Linux Mint is one of the most well-regarded Linux distros available. While it is often recommended for new users, it’s one of the few distros that equally serves new and veteran users.

The new version builds on that pattern, bringing a host of improvements.

Catch our conversation on Linux Mint 22!

A New Base

One of the biggest changes with version 22 is the new Ubuntu base. While the Mint team maintains a version, LMDE, that is based on Debian, the mainline edition is based on Ubuntu LTS.

Mint 22 is based on the latest Ubuntu 24.04, bringing all the benefits that come with it, including updated applications, better performance, improved security, and newer kernels.

A major example of security is how the new base handles Personal Package Archives (PPAs), a popular option for users to get the latest version of some packages, as Ubuntu’s Oliver Smith highlighted in a blog post.

PPAs are a critical tool for development, testing and customisation, enabling users to install software outside of the official Ubuntu archives. This allows for a great deal of software freedom but also comes with potential security risks due to the access they are granted to your OS. In Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, PPAs are now distributed as deb822-formatted.sources files with their signing key directly embedded into the file’s signed-by field. This establishes a 1:1 relationship between the key and the repository, meaning one key cannot be used to sign multiple repositories and removing a repository also removes its associated key. In addition, APT now requires repositories to be signed using stronger public key algorithms.

Similarly, the Ubuntu 24.04 base improves the security surrounding unprivileged user namespaces.

Another significant security enhancement is the restriction of unprivileged user namespaces. These are a widely used feature of the Linux kernel that provide additional security isolation for applications that construct their own sandboxes, such as browsers which would then use that space to execute untrusted web content. So far so good, however the ability to create unprivileged user namespaces can expose additional attack surfaces within the Linux kernel and has proven to be a step in a significant number of exploits. In Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, AppAmor is now used to selectively control access to unprivileged user namespaces on a per application basis so that only applications with legitimate need can leverage this functionality.

Linux Mint benefits from these, and many other, improvements thanks to the rebase.

Linux Mint-Specific Improvements

In addition to the improvements Mint 22 inherits from Ubuntu, the team has also made some improvements that are unique to the distro.

Application Changes

Some of these involve rolling back changes that go against Mint’s philosophy.

For example, Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop environment (DE), which has made it increasingly difficult to theme apps. In contrast, the ability to theme one’s desktop and apps is a core value of the Mint team and showcased in their homegrown Cinnamon DE.

Team leader Clément (Clem) Lefèbvre outlined the project’s divergence with Gnome’s direction, as well as Ubuntu’s continued dependence on Snaps.

An updated package base doesn’t just bring new technology, it can sometimes also threaten existing features.

Thunderbird continues to be available in Linux Mint 22 as a native .deb package. Following the decision by Ubuntu to move it to Snap, Linux Mint is now responsible for packaging it.

With GNOME 46, libgoa/libgoa-backend 3.50 moved to GTK4 and could no longer be used by GTK3 applications. This meant that Online Accounts support had to disappear from Cinnamon, Budgie and Unity. The XApp project implemented a standalone application called “GNOME Online Accounts GTK”. Not only did this bring the feature back in these three desktop environments, it also made it possible for it to be used in MATE and Xfce.

In Ubuntu 24.04, a number of GNOME applications moved to libAdwaita and stopped supporting the system theme.

Since selecting a theme is a core part of the desktops shipped by Linux Mint (Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce), apps are required to support it.

As a result, the GNOME Font Viewer was removed and the following applications were downgraded back to GTK3 versions: Celluloid, GNOME Calculator, Simple Scan, Baobab, System Monitor, GNOME Calendar, File Roller, Zenity.

Security

Mint 22 also hides unverified Flatpaks by default in the Software Manager, requiring users enable the option to see them. Although Flatpak, and the Flathub repo, are generally considered pretty safe, this measure is designed to protect newer users, while still giving experienced users the option to enable them.

Kernels

Linux Mint 21 stayed on the same kernel 5.15 series throughout its two-year life cycle. While users could manually upgrade the kernel post-install, the older kernel meant that Mint 21 could not be installed on some newer harder. To solve the problem, the Mint team maintained the Edge installation ISO, which was identical to the standard Mint 21, except that it included a newer kernel by default.

With Linux Mint 22, the team has decided to follow Ubuntu’s kernel release and adopt the HWE kernel. HWE refers to Ubuntu’s Hardware Enablement stack that updates LTS releases with the latest kernel and Mesa graphics drivers. Rather than sticking with the original 6.8 kernel that Linux Mint 22 shipped with, the Mint team will adopt the HWE kernel updates when they become available, eliminating the need for an Edge version altogether.

The change in kernel strategy should help keep Mint current with newer hardware, and eliminate one of the biggest complaints critics leveled against the distro.

Cinnamon 6.2

The Cinnamon DE is already one of the best DEs, in terms of offering a near perfect blend of features, stability, and simplicity. The DE is my personal favorite, offering the best of Gnome and KDE, without the annoyances of either.

The version included with Linux Mint 22 includes a number of enhancements.

