Today in Open Source: Linux Mint 16 KDE and Xfce released. Plus: SteamOS beta updated, and Enlightenment 18 released Linux Mint 16 KDE and Xfce The KDE and Xfce versions of Linux Mint are now available. KDE is a vibrant, innovative, advanced, modern looking and full-featured desktop environment. This edition features all the improvements from the latest Linux Mint release on top of KDE 4.11. New features at a glance: KDE 4.11 Samba Mounter Login Screen USB Stick support Performance improvements Software Manager System Improvements Artwork Improvements Main Components System requirements: x86 processor (Linux Mint 64-bit requires a 64-bit processor. Linux Mint 32-bit works on both 32-bit and 64-bit processors). 1GB RAM 8 GB of disk space Graphics card capable of 1024×768 resolution DVD drive or USB port Image credit: Linux Mint Blog More at Linux Mint Blog Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment which aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly. This edition features all the improvements from the latest Linux Mint release on top of an Xfce 4.10 desktop. New features at a glance: Xfce 4.10 Whisker Menu 1.2 Pulse Audio Login Screen USB Stick support Performance improvements Software Manager System Improvements Artwork Improvements Main Components System requirements: x86 processor (Linux Mint 64-bit requires a 64-bit processor. Linux Mint 32-bit works on both 32-bit and 64-bit processors). 384 MB RAM (1GB recommended for a comfortable usage). 5 GB of disk space Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution DVD drive or USB port Image credit: Linux Mint 16 Xfce More at Linux Mint Blog I’m very glad to see these released, there will be a lot of happy Xfce and KDE Linux Mint fans. I liked the Cinnamon version of Linux Mint 16 a lot, so I’m sure the Xfce and KDE versions will be great too. I must confess that while I like both desktops, I tend to lean a bit more toward Xfce. I like the minimalist appeal of it just a bit more than KDE. You really can’t go wrong with either one though, it all gets down to your personal preferences. SteamOS Beta updated drivers A new version of the SteamOS beta has been released with updated drivers. SteamOS 12/19/2013 alchemist_beta update Updated Intel graphics stack to Mesa 10.0.1 Applied an Intel kernel fix to re-enable KMS support Fixed a problem where Trine 2 could cause audio to stop working by restricting direct audio access to the sound server Enabled audio from the desktop session; the default audio device is still hardcoded to discrete graphics HDMI audio for now Enabled 3D passthrough in the VMWare driver Fixed Steam controller firmware upgrade by adding USB auto-mounting Added NTP time support Added XDG directory helpers Added text feedback when building kernel drivers during first boot More at Steam CommunityHat Tip: Phoronix It’s great to see SteamOS rolling right along, Valve is wasting no time improving it. I can’t wait for the final release. The way they are going we shouldn’t have to wait too long for it. Enlightenment 18 released You can now get Enlightenment 18. No release announcement is complete without a taste of what’s different, so here’s what I consider the big changes and features: Compositing merged into core No longer (as) optional No longer (as) buggy Wayland client support added Teamwork module added Fixed at least 10 crashes User experience while crashing improved; some users have reported over a 200% improvement here New modules for improving desktop integration: music-control – Control your music! bluez4 – Control your bluetooth! appmenu – Control your DBus application menus! conf_comp – Control your compositor settings! Improved systemd integration Internal theme merged into Elementary Theme migration guide for themers looking to update their E17 themes to work with E18 RandR and binding config domains have been split into separate files to make copying and updating easier MANY filemanager improvements udisks2 support Directory listing is now more accurate Seriously, too many improvements to name More at Enlightenment If you aren’t familiar with Enlightenment, be sure to read the About page for it. Here’s a description from that page: Enlightenment is the flagship and original name bearer for this project. Once it was just a humble window manager for X11 that wanted to do things differently. To do them better, but it has expanded. This can be confusing so when we refer to Enlightenment, we may mean the project as a whole or just the window manager proper. The libraries behind Enlightenment are referred to as EFL collectively, each with a specific name and purpose. The window manager is a lean, fast, modular and very extensible window manager for X11 and Linux. It is classed as a “desktop shell” providing the things you need to operate your desktop (or laptop), but is not a whole application suite. This covered launching applications, managing their windows and doing other system tasks like suspending, reboots, managing files etc. Enlightenment can be a great choice for a desktop environment if you are a minimalist. You can get it with distros like Bodhi Linux. What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. Open SourceSoftware Development