Let us hope their wine integration is up to the task. They’ll be gone just as fast if too much of the software doesn’t run with a double click, or MAYBE from the context menu
Yes! Yeeeesss!
Let the distribution flame wars begin. Strike Zorin down with all your heart and forget that it is Linux and a move away from Windows.
Let the snake eat its own tail!!
United by the penguin, divided by distros
I’ll never understand how people recommend Zorin or Mint instead of the, much more Windows-like, and HUGELY supported Kubuntu or Fedora KDE.
KDE Plasma is the way to go.
I’ll never understand how people recommend Zorin or Mint instead of the, much more Windows-like, and HUGELY supported Kubuntu or Fedora KDE
I rebuilt an old Windows PC as a host for a Jellyfin server and used Mint because that’s what the guide recommended.
Easy setup. Everything works great. So I told my friends about it. And, naturally, they went with Mint, too, because we all know that setup works.
That’s it. That’s the only real reason why. I have a simple need and Mint got the job done.
Genuine question: Why not mint? Whats wrong with it and why is kubuntu much better?
I’m not saying that Mint is bad. But with Kubuntu or Fedora KDE you get more overall support, and KDE software is much more used, developed, tested and supported than Mint’s self-mantained things.
There is a much higher chance of KDE thriving in the next 10 years than Mint.
This is my opinion, of course. And based mostly on my subjective observations.
100% agree. Don’t get me wrong, zorin looks nice and I’ve considered trying it a couple times. But kubuntu is where it’s at. My brother is old school though, and has a Gentoo install he keeps going, but he gets the latest plasma, kubuntu is a major release behind.
There are options that get you latest, still on a Debian base, but it wasn’t as stable as kubuntu so I switched back.
Linux is the only thing that will really revive an old apple product, even if it runs macos pretty well still, you can’t get any of the apps to run because they’re no longer offered, and then if you can install an old one, it auto updates to a non-functional version. (This just happened to me)
I still can’t quit Windows entirely, visual studio is important to what I’m working on.
I am just happy it‘s linux that people choose
How is it with nVidia?
About as good as Nvidia allows.
Thank you
Hola!
Que tal cabron
3 of my friends asked me to help them with linux installs this week XD
What did you use for install?
Why zorin?
Zorin and Mint are frequently recommended foe Windows users. With Zorin having paid support for schools etcetera.
Zorin is a bit more commercial but it looks good and not much can go wrong.
Windows may be rich but if you chose to be an enemy, burn the source like Ledger. Anarchy doesn’t need Mani Mani, just Love.
What does this mean?
Why not?
Someone asking why isn’t inherently saying no.
Someone asking why not isn’t inherently negative.
Because 100k people found it when they tried to find a Linux
Windows 10 support ends. Open the floodgates. Let the windows refugees come !!
Been a Linux user at work for decades, windows at home for gaming. This week I am 100% a Linux user full-time.
I wish I could get steam to run on my Linux OS, it’ll only play like 3 of the games I want, and none of the VR ones
Have you looked into proton support. Not sure what games you play, but it plays the majority of my library
That a distro? I’ll look into it
Proton is like wine, it allows you to run games on any distro
Proton is a compatibility layer that basically tricks an application into thinking it’s running in Windows, allowing to run in Linux.
Many saw “end of support” and thought windows would stop working, which is good, but also kinda dumb.
I have a sneaking suspicion we’re going to see a rash of system vulnerability start popping up in Win10 over the next few years. And we’ll get deluged with national news announcements that boil down to “Win10 is unsafe!! Your data is compromised!! Only 11 will save you!!”
This is just wonderful news.
I’ve never used Zorin. It doesn’t seem to match my preferences and needs. Regardless, anyone switching from Windows [and Mac] to any Linux distro is fantastic for all of us, including remaining Windows users (probably not Mac users though).
Let’s hope more keep switching, leading to a surge in Linux, and open source in general, funding. More people becoming interested in Linux development, potentially turning into more and more open source devs. I think we can be quite optimistic about this.
It feels pretty fucking ironic when my old macbook/laptop supports new OS versions for a decade, but my few years old high-end gaming PC? Outdated for Win11.
You can buy a Firewire to USB-C adapter and MacOS knows what to do with a first-gen iPod. If you’ve got a 25 year old mp3 player in functioning condition a current day Mac can make it go.
You just try making a Zune go.
