14 DAY TRIAL // The leader of the Linux Mint project, Clement Lefebvre, has confirmed today that the name Linux Mint 18 will be “Sarah.”
The information that Linux Mint 18 was going to be named “Sarah” was revealed a few months ago by Clement Lefebvre in one of his monthly updates, but he didn’t say anything after that. Now, the Linux Mint leader decided to confirm the name, but he also talked a little about what’s coming in the new version.
One of the things we knew for sure, since the launch of Linux Mint 17.x, was that all new major versions of the OS were going to be based solely on Ubuntu LTS versions. The switch was made with the 17.x branch, which used Ubuntu 14.04 LTS as a base. It was obvious that Ubuntu 16.04 LTS was going to be the base for Linux Mint 18.x.
Next Linux Mint to have a new look and feel
Clement didn’t want to go in too many details about the upcoming version since it’s really early in the development cycle, but he did say something interesting.
“Sarah is a Jewish feminine given name found in many different areas of the world. Sarah is a consistently popular given name across Europe and North America, as well as in the Middle East—being commonly used as a female first name by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, and remaining popular also among non-religious members of cultures influenced by these religions,” wrote Clement.
He also said that Linux Mint 18 would be supported until 2021, would be released sometime in May or June of 2016 (that’s two months after Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus), and would feature a new look and feel, although he didn’t offer any further explanations.
Most likely, the Linux Mint team is also preparing a big update for the Cinnamon 3.0 desktop, which will account for the new “look and feel.”