Linux Mint 19.3 'Tricia' What are your First Impressions?

[Portreve]

Is there a reason why, in Cinnamon, that in a file manager window, custom icons for storage devices aren't used?

Also, why don't some programs, like Scribus, integrate with the standard system file manager? It's really annoying that you don't get a list of locations and other mounted disks in their file manager window, so you have to know, for example, to go into /media/username to find external drives? I don't know what happens with system-mounted network shares since I have no other computers on my network at home.

[erebus_oneiros]

This is the second time that I updated the OS without a clean install (19.1 -> 19.2 -> 19.3). Both the times it has been flawless.

The update manager came up with an update. Then there were system reports in 19.2! It ran a scan and showed me the upgrade to Tricia. Followed instructions, and everything was updated while I was working. It asked for a reboot and done(with new logo and all)!! Excellent and Seamless transition. Great job Clem and Team!

Couple of pointers:
1. I was initially confused as to why the mint-menu icon didn't get updated. After the upgrade, go to the applets -> update everything -> put a new mint-menu. It will have the new icon and all. Also, put the new xapp indicator.

2. If you want to setup the new wallpapers and themes. Just go to personalise and change it. They are already there but don't change by default(which I like).

3. If you want the new apps celluloid, draw and gnote: As the release note says Run "apt install celluloid gnote drawing neofetch" at the terminal. This could have been done automatically while updating but I understand that some or most people might not care about changing the default apps which they already use.

TLDR: One of the most seamless and quick OS updates I have ever seen. Kudos to the Mint Team!

[rene]

Also, why don't some programs, like Scribus, integrate with the standard system file manager?

It is as to the layering of things any specific program's own task/responsibility to put up something like an open-file dialogue. Most don't in practice do this fully independently but use some system-supplied library, usually a toolkit- or desktop-environment supplied library. What you would here on Mint find to be "the standard system file manager" --- any one of Nemo, Thunar or Caja --- eventually uses GTK+ and as such, a supplied open-file dialogue that's for example as to bookmarks configured per-user in ~/.config/gtk-3.0/bookmarks the same for all applications that also use that same GTK+ base for their dialogue.

Scribus is a Qt application though. I.e., welcome to the incoherent mess that is still a Linux desktop system...

[Halbarad]

I have installed Mint 19.3 Cinnamon in my laptop (HP 250 G3, i5 4210U, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD Crucial mx500) alongside Mint 19.1 Mate and Lubuntu 18.04.3.
The following comparison is not really significant, but as far as first impressions go...
Boot (I set autologin to test this): both 19.3 Cinnamon and 19.1 Mate boot in approx. 13 seconds from the grub screen. (Lubuntu takes about 9 s.)
Memory usage: one minute after boot, 19.3 Cinn. uses 950 MB to 1 GB, 19.1 Mate uses up some 730 MB, Lubuntu 715. This is according to gnome-system-monitor. After a couple of minutes from boot and with no other user-started programs running, free -h reports:

total......used.........free...........shared....buff/cache....available
7,7G.....660M.......6,1G..........65M........999M............6,8G...............19.3 Cinn.
7,7G.....516M.......6,7G..........44M........564M............6,9G...............19.1 Mate
7,7G.....275M.......6,9G..........29M........586M............7,2G...............Lub. 18.04