As much noise as Microsoft makes about software backwards compatibility, they are absolute fuckpuke at supporting old hardware.
What? Windows recognizes a zune as a storage device, no different than an old flash drive. What support is needed for an old mp3 player beyond being able to transfer music?
“Porsche engineer explains cooling seat feature” dude what?
Enshittification!
Amazing. Makes me truly happy.
Zorin is a solid distro and is designed to appeal to Windows users.
Buuuut knowing what I know now I worry Zorin’s simplicity could turn people off of Linux. Zorin is a good OS for your grandmother but the average person installing Linux wants to be able to tinker. I would personally recommend a KDE distro, probably something immutable like Fedora Kinoite.
If you’re going to game, just go with Bazzite over Kinoite since the former is based on the latter, just built more for gaming.
And it’s awesome.
Yes Bazzite is great I tried it out recently and loved it.
I’d cheer if windows users starting installing an operating system called SwerageShitOS at this point. literally anything but that mutant bloated dataveillance virus with genocidal parent-company Winidows-🤮-11
genocidal parent-company
What genocide did Microsoft commit? I somehow missed it
There are a lot of people who think “customization” of an OS goes no further than changing the wallpaper. How many people have the same 8-charachter email password in 2025 as they had in 2003 when they signed up for Yahoo mail?
The more grannies that have a kid help them get on Linux, the more people experienced with Linux there are to say “Oh, you’re still on Windows? Why?”
Nope; the average person wants to only customise/personalise, not tinker.
I’m suggesting this distro to friends and family moving off of windows and wanting to save money. They think using command line is too “extra”.
There’s anther thread on here about linux for new people and suggestions regarding that. A lot of people in that thread just didn’t get it. They were talking about learning the terminal, learning how to CD, installing stuff via the terminal etc and I’m like “your average user isn’t going to do that”
Hell most average Window users today don’t even download an exe and go through the install process. I know some that have never even opened file explorer. They have apps that get those files or pictures or whatever in the default directories for them.
so telling a user like that to open a terminal emu and type in “sudo apt install firefox” and to remember to “upgrade and update” is beyond them. like WAY beyond them.
So yes in that regard your’e right, Zorin would be the way to go. just have somewhere to download their apps/programs in an easy to understand and clean GUI.
I agree that an immutable distro is probably good for newcomers, but KDE is also full of features most windows users never need or want to touch even. Saying that as someone who primarily runs Solus Budgie since 2017, a Steamdeck with KDE and many different VMs with gnome/kde/xfce/… Also installed Zorin years ago for family, still running and they are happy.
I rather take a distro/DE where 98% i want is working out of the box than one where 200% of features i never need need to be removed/customized first. Why am I using Solus? Because it has a well curated software repo and not every piece of code ever and yet I still managed to run everything I wanted over the years on it. Over all those years it was an install once, upgrade forever distro that just works.
I have the absolute opposite of your opinion :D
Immutable distros are not good for beginners, for two main reasons:
- A lot of general-purpose Linux guides just don’t work with them, making newbies confused and forcing them to learn a lot of new stuff when they’re not ready
- Some software just doesn’t run with immutable distros - for example, most VPNs are not ready
Setting btrfs snapshots on respective directories, so folks can rollback unwanted changes? Great! Tying people’s hands? Might come with complications.
KDE is a brilliant DE for people coming from Windows: it has similar layout, it stands out of your way, and overall has a very easy learning curve. I’ve never seen anyone seriously stuck with setting up anything it has to offer, and yet, it’s very, very customizable. Folks I offered it to either stayed with the defaults and were totally happy with it, or immediately started tuning everything to their liking with no issues whatsoever.
After all, someone who didn’t touch Windows for a while might forget how much convoluted are settings there, and how Windows users are ready to dig through them.
VPN software can work just fine on immutable, you just might need to layer it or install it as a local package.
That doesn’t sound easy enough for a new player
I would argue that it depends a lot on what kind of beginner you have. If you have someone that only uses basic desktop PC functions, like browser, email and maybe stuff like video, photos and documents. You can set it up once, and then have a system that updates itself reliably and has minimal maintenance overhead and isn’t easy to break.
In my experience that system is more robust and gets updated than a generic Debian system.
Of course there are downsides, and those include issues caused by apps running inside flatpak, like system themes are disrespected, opening files in one app, doesn’t respect the xdg-mime settings for the file type and open them in unexpected apps, printer does not work… But those are just bugs, and they need to get reported and fixed.