• Nemo actions can be organized neatly thanks to a new Layout Editor.
• The Nemo actions layout editor
• Separators and submenus can be added.
• Labels and icons can be overridden to tune actions to your liking in your context menu.
• Cinnamon 6.2 also features many bug fixes, performance improvements and the following changes:

• Less printer added notifications (silenced for 2 hours)
• Wayland support: Clutter polkit agent
• Spices: keybindings support
• Better avatar support in polkit agent and user applet
• Workspace switcher: middle click removes the workspace being hovered
• Keybindings: ability to search by binding
• Cornerbar applet: shift+click action added
• Applets: improved precision in reporting VPN and battery states

The team is continuing work on Wayland support. While it is certainly improved over the initial release, Wayland support is still experimental, with the team targeting 2026 for stable experience.

Read More: Linux Mint vs LMDE: Which Should You Choose?

Daily Usage

I’ve been using Mint 22 since mid-September, having spent the previous year using LMDE, and several months of using Linux Mint 21 before that. Overall, I can easily say that this is the best version of Mint I have used to date—and Mint and LMDE were already our highest-rated Linux distros in this entire series.

There are a number of things that have led to that conclusion, at least in my experience.

Newer Kernel

The fact that Mint 22 ships with kernel 6.8, instead of LMDE’s 6.1, means it is better suited to my hardware, especially my main machine, a Tuxedo Pulse with the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H. The chip is still new enough that AMD improvements to the Linux kernel directly impact that this chipset.

On older kernels, and especially the 6.1 series, I randomly experienced an issue where my computer would refuse to fully wake from sleep. The keyboard would light up, the screen would go from inactive to backlit black, but no image would appear and the machine would not respond to input. Because it was random, it was nearly impossible to diagnose, and there was never anything in the logs providing a clear indication of what was happening.

There have been several AMD-supplied additions to subsequent versions of the Linux kernel designed specifically to address power supply issues with various AMD chips, including mine.

While it is true that LMDE can use Debian backports and, therefore, currently has access to kernel 6.10, backports don’t receive the same support from the Debian Security Team, meaning backported kernels are not as safe as the standard one included with the release.

In contrast, not only is the 6.8 kernel included with Mint obviously supported by Ubuntu’s security team, but all HWE kernels that are released later will also have Ubuntu’s full support. As a result, Ubuntu currently provides a safer way to have a newer kernel that is more compatible with my specific hardware.

Newer Packages

While Flatpak has mitigated much of the outdated package trope that critics level against Debian, it doesn’t completely solve the problem. For example, Geany is my preferred text editor, but LMDE/Debian is still running the older 1.3.x series. While the latest 2.0 version is available via Flatpak, the Flatpak maintainer has said he may stop maintaining the package. In contrast, Linux Mint 22/Ubuntu 24.04 has the latest version, which brings a number of major improvements over 1.3.x.

This repeats across several applications. While backports are a valid option on LMDE, not all applications are available via backports. The newer version of Geany, for example, has not been backported.

While it is true that the situation will likely reverse in 2025, when Debian 12 and LMDE 7 are released, for right now Mint 22 offers a significantly newer package base and it’s been a pleasure to use it. What’s more, thanks to PPAs and Ubuntu’s habit of updating some apps mid-release, Ubuntu-based distros generally have a bit more support for finding the latest versions of apps if you need them.

Performance

Much like newer packages, this is one that may reverse when Debian 13/LMDE 7 comes out, but Mint 22 does have a performance edge over Debian 12/LMDE 6, at least in my experience. It’s not a major advantage advantage, it is there.

Given that Mint 22 is a year newer than LMDE 6, that performance edge is not surprising. But Ubuntu 24.04 also included a lot of performance-enhancing improvements over previous versions, so it will be interesting to see if Debian 13 leapfrogs it significantly (like Debian 12 did Ubuntu 22.04), or if Ubuntu 24.04 will hold its own against the newer Debian next year.

Spit and Polish

While LMDE is an outstanding distro, and my personal favorite, there’s no denying that Mint 22 has a bit more spit and polish that tracks with it being the main focus of the Mint team. LMDE currently only accounts for roughly 11% of the Mint user base, meaning just under 90% of the base is using the Ubuntu-based version of Mint.

For the most part, the two Mint distros are nearly identical, aside from Ubuntu-specific tools. For example, the Driver Manager and Kernel Manager included with mainline Mint are Ubuntu tools and there is no easy way to incorporate them into LMDE.

Even beyond Ubuntu-specific things, small things demonstrate the Mint team’s main area of focus. For example, Debian 12 introduced a bug where network notification dialogs do not respect the “Do not show this message again” option. While it is true that this is a Debian-specific bug, not a Mint one, the Mint team is well-known for their ability to smooth out Ubuntu-specific bugs and issues in mainline Mint. That specific bug persists in LMDE 6, however. To be clear, this is by no means a deal-breaker. In fact, the issue is very easy to fix. However, the fact that the Mint team has not fixed it—while fixing Ubuntu-specific annoyances on mainline Mint—shows where their priorities are.

Given that nearly 90% of their user base is on the mainline edition, there’s certainly no faulting the devs for that approach. Clem has repeatedly stated that LMDE exists as a proof of concept and a safety net, as well as a way to test the distro’s homegrown X Apps on the wider Debian base, not as a prime goal.

Clem addressed the issue himself in the comments pertaining to the release of LMDE 6.

I’ve nothing bad to say about 22.04. I hope Ubuntu continues to be as good going forward and doesn’t neglect its APT package base. If we don’t have a reason to transition we won’t. Ubuntu is still the best APT package base out there in our opinion. LMDE is there as a potential solution, but it is not a goal in itself.

