

Prerequisites for Linux Mint dual boot with Windows

• An 8GB or above Flash drive
• Free storage space on your computer (at least 100GB)
• Patience

Making a Bootable USB Drive Using Rufus

To flash the distribution and boot into it, you’ll first need to make a bootable USB Drive. There are a lot of software that can make bootable USB drives, but the one we’ll use in this tutorial is Rufus, which you can download here .

1. Download Linux Mint from here and save the iso on your Desktop.

Mint download page

2. Insert your flash drive into the USB port and fire up Rufus.

Download and Open Rufus

3. Your flash drive will be automatically detected by Rufus. Click on the Select button

4. Browse your desktop and select the ISO. Now, Click on start.

5. Allow Rufus to download Syslinux if prompted and wait for the flashing process to complete.

Creating a Partition for Linux Mint

1. Search for “ partitions ” in the Start menu’s search bar and click on the first option ( Create and Format Hard disk Partitions ).

Create and Format Disk Partitions

2. All the partitions and drives on your computer will be displayed. As my laptop has both SSD and HDD, this window might look different on your computer. I’ll be installing Mint on the HDD.

Shrinking Hard disk

3. Right-click on your drive and click on “ Shrink Volume .” Enter the amount of space to be shrunk (in my case, 100GB) and Click on “ Shrink .” This will create an empty partition on the Drive. You will now see an “ Unallocated ” partition.

4. Now Plug in the USB drive you flashed Mint on, restart your computer, and before your manufacturer’s logo appears, keep pressing F2 , F5 , F8 , F10 , or F12 to enter into the BIOS. The key to enter into BIOS is OEM specific so, try out the other keys if one doesn’t work. In my case (for Lenovo), it’s F2 .

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BIOS Settings

5. Under security , make sure secure boot is disabled. Under boot options , make sure it’s set to UEFI . Now, not every interface looks like this, but the terms will probably be the same. Save your settings and exit BIOS (Usually, every button’s functions will be visible under the options in the BIOS, as you can see in both the pictures).

Booting and Installing Linux Mint

That’s pretty much it in this How to install Linux Mint tutorial. Pat yourself on the back if you made it till here, and for those still stuck in the process, do let us know the issue(s) you’re facing, and we’ll try to help out.

That said, installing most of the Linux distros requires you to follow the same steps except their may be visual UI changes here and there, but most of the time, the process will be the same. Do hit us up if you have any suggestions.

The post How to Dual-Boot Linux Mint 20.1 Alongside Windows 10? appeared first on Fossbytes .

Virtual Machines are software used to run other operating systems within a pre-installed operating system. This self-contained OS runs as a separate computer that has no relation to the host OS. VirtualBox is an open-source cross-platform software that can help you run multiple guest operating systems on a single computer. In this article, let’s look at how to install VirtualBox 6.1 on Linux, easily.

Why Install VirtualBox?

One of the most important use cases of VirtualBox is its ability to try out/test various operating systems without fiddling with your internal storage. VirtualBox creates a virtual environment that utilizes system resources like RAM and CPU to power the OS inside a container.

For example, if I want to try out and check if the latest Ubuntu release is stable or not, I can use VirtualBox to do it and only then decide if I want to install it or just totally use it in VirtualBox. This not only saves me a lot of time but also makes the process flexible.

How To Install VirtualBox 6.1 On Ubuntu/Debian/Linux Mint?

If you already have an older version of VirtualBox installed, remove it first. Fire up the terminal and type the following command:

$ sudo dpkg -r virtualbox

To install VirtualBox on Ubuntu/Ubuntu-based, Debian, Linux Mint distributions, head over to the official VirtualBox download page .

Download the appropriate VirtualBox .deb file by clicking on the links.

After the download’s complete, click on the .deb file and the software installer will install VirtualBox for you.

Also Read: Linux Windows Dual Boot and More: Multi-booting Up to Five OS

Starting VirtualBox 6.2 In Ubuntu/Debian/Linux Mint

Head over to the applications menu, find “Oracle VM VirtualBox” and click on it to open.

$ VirtualBox

How To Install VirtualBox 6.1 On Linux: Fedora/RHEL/CentOS?

Before installing Virtual Box 6.1, uninstall any older version of VirtualBox from your system. Use the following command:

$ yum remove VirtualBox

To install VirtualBox 6.1, you need to add the VirtualBox 6.1 repo to your system.

Adding The VirtualBox 6.1 Repository In RHEL/CentOS:

$ wget https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/rpm/rhel/virtualbox.repo -P /etc/yum.repos.d/
$ rpm --import https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc

Adding The VirtualBox 6.1 Repository In Fedora

$ wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/rpm/fedora/virtualbox.repo -P /etc/yum.repos.d/
$ rpm --import https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc

Also Read: How To Use Linux In Windows Using VirtualBox

Enabling the EPEL Repo And Installing Tools And Dependencies

On RHEL 8/CentOS

$ dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm

$ dnf update
$ dnf install binutils kernel-devel kernel-headers libgomp make patch gcc glibc-headers glibc-devel dkms -y

On RHEL 7/CentOS

$ yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm

$ yum update
$ yum install binutils kernel-devel kernel-headers libgomp make patch gcc glibc-headers glibc-devel dkms -y

On RHEL 6/CentOS

$ yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm

$ yum update
$ yum install binutils kernel-devel kernel-headers libgomp make patch gcc glibc-headers glibc-devel dkms -y

On Fedora

$ dnf update
$ dnf install @development-tools
$ dnf install kernel-devel kernel-headers dkms qt5-qtx11extras  elfutils-libelf-devel zlib-devel

Installing VirtualBox 6.1 On Linux: Fedora/RHEL/CentOS

After adding the needed repos and installing the dependency packages, now it’s time to hit the install command:

$ yum install VirtualBox-6.1

or

$ dnf install VirtualBox-6.1

Did you find this tutorial helpful? Let us know in the comments below. Also, feel free to ask if you faced any difficulty.