That’s fair! :)
Yeah I agree and was going to add the same thing. Immutable for newbies is going to cause trouble. I run a non immutable daily driver, but on my point of sale terminal at work - immutable all the way.
There are a few things that are just too extra to get running on that immutable system.
I think its alright. Its better if they start with something simple and understand that there are another 20 really good distributions they can try.
Most users coming from windows dont want to tinker… They just want their system to be a peaceful foundation for what they want to do with their computer.
I would dare say the “average person”, as in, Windows refugee, probably doesn’t want to tinker, they do want things to just kinda work as expected and just want freedom and options.
I don’t see why Zorin couldn’t be a valid jumping off point for new users to get their feet wet. As much as I love more tinkery distros, I will usually onboard somebody with something like Mint because it’s just familiar enough but still lets you explore the how and why, without requiring it.
I didn’t say “average person” and end the sentence. I said the average person installing linux. The type of person who installs Linux in the first place is already extremely far from average.
I would consider act of installing Linux itself to be “tinkering”.
If I wanted an “easy” Linux distro to do things like run a home server and media storage - I mean, it sounds perfect for that??? With kids, I don’t have TIME to tinker with OS stuff anymore, I just need something that works and is more stable than Windows.
The best news is that most distros would be good for those kinds of tasks! :D
I can’t personally speak to Zorin, although it looks fine! People say it comes with lots of stuff out of the box. Worth trying out!
Mint is really user friendly with an excellent forum and tons of support. The Cinnamon desktop environment is very Windows-esque in a usability way, and it tends to be slow to adopt new features that could break things, so by the time you update, most things should be fixed.
It doesn’t require terminal usage at all, but I started to enjoy using it because it makes “computing” feel really fun. :)
That being said, some folks want more up to date stuff. Mint’s answer to this is to encourage using Flatpak, which is basically “run the latest version of this software with its dependencies included, in a box.” It’s not perfect but for the majority of the time it’s dandy.
For a home media server that’d be running all the time that can be a little bit of a hobby…(But a rewarding one!)
Definitely hit up online communities too, like searching for “selfhosted” here on lemmy! That’s where you start learning to run stuff like Jellyfin for watching your movies and such. :)
BUT… LET’S KEEP IT EASY for starters: You could totally just share SAMBA folders off any Linux machine if you wanted. Boom, technically a file server. Pretty sure this is easy in Mint with GUI.
I’m sure smarter people than me have better ideas but sky’s the limit! The important takeaway is that starting is really simple. Just be patient and try things, and make sure your data is always backed up. :D
Before you install anything bare metal, you could fire up DistroBox and get a hang of installing both OSs in it and messing around with them. Alternatively, both have a “Live USB” feature where you can see how they’d be on your system without actually installing anything. (Which is REALLY cool.)
Sorry for the super long reply! I hope I didn’t firehose too much!
An immutable distro is a terrible recommendation for someone wanting to tinker with their system.
but the average person installing Linux wants to be able to tinker.
But that’s the issue, no? To really take users away from Windows and MacOS there needs to be a distro that works without tinkering.
The average person who is installing Linux wants to be able to tinker.
The type of person who installs Linux in the first place is already extremely far from average.
But that’s exactly the point I’m trying to make.
Average people don’t install/use linux because of the tinkering (amongst other stuff). If that’s eliminated, it’s accessible to more people.
Right, and I’m saying Zorin is perfect for them. Zorin exists in a weird space where it’s great for the type of person who would never really consider installing Linux in the first place.
I don’t think the focus should be on the average current Linux user. Guaranteed that if Linux gained substantial market share, the fraction of tinkerers would dwindle substantially
Dude the market share isn’t even what, 7%? I don’t think Linux’s complexity/advanced functions is the issue here
I honestly dont know what would drive a Windows refugee to choose such a niche and likely unable to support them distro.
I think Zorin is a pretty solid choice for people with no Linux experience tbh.
It’s at least going to feel familiar
So does Mint though
And people are free to use mint if they want
They charge extra for theming that people could get themselves for free. I don’t like that it’s taking advantage of vulnerable people.
I don’t think that’s “taking advantage of vulnerable people”
The options still exist for people to learn and theming is incredibly inconsequential.