General feeling: the system feels a bit less responsive than Cinn. 19.1 Mate (this might depend on Mate). Software Manager takes 7 seconds to start (for the first time) in 19.3 Cinnamon, 2.40 in 19.1 Mate, about 2 in Lubuntu. I should probably try to install 19.3 Mate and check. -- I followed the CPU history in gnome-system-monitor for the seven seconds it took to start the S.Manager. One of the processors went to 100% and stayed there for some three seconds while the other three were more or less idle, then another processor went up to 100% but at least two of them were idle. I guess that the program might be optimized, but it's no big deal. I noticed no significant differences between loading times for the important (to me) stuff: Libreoffice Writer, GParted, Firefox and other applications. I experience short delays also with System Settings (2 sec.s) and even with the Terminal (about 1 sec. since I press CTRL-ALT-T). I thought it may depend on the bells and whistles (cozy half-transparent windows etc., which I do like and find even useful ) but it doesn't, because 19.1 Mate starts Control Center (=System Settings) and the Terminal in a fraction of a second.
The utility to configure the Menu is buggy. The "new menus" I add appear in the menu editor but they do not actually make it to the menu; moreover moving items from an entry to another by Cut and Paste (e.g. from Preferences to System or to Office) produces double or triple entries, etc. I remember I had similar problems with the Mate menu, I eventually decided to reset it and leave it alone, as I did with 19.3 Cinnamon.
All in all, Lubuntu 18.04.3 looks more efficient but I prefer Mint (both versions) because the user interface is better and I had no trouble with the installation of Dropbox, Virtualbox, HP printer -- they gave me some headaches with Lubuntu; and my wireless always worked out of the box with all the versions of Mint, whereas it gave me headaches and heart aches with Lubuntu (however, it's working now, quite independently of all my efforts and only thanks to some updates). Mint 19.1 Mate seems to me the best choice, but I should try 19.3 Mate too (in the to-do list as soon as I'll have some free time...).

[absque fenestris]

Cinnamon 19.3 Hi-DPI ( Aha! ...new place )
Screen: 14" 3000 x 2000 @ 260 dpi
Scribus... However, on closer inspection, the Icons are quite sharp and precise...

https://framapic.org/XChuJbcDxSt5/k9qje6OhbaNC.png

[absque fenestris]

Right now, the Starters or whatever they are called - left in the Panel, next to the Mint Menu dropped out. Nada! Then - the distance between these things - oriented to Windows 10? Already with Windows 10, I find the distance stupid and found so far no way to change that. Does that have to be in Mint Cinnamon now?
Here is a Screenshot of my very special favorite - GoldenDict: I want to use it so much, but God or the Devil - who knows! doesn't like me!
The fruit company was far more convincing with its Lexicon.

Generally: I like Linux, and I like Mint in particular - but do I have to switch to macOS or Windows 10 to try out FOSS programs like GIMP, Blender, InkScape, Scribus, etc.?


https://framapic.org/TexYGAVpjc8s/3mcN8c8bS1sZ.png

[AZgl1800]

GIMP works in any OS, no need to switch to any other OS to use it.

[MrEen]

Right now, the Starters or whatever they are called - left in the Panel, next to the Mint Menu dropped out. Nada! Then - the distance between these things - oriented to Windows 10? Already with Windows 10, I find the distance stupid and found so far no way to change that. Does that have to be in Mint Cinnamon now?
Here is a Screenshot of my very special favorite - GoldenDict: I want to use it so much, but God or the Devil - who knows! doesn't like me!
The fruit company was far more convincing with its Lexicon.

Generally: I like Linux, and I like Mint in particular - but do I have to switch to macOS or Windows 10 to try out FOSS programs like GIMP, Blender, InkScape, Scribus, etc.?


https://framapic.org/TexYGAVpjc8s/3mcN8c8bS1sZ.png

You can probably still launch them from the Menu itself. Try Menu > Graphics > GIMP Image Editor (assuming you've got GIMP installed.)

[absque fenestris]

Right now, the Starters or whatever they are called - left in the Panel, next to the Mint Menu dropped out. Nada! Then - the distance between these things - oriented to Windows 10? Already with Windows 10, I find the distance stupid and found so far no way to change that. Does that have to be in Mint Cinnamon now?
Here is a Screenshot of my very special favorite - GoldenDict: I want to use it so much, but God or the Devil - who knows! doesn't like me!
The fruit company was far more convincing with its Lexicon.

Generally: I like Linux, and I like Mint in particular - but do I have to switch to macOS or Windows 10 to try out FOSS programs like GIMP, Blender, InkScape, Scribus, etc.?


https://framapic.org/TexYGAVpjc8s/3mcN8c8bS1sZ.png

You can probably still launch them from the Menu itself. Try Menu > Graphics > GIMP Image Editor (assuming you've got GIMP installed.)

...of course I can launch them - I do that - and my favorite applications looks like : ... please insert your very favorite curse!

