Today I wanted to try something new on my Linux Mint machine. I’ve been using the default calendar app for a while, but it’s kinda boring. So, I thought, why not look for an alternative calendar for Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon? I mean, a change of scenery, even a digital one, can be refreshing, right?
First, I spent a good while browsing through various forums and articles about the top calendar apps for Linux. It’s always a good idea to see what other folks are using and recommending. I found out there were a bunch of options, but I was mainly interested in something that would fit nicely with the Cinnamon desktop environment.
I stumbled upon something called a “desklet.” Apparently, it’s like a mini-app that sits right on your desktop. This particular one was designed to pull events from Google Calendar, which sounded perfect because I use Google Calendar a lot to keep track of my appointments and to-dos. It was tagged with things like “Google Calendar” and “Cinnamon Desktop,” which was reassuring.
Another option that caught my eye was Nextcloud Calendar. I’ve heard good things about Nextcloud, and it seemed like it could sync with Thunderbird, which is my email client. I did some digging on how to get it working with something called a “SoGo connector.” It sounded a bit technical, but hey, I’m always up for a challenge.
Then I started reading more about the new features in Linux Mint 22. They talked about updated software and something about experimental features. I figured I should make sure whatever calendar app I chose would be compatible with this new version. It also said that Linux Mint 22 would be supported until 2029, which is great because I don’t want to switch operating systems anytime soon.
I also found out that Linux Mint 22 comes with Cinnamon 6.4, which has a new default theme and something called “native dialogs.” I don’t really know what those are, but it sounded fancy. I thought to myself, “Okay, this is getting interesting.”
I went down a rabbit hole of tips and guides for Linux Mint and Ubuntu. There was so much information! But it was helpful because I learned a few new things about my system. I even found a guide specifically for installing Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon edition. It looked pretty straightforward, even though I already had it installed. But they also said the steps work for the Mate and XFCE editions, which is cool.
Honestly, I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the choices for Cinnamon. There are so many different things you can tweak and customize. But I guess that’s part of the fun of using Linux, right? You can make it your own.
I learned that one of the main differences between Linux Mint and Ubuntu is the desktop environment. Mint uses Cinnamon, which is supposed to be more like Windows and uses fewer resources. Ubuntu uses something called GNOME, which is more modern but can be a bit heavy on resources. It’s all about personal preference, I guess.
They also mentioned the system requirements for running Linux Mint. It said 2GB of RAM is the minimum, but 4GB is recommended for a smoother experience. I checked my system, and luckily, I have plenty of RAM, so that wasn’t a concern. And I have tons of disk space left, far more than the recommended 100GB.
After all that research, I decided to give the Google Calendar desklet a try. It seemed like the easiest option, and I liked the idea of having my upcoming events right there on my desktop. I followed the instructions to install it, which involved a few clicks here and there. And it worked! Now I have a nice little calendar on my desktop showing me my upcoming events. It’s not a huge change, but it’s a nice little improvement to my daily workflow. Plus, it was fun to tinker around and learn something new.