Conclusion

For the past year, I have been a diehard LMDE user. To be fair, it’s still my favorite version of Mint and, therefore, my favorite distro, period. I like a Debian base, and I like that LMDE is a community project based on a community project, as opposed to Mint 22 being a community project based on a commercial distro.

Nonetheless, my experience with Mint 22 has been so good that I’m staying with it, despite preferring LMDE. I find Ubuntu’s kernel strategy and Mesa updates more in line with my hardware needs at the moment. And there’s no denying the benefit of using the version of the distro that is the main focus of its maintainers, as opposed to using what is essentially a side project.

What about the future? It’s hard to say what the future holds, either for my own usage or for Mint in general. Some believe the Mint team will eventually be forced to switch to LMDE as the mainline edition if Ubuntu continues its “Snapification” of more and more internal components and makes other decisions the Mint team disagrees with.

In fact, Clem has directly acknowledged Ubuntu’s increased usage of Snaps, saying he doesn’t believe the trend will continue.

It’s something we keep an eye on and invest time in, that’s true. It could potentially lead to a switch, it’s hard to say “always/never” because as you said it depends on what we’re dealing with. Realistically though I don’t think Snap will last forever. I see it getting abandoned just like Mir or Unity when it fails to get the traction and return on investment Canonical wants from it.

If he is correct, then the Mint team will likely never move off of the Ubuntu base, nor should they, given the benefits it provides.

If, on the other hand, LMDE does become the mainline edition, I will happily go back to knowing it has the team’s main focus and attention. For that matter, there’s at least a chance I may switch back to LMDE 7 next year, since that version will have a much newer official kernel that works with my hardware better than 6.1 in LMDE 6.

In the meantime, despite my preference for LMDE, I am thoroughly enjoying my time on Mint 22 and have no intention of leaving it for the foreseeable future.

Rating

5 out of 5 stars

Snaps are containerized apps Canonical has pioneered in an effort to solve the complexity surrounding traditional Linux packages. Snaps, like competing Flatpaks, have all their dependencies in a self-contained package, rather than relying on the system’s libraries. As a result, Snaps provide a way to have the latest applications, even on older Linux distros. In addition, Snaps provide a measure of sandboxing, because the app is self-contained.

Listen to a podcast conversation on Ubuntu 24.10, and it’s new experimental feature!

In an effort to improve Snaps’ sandboxing and security, Ubuntu 24.10 will introduce permission prompts, as described by Oliver Smith, Interim Engineering Director for Ubuntu Desktop.

Hi folks! As a bonus update ahead of the main September post I want to switch things up a bit and introduce you to an experimental new feature landing in the Ubuntu 24.10 dailies soon.

Permissions prompting is a critical tool for privacy and security conscious users to control, manage and understand the behaviour of applications running on their machine. This implementation represents a significant step forward in application security, and distinguishes itself from traditional XDG Desktop Portals by enabling fine-grained access control over unmodified binaries without requiring changes to the application code. By leveraging Ubuntu’s AppArmor implementation, prompting enforces sandboxing and mediates access at the system call level to ensure that every action is tightly controlled and subject to user consent, even for applications that are entirely unaware of this mediation.

The snapd, security and desktop teams at Canonical have collaborated closely over a number of years to bring this feature to life and we’re excited to deliver an initial opt-in implementation to Ubuntu 24.10 focussed on home interface permissions so that we can refine the experience based on your feedback.

Smith emphasizes that the permissions prompting is a work in progress, but new features and abilities will be added.

In this release the Security Center is the home for managing your prompt rules, over time we will expand its functionality to cover additional security-related settings for your desktop such as encryption management and firewall control.

As always, the demo above represents a work in progress, with further UI improvements still to land over the next few weeks ahead of release (and beyond). This implementation, as an opt-in feature, is designed to surface as much information to the user as possible regarding what actions the application is attempting to perform, what permissions you will be granting and their duration. We expect this to be iterated over based on user feedback.

Permission prompting is a welcome improvement for Snaps and will help managing them much easier, while improving the security and stability of Ubuntu.

Recall is Microsoft’s controversial AI-powered tool that takes snapshots of virtually everything a user does on their computer. The goal is to provide an easy way to for users to find documents, messages, videos, text, and more, using natural language prompts. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s initial implementation was a security nightmare, prompting the company to delay its rollout.

First spotted by Deskmodder, the latest windows update appeared to open the door to uninstalling Recall, listing it in the ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ section of the Control Panel. Unfortunately, Microsoft has no plans to allow users to uninstall Recall, saying the dialog was a bug.

“We are aware of an issue where Recall is incorrectly listed as an option under the ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ dialog in Control Panel,” Windows senior product manager Brandon LeBlanc told The Verge. “This will be fixed in an upcoming update.”

It’s a shame that Microsoft believes an option to uninstall Recall is something to “be fixed,” rather than giving users who value their privacy an opportunity to get rid of the feature.

The Control Panel has been a feature of Windows since its earliest days, providing a central place for users to configure their system, set up peripherals, and administer their computer. In recent years, there has been overlap with the new Settings app, and Microsoft updated a support document several days ago to indicate the Control Panel’s days were coming to an end.