The post How to Install VirtualBox 6.1 On Linux? appeared first on Fossbytes .

Yesterday, Linux Mint project founder Clement Lefebvre shared that the Mint team has started to improve and add new features for the Update Manager.

Surprisingly, the new manager will not just look for available updates, but it will also monitor some metrics such as the last time updates were applied, or packages were upgraded, and the number of days a particular update is being shown.

Moreover, the Update Manager will also remind you to apply new updates and even insist in some cases.

It may look like forceful (Windows) updates for some users. However, Clem says that the new change is here to help, not get in your way and make Linux Mint harder to use.

Actually, the Update Manager’s improvements are the result of statistics about security updates that Clem shared last week.

According to the stats , about 30% of Linux Mint users apply updates in less than a week.

Even between 5% and 30% of users still use Linux Mint 17.x, which has already reached EOL (End-Of-Life) in April 2019.

And since Mint 17.x no longer receives any security updates for almost 2 years now, no users should be running Linux Mint 17.x.

That is why Linux Mint has started to work to help users addressing the security concern by improving the Linux Mint Update Manager.

As Linux Mint 20.1 ‘Ulyssa’ arrived almost two months ago, the new Manager will feature in the next release, i.e., Linux Mint 20.2.

Though the Mint team is still forming strategies and deciding when and how the manager should make itself more visible, it would be exciting to see the reaction of users once it lands in the next release.

The post Linux Mint 20.2 Will Remind (And Insist) Users To Install Updates appeared first on Fossbytes .

Mint and Ubuntu are the two most popular Linux Distros among beginners. Some of the reasons they’re popular are their simple and delightful easy-to-use UIs, especially Mint’s UI, which resembles Windows in many ways. In this article, let’s compare Linux Mint Vs Ubuntu, check out the similarities and differences, and determine which one’s better for beginners.

Linux Mint Vs Ubuntu: What Are The Differences?

1. User Experience And Interface

While Ubuntu ships with GNOME, Linux Mint ships in three flavors – Cinnamon, XFCE, and MATE, out of which Cinnamon is the most preferred Desktop Environment.

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Ubuntu (Left) Vs Linux Mint (Right)

Ubuntu essentially looks like…Ubuntu, and Linux Mint Cinnamon resembles quite a lot to Windows XP/Vista/7.

That said, if you’re someone who’s coming from Windows, I’m pretty sure you’ll like Linux Mint.

2. The Cinnamon vs. GNOME Showdown

Both Cinnamon and GNOME have their own perks, but I like Cinnamon over GNOME. Cinnamon consumes significantly lesser memory than your usual Ubuntu Desktop, making Mint the best distro for old PCs .

I’ve tried both Ubuntu and Linux Mint, and the difference in performance was second to none on my 8th Gen Intel i5 machine. But, if you’re someone who’s running ancient hardware, you might be able to see the difference.

3. Pre-installed Applications

Many people, including me, hate bloatware, but the set of apps that come pre-loaded in Linux Mint, even though they’re too many, are all essential apps that you’ll definitely use at some point.

Whereas, to get started with Ubuntu, you’ll need to install many apps as it comes with almost nothing except the LibreOffice Suite and a bunch of other non-useful applications.

4. Ubuntu Vs Mint: Customizations Options

Customization is another area where Mint has an edge over Ubuntu. I know that you CAN customize Ubuntu, but I’d pick Mint’s pre-built customization options any day.

5. Ubuntu and Mint System Requirements

While Ubuntu has become a more spec demanding OS in the past few years, Linux Mint requires the least system resources among both.

If you own an ancient PC, then you should be better off with Mint. Here are the minimum specs requirements for Mint:

• 1GB RAM (2GB Recommended)
• At least 20GB of free disk space.
• A Dual-core processor
• 1024×768 screen resolution

6. Software Center And Snap Support

Ubuntu’s software center is slower than the one on Mint, which is blazingly fast. Also, Mint doesn’t support Snaps by default.

Like many other open-source developers, Mint’s developers don’t like how Canonical practically controls the Snap format, which is a valid point of view.

7. Linux Mint and Ubuntu For Programming

I’ve used both Linux Mint and Ubuntu for development purposes, and both the distros offer a similar experience. None of them has unique programming/development features that would act as a differentiating factor between them.

That said, if you’re looking for a distro solely for Development, do check out Solus in our best non-Ubuntu-based distros that are beginner friendly article.

8. Mint vs Ubuntu For Gaming

As Linux Mint is just a prettier version of Ubuntu, there’s not much difference in both the distros’ gaming capabilities. As long as you have the latest NVIDIA or Mesa (AMD) drivers, you should be good to go.

Also, if you need the best Linux gaming distros, we’ve got you covered! Check out our best Linux gaming distros article.

Which One’s The Best For Beginners?

On an old PC and for beginners, Linux Mint is the clear winner. On more modern hardware, the choice is not quite as clear. Both distros offer different experiences, and at the end of the day, it all boils down to your personal desktop preferences.

If simplicity is what you adore, Linux Mint is a better choice. But, if customizations are what you crave, Ubuntu is a great choice. Don’t like either of them? Make sure to check out our best Linux distros to try out in 2021 article.

The post Linux Mint vs. Ubuntu: Which One’s Better For Beginners? appeared first on Fossbytes .