14 DAY TRIAL // It didn't take very long for the Linux Mint developers to finish the Xfce and KDE editions of the Linux Mint 18.1 "Serena" operating system, and users can now download and install them on their personal computers.
While the Xfce flavor entered Beta testing earlier this month, the Linux Mint developers had to wait a little longer to publish the Beta version of Linux Mint 18.1 "Serena" KDE because they wanted to offer users access to the latest KDE Plasma 5.8 LTS desktop environment from the Kubuntu Backports PPA.
So basically, Xfce users had to wait for the KDE edition to be finished before they were able to download and install the new version on their PCs. Both editions benefit from the same long-term support services as the main Cinnamon and MATE editions released last year.
"Linux Mint 18.1 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2021. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use," said Clement Lefebvre, Linux Mint project leader, in today's announcement.
What' new in Linux Mint 18.1 Xfce and KDE Editions
Based on the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system, both the Xfce and KDE editions are powered by the long-term supported Linux 4.4 kernel, along with linux-firmware 1.157.5, and include pretty much the same internals as their bigger brothers. Of course, the Xfce flavor uses the latest Xfce 4.12 desktop environment with the Whisker Menu 1.6.2.
Linux Mint 18.1 Xfce Edition also includes all in-house built applications that the Linux Mint developers are creating as part of their XApps project, such as Xed text editor, which sports a new search bar and various UI improvements, Xplayer video player with monitor blanking functionality, as well as Xviewer image viewer and Xreader document reader.
As expected, both editions ship with the newest improvements implemented in the Update Manager, Software Sources, Language Settings, and Input Methods tools. It would appear that only the Xfce flavor is shipping with the MDM 2.0 (Mint Display Manager), which also supports the Rhythmbox music player that replaces Banshee.
As mentioned before, Linux Mint 18.1 KDE Edition comes with the KDE Plasma 5.8.5 LTS desktop environment, which is the latest maintenance update to the long-term supported series. Unfortunately, it looks like an older KDE Applications 16.04.3 software suite is pre-installed in this release.
Both Linux Mint 18.1 Xfce and Linux Mint 18.1 KDE are now available for download from our website. As mentioned by Clement Lefebvre a couple of days ago in the monthly newsletter, the upgrade path is now officially open for all users of the Xfce and KDE editions of the Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" operating system who want to use Linux Mint 18.1 "Serena."
In related news, the Linux Mint developers announced the other day the availability of new ISO images for the LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) 2 "Betsy" rolling operating system, allowing users to reinstall the OS or deploy it on new PCs without having to download hundreds of packages after installation.
