Linux Mint 20.3 Codename Revealed

In the September 2021 monthly news, the Linux Mint team revealed the codename of the next release: Linux Mint 20.3 Una. Una is expected to arrive for Christmas this year with better looking than Uma the current Linux Mint 20.2 version. Unlike Gnome, the Linux Mint team has once again proved that all their decisions are made based on the actual user requirement.

The current window control buttons (Minimize, Maximize, and Close), were tiny for some Linux Mint users as you can see in these Linux Mint forums.

• Make window control buttons bigger
• Window Controls are too small 
• How to increase size of controls
  

Though it can be solved by changing the theme, the Linux Mint team has finally got some time to improve the default the Mint-Y themes. In the Christmas gift, the next Linux Mint will carry a slightly bigger title bar with rounder and bigger control buttons to make them easier to click.

Another improvement to Mint-Y theme is removing the accent colors and introducing tints. Menu selection and other highlights are changed to grey from the current accent colors to avoid distracting users. Windows will have a tinted background with a 2% of chosen accent color.

While some may welcome this change, not everyone can be pleased by these changes. Already, there is a fork of Mint-Y themes named Mint-Yz to customize the default accent colors to whatever color you prefer. Linux Mint team knows the pulse of its community and they will provide the legacy themes (the current Mint-Y theme as of Linux Mint 20.2 Uma) in an optional package called: mint-themes-legacy.

In Linux Mint Una, darker versions of Mint-Y themes will be moved to the legacy package mentioned earlier and every default applications will have an option to enable dark mode even if the system is using a light theme. Linux Mint team has decided to ship the following applications in dark mode by default:

• Hypnotix
• Celluloid
• GNOME Terminal
• Pix
• XViewer
  

Though there is no background information revealed behind the decision on why these applications were chosen to be dark by default, the option to change them back to light mode will be included in their settings.

In this September news, the Linux Mint team also mentioned that they are trading off some income to make their website and blog more professional by removing ads. This is a welcoming decision considering branding but I hope the loss in ad revenue will be eventually covered by more donations. If you are considering donating to Linux Mint team, please visit their official website: