780k Windows Users Downloaded Linux Distro Zorin OS in the Last 5 Weeks
We’re thrilled to announce that Zorin OS 18 has amassed 1 million downloads in just over a month since its release, breaking all previous …
Wait unti you have to upgrade Zorin to a new release. I still haven't gotten mine to work. Stick with Mint or Bazzite if you want a Windows alternate
Wait unti you have to upgrade Zorin to a new release. I still haven’t gotten mine to work. Stick with Mint or Bazzite if you want a Windows alternate
I wouldn't exactly put up Mint as an example for a smooth upgrading experience...
Maybe I lack the technical understanding, but it's absolutely baffling to me, why one has to download mintupgrade. It's a reasonable setup wizard once it's running, but why on earth is that not part of the whole Update tool interface in the first place and gets downloaded automatically?
Mint upgrades have been pretty smooth for my partner and myself
Amazing how lemmings will find a way to jump off of any cliff.
"Free OS that works great?"
NO! I WANT TO PAY.
I'm mostly amazed that they discovered it. When I think of a good transition distro this is not what comes to mind. Must have been some kind of targeted ad campaign. Also there's probably a ton of people that think no good software could possibly be free.
I mean, I don't mind monetization if it keeps the project alive and they're actually doing work. I do mind free stuff that comes at the price of your data, or free stuff that is eventually bought up, or free stuff that can't sustain itself and constantly splits off and churns through personal drama cycles.
To people who will pay whatever they think a thing is worth, a free OS is worthless
This is unironically a huge issue, and it's just fascinating how the psychology of pricing and valuation works.
Semi-large company needs something. They make a budget for €100k and start looking at different alternatives. They find alternatives a) €120k, b) €80k, c) €15k. I bet you they'll try to ask their superiors to expand their budget in order to buy the premium €120k solution, and they will not in any way consider the €15k one.
Come to think of it, it goes beyond software as well.
so your going with pro then?
I'm pretty sure every distro lets you pay if you want to. Many beg you to
It's honestly like that with free mobile apps. You either find a paid version or you install free abandonware riddled with ads.
Or you look on fdroid...
I've had Zorin on an old laptop for a few years now, it's pretty good. I'd previously tried Mint and another distro I can't remember the name of, but I've stuck with Zorin. I'll probably go with it on my PC once I've done a backup.
How does Zorin compare to Mint?
More glitz and glam than many other distros I've tried. It was the first one I tried when trying to leave Windows. Eventually did Mint, Pop, Nobara, and Garuda. Chose Mint to stick with for now and haven't regretted it.
If one of my less savvy friends asked about switching to Linux, I would mention Zorin as a possible option simply because it goes out of its way to feel familiar.
out of box distro so it comes with a bunch of software pre installed. .
Prettier but has a track record of having more technical issues. Also the devs are a company with absolutely no transparency. At some point there was so few communication that I thought they closed shop.
If you want a similar UI, I would advise going for a vanilla Gnome and adding the desired "Zorin *" extensions. It's a bunch more work to setup but it feels more trustworthy to me.
Uses Gnome instead of Cinnamon, has a paid version, that's all the differences I can think of
@yessikg @King @pressedhams It also tries a bit harder to look superficially like Windows.
I hope they find Mint soon. Zorin never worked well for me.
No wonder Windows users switched to it - Core, Pro and Education editions, each with a cost? That's Windows in a Linux jumpsuit
The Pro edition is basically a donate button that gets you a few themes and applications that you can just as easily install from Flathub.
Core is free. And then you install the apps to make it like Pro. Some people like everything done for them, and some businesses won't approve free software for use, as it has a stigma of being sketchy, so adding a paid version can get this past your chief technical officer at a corporation.
There's nothing wrong with giving money to FOSS projects.
In fact, a major issue with the open source world is users never donating.
I've never used Zorin and don't intend to, but the existence of optional paid software isn't why.
The answer to your question which sounds like a statment is no.
Why does Zorin exist?
Linux Mint exists to be defuckulated Ubuntu, and to show off the Cinnamon desktop which is defuckulated Gnome.
Neon is KDE's in-house distro, because I guess they get to have one even if it is functionally identical to Kubuntu.
Manjaro is Arch that's ready to go out of the box.
What is Zorin for? Do they develop any software, or do they charge money for re-themed Ubuntu Gnome?
please do not suggest that manajaro is arch ready to use arch. manjaro is just bad. if you want easier to install arch go endeavour os or cachy or some other arch plus gui installer. https://manjarno.pages.dev/
It's a defuckulated Ubuntu with a a dozen custom Gnome extensions. They do publish the extensions code. It exists because Mint is often ugly and not very ergonomic. See the "file" apps for both distros, Mint's buttons are too small and the progress indicator is a tiny 16px icon in the status bar.
