Open Source and Free Software

"The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 13 “Maya”.

Available in two editions, Linux Mint 13 features the choice between a productive, stable and mature MATE 1.2 desktop and the brand new modern-looking and exciting Cinnamon 1.4. These two desktops are among the best available, they’re perfectly integrated within Linux Mint and represent great alternatives to Gnome 2 users. Linux Mint 13 is also an LTS (Long Term Support) release and it will be supported until April 2017."

"Cinnamon was born for the same reasons as MATE. Gnome 2 was one of the core components of Linux Mint, and Gnome 3 lacked the features and design of a suitable alternative. Linux Mint started by developing the extra features it needed on top of Gnome 3 and eventually started to develop its own environment called Cinnamon.

Both Linux Mint and the MATE project came up with really good alternatives to Gnome, but in completely different ways.

Cinnamon is built on Clutter and Gnome 3. It's a modern-looking environment with a traditional and familiar desktop. It features compositing, animations and some unique innovations but it relies on 3D acceleration, lacks some of the features found in Gnome 2 and isn't yet compatible with every graphics card available on the market."