I am an Ubuntu fans but to be honest, Linux Mint also my second favorite Linux distribution. The new Beta version of Linux Mint 19.2 is now rolling. You can get the ISO and test it yourself from this link. I am not going to compare this new Linux Mint 19.2 to any other distribution. You may have your own preferences in term of the distribution you choose.
I boot up my DELL Precision Laptop with this Mint 19.2 code name Tina. I created a USB bootable disk using my favorite Windows program called Rufus. During my test, the Cinnamon desktop works like a charm. It is fast, lightweight and very responsive.
The Desktop
If you have tried Linux Mint 19.1 or earlier, slightly there is not much changes in the desktop. The default Linux Mint black and green style wallpaper will welcome you. The standard bottom panel with special Linux Mint application launcher is very comfortable to use.
Next thing I do is connecting the Linux Mint 19.2 to the WiFi network. Mint 19.2 detects my WiFi devices automatically. Connecting to the WiFi network is dead simple. Click the WiFi icon on the bottom right of the desktop and select the SSID.
Harware Detection
Linux Mint is a modern operating system so there shouldn’t be any problem regarding hardware drivers. In my case, my DELL Precision 3650 is working very well. The wireless network, audio, graphic card and the multimedia keyboard works properly.
The Driver Manager detects my Quadro M620 display card. But, by default, Linux Mint uses the xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (open source) driver. Then I try to use the nvidia driver and it also works very well.
Multimedia Performance
I just realize that I can install Spotify directly from the Software Manager. As I previously mentioned, the audio devices on my laptop works very well. I can play my music, watch the movie, YouTube without any issues. But, if you trying to open MP4 video, you will be asked to install some additional plugins. Simply follow the steps shown on your screen.
Netflix users? No worries, I can watch my favorite Netflix movies and serials using Firefox on Linux Mint 19.2 without any problems. Firefox will notify you to install DRM and some other package. But all are automatically installed.
Is Linux Mint 19.2 for you?
I haven’t mentioned how easy to customize the look of Linux Mint. I always love to make my Linux Mint looks like Mac OS X. Well, if you are Linux veteran, you might not need any advice or review to love Linux. But, for most people who are willing to switch to Linux from Windows, Linux Mint 19.2 could be the best option.
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