Monthly News – September 2024 – The Linux Mint Blog

Many thanks for your donations and for your support.

Visual improvements in Cinnamon

Within the team Joseph continues to work his magic. Bit by bit he’s improving the look and feel of the Cinnamon desktop.

The new default theme landed on the master branch. It’s much darker and contrasted than before. Objects are rounded and a gap was introduced between the applets and the panel.

The dialogs were redesigned. They’re nicely balanced and feature separated buttons.

When an application is frozen and no longer responds Cinnamon shows a “Force Quit” dialog. This used to be a Gtk window. It was rewritten in Clutter to look like the rest of Cinnamon:

The media-buttons OSD looks more modern and much cleaner than before:

and so does the Workspace OSD:

Joseph is also working on notifications, animations, the main menu, pkexec/logout dialogs, a new status applet… but I don’t want to show you too much yet. We’ll cover this in the news, little by little during the development cycle, as it gets finalized and becomes ready for inclusion in the next version of Cinnamon.

Aptkit

The transition towards Aptkit and Captain is now finished. Starting with Linux Mint 22.1, set to be released this December, none of our projects will depend on aptdaemon, synaptic, gdebi or apturl anymore.

Aptdaemon, mintcommon’s aptdaemon module and ubiquity will eventually be discontinued.

The transition towards Aptkit and Captain gives us the following benefits:

No more translation issues. Everything is now fully translated.
No more bugs/papercuts. We no longer depend on unmaintained components which are upstream from us.
Redefined scope. Anything we didn’t need was removed, anything that was missing (purging packages, downgrading to specific packages etc..) was added.

This allowed us to completely refactor the code in the Update Manager and greatly simplify its architecture. It worked well but it had been written decades ago and some of the techniques and components it relied on weren’t future-proof. Its multithreading code was deprecated and hard to maintain. It depended on Synaptic and technology related to Gtk.Plug/Socket which couldn’t work in Wayland. It also handled multi-processing calls and serialization itself. All of this was simplified.

In the Software Sources tool, the downgrading of foreign packages was performed via a VTE (an embedded terminal). This is now handled by Aptkit directly, with a nice progress dialog.

Sponsorships:

Linux Mint is proudly sponsored by:

Donations in August:

A total of $14,217 were raised thanks to the generous contributions of 495 donors:

