By Martin Jansen, Owner of Jansen-PCINFO
In September of last year I wrote about the big leap forward for Linux Mint, version 22. Recently, Linux Mint had another upgrade to Linux Mint “Xia” 22.1. It is customary for fixes to be addressed in new releases of operating systems and version 22.1 is no different.
I’ve always enjoyed upgrades to Linux Mint because the user experience doesn’t outwardly change. Instead, I would call the changes in version 22.1 a refinement of an already great experience.
Package Installer
Software packages in Linux can come in several different ways. Of course, there is the graphical Software Manager, but since Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, software is often installed via downloadable .deb files. For instance, I install Chrome Browser on all the computers I sell and that package comes as a google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb file.
Version 22.1 has enhanced the package installer experience. To open the package manager in Linux Mint, double click on the .deb file and the Package Installer opens, click on the Install Package button:
And after Chrome Browser is installed:
This is much better than the previous version where a .deb install ended with this window:
Can be confusing for new users, do I reinstall or not?
Power Management
The Power mode allows choices of power saver, balanced and performance. This enhancement is great for laptop users and gamers.
Night Light
Night Light is a feature designed to reduce your exposure to blue light by warming up the color of your monitor. As you approach bedtime, it adjusts the screen to help reduce eyestrain, headaches, and improve sleep quality.
This feature is fully integrated into the Cinnamon desktop environment and it supports both Xorg and Wayland. To enable Night Light, navigate to Settings → Night Light and toggle the option to activate it.
Aside from these enhancements users will also notice a more rounded and refined temporary superuser prompt and shutdown experience.
These three major enhancements make an already great experience even better. It’s well worth the upgrade to Linux Mint 22.1.
PS. I have several computers for sale with Linux Mint Cinnamon 22.1 installed. These are OEM installations that are easily customized for personal use. For more information, text me at:
