Today, Clement Lefebvre of the Linux Mint development team announced the release of the beta version of LMDE 5, codenamed Elsie.
LMDE is a Linux Mint project that stands for "Linux Mint Debian Edition”, and it aims to be as similar as possible to Linux Mint in terms of look and features but without using Ubuntu, to ensure that Linux Mint will continue to offer the same user experience if Ubuntu no longer exists, for some reason.
LMDE is also one of the Linux Mint development goals, to ensure that the software they develop is compatible outside of Ubuntu. A new version of LMDE is released after each stable release of Debian, and the new version 5 is based on Debian 11 code-named "bullseye".
Linux Mint Debian Edition releases include all the improvements and features found in the latest stable release of Linux Mint Cinnamon, and all new features that will be introduced in future releases of Linux Mint are added after it is released to it.
In this sense, LMDE 5 comes with all the features that were introduced in Linux Mint 20.3, including the updated Mint-Y theme, Cinnamon 5.2, full dark mode support for many built-in apps, an improved calendar applet, and a Thingy app.
LMDE 5 comes with Linux kernel version 5.10, Firefox 97.0.1, Thunderbird 91.6.1, LibreOffice 7.0.4.2, and Gnome apps stack version 3.38.
Built on a Debian base rather than Ubuntu, LMDE offers a 32-bit version in addition to the 64-bit version, making it one of the few distributions that support older 32-bit computers, and an excellent choice for those who are still using these devices.
LMDE 5 Beta is available for download from the links above, but it's recommended not to install it on your daily work device as it is still in its beta phase, and it may contain some bugs and issues that will be fixed before the final version is released. You can also go to the bottom of the release announcement page to find a link to the closest server to your location to download LMDE 5 beta in case the link below is slow or not working.
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