$265, Amit L. aka “fluhus”
$250, Daniel S.
$220 (7th donation), Andreas S.
$200 (43th donation), Fast Junkie
$200, Michael T.
$200, Shion T.
$162, Thomas P.
$108 (4th donation), Mario H.
$108 (3rd donation), Peter I.
$108 (2nd donation), Chris S.
$108, Adrien M.
$108, Andreas P.
$108, Christian H.
$108, Gianni O.
$105 (6th donation), Pear D.
$102 (3rd donation), Markus W.
$101 (2nd donation), Peter H.
$100 (9th donation), Robert E.
$100 (7th donation), Adam W.
$100 (7th donation), Edmund B.
$100 (6th donation), Konrad W.
$100 (3rd donation), K. K. .
$100 (3rd donation), Walter W.
$100, Alan S.
$100, Daniel B.
$100, David W.
$100, Gregory W.
$100, James H V.
$100, John N.
$100, Mike B.
$75 (9th donation), Kyle S.
$65, Anastasios G.
$55, Hesham A.
$54 (19th donation), Bernard H.
$54 (14th donation), Goran A.
$54 (12th donation), Hans-Georg Thien
$54 (8th donation), Peter W.
$54 (7th donation), Heinz H.
$54 (7th donation), Philipp S.
$54 (6th donation), Jyrki A.
$54 (5th donation), Daniel K.
$54 (5th donation), Herve C.
$54 (5th donation), Marco L. aka “mar9000”
$54 (5th donation), Renaud C.
$54 (4th donation), Jens A.
$54 (4th donation), Malte K.
$54 (4th donation), Vitali V.
$54 (3rd donation), Frank D.
$54 (3rd donation), Stefan K.
$54 (3rd donation), Wolfgang R.
$54 (2nd donation), Ganesh S.
$54 (2nd donation), Johnny B.
$54 (2nd donation), Kay K.
$54 (2nd donation), Leo P.
$54 (2nd donation), Mrs M W.
$54 (2nd donation), Nigel A.
$54, Bernard P.
$54, Gregor B.
$54, Hans Heinrich F.
$54, Herbert Jan K.
$54, Jesse L.
$54, Joerg B.
$54, Leon Benedikt W.
$54, Markus S.
$54, Marvin Z.
$54, Matthias H.
$54, Pascal F.
$54, Peter K.
$54, Peter W.
$54, Ralf S.
$54, Sebastian O.
$54, Staniszaw G.
$54, Stefan P.
$54, Stephan K.
$54, Vesa R.
$54, Vlad U.
$54, Wolfgang H.
$54, Wolfgang M.
$53 (12th donation), John Mc
$50 (24th donation), George H.
$50 (11th donation), Bruce N.
$50 (8th donation), Slowpoke47
$50 (6th donation), Susan S.
$50 (4th donation), Andrew D.
$50 (4th donation), Joel M.
$50 (3rd donation), Anthony G.
$50 (3rd donation), Chris C.
$50 (3rd donation), David W.
$50 (3rd donation), JoeR
$50 (2nd donation), All-Access Customer
$50 (2nd donation), Amar M.
$50 (2nd donation), Arestor B.
$50 (2nd donation), Mark F.
$50, Adán Bucio aka “Beakdan”
$50, Alpha Xray Sierra
$50, Andre I.
$50, Anthony C. aka “Ciak”
$50, Hansjorg R.
$50, Jillian R.
$50, Joey A.
$50, John F K.
$50, Luke K.
$50, Nicholas S.
$50, Norman D.
$50, Regular Guy Mountain Biking
$50, Richard B.
$50, Shane B.
$50, Simon C.
$50, Timothy D.
$50, Tom K.
$50, William S.
$43 (3rd donation), Brian M.
$43 (2nd donation), Bernhard D.
$43, Nico and Jens R.
$40 (10th donation), Pablo L. aka “LAFO”
$40, Alan M.
$36, witchonabike
$35 (8th donation), John W.
$35 (6th donation), Andrew E.
$35 (6th donation), Phil S. aka “busdriver12”
$35, Jason T.
$35, Ron G.
$32 (7th donation), Arno W.
$32 (6th donation), Frank B.
$32 (3rd donation), Daniel B.
$32 (3rd donation), Jean-claude M.
$32 (2nd donation), Bogdan O.
$32, Mathias P.
$32, Vilmantas B.
$31 (18th donation), Adam K.
$30 (14th donation), Joao Kodama
$30 (3rd donation), Douglas J.
$30 (3rd donation), Joseph M.
$30 (2nd donation), Omar K.
$30, Filip L.
$28, Kira S.
$27 (4th donation), Johanan M.
$27 (3rd donation), Dirk S.
$27 (2nd donation), Ingmar N.
$27, Martin F. aka “Mercy”
$27, Michel P.
$25 (42th donation), Linux Mint Sverige
$25 (23rd donation), Kevin S. aka “K R Shook Consulting”
$25 (15th donation), Charles W.
