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this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
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I’m not to familiar with zorin, and I don’t see it recommended often. What’s the deal? Any criticisms of it? Especially for new users?
It looks and feels a bit like windows with the theming it has out of the box. So it’s probably an easier on ramp and possibly recommended in “what Linux is most like windows” google searches and the like.
It also will automatically configure wine for you if you attempt to open a EXE or MSI file
https://help.zorin.com/docs/apps-games/windows-app-support/
I think it's just a really good Windows-like. It uses a modified GNOME that looks pretty good. Though as a KDE fangirl, I probably wouldn't be able to see it as anything other than GNOME. (◕દ◕)
It's based on Ubuntu, so I'm sure support is good and breakage is infrequent.
It also looks like you can pay $50 and get access to the pro version, which can mimic any of the major desktops and also lets you use their exclusive creative suite. If that's any good, it's no wonder people are flocking to it. Linux is still kinda mid for creatives.
Kinda seems like the new Mint, not that Mint is going anywhere.
All the information I found about the "creative suite" is that it's Krita, Kdenlive, Darktable, etc.
Yeah, looks like it's just preinstalled with Pro.
Kinda bogus that they'd use that as a selling point. Makes it seem like there's some sort of exclusivity.
the paid version, I believe, also provides one on one tech support for it.
I thought there was a charge or something. I guess that’s what turned me off from it.
IIRC their web site used to make it sound like it was a paid product but it was always possible to get it for free. Can't remember the exact details, perhaps something similar to those "name your price" softwares that have a pre-filled recommended value but it's also possible to choose €0? I checked what it looks like nowadays and the Pro version does come up first if you go to downloads, and then there's a free Core version below it.
Which is weird right? Who is recommending this distro for it to surge? Is this actually a lot of downloads when compared to other distros? I've never seen it listed once in any of the many "which distro should I switch to?" posts.
Zorin has been featured in some major publications — like Forbes
I've never actually read a Forbes article on my own. I've seen some Forbes articles posted though. Maybe all these downloads are just from Forbes junkies and they saw the article.
It’s a 3 year old article, but Zorin has been building its relationships with the media and putting some effort in to marketing. The journalist here explains why he features Zorin OS in his articles. Probably a lesson here for FOSS and Linux in general. If you want adoption, you need to tell people about it where they are and not hope they find you. It’s not, “if you build it they will come.” It’s “if you build it and tell them about it, they will come.” I think the average Linux user is probably not an expert on how to spread Linux because the average Linux user is into niches and doesn’t believe in marketing and probably even has an aversion to it.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2022/01/17/what-linux-distros-and-foss-projects-can-learn-from-zorin-os/
Just try it.
I did and I was pretty impressed. The way they modified the Gnome desktop with extensions is the way Gnome should've been in the first place. It's actually usable.
Hey I'm really enjoying GNOME after I added 8 extensions that do what I expect a desktop environment to do
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hi, I just switched my home PC to Zorin. I picked it thinking that it would be the simplest version of Linux for my family members to start using, given its similarity to Windows. So far no issues with them using it but it is noticably slower to load programs.
I use will continue using Mint on my personal devices despite my dislike for using the terminal, having grown up doing everything through the Windows GUI.
Maybe that's why it feels familiar to Windows users. /S
Are there specific things you dislike about terminal?
I don't speak the language. Everything is hidden, unless you know the words that invoke the desired effect. Eg. sudo apt update or the like. Also, plenty of room for error, even if you do have some idea what you're doing. With a GUI, the user can at least fumble around through menus to find the desired action.
Do you mind sharing what you use the terminal for? There is usually a gui to do most things these days.
I also only know basic commands. ChatGPT is pretty good that, so it is my first stop if I need something complex.
Whenver the desred action is not evident in the GUI, I use teminal and have Chat translate it into Linuxese. Terminal is GPT's goto, 4sure. It is apparent that terminal is much more elegant, if you speak the language. Fumbling around in a GUI must feel so clumsey to a master.
I find that I don’t use it much after I do my initial setup.
Mainly I use it when doing server admin stuff, but for my personal computer, I use it to update and install apps for the most part.
Yeah, those of us who've gotten familiar with the terminal often forget that it generally lacks discoverability and getting to the point of knowing how to find things in it can be painful and annoying.
Not enjoying the terminal isn't a failing. GUIs exist for a reason.
I saw a comment stating that it charges 45$ for Zorin OS Pro, which is basically the normal OS but with some open-source software installed on it (Blender, Kdenlive, Audacity, etc.)
That must be what I saw before and decided against it.
Yeah, you always hear Mint
It only recieves major updates every two years, which means it gets outdated over time. The themes included are great for beginners though.
Tried it when I was starting out. But I may have read somewhere that it uses telemetry. So uninstalled later.
Oh, that's why Windows users install it then
I think you might have it confused with another distro? no telemetry in zorin
ZorinOS used to send anonymous pings and the user did not had the option to opt out. https://zorin.com/legal/privacy/before-31-may-2018/ Seems now its an opt in service.