Linux Mint 17.1 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2019. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use.
New features at a glance:

Cinnamon 2.4
Update Manager
Language Settings
Login Screen
System Improvements
Artwork Improvements
Other Improvements
Main Components
LTS Strategy

Important info:

There is some important info in the Release Notes:

Keybindings migration
Issues with Skype
DVD Playback with VLC
HiDPI
EFI Support
Misconfigured swap when using home directory encryption
Solving freezes with some NVIDIA GeForce GPUs
Booting with non-PAE CPUs
Issues with KDE apps
Other issues
Make sure to read them to be aware of known issues and known solutions related to this release.

System requirements:

x86 processor (Linux Mint 64-bit requires a 64-bit processor. Linux Mint 32-bit works on both 32-bit and 64-bit processors).
512MB RAM (1GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
9GB of disk space (20GB recommended).
Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution (1024×768 recommended).
DVD drive or USB port

Notes:

Use Poweriso to burn on disk.

Boot from dvd and do a fresh install.!

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Tags: Linux, Mint, Rebecca, Cinnamon, bit