$25 (15th donation), Donna B.
$25 (6th donation), Reuben N.
$25 (4th donation), Lloyd H.
$25 (3rd donation), Joseph G. aka “joey Gee”
$25 (2nd donation), William S.
$25, Mihnea Rădulescu
$25, Scott B.
$24 (98th donation), Johann J.
$24 (2nd donation), Khalid A.
$22 (51th donation), Peter E.
$22 (14th donation), Dick B. aka “Dick”
$22 (14th donation), Marek S. [LMDE SUPPORTER]
$22 (13th donation), Benjamin W.
$22 (13th donation), Intrinsic
$22 (13th donation), Marc S.
$22 (10th donation), Jürgen B.
$22 (8th donation), Alfred H.
$22 (8th donation), Kleiner Funk-Electronic
$22 (7th donation), Chistoph B.
$22 (7th donation), goppermann
$22 (6th donation), Alberto A.
$22 (6th donation), Christoph B.
$22 (6th donation), Michael B.
$22 (6th donation), Nurettin G.
$22 (5th donation), Bernard L.
$22 (5th donation), Marin M.
$22 (4th donation), Frank S.
$22 (4th donation), Karl-heinz R.
$22 (3rd donation), E. V. S. .
$22 (3rd donation), André K.
$22 (3rd donation), Andreas V.
$22 (3rd donation), Ludwig K.
$22 (3rd donation), Michael R.
$22 (3rd donation), Robin D.
$22 (3rd donation), Sascha S.
$22 (2nd donation), Daniel T.
$22 (2nd donation), Kyle G.
$22 (2nd donation), Nandor Z.
$22 (2nd donation), Pascal L.
$22 (2nd donation), Patrick D.
$22 (2nd donation), Patrick V.
$22 (2nd donation), Privato
$22 (2nd donation), Robert M.
$22 (2nd donation), Rudolf D.
$22 (2nd donation), Rudolf M.
$22 (2nd donation), Santarelli D.
$22, Alexandre B.
$22, Armando G.
$22, Armin K.
$22, Christian B.
$22, Daniel K.
$22, Daniel Kassner
$22, Daniel W.
$22, Enzo S.
$22, Erich G.
$22, Erik B.
$22, Ernst W.
$22, Ester V.
$22, Flemming Jan P.
$22, Florian G.
$22, Franco P.
$22, Frank H.
$22, Frank T.
$22, Gael G.
$22, Giorgio A.
$22, Harald R.
$22, Heinz L.
$22, Hugo C.
$22, Jörg B.
$22, Julio M.
$22, Jürgen K.
$22, Kristen Jessen R.
$22, Laura Alessandra L.
$22, M H M
$22, Mark V.
$22, Martin G.
$22, Maurizio M.
$22, Michael N.
$22, Michael V.
$22, Morten K.
$22, Norbert M. aka “norbert79”
$22, Norbert S.
$22, Peter F.
$22, Premysl F.
$22, Roberto B.
$22, Roberto Z.
$22, Sébastien B.
$22, Stefan M.
$22, Steffen S.
$22, Sven W.
$22, Søren K.
$22, Timmy R.
$21, Jeffrey H.
$20 (43th donation), John D.
$20 (26th donation), Aimee W.
$20 (16th donation), Edward A.
$20 (7th donation), David K.
$20 (6th donation), Ben J. aka “webwrx”
$20 (6th donation), Mary H.
$20 (5th donation), Edward C. aka “Oldun”
$20 (5th donation), Jim W.
$20 (5th donation), Roger K.
$20 (5th donation), Todd W.
$20 (4th donation), Douglas R. aka “darco”
$20 (3rd donation), Charles W.
$20 (3rd donation), Christian D.
$20 (3rd donation), Geoffrey N.
$20 (3rd donation), Harald W.
$20 (3rd donation), Lyle S.
$20 (3rd donation), Melina B.
$20 (3rd donation), Ryan H. aka “Houdini”
$20 (2nd donation), Benjamin L.
$20 (2nd donation), Denis V.
$20 (2nd donation), Paul B.
$20 (2nd donation), Robert A.
$20 (2nd donation), Stonewall C.
$20 (2nd donation), Thomas G.
$20 (2nd donation), Todd H.
$20 (2nd donation), We
$20, Abel F F.
$20, Brenen A.
$20, Chris P.
$20, Daniel J.
$20, Daniel K.
$20, Demonbow
$20, Eric M.
$20, Ethan N.
$20, Japan Proud LLC
$20, John B.
$20, Jon G.
$20, Jonathan L.
$20, Joshua S. aka “Better than Jeffrey H.”
$20, Kevin B.
$20, Kevin G.
$20, Mary S.
$20, Matt S.
$20, Matt Smith
$20, Michael W.
$20, Nathaniel S.
$20, Nikhil D.
$20, Nixcomm LLC
$20, Philippe C.
$20, Robert K.
$20, Ronald P.
$20, Silentdoc
$20, Stiliyan P.
$20, Sylvain M.
$20, Thomas K.
