14 DAY TRIAL // Snowlinux, an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution for beginners, implementing the MATE desktop, is now at version 3.
Snowlinux 3 has been codenamed “White” and it’s based on Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal). As the name suggests, the default desktop environment chosen by the developers is MATE 1.4.
Other two desktop environments, Cinnamon 1.6 and GNOME 3.6 have been implemented and are available on a separate image of Snowlinux 3.
A lot of new features were integrated into this version, but most importantly, a new menu called snowMount and a mount tool, called snowMount, have been added.
A few other major decisions were made, especially regarding the default file manager. Nautilus 3.4 has been replaced by Nemo 1.0.9, a fork of Nautilus.
The developers also chose to implement Linux kernel 3.5, but this branch of the kernel is approaching end of life and will be discontinued soon.
As usual, the Snowlinux distribution comes with a comprehensive software package, which includes Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Shotwell, and Banshee.
Snowlinux 3 “White” also features a new Cinnamon-Themes package, along with Snowlinux-Metal-Theme and Snowlinux-Metal-Icons.
Because the distribution is based on Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal), it means that Snowlinux 3 will be supported until April 2014 and it’s fully compatible with Ubuntu repositories.
The system requirements of Snowlinux 3 “White” are pretty slim and almost everyone will be able to run the distro. Just make sure you have at least and x86-CPU, 512 MB memory, 4 GB free disk space, a graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution, and CD-ROM drive or USB port.
For a complete list of changes, updates, and new features, check out the official announcement. For those of you who are interested in the other two versions, we also covered the release of Snowlinux 3 Cinnamon & GNOME. Download Snowlinux 3 "White" MATE right now from Softpedia.