Linux Mint 17

Linux Mint 17 XFCE was released on 26th June. Mint is the version of Linux I generally recommend to non-techy people who are coming off Windows and want something familiar that "just works"; although, to be fair, there are a few distros around now which are propbably just as suitable.

Anyway, I've been checking out version 17, and so far ... so good. This version also has "Long Term Support", which means you won't have to worry about upgrading again until 2019.

You can read the release notes and download it here. As per usual, you can copy the image to a DVD or USB stick and run it "live", or even install it to a USB stick and use it as a portable OS. Either way, you can use it without replacing, or even modifying your current setup.

Amongst other things, Mint 17 comes with:

• Firefox web browser.
• Thunderbird email client.
• Transmission bittorrent client.
• LibreOffice home office suite.
• Brasero, for ripping and burning CDs.
• Banshee music player/manager. 
• VLC and Totem video/DVD players.
• GIMP painting/drawing/photo-editing tool.
• Various printer, scanner, archive manager, PDF reader, calculator, note-taker, etc software.
• About a thousand other free and open source apps installable with a few clicks.

If nothing else, it's great for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the free software pond.