Release Notes for Linux Mint 8 Helena

Introduction

This is Linux Mint 8, codename Helena, based and compatible with Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala and its repositories.

New features

Based on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, Linux 2.6.31, Gnome 2.28 and Xorg 7.4, Linux Mint 8 "Helena" features a lot of improvements and the latest software from the Open Source World.

Featured improvements in this release: OEM installation, possibility to ignore updates, configurable menu places, multiple selection in the Software Manager, new system tray File Uploader with support for drag and drop and mutiple files uploads.

For a complete list of new features read: What's new in Helena?

Important links

• What's new in Helena
• Download mirrors
• Software portal
• User guide
• Release announcement

Upgrade instructions

Upgrade instructions will be published with the stable release of Linux Mint 8 Helena.

Known issues

Problems which will be fixed in the stable release

Ubiquity isn't fully localized.

The Mint tools aren't fully localized.

The Helena User Guide doesn't cover the new features introduced in this release.

Xchat: the "Connect" button in the network list reads "C_onnect".

Software Manager: If firefox is not open, searching online doesn't open it.

Software Manager: Some parts of the interface are semi-transparent under Compiz.

Software Manager: The .mint file extension is wrongly associated with the Archive Manager.

Pidgin: pidgin-facebookchat doesn't work.

Problems we're looking into and for which we don't have a solution yet

Mint4win isn't functional in this RC: After a successful installation via Mint4win, followed by a successful installation by Ubiquity, the Grub menu does not list the newly installed system.

Upstream Ubiquity problem with multiple HDDs in Ubuntu makes it impossible to install this release on some particular hardware.

problems with mintMenu

Sometimes mintMenu gets stuck between two categories and keeps switching between one and the other. It's a known issue which we haven't managed to fix yet.

On some computers mintMenu remains open after an item is clicked. Try to disable compiz or to change its focus policy to see if it fixes the problem. Alternatively, try using a different theme or use the Gnome menu instead.

Upstream issues

Linux Mint 8 is based on Karmic Koala. Make sure to read the known issues related to this release.