I write full reviews of Linux distros over on my other blog, Desktop Linux Reviews. Sometimes, however, there are distro updates that are interesting but not quite worth doing a full review. So I’ll be covering those over here on Eye On Linux; I call them “Quick Looks.”
The Peppermint Ice desktop.
Peppermint Ice has a new release out today, so I decided to make it the inaugural Quick Look for Eye On Linux. Peppermint Ice, if you aren’t familiar with it, is a cloud-oriented distro based on Ubuntu. I did a full review of it on Desktop Linux Reviews, and also a column called War of the Peppermint Gargantuas that compared it to its sibling distro, Peppermint OS One.
What’s New
Here’s a sample of what’s new in this release:
- The default Linux kernel has been updated to version 2.6.35. In an effort to continually try to offer the best possible hardware support, we felt this was a good move for the Ice release
- A number of lower level updates such as Grep 2.7.0, Samba 3.5.5, File 5.04, Freetype 2.4.2 and others have been implemented in order to offer a more up to date system while remaining primarily on the LTS code base.
- Ice now has improved support for Broadcom wireless cards, and some nVidia graphics cards. The implementation is not as complete as in Peppermint One, but is an improvement over the initial Ice release.
- The “Desktop Preferences” application is now available in the menu. Due to an issue caused by enabling the window manager menu, this option was sometimes hidden, so we put it in the menu to make it more accessible to users.
- The same mimetypes and application improvements from the last Peppermint One respin have been applied in order to offer a more cohesive desktop experience from the get go.
- We have implemented a more appealing cursor theme due to community suggestion.
- We’ve added a new default wallpaper that we thought looked wicked cool and have slightly adjusted some bits of artwork where necessary.
- Our development with the GData API is ongoing and we’re currently trying out lots of things in that department.
- There is a new screenshot application coming soon that’s written in pure Python in order to avoid adding extra dependencies to the iso file.
- Also there are some upstream improvements in some of our default web applications.
- Seesmic Web has added functionality for additional services and multiple accounts, Editor by pixlr has fixed the bug associated with saving files locally, and we’ve shifted the default eBuddy login screen to use an advertisement free version.
System Requirements
Here’s what you’ll need to run this update:
- i386 or derivative processor (AMD64 and x86_64 are fine as well)
- 192 MB of RAM
- 4 GB hard drive space (this is an overestimate just for good measure)
You can access Desktop Preferences in the menu.
Click to the next page to view my usage experience and final thoughts.
(4 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
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I was already thinking about Peppermint this morning, but I have not yet taken the time to work with it. I have Peppermint OS One installed on another partition, and Peppermint Ice available through Virtualbox OSE, so when I get some time, I’m going to upgrade Peppermint OS One and see if I get anything interesting there, and I may take some time to run Ice again in a virtual setting.
I generally like Peppermint and typically use it a few hours a week when I am doing a lot of Web based work.
Hi Brian,
I don’t think Peppermint OS One has been updated. This update is for Peppermint Ice only. Too many peppermints to remember!
Jim, I know that there has not been a new Peppermint OS One release, but the software that goes into both One and Ice is in a common repository, so anything that has changed ought to be accessible to me – a fact that I confirmed when Ice came out. I just grabbed the stuff of interest and tossed it onto OS One, and tested an instance of Ice in a virtual environment rather than install it. That should work here again.
I see, gotcha.
I recently switched from Peppermint One Respin (2) to Lubuntu, which is now my work-a-day distro. But after reading your post, I am tempted to try out the new Peppermint Ice and perchance make it my main platform instead of Lubuntu. The kernel upgrade is enticing.
Hi Barista,
Cool, post back when you’ve had a chance to use it. I’m curious to know what you think of it, especially compared to Peppermint OS One.
Hi,
I for one have switched to Peppermint One from Ubuntu Gnome a good while back. I love it. It’s best feature is how light it is on my systems. It runs like lightning. The download size is something like 450 mbs. The developers are really involved on their forum. The kernel upgrade on Ice (2.6.35-22) and I assume for One eventually will be a problem for me. Kernel 2.6.35-22 doesn’t like my Intel video card (black bars on either side of the screen. I filed a bug with Launchpad just today. Still, I recommend Peppermint (One and Ice) to all.
Later…
Jim, over on the forum, I think I mentioned it already, but I did go back to Peppermint OS One and upgrade it today, and it DID NOT pick up the 2.6.35 kernel, for example, and there were no other updates, so the new Ice respin must have a unique set of packages and its own repository. I’ll have to research this and find out exactly what’s different, and when I find the answer, I’ll let you know. At least for now, this new respin of Peppermint Ice DOES represent a completely new effort.