They’re monetising to support development in a minimally impactful way, that is completely optional, and I think that’s a good thing.
They should advertise that everything is free and can be installed after installation if you choose not say $80 gets you a Windows like desktop and software replacements that will save you thousands (Blender/Xournal++/OfficeSuite)
The value proposition is ease of use and integration of these theming utilities.
I honestly think this monetisation strategy of theirs is a non-issue.
People who want a streamlined experience have the option of paying for that, people who want the option of doing it all themselves have that opportunity too.
My problem is them not communicating that.
Not communicating that there are alternatives to their services?
I don’t really think it’s their responsibility to spoon feed alternatives to their customers; they’re not being anticompetitive, they’re not being deceptive, they’re not blocking alternatives.
I think your requirements here are unfair and kind of irrational
That’s why it’s only ~70k downloads. Probably many more for Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Manjaro, Bazzite and so on.
I really with EndeavorOS or Garuda would replace Manjaro on that list.
Is ZorinOS niche? It’s Ubuntu with a Windows ricing.
Can we stop saying “ricing”? It’s racist af for literally no reason.
is it not an acronym or something?
Japanese people would trick out their cars to look cool.
We call this ricing because Japan/Rice.
I think the term today is completely unrelated to the original meaning and has no racial ties but some right leaning people always want to be offended.
No, it comes from people “souping up” (hopefully I don’t find out that’s also racist somehow lol) cheap Japanese cars that they called “rice burners”.
I had no idea about the origin.
The origins of the term undeniably are racist, yes, and I was also surprised that those using it weren’t largely aware of the fact.
But it’s also true that meanings unavoidably change over time, and the intent of what you say is also important.
The person you responded to isn’t wrong - there’s now a popular acronym people are using which is Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement
And yes it’s a backronym. The pejorative term came first, and the acronym later, but it’s certainly part of redefining and reclaiming the term to free it from its origins.
Like it or not, I think the term is very much here to stay.
I mean one of the most important pieces of software we always mention when converting users from Windows is called GIMP, I think “ricing” isn’t nearly the most concerning term in the libre software world.
GIMP isn’t a bacronym, it is an acronym.
Also, my understanding of BDSM indicates that gimps consent to their position.
Words change meaning, sure, but it doesn’t mean we need to keep using it here.
Also, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking they made it into a bacroynm for any reason beyond wanting to continue using a racist term but now with plausible deniability.
Trying to hide the use of a racist term because you’re a racist is one thing, but people wanting to use terms they feel apply to them is another.
In the automotive context, the term meant something like “Putting loads of pointless mods on your ‘shitty’ Japanese car that makes it look even uglier and doesn’t make it go any faster.” - and in that context it was unambiguously a slur, disparaging the Asian import scene in favour of the ‘superior’ western aesthetic and way of doing things.
But even in the automotive context, people can reclaim the term and say effectively “Yes - my car is ‘riced out’ - that’s the aesthetic I want, and I’m proud of it.”
In some ways it’s quite appropriate that this term would extend from Japanese cars into tricking out your operating system. Given the number of waifu wallpapers you see in screenshots, ‘ricing’ has quite a lot of overlap with anime aesthetic, geek cuture and ‘weebs’ (which is another term that was used as an insult, and now reclaimed by people who proudly describe themselves as such). People who have historically been looked down upon by most of society but internally wear their ‘weebdom’ as a badge of pride.
It’s hardly an insult when you are the one saying it about yourself, and doing so proudly.
Marketing
Got to do the distro upgrade but holding off till the weekend. Its never given an issue before but im paranoid like that.
I have only had problems from dist upgrade when I have been running server software (specifically email and mailing lists). Games, productivity stuff, pictures and so will be fine.
Always a good move. Doesn’t matter the software, there will always be some time when a “routine update” turns into a forum hunt and troubleshoot mission.
That being said, snapshots are amazing. The BTRFS file system supports them, and TimeShift also integrates with it.
If you don’t want to bother with another file system though (it requires basically a reinstall if you didn’t choose it at first), at least get TimeShift and another large drive or partition to save restore points to! It’ll basically just copy backups of all the files instead of lighter snapshots, but being able to roll back after a funky update is lovely.
But either way, don’t sweat all that too much, just make sure your essential data is on
3 copies. 2 different media. 1 offsite.
Time to distro hop to up the number!
I actually just switched to Zorin as my daily driver this past summer. Good riddance Windows