The Control Panel is a feature that’s been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralized location to view and manipulate system settings and controls. Through a series of applets, you can adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.

Tip: while the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you’re encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible.

Microsoft has since updated the support article once more, making a significant change to the wording about Control Panel’s future.

The Control Panel is a feature that’s been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralized location to view and manipulate system settings and controls. Through a series of applets, you can adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. Many of the settings in Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.

Tip: while the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you’re encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible.

The new verbiage leaves Control Panel’s future far more open than it originally did. At this point it’s unclear if Control Panel will still face deprecation at some point in the future, or if the Settings app and Control Panel will coexist. If they do, it’s possible the former could be a streamlined, easy-to-use configuration tool, with the Control Panel providing more in-depth features for advanced users.

Ultimately, only time will tell if Control Panel continues to be a core part of Windows.

Windows Recall is Microsoft’s AI-powered feature that takes screenshots of virtually everything a user does on a Copilot+ PC, giving users the ability to easily search through documents, videos, messages, and far more, using natural language expressions. Unfortunately, security experts quickly found major flaws with Recall, with it quickly being labeled a privacy and security nightmare.

As a result of the backlash, Microsoft opted to delay rollout of the feature, as Pavan Davuluri—Corporate Vice President, Windows + Devices—said at the time.

We are adjusting the release model for Recall to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider community to ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security. This decision is rooted in our commitment to providing a trusted, secure and robust experience for all customers and to seek additional feedback prior to making the feature available to all Copilot+ PC users. Additionally, as we shared in our May 3 blog, security is our top priority at Microsoft, in line with our Secure Future Initiative (SFI). This is reflected in additional security protections we are providing for Recall content, including “just in time” decryption protected by Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS), so Recall snapshots will only be decrypted and accessible when the user authenticates. The development of Copilot+ PCs, Recall and Windows will continue to be guided by SFI.

According to an update to a company blog post, Microsoft is now slated to deliver Windows Recall to Windows Insiders in October.

With a commitment to delivering a trustworthy and secure Recall (preview) experience on Copilot+ PCs for customers, we’re sharing an update that Recall will be available to Windows Insiders starting in October. As previously shared on June 13, we have adjusted our release approach to leverage the valuable expertise of our Windows Insider community prior to making Recall available for all Copilot+ PCs. Security continues to be our top priority and when Recall is available for Windows Insiders in October we will publish a blog with more details.

Microsoft clearly believes it has addressed the privacy and security issues that were painfully evident in the first incarnation of the feature, but only time will tell if the company has truly solved the issues.

As we wrote in our initial analysis, Windows Recall is a perfect example of the type of feature that exemplifies the old adage ‘just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.’ Many users expressed concern and doubts about a feature that essentially spies on everything they do.

Even if Microsoft lives up to its commitment to only process Recall data on-device, and not move it to the cloud, it still presents a tempting target for hackers and bad actors to exploit. Given Microsoft’s poort cybersecurity history, many users are reluctant to trust the company with such a powerful and invasive feature.

The Control Panel has been an important feature Windows for decades, but recent editions have seen more and more of its functionality moved to the Settings app. In a support article, Microsoft has finally acknowledged that the change is intentional and will soon be complete.

The Control Panel is a feature that’s been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralized location to view and manipulate system settings and controls. Through a series of applets, you can adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.

Tip: while the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you’re encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible.

Microsoft has not given a date for when the change will be complete, but the writing is on the wall that Control Panel’s demise is imminent.

Spotted by Neowin, Microsoft has patched an option that allowed users to bypass Windows requirements by adding “/product server” during setup. While other methods still exist, this was one of the easiest methods available to users looking to bypass Windows 11’s requirements.

Windows 11’s system requirements have been one of the major issues slowing down its adoption. Even relatively new machines with powerful specs have been arbitrarily obsoleted due to not supporting TPM 2.0, or one of Microsoft’s other requirements.

If this latest move is any indication, Microsoft will likely continue to shut down unauthorized install methods.

Microsoft releases patches on second Tuesday of the month, in what is commonly called “Patch Tuesday.” Yesterday’s fixes addressed some 90 issues, including zero-day flaws. Of the 10 zero-days, six of them are being actively exploited.

The issues being exploited include the following:

CVE-2024-38106 – 7.0 – Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
CVE-2024-38107 – 7.8 – Windows Power Dependency Coordinator Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
CVE-2024-38178 – 7.5 – Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability
CVE-2024-38189 – 8.8 – Microsoft Project Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
CVE-2024-38193 – 7.8 – Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
CVE-2024-38213 – 6.5 – Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Organizations are urged to update immediately.

Citing data from Mercury Research, Tom’s Hardware reports that AMD’s share of the server market for Q2 2024 hit an all-time high, coming in at 24.1%. That’s an increase over Q1 share of 23.6%. Similarly, AMD’s laptop share frew from 19.3% in Q1 to 20.3% in Q2.

The one area where Intel held on and actually scored a win was in the desktop market. AMD lost a point, going from 23.9% in Q1 to a flat 23% in Q2.

At the end of the day, Intel still has a commanding lead in all three markets, but AMD continues to march forward, slowing chipping away at its rival’s lead. For example, at the end of 2022, AMD only had 17.6% of the server market, 16.4% of the mobile market, and 18.6% of the desktop market.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has been working to turn the company around, but has consistently faced headwinds, including disastrous quarters, issues securing foundry customers, and continuing to be behind its rivals technologically.