$20, Tony K.
$20, Wes M.
$18, Dawid S.
$17 (3rd donation), Joseph G.
$16 (79th donation), Andreas S.
$16 (5th donation), Phil B.
$16, Daniel D.
$15 (5th donation), Louis C.
$15, Aaron H.
$15, Blake P.
$15, Joseph S.
$13 (2nd donation), William David H.
$12 (2nd donation), Lowell T.
$11 (52th donation), Daniel S.
$11 (36th donation), Sami Mannila
$11 (29th donation), Tugaleres.com
$11 (26th donation), Denys G.
$11 (17th donation), Adis H.
$11 (16th donation), Michael P. aka “www.perron.de”
$11 (16th donation), Stefan W.
$11 (16th donation), Yves R. aka “Long_Time_User”
$11 (13th donation), Robert W.
$11 (11th donation), Davide A.
$11 (11th donation), Karlheinz R.
$11 (11th donation), Rupert B.
$11 (10th donation), Darius O.
$11 (10th donation), Dimitar S.
$11 (8th donation), Donatas Dainys
$11 (6th donation), Dino G.
$11 (6th donation), Jörg.K
$11 (5th donation), H.V. L.
$11 (4th donation), Carlos P.
$11 (4th donation), Dawid W.
$11 (4th donation), Ferruccio R.
$11 (4th donation), Kiril P.
$11 (4th donation), Rainer N.
$11 (4th donation), Sami K.
$11 (3rd donation), Alessandro P.
$11 (3rd donation), Andrés F.
$11 (3rd donation), Damian P P.
$11 (3rd donation), Fabio P.
$11 (3rd donation), Jacques V.
$11 (3rd donation), Jeroen A.
$11 (3rd donation), Tamas M.
$11 (2nd donation), Christophe L.
$11 (2nd donation), David P.
$11 (2nd donation), David P.
$11 (2nd donation), Hannes S.
$11 (2nd donation), Jan K.
$11 (2nd donation), Joshua W.
$11 (2nd donation), Martin G.
$11 (2nd donation), Martin S.
$11 (2nd donation), Mauro P.
$11 (2nd donation), Ralf V.
$11, Adam K.
$11, Ali A.
$11, Anton K.
$11, Arie B.
$11, Arturo A.
$11, Christian J.
$11, Claudio G.
$11, Costantino L.
$11, Dave S.
$11, David J.
$11, Dennis W.
$11, Florian K.
$11, Frederic F.
$11, Gb C.
$11, Giovanni C.
$11, James C.
$11, Junaid N.
$11, Karl – Heinz P.
$11, Kristina R.
$11, Leslie H.
$11, Martin W.
$11, Matteo R.
$11, Matthias P.
$11, Michael R.
$11, Neodream
$11, Petros G. aka “pgram1”
$11, Ralf H.
$11, Rob G.
$11, Roberto L.
$11, S H.
$11, Samuel E.
$11, ScrubGhost aka “Scrub”
$11, Stefano R.
$11, Thomas R.
$11, Valentin V.
$11, Walter V.
$11, Wolfgang A.
$11, X F C.
$10 (101th donation), Thomas C.
$10 (46th donation), Philip Woodward
$10 (36th donation), Carpet Cleaning Winnipeg
$10 (19th donation), Dylan B.
$10 (17th donation), Jorge R.
$10 (16th donation), Dave S.
$10 (15th donation), William M.
$10 (11th donation), Gustavo A. B.
$10 (10th donation), Don S.
$10 (6th donation), Luis D.
$10 (5th donation), Cornelius B.
$10 (5th donation), Frank K.
$10 (5th donation), Jody M.
$10 (5th donation), Randolph M.
$10 (4th donation), Andre D.
$10 (4th donation), jfoxwoosh
$10 (4th donation), Nicholas S.
$10 (4th donation), Rimon K.
$10 (3rd donation), Ameen J.
$10 (3rd donation), Anton V.
$10 (3rd donation), Brian C.
$10 (3rd donation), Fabio S.
$10 (3rd donation), Gobinath
$10 (2nd donation), Andrew E.
$10 (2nd donation), John H.
$10 (2nd donation), John T.
$10 (2nd donation), Paul Hickert
$10, Alex C
$10, Amelio C.
$10, Byunghoon K.
$10, Carlos G.
$10, Connor G.
$10, David M.
$10, Gerry H.
$10, Isaac T.
$10, Jamie P.
$10, Javier Canales
$10, Jeffrey M.
$10, John L.
$10, Jomar S.
$10, Keith M.
$10, Krzysztof B.
$10, Lexi M.
$10, Michael B.
$10, Philippe F.
$10, Robert C.
$10, Scott L.
$10, Stephen G.
$10, Timothy S.
$10, Wes M.
$10, William G.
$9, Luka D.
$7, Jose Ramón S.
$6 (2nd donation), Joseph T.
$6, František Š.
$230 from 54 smaller donations