I do still stand with my basic comment that you can very easily make Peppermint OS One and Peppermint Ice behave virtually the same, just by manipulating the packages, the wallpapers and themes, and either adding or removing packages. Remember that Peppermint itself is based on Lubuntu, with a smattering of stuff thrown in from Mint, a few home crafted tools, and its own art work. Most distributions these days are built off components from a number of places. That’s what free software is designed to do: take advantage of software REUSE.
Have had PeppermintONE respin on a low spec laptop and compared to AntiX & Puppy on this rig flash video runs very smooth with no choppy streams. Also it is good to note that running the SSB apps you have a lower RAM overhead than running in the full browser itself. ICE is also excellent with my only complaint being that some Google app links open a full Chromium-browser window rather than an SSB and doesn’t seem to be a way to reconfigure this. Other than that I don’t get this excited about a new distro very often.
I finally installed Peppermint Ice 10012010 on my Atom netbook. I was going to postpone trying out this distro but my Lubuntu got hopelessly messed up after I installed a newer apt package from the Debian (not Ubuntu) repository. My initial impressions:
1) it feels faster and snappier than Peppermint One Respin, which is likely due to the newer kernel (2.6.35).
2) most people would find the default theme and wallpaper rather dull but it suits the minimalist nature of Peppermint. The very subdued colour could in fact enhance one’s productivity as there no distracting elements in the desktop environment.
3) i haven’t got around to testing Dropbox but the other default Prism site-specific applications (e.g. gmail services) seem to be working fine just like in Peppermint One
4)Peppermint One and this latest version of Peppermint Ice are both very lean – which means the average user is likely to have to install additional programmes. I installed Firefox 4.06b (whilst keeping Chromium), Thunderbird, galculator (surprisingly there was no calculator included), wine, xpad and notecase notes manager. The additions have not in any way slowed down Peppermint Ice.
Am I glad I switched from Lubuntu to Peppermint Ice 10012010. Lubuntu just didn’t seem to be tightly integrated as a system. It was also a bit quirky. For instance, newly installed applications would not show up in the menu or would be placed under the wrong sub-menu (I installed bleachbit and it was displayed under Preferences instead of System Tools).
I won’t hesitate to recommend Peppermint Ice 10012010 even to those new to Linux. As for Peppermint One, I’d say: wait until the next respin with the newer kernel. It shouldn’t be long now.
I rather like it lean and ready for the user to add/remove SSB apps and programs. Encourages new users to learn the package manager which is one of the things so great and flexible about Linux itself. The Peppermint community is committed to new users and patient. Cheers :)
WOW that statement about patience is complete bullshit! Shuana, Vogan, and the rest of the team kick you off irc for being honest and being helpful. They like to rule the room. Control freak much. Come on Shane wake up and attempt to be honest. Build a linux os you have not stolen because of open source. Peppermint Linux is like other distros. Distros are changed open source with a want to be coders name on it.
There are a few true linux os out there why don’t you find one and attempt to use it!
Committed to new users wow another lie by the peppermint team. Might want to look at your irc chat for a better review.
@ Brian Masinick
The new Ice release uses a backports repository that contains a few things relevant to the kernel update and a handful of other things. This was intentionally kept separate from the primary Peppermint repository in order to prevent any potential system borkage for those coming from prior releases. If you want to enable this repo in Peppermint One, just add the “backports-keyring” package, update apt, and run a system upgrade.
Ice will continue to see edgier updates than One, though many of these updates will likely make their way into One in the near future. It’s our intention to keep things as current as possible while offering as smooth of an upgrade path as possible. One thing to note about kernel updates: I don’t see a reason to upgrade a kernel (outside of security issues) on a system that already runs fine. Doing so just introduces an unnecessary risk to the system.
The biggest things being changed in the Peppermint respins are things such as default configuration and a few default packages, none of which are particularly mission critical). For those that have a working system my recommendation is to not worry about respins and update the system using the Update Manager unless you simply just want to. :)
Kendall Weaver
Lead Developer, Peppermint OS
Thanks for the information and the update Kendall! I had a feeling that you might stop by, but if not, I figured that when I had a moment, I could check the Peppermint forum. Thanks for saving me the time on that! :-)
I’m using Peppermint OS One this morning and it’s working well. I haven’t put in the backport keyring yet, but I’ve noted the information, and may experiment later, “Just For Fun”! I am not concerned about breaking anything; if I do, it’s an opportunity to exercise my skills, and if necessary, simply reinstall (but I doubt that will become necessary).
Keep up the great work, thanks again for clarifying once again; I appreciate you setting me straight on a number of the finer points of your excellent distribution! — Brian
BTW, I uploaded the rest of the screenshots. So there’s a full image gallery available now.
this os is very nice and is fast.as fas as nvidia if you add the ubuntu nvidia x ppa the drivers work gret.