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Clement Lefebvre, the founder and project lead of Linux Mint has announced the release of Linux Mint KDE (LMK) 18. As a hardcore Plasma user I had to test this release. What I found was a mixed bag.
What makes Linux Mint unique
Linux Mint is a very conservative and 'play it safe' distribution. It, seemingly, focuses more on empowering users to use their computers the way they already know, instead of running after 'innovation'. Due to this approach Linux Mint has become popular even among seasoned Linux users.
Linux Mint has improved a lot ever since they switched base to Ubuntu LTS. Earlier they had to keep up with bi-annual Ubuntu releases. Their resources were consumed by chasing a moving target (Ubuntu) instead of improving the core features of Linux Mint. As a result Linux Mint used to be buggy and unstable. However, since they switched base, Linux Mint has become extremely stable and relatively bug free.
What's new in this release?
One of the greatest features of this release is the arrival of Plasma 5.6 on Linux Mint. The previous release (version 17.3 of Linux Mint KDE) was still running Plasma 4.x, so this is clearly a big leap for the distribution.
I think LMK team made the right decision to use Plasma 4.x...