Get The Updated Version Of XScreensaver On Linux Mint And Ubuntu.

Here is my video of how to install the latest version of XScreen saver which is 6.08 on Ubuntu and Linux Mint. This also works on Debian Bookworm and other Ubuntu and Debian based distros. 

How To Install The Latest Version Of XScreensaver On Linux Mint.

 This also works on Ubuntu, Debian Bookworm and all Debian and Ubuntu based distros.

Linux Mint and Ubuntu both come with XScreensaver but it is  5.45 which is a very old version. Debian Bookworm which I also have comes with version 6.06 but it is better to have the latest version. Both for security reasons and to get the latest features that the new version has to offer. Which is a better lockscreen and different lockscreen themes that are not in the old version.

Version 5.45 is very old and is years out of date. Also you are missing out on some nice new features of the latest version if you are running the old version.

How To Get Screensavers On Linux.

 Here is my video on how to get screensavers on Linux using XScreensaver. 

Run XScreensaver On Cinnamon.

 Here is my video I made on how to run XScreensaver on the Cinnamon Desktop in Linux.

Many thanks to Smurphos of Linux Mint forums for sharing this with us.  The full tutorial can be found here: Linux Mint Forums:

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=284037

Enable XScreensaver On Cinnamon.

XScreensaver works on most Linux desktops but on Cinnamon it is a bit more complicated and you have to do some tweaking to make it work. The reason is that the Cinnamon desktop comes bundled with the Cinnamon screensaver.Which cannot be removed because if you remove it you will uninstall the whole desktop. Many people are not happy with the Cinnamon screensaver which is not a screensaver at all. It is a screen lock the same as the Gnome screensaver is just a screen lock. In early versions of Cinnamon you could run other screensavers in Cinnamon screensaver but Linux Mint removed this in later versions. I don't know what the reason is but here is how you can get XScreensaver back.

Ways You Can Customise The Gnome Desktop.

If you have just started using the Gnome Desktop you may have noticed it is a bit different from the start menu of more simple Linux desktops such as Mate or Cinnamon. Also if like me you were a Windows 7 users before you switched to Linux you may be a bit put off by the start screen style start menu in Gnome. Some people have said it is like Windows 8 but although it looks a bit like that it is nothing like the horrible Metro start screen that was in Windows 8. I advise that you take the time to learn to use the start menu on Gnome. It has an excellent search feature and you can install MenuLibre or any one of the menu editors to edit the start menu and add items to it as well.

Debian 12 Bookworm With The Mate Desktop.

I have recently installed Debian 12 Bookworm with the Mate Desktop on my small laptop. Mate looks very much like Linux Mint Gnome use to be in the early years before Gnome changed from Gnome 2 to Gnome 3. Both Cinnamon and Mate desktops are actually based on Gnome. They are what I call alternative versions of Gnome and both will run all of the software from Gnome. Yet you still have the traditional Windows Style desktop.

Linux Mint 21.2 The With Trinity Desktop.

Here is a different kind of desktop. This is Trinity or TDE for short which is based on KDE 3 but updated to run all of the modern software. Trinity has it's own apps but will also run both QT, GTK that is Gnome and KDE Plasma software. Here is the TDE Desktop on Linux Mint 21.2.

Gnome Desktop On Debian 12 Bookworm.

 Here is Debian 12 Bookworm with the Gnome Desktop on my other laptop. There are many ways to customise Gnome as we can see here.

Gnome Flashback Desktop on Debian 12.

Here is Debian 12 with Gnome Flashback Desktop. This came with my Cinnamon Desktop install but Gnome Flashback can also be installed and run as the only desktop. 

Debian 12 With The Cinnamon Desktop.

 Here is Debian 12 Bookworm on which I have installed the Cinnamon Desktop.

The Debian version of Cinnamon is actually lighter than Linux Mint. Cinnamon is a good alternative for new users who are either trying Linux for the first time or looking for an alternative to Windows.

Gnome Flashback And Gnome Classic.

Both Gnome Flashback and Gnome Classic are what you get when you install Gnome Shell Extensions on Gnome. They are both desktops and Gnome Flashback can be run on it's own as the only desktop without Gnome. While Gnome Classic can't be. Here I take a look at both.

This is a good alternative for users coming from Windows who want a light desktop. Gnome Flashback is very light. It can run on laptops with low hardware.

Linux Mint With Gnome.

 This is my other laptop with Linux Mint Gnome Desktop.

There are a lot of customisation options in Gnome which are just hidden but can be enabled with Dconf Editor.

Linux Mint With KDE Desktop.

 Here is Linux Mint 21.2 with the Kubuntu/KDE Desktop on my laptop.

I have Finally Quit Windows For Linux.

After using Windows for over ten years I have finally left Windows for Linux. Linux Mint to be exact. Microsoft stopped support for Windows 7 in 2019 but I carried on using it because I did not want to give it up and upgrade to Windows 10. I also used Windows 8 even though support for that stopped before 2019 as Microsoft was only supporting Windows 8.1. Which I could not upgrade to because you could only do it from the Microsoft Store. But because I was running 8 on a netbook I could not get any of the Metro Apps to work and the Microsoft Store is a Metro App. So there was no way I could upgrade.