Zorin OS

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Hello.

Has anyone experienced ZORIN OS ?

I have about 6 old computers, “bees knees”

back in the day, and my “latest” OS  I  seldom use is win 7.

Ethics keeps asking me to upgrade, but I ignore, thanks to Android, I don’t see the urgency anymore.

I found an old box APPLE PC, Very heavy  but it works.
Have use for it for sound system off-line stuff.

But back to ZORIN OS.

WILL IT OR CAN IT BE USED INSTEAD OF WIN 10, 11 when it comes to online financial stuff like banking etc. As mentioned, for me there is no urgency  Android on my 5g phone does ok for now.

I cannot afford much  but I can tinker with the old stuff and keep sane.

Thanks

Mod edit: Thread title ammended

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Suppose it all depends on how comfortable you are using linux and what hardware it’s being installed on.
Zorin, in my experience is ok aesthetically although if you fancy
the different General User interface (GUI) a donation/fee is required.

If I were to suggest any Linux distro for simplicity and security, it would have to be Linux Mint which comes in various GUI flavours in xfce, mate, cinnamon and cinnamon sans ubuntu (LMDE4)
Lower end devices would benefit from xfce or mate with cinnamon being slightly heavier on system resources albeit a more familiar interface for current/ ex-windows users.
Linux Mint homepage

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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DrBonzo

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I rather liked Zorin all the way up to the time when it refused to work after a restart, with an error message which indicated that the installation was completely stuffed (technical British idiom), and a re-installation was the only way out.  I wasn’t impressed with that as a recovery option!

MX-Linux looks worth investigating (but doesn’t support my 1920×1200 screen natively, using the Live USB at least – have to use 1600×1200).  Also try Mint Cinnamon (as Microfix suggests).

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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DrBonzo

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I use Zorin on my den laptop. I use it while paying just enough attention to streaming TV so I can tell my wife what was just said.
It’s fine. It works. So will any number of Linux options.
I was particularly interested in Zorin as I’d invested in Lindows way back when.

A better option for people with zero Linux exposure, would be Windowsxgf which I have running on an old laptop at work.
Except – I can’t find the download anymore. It looks just like Windows 11, but it’s all Linux based. It installs and implements WINE as part of the install process.

 

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DrBonzo

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What is Windowsxgf? I’ve never heard of it and a web search yields nothing that seems at all relevant.

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Would that be windowsfx 30 day trial then $25 for full pro?

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Microfix

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DrBonzo wrote:

What is Windowsxgf? I’ve never heard of it and a web search yields nothing that seems at all relevant.

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/linuxfx-windowsfx-linux-version-of-windows-11/

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DrBonzo

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There are also KDE/ Plasma versions of linux if you like eye-candy on your desktop,
I’m sure @Ascaris or others would be able to chime in and recommend.

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DrBonzo

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Zorin OS was the first Linux distro that I tried when I realized the direction Microsoft was taking with Windows 8. It was billed as a Windows look-and-feel, which was fine with me as I loathed the Windows 8 UI.

But then after a while, support ended for the version of Zorin that I was using (6), which is when I discovered the annoyances of twice-yearly OS releases with short support periods. (I was not yet aware of the existence of LTS versions.) And then the next Zorin version that I installed looked like Windows 10 with all its blinding white flatness, which was definitely not the look that I was hoping for.

Somewhere along the way, I discovered Linux distros based on KDE Plasma (first Netrunner, then Kubuntu), and I haven’t looked back at Zorin since.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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DrBonzo

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I’ve used Mint in their various forms for several years now. They are probably the most like Windows and easiest to adapt to. Hardware support seems to be pretty good. Like most Linux distros, if you have a serious issue with a hardware driver you may find yourself struggling to find a driver and install it. Linux ‘tinkering’ is completely unlike Windows and I find it very confusing.

Tried Zorin 15 something like a year ago. Different look which was OK. Not bad to use but seemed more incomplete. After a couple months I uninstalled it. Thought Mint was still more acceptable to me, but then I had been using it for a good while.
When Zorin 16 came around I tried it again. The new look and changes made it much more acceptable. IMO, a Mint version appropriate to your hardware, or Z16 would both be worth a trial. If both work, pick the one that suits your preference.

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DrBonzo

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Just in…
‘Zorin OS 16 Lite a Classy Distro for Low-End PCs’ reviewed by Joey Sneddon over on:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2021/12/zorin-os-16-lite-available-to-download

If you’re on the hunt for a reliable, lightweight Linux distro that also looks good you need to check out Zorin OS 16 Lite.

Released December 8, Zorin OS 16 Lite is a slimmed down version of the full (GNOME Shell based) Zorin OS 16 release. It’s still based on Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS and Linux Kernel 5.11 but comes with a user experience crafted from Xfce 4.16 and companion utilities….

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Alex5723, DrBonzo

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I’m running Zorin OS 16, and am pretty happy with it. I have tried most distro’s but never stayed on any particular one for long.

I use my Zorin pc for all things, including banking, without issue. I use Timeshift for daily backups of my system and it works great as well.

I don’t have long term experience with it, since I have only been using it since v 16 was released. On a day to day basis, it’s great and I prefer it over Windows 11.

In linux, there’s something for everyone. Using a live USB drive, you can try as many as you want without the need to install it, until finding one that you like.

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Microfix, Cybertooth, DrBonzo

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New : Zorin OS 16 Education and Education Lite

We’re excited to announce the release of Zorin OS 16 Education and Education Lite. It pairs the latest and greatest software with educational apps that make learning better and more impactful at pre-schools, primary and secondary schools. It helps prepare students with the skills they need to understand the world of today and build their world of tomorrow…

Zorin OS 16 Education is the first version to include the Kolibri app out of the box. It allows anyone to access an enormous library of educational content, even without an Internet connection…

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just in..
Zorin OS 16.1 Released & Support for Ukraine
https://blog.zorin.com/2022/03/10/zorin-os-16-1-released-support-for-ukraine/

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Cybertooth

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I recently installed Zorin 16.1 Lite on an old laptop I had lying around, not having been powered on in years. Even with a 2.2GHz single core, 3GB DDR2 and an old HDD, it runs impressively quick on an old machine which up to recently hasn’t seen much use in about a decade.

Boot time I’ve managed to get down to ~90 seconds from GRUB booting Zorin to the desktop, but only if I hit, for example, space or return a few times until the hexagon Z graphic appears, after which it boots quite quickly.

Otherwise, it will hang for 8-9 minutes(!) before it gets to the same point. Honestly not sure why, but it’s a minor thing given it’s consistently skippable, and the OS itself is responsive and fast for the most part.

I’ve already ran

sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager-wait-online.service

, which helped but I still don’t get why it hangs for several minutes unless there’s some keyboard input after GRUB.

From the little I’ve used of Zorin so far, I quite enjoy it. I’ve previously had experience Ubuntu and Linux Mint, but not in a good while so it’s nice to be trying another Linux distro on a machine that likely wouldn’t have been used again otherwise.

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Lots of Linux distributions will hang, for a variable amount of time can be a few seconds to many minutes, if the hardware randomness generator is disabled in bios or its driver is not installed.  The system won’t boot until it has enough randomness.  Typing keys or moving the mouse can in some cases speed it up but the real fix is to enable in bios the TPM or other hardware random generator. -BB

 

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