AMD is poised for yet more good news, with benchmarks showing the company’s latest chips may blow Intel’s out of the water.

It’s safe to say Q2 2024 won’t be the last quarter that sees Intel’s dominance erode away a bit more.

Immutable distros borrow a critical feature from systems like Android, rolling out atomic updates. In other words, an update is download, applied at restart, and either takes successfully or is rolled back to the existing version. As a result, there is virtually no chance of an update filling mid-update and leaving the user with bricked install.

Manjaro is a Linux distro based on Arch. As a result, it is a rolling release distro—as opposed to a point release like Ubuntu or Debian—but it moves at a slower pace in an attempt to provide additional stability and reliability. The company is working to improve that even more with an immutable version of the distro.

The Manjaro Team made the announcement in a forum post.

Powered by Arkdep 133 from the Arkane Linux 115 project this exciting new Manjaro variant is available for public testing right now!

The goal of this release is to gather community feedback on the technology powering Manjaro Immutable.

The devs emphasize that this is just an experimental release, and therefore not yet suitable for daily driving in a production environment.

Note that this is only an experimental release and not representative of the final version, there is also no support guarantee, so hold off on installing it as your primary operating system, at least for now.

Manjaro is already one of the more popular Linux distros, and one of the most common one users looking to dip their foot into rolling releases choose. Manjaro Immutable could end up being a very popular option.

Linux has been making some impressive gains on the desktop in the last year, crossing 3% share for the first time ever in July 2023. After taking almost 32 years to reach that milestone, Linux quickly topped 4% eight months later in March 2024.

According to Statcounter, Linux reached 4.45% desktop share in July 2024, an impressive gain over a mere four months.

There are likely a number of factors driving Linux adoption, including an increasing wariness of Big Tech among consumers and regulators alike, as well as Windows 11’s general unpopularity.

Microsoft’s increasingly aggressive tactics—including full-screen popups and ads—that it is using to push OneDrive, Edge, and other products, has led even long-time users to look for other options. The company’s wholesale effort to adopt AI, and push it onto customers has also disenfranchised some users.

Linux has proven to be a viable option for users looking to escape the Microsoft ecosystem, providing an easy-to-use OS that is open-source, privacy-respecting, and secure. Thanks to the effort of countless developers, the Linux app ecosystem is better than ever, giving users access to open-source and commercial software alike.

Users, organizations, and companies interested in making the switch to Linux should check out our Linux Distro Reviews series, with special attention to Linux Mint and Linux Mint Debian Edition, the two distros to receive five-star reviews.

Aeon’s developers announced in mid-July that they planned on making FDE the default moving forward. While the vast majority of Linux distros offer FDE, very few enable it by default, despite the security it provides. openSUSE has a long history of being one of the most security-oriented distros on the market, and Aeon’s devs wanted to take that to the next step by making FDE the default option.

In a post on Reddit, the devs announced the release of Aeon RC3:

The biggest change with this release is the introduction of Full Disk Encryption by default, configured automatically as part of the installation

Depending on your hardware, Aeon will automatically configure Full Disk Encryption in one of two modes

• Default Mode with “Measured Boot” – strong verification of bootloader, initrd and kernel before automatically decrypting your system
• Fallback Mode with no verification of boot components and requiring a Passphrase on boot to decrypt your system

For those leery of relying on the default mode, the devs previously outlined why it is secure, debunking myths regarding TPM in the process:

The Default Mode is the preferred method of encryption provided the system has the required hardware. This mode utilizes the Trusted Platform Module(TPM) 2.0 chipset with PolicyAuthorizeNV support (TPM 2.0 version 1.38 or newer). In this mode, Aeon Desktop measures several aspects of the system’s integrity. These including:

• UEFI Firmware
• Secure Boot state (enabled or disabled)
• Partition Table
• Boot loader and drivers
• Kernel and initrd (including kernel command line parameters)

These measurements are stored in the system’s TPM. During startup, the current state is compared with the stored measurements. If these match, the system boots normally. If discrepancies are found, users are prompted to enter a Recovery Key provided during installation. This safeguard ensures that unauthorized changes or tampering attempts are flagged.

The devs do say that existing users will need to reinstall their system to take advantage of the new features.

RC3 is expected to be the last release candidate before a 1.0 release.

Project lead Clément (Clem) Lefèbvre made the announcement Thursday morning, following a longer-than-usual beta phase for the new release. The extra work comes largely from the move to a new base, the latest release of Canonical’s Ubuntu, as well as some additional work to implement new features and ensure consistency.

Ubuntu 24.04 Base

One of the biggest benefits of the new Linux Mint 22 is the updated Ubuntu 24.04 base. This means the software and repos are much more current than what is included in Linux Mint 21, which is based on Ubuntu 22.04.

Because Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu’s LTS releases, Linux Mint 22 will be supported until 2029.

Improved Kernel Cadence

One of the criticisms leveled against Linux Mint is that it has always been very conservative with kernel updates. For example, the default kernel on Linux Mint 21 is 5.15.x, despite 6.10 recently being released. While users could use the Update Manager to switch to a new kernel, the default was still 5.15. As a result, unless users opted for the “Edge” edition, which defaulted to a newer kernel OOTB, the mainline Linux Mint often had issues on newer hardware, not even installing in some cases.