I have to look at all my beloved applications in Windows 10, because different Linux distros - not only Mint Cinnamon - still fu....d me... ...

[absque fenestris]

I spent a long Saturday afternoon setting up my most important applications - the result is sobering. I like Linux Mint Cinnamon as an operating system - as I like Linux Mint at all! But unfortunately, several applications, that would be decisive for me, looks really shitty. I think this has less to do with Mint Cinnamon than with Linux at all...

[winoseti]

okay after 19.2 to 19.3 fail. I reinstalled a clean 19.3 and everything went fine until wake from suspend. The recommended driver nvidia 3.90 is no good from suspend so I installed nvidia 3.40 and voila installation is working (SOLVED.)

[AZgl1800]

okay after 19.2 to 19.3 fail. I reinstalled a clean 19.3 and everything went fine until wake from suspend. The recommended driver nvidia 3.90 is no good from suspend so I installed nvidia 3.40 and voila installation is working (SOLVED.)

Why don't you just set all of the Power Settings to "Nothing"

then when you close the lid, the display is turned off by the BIOS.

that is what I have been doing, Suspend and Sleep are fraught with problems, and you gain nothing by doing that anyway.

I now do that on all of my laptops, and I have 5 of them of various ages and brands/models.

[hpmital]

I just 'upgraded' from Mint 19.2 to 19.3, Cinnamon 2 days ago, using the automatic upgrade option. The upgrade went smooth without any hitch. In the release notes and new features, I read that 19.3 is supposed to have Celluloid for multimedia player, but my system still has Xplayer as the default and Celluloid is not even installed. Similarly Tomboy continues, Gnote is not installed, and also the application Drawing is not installed. Am I supposed to install these manually from the Software Manager?

[absque fenestris]

I just 'upgraded' from Mint 19.2 to 19.3, Cinnamon 2 days ago, using the automatic upgrade option. The upgrade went smooth without any hitch. In the release notes and new features, I read that 19.3 is supposed to have Celluloid for multimedia player, but my system still has Xplayer as the default and Celluloid is not even installed. Similarly Tomboy continues, Gnote is not installed, and also the application Drawing is not installed. Am I supposed to install these manually from the Software Manager?

Yes... but i'm stay with Synaptic

And after manually reloading, I'm interested in your comment about Drawing... there are Alpha and Beta versions, I'm not quite sure where to classify Drawing - maybe in the category superfluous?

[AZgl1800]

I have not found 'Drawing' to be useful at all.

[absque fenestris]

I have not found 'Drawing' to be useful at all.

Can I understand your comment as that Drawing is superfluous? BTW: the Cropping command in Drawing has a bug - at least at my device.

[Moem]

the Cropping command in Drawing has a bug - at least at my device.

Is it a bug or do neither of us understand how to use it? I can't make it crop no matter what. It seems to... zoom?

[Moem]

In the release notes and new features, I read that 19.3 is supposed to have Celluloid for multimedia player, but my system still has Xplayer as the default and Celluloid is not even installed. Similarly Tomboy continues, Gnote is not installed, and also the application Drawing is not installed. Am I supposed to install these manually from the Software Manager?

Yes, or any way you want. They are included in a new installation, but an upgrade does not automatically bring them in; this was mentioned in the instructions.

[absque fenestris]

the Cropping command in Drawing has a bug - at least at my device.

Is it a bug or do neither of us understand how to use it? I can't make it crop no matter what. It seems to... zoom?

Yeah, it just zooms weirdly into the drawing or the picture. A selection, usually a rectangle that you draw, does not take place. I think it's strange that software like this comes bundled.
Besides, there are now really many, many small Linux graphics programs that can handle these basic functions.

[Moem]

I think it's strange that software like this comes bundled.
Besides, there are now really many, many small Linux graphics programs that can handle these basic functions.

True. Pix is fine for cropping. I'll keep Drawing around for a while, maybe an update will fix it. For now, I'll stick with Pinta (good for cropping, drawing arrows, making colour adjustments, adding text...) but if Drawing gets good eventually, I may be able to ditch Pinta.