If you're a Windows 10 user who couldn't make the jump to Windows 11, or you're just getting tired of Microsoft's shenanigans lately, you can always give Linux a try. The good news is, there are so many Linux distros out there for you to try. The bad news is, there are so many Linux distros out there that you can get decision paralysis over which one to use.

There's no 'perfect' answer for which distro Windows users should try first, but one of the most highly-recommended ones is Linux Mint. It's simple, it's very Windows-like, and you can always use it as a staging ground to explore other distros if you feel like something is missing, albeit there's nothing wrong with sticking with Mint as your daily driver.

If you're already running it, or you're curious to see what it's like, the operating system just had a new update released to its main channel. It's called Linux Mint 22.3, codename Zena, and it comes with some nice features.

Linux Mint 22.3 (Zena) should makeyour audio better

Alongside a lot of other tweaks

You can read all the details over on the Linux Mint 22.3 (Zena) release notes. The build has been out for a little while over on the beta branch, but now it's ready for a general release for everyone to try.

My personal highlight with this update is the upgrade to Cinnamon 6.6. If you're unsure as to what that means, Cinnamon is a desktop environment that gives Linux Mint that Windows-esque look and feel. You can install it on other distros, but Linux Mint comes with it by default with no extra setup, which makes it ideal for newcomers.

One of the cooler changes from Cinnamon 6.6 is the remixed application menu. It's a pretty big deal because the application menu is the Linux Mint version of the Windows Start menu, so any tweaks will change how you use your OS. Here's what's different:

The Cinnamon application menu was redesigned and given a new layout. It features a sidebar with sections for your avatar, places, and favorite applications. The category section was made smaller and less noticeable to keep more focus on the apps.

In the preferences, it is possible to hide some of the elements to make the menu smaller or to dedicate the sidebar to only show places, bookmarks, or favorite apps. Special directories are treated individually and separately from other bookmarks.

Apart from the Cinnamon 6.6 upgrade, Linux Mint 22.3 also introduces new system icons, better troubleshooting tools, and some welcome tweaks to its apps, such as the ability to pause TimeShift snapshots. If you want to give it a try, check out our guide on how to install Linux Mint to get started.