With Linux Mint 22, the team is going to follow Ubuntu’s HWE kernel. In other words, when Ubuntu releases updates every six months, the team backports the kernel to the previous LTS release. In other words, when Ubuntu 24.10 is released, it will ship with a newer kernel than Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Ubuntu’s developers will backport that newer kernel to 24.04, however, ensuring that LTS users benefit from the latest improvements.

Clem says that Linux Mint will adopt the HWE kernel beginning with 22, meaning Linux Mint age far more gracefully over the next couple of years until version 23 comes out.

Pipewire

One of the biggest improvements involves the sound server, with Mint 22 making the move from PulseAudio to Pipewire, thanks to the underlying base.

Pipewire is vastly superior to PulseAudio, especially for content creators and those who regularly work with audio.

See Also: Linux Mint vs LMDE: Which Should You Choose?

Software Manager and Flatpaks

The Software Manager received a major performance improvement, now opening almost instantly, as opposed to the several seconds it used to take.

In addition, the Software Manager hides unverified Flatpaks by default, although experienced users can enable them.

Language Support

The Mint team has improved the installation process to remove preinstalled language packs that are not needed. By default, English and whatever language the user has selected will be installed. All others will be removed at the end of the installation process, saving “a significant amount of disk space.”

GTK4 Issues

GTK is the visual toolkit that Linux Mint’s desktop environments are based on. Unfortunately, GTK is largely maintained by the GNOME developers, with many recent changes in GTK4 aimed almost exclusively at apps designed for GNOME. One such technology is the GTK4 libAdwaita GUI library, which severely limits the ability to theme an app.

As a result, while Mint’s themes were updated to support GTK4, several applications have been removed or backported to their GTK3 version because of visual incompatibility between the app’s libAdwaita appearance and Mint’s appearance and ability to be themed.

Clem outlines which apps are impacted:

As a result, the GNOME Font Viewer was removed and the following applications were downgraded back to GTK3 versions: Celluloid, GNOME Calculator, Simple Scan, Baobab, System Monitor, GNOME Calendar, File Roller, Zenity.

Similarly, the Linux Mint team has forked the Gnome Online Accounts as a result of changes upstream, as Clem details:

With GNOME 46, libgoa/libgoa-backend 3.50 moved to GTK4 and could no longer be used by GTK3 applications. This meant that Online Accounts support had to disappear from Cinnamon, Budgie and Unity. The XApp project implemented a standalone application called “GNOME Online Accounts GTK”. Not only did this bring the feature back in these three desktop environments, it also made it possible for it to be used in MATE and Xfce.

De-Snapification

Ubuntu has been moving increasingly toward its Snap packaging format. Firefox and Chrome were already bundled as a Snap rather than the traditional DEB package. In Ubuntu 24.04, Thunderbird joins the list of Snapified apps.

Since Linux Mint does not include Snaps, the team is taking it upon themselves to bundle Thunderbird as a traditional DEB file.

Misc Improvements

There are a number of other improvements, including the following:

• JXL support was added to Pix and a new thumbnailer was implemented for it.
• The Software Sources received support for the new Debian DEB822 format.
• All software using libsoup2 was migrated to libsoup3.
• HiDPI support improvements were made in the boot sequence, in Plymouth and Slick-Greeter.

The Future

Linux Mint clearly has some challenges ahead, from both its Ubuntu base, as well its reliance on GTK for its GUI toolkit.

Ubuntu Challenges

While Snaps are an excellent option for server environments, Ubuntu’s insistence on using them in the desktop space will continue to pose an issue for the Linux Mint developers.

The team already has to package and maintain DEB versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Thunderbird. It’s believed that Ubuntu will move the CUPS printing stack to Snap in Ubuntu 24.10. Because Mint is based on the Ubuntu LTS releases—meaning Mint won’t rebase until Ubuntu 26.04—that change won’t have an immediate impact on the distro. Nonetheless, the writing is on the wall: If Mint continues to be based on Ubuntu, the team will have to continue to take on the work of packaging and maintaining the various parts of the system that Ubuntu Snapifies.

Clem has previously stated he doesn’t believe Snap will be around for the long haul and will instead join the list of technologies Canonical has tried to push and ultimately abandoned.

Realistically though I don’t think Snap will last forever. I see it getting abandoned just like Mir or Unity when it fails to get the traction and return on investment Canonical wants from it.

Clem may well be right. Canonical has invested a lot of money in making Snap a universal packing format beyond just Ubuntu. Unfortunately for the company, outside of the server space, the wider Linux community has very little interest in adopting Snaps and prefer its competitor, Flatpak. In fact, even some distros that did support Snap have opted to drop support.

Only time will tell if Clem is right. If he is wrong, however, undoing Ubuntu’s decisions may eventually result in such an increased workload that making the backup Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) the new mainline offering may be unavoidable.

GTK4/GNOME Challenges

The Linux Mint team clearly has fundamental differences of opinion about how desktop environments and apps should behave. GNOME wasn’t a very macOS-like unified look, with very little customization. In contrast, Linux Mint’s developers believe users should be able to customize and theme their desktops and apps while still providing a consistent experience.

