Just more than a month since the release of Linux Mint 9, the Linux Mint team has released a KDE-flavored release candidate, complete with new applications, a new software manager, a new incremental backup tool, and USB and Windows installers, to name a few.

The KDE version of Linux Mint 9 (codename: Isadora), will instantly look and feel familiar to KDE users and comes packaged with new software such as Miro, which streams video from webistes in its own player, BleachBit, for hard drive cleaning, and Acetoniso, for converting video and images. Linux Mint 9 KDE features a new software manager that can handle more than 30,000 packages and remove and install applications asynchronously, making it possible to install separate applications at the same time and install applications in the background.

The new backup tool was written from the ground up for Linux Mint 9 KDE, which makes it possible to upgrade to new versions of Linux Mint without overwriting your programs or user data, a first for the OS. Mint4win also returns, allowing users to install Linux Mint 9 as a program on Windows C:\ drive, without the need to partition.

Linux Mint 9 KDE RC requires an x86 process, 512 MB of RAM, 5 GB of disk space, a graphics card capable of 800x600 and a CD-Rom drive or USB port. As always, bugs are reported through Launchpad. To find out more and download Linux Mint 9 KDE RC, click here.