Because GNOME dominates GTK development, it does not bode well for non-GNOME desktop environments that rely on GTK. This is why Budgie has been trying to move away from GTK, and System76 decided to build their own desktop environment for Pop!_OS based on Rust.

All three of Linux Mint’s desktops (flagship Cinnamon, Xfce, and Mate) are all GTK-based, meaning the project is heavily invested in the toolkit. Nonetheless, the issues GTK4 has caused for non-GNOME desktops is only going to get worse as the project moves toward GTK5 and beyond.

As a result, the Mint devs will need to come up with a long-term solution. This could involve adding a library to GTK4 that enables better integration with non-GNOME desktops, or even using a maintained fork of GTK3.

Clem mentioned both possibilities in a response to a user comment in the April blog post:

We fully support GTK4 apps but we’re not migrating to it.

It took a decade for GTK3 to be stable, we want to enjoy it for a while. Many widgets we’re using in GTK3 no longer exist in GTK4 so the migration isn’t easy and could force the loss of features or layout changes in some applications. GTK4 probably needs a library to make it complete and easy to use, a libAdwaita for generic apps really. But nobody made one so far, assuming they ever will. Long term we don’t know if GTK will continue to support themes or even Xorg. Some GTK users moved to Qt or other toolkits. Some are looking at GTK3 forks. Some are thinking of making a GTK4 lib. And some like us, are just happy to stay on GTK3 until there’s more visibility going forward.

Whatever option the Mint team chooses, it’s a safe bet they will approach the challenge with the same careful, measured consideration they have shown with previous issues.

Conclusion

Overall, Linux Mint 22 is shaping up to be one of the best releases of the venerable Linux distro in years. While the project certainly has some challenges ahead of it, the team is well-positioned to address those challenges and continue to deliver one of the preeminent Linux experiences.

A CrowdStrike Falcon update brought the world to its knees, crippling systems across industries. Unfortunately, because CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software runs at such a low level, computers that were impacted by the bad update could not even boot, making it difficult to recover from.

Microsoft outlines the two repair methods:

Recover from WinPE (recommended option)

This option quickly and directly recovers systems and does not require local admin privileges. However, you may need to manually enter the BitLocker recovery key (if BitLocker is used on the device) and then repair impacted systems. If you use a third-party disk encryption solution, please refer to vendor guidance to determine options to recover the drive so that the remediation script can be run from WinPE.

Recover from safe mode

This option may enable recovery on BitLocker-enabled devices without requiring the entry of BitLocker recovery keys. For this option, you must have access to an account with local administrator rights on the device. Use this approach for devices using TPM-only protectors, devices that are not encrypted, or situations where the BitLocker recovery key is unknown. However, if utilizing TPM+PIN BitLocker protectors, the user will either need to enter the PIN if known, or the BitLocker recovery key must be used. If BitLocker is not enabled, then the user will only need to sign in with an account with local administrator rights. If third-party disk encryption solutions are utilized, please work with those vendors to determine options to recover the drive so the remediation script can be run.

Additional considerations

Some devices may not be allowed to connect to a USB drive. In this case, it may be better to reimage the device.

Instructions for downloading and using the new recovery tool can be found here.

ChromeOS Flex is a popular option for users looking to revitalize older hardware. Because it’s a cloud-based OS, ChromeOS Flex can run well on old hardware that can’t run the latest versions of Windows or macOS.

In a recent blog post, however, Google says it is working to more fully integrate Android and ChromeOS:

To continue rolling out new Google AI features to users at a faster and even larger scale, we’ll be embracing portions of the Android stack, like the Android Linux kernel and Android frameworks, as part of the foundation of ChromeOS. We already have a strong history of collaboration, with Android apps available on ChromeOS and the start of unifying our Bluetooth stacks as of ChromeOS 122.

Bringing the Android-based tech stack into ChromeOS will allow us to accelerate the pace of AI innovation at the core of ChromeOS, simplify engineering efforts, and help different devices like phones and accessories work better together with Chromebooks. At the same time, we will continue to deliver the unmatched security, consistent look and feel, and extensive management capabilities that ChromeOS users, enterprises, and schools love.

AS ZDNET’s Jason Perlow writes, this could spell doom for ChromeOS Flex:

Google’s plan, as detailed, suggests that ChromeOS Flex could be phased out, leaving its current users in a difficult position. The ChromiumOS community around ChromeOS Flex may attempt to adjust to these changes if Google open sources ChromeOS Flex, but this is not a guarantee. In the meantime, users may want to consider alternatives, such as various Linux distributions, to keep their older hardware functional.

One such alternative that many users should consider is Linux. This writer has an old HP laptop that runs like a new machine thanks to switching it from Windows to Linux Mint.

Users interested in switching to Linux should check out our Linux Distro Reviews series to learn more.

The CSA is an organization dedicated to helping secure cloud computing. A survey the organization conducted with Netskope found that DLP solutions are a critical component used in cloud security.

Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. While companies are relying on DLP systems, nearly a third struggle to use them effectively.

Among the top challenges cited by organizations are management difficulties (29%), too many false positives (19%), the need for manual version upgrades (18%), and deployment complexity (15%).

“DLP solutions are an integral part of organizations’ data security strategy, but leaders are still struggling with this strategy and the implementation of solutions, especially for how complicated legacy and on-prem based solutions are to manage and maintain,” said Naveen Palavalli, Vice President of Products, Netskope. “These findings highlight the need for a comprehensive and easy-to-use cloud delivered data protection solution that integrates into their existing security controls and is a key tenant of their Zero Trust security strategy.”

Cloud security is increasingly in the spotlight as more and more organizations experience data breaches at a time when the cloud is becoming integral to more companies and industries.

The Biden administration has signaled it is preparing to regulate cloud security in an effort to better protect organizations. If the CSA’s findings are any indication, it looks like the industry could use the help.

Linux Mint 22 is based on the recently released Ubuntu 24.04 and will be supported until 2029. The Mint team have been at work rebasing on the new version of Ubuntu, as well as adding a number of new features and addressing several issues:

Linux Mint 22 ships with modern components and the new Ubuntu 24.04 package base.

To guarantee better compatibility with modern hardware, the kernel is version 6.8 and Linux Mint 22.x point releases will follow the HWE series.

The default sound server switched to Pipewire.

The Software Sources received support for the new Debian DEB822 format.

Themes were updated to support GTK4.

JXL support was added to Pix and a new thumbnailer was implemented for it.

All software using libsoup2 was migrated to libsoup3.

HiDPI support improvements were made in the boot sequence, in Plymouth and Slick-Greeter.

Linux Mint 22 also improves language support, saving disk space by removing preinstalled language packs that are not in use.

The new version also makes changes to some of the included apps, rolling them back to GTK3 versions (instead of GTK4) to improve compatibility with Mint’s theming options. The team have made improvements to the Software Manager, improving performance and changing how Flatpaks are handled. By default, the Software Manager will only show Verified Flatpaks, although the behavior can be changed in the preferences.

Linux Mint 22 also comes with version 6.2 of the flagship desktop environment, Cinnamon. While not a major upgrade to Cinnamon, version 6.2 has a number of improvements, including the following:

• Less printer added notifications (silenced for 2 hours)
• Wayland support: Clutter polkit agent
• Spices: keybindings support
• Better avatar support in polkit agent and user applet
• Workspace switcher: middle click removes the workspace being hovered
• Keybindings: ability to search by binding
• Cornerbar applet: shift+click action added
• Applets: improved precision in reporting VPN and battery states

Users who want to participate in the beta and help report bugs can find download links here.

The latest update was released June 25, but is causing the Taskbar to not show, or to not respond to input. Fortunately, the issue is only impacting Windows N users, as well as those who gave disabled Media Features.

N editions of Windows include the same functionality as other editions of Windows, except for media-related technologies, Windows Media Player, and certain preinstalled media apps.

You might not be able to view or interact with the Taskbar after logging in to your device once the update is installed. Other applications like File Explorer, Desktop and Settings will continue to work.

Next Steps: We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

Spotted by Neowin, Microsoft appears to have made the change without notifying users or making any announcement. Now, when a user sets up Windows 11 on a new computer, or reinstalls on an existing one, Windows 11 will begin restoring content from the users OneDrive account onto the machine.

The move is the latest in a litany of issues in which Microsoft appears hell-bent on ignoring its own users’ preferences in favor of what it wants to push. The company has been trying to force users to use a Microsoft account when setting up Windows, rather than a local account as was traditionally the case. Microsoft also has a long history of pushing advertising within Windows, including for its own services. In view of those actions, it’s not surprising that Microsoft has enabled OneDrive by default.

As Neowin points out, OneDrive can be a powerful option for users when they knowingly activate it and configure to work the way they want and backup the files they choose. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s approach means that users’ systems will almost immediately be cluttered by whatever files are in their OneDrive storage, regardless of whether they want those files on their computer or not.

Hopefully, Microsoft will return to the days when it actually respected its users enough to let them make their own choices about how to use their computers and devices.

Like many tech companies, Microsoft once had an abysmal repairability track record, with its Surface Pro scoring a 0/10 for requiring a razor blade to cut away access to the battery. Suffice it to say Microsoft has come a long way, with its new CoPilot+ devices scoring a 8/10 and the site proclaiming that “Microsoft puts repair front and center.”

The company’s changed stance is apparent right from the outset, according to iFixit:

One of the first things you’ll see when removing the magnetically secured bottom plate is a QR code taking you to the service manuals on Microsoft’s website. The manuals were made available the very day the device was released, something we rarely see in any product category.

The company goes on to include indicators that make it possible to fix the device even without a manual:

The next things you’ll notice are tiny symbols (Microsoft calls them Wayfinders) indicating which component is being secured by the type and quantity of screws. You could easily disassemble this device without using the manual thanks to these Wayfinders.

Microsoft extended its repairability even further by making nearly all of the major components easily accessible:

A special mention should be made of how most components are accessible without the need to remove additional layers. Need to replace the battery? No problem, it’s just a few screws and a bracket. What if you need to clean the fan? Easy. Just peel back the Surflink cable and undo three screws.

iFixit concludes by saying Microsoft’s change underscores the importance of Right to Repair advocacy and legislation:

Microsoft’s journey from the unrepairable Surface Laptop to the highly repairable devices on our teardown table should drive home the importance of designing for repair. The ability to create a repairable Surface was always there but the impetus to design for repairable was missing. I’ll take that as a sign that Right to Repair advocacy and legislation has begun to bear fruit.

Below is a video of the full teardown.