I switched from Windows 10 to Mint. While there is a steep learning curve with basic things like adding an icons to the menu, I’m wishing I made the move earlier. There is a noticeable performance improvement with Stable Diffusion.
Glad to be a statistic
Pretty sure 80% of them are just people distro hopping, we know the Linux community 😂
I’m just waiting till I can install SteamOS honestly. Love my steam deck, and wanted to turn my old win 10 PC into a Linux machine but has issues getting any distro loaded because I’m dumb and it’s old. Hoping that when they release SteamOS for the chumps I’ll be able to work it though probably will just be left holding an old win 10 pc lol.
Fuh door uh!
Fuh door uh!
Fuh door uh!
Those are crazy numbers, really exciting.
Is Zorin OS recommendable? I’m ready to at least dual boot if folks think thats cool
Eli5 zorin…
Zorin OS is a Linux distro. Linux distros are different Linux-based operating systems. Kinda comparable to how Samsung-Android looks and feels different than Pixel-Android or Amazon-Android (aka FireOS). All of these are distributions of the same operating system.
The same exists with Desktop Linux, but the distros differ more than the Android distros differ.
With that out of the way: Zorin OS is a Linux Distro that is focussed on people migrating from Windows. The user interface looks a lot like Windows, it’s setup with Wine (a tool that lets you run most Windows programs on Linux) out-of-the-box.
It’s a quite decent starting point for someone migrating from Windows to Linux and it’s a commonly recommended “beginners’ distro”.
I’ve never had much luck with Wine running Windows programs, unless the programs were ancient. Maybe I’m just unlucky?
Is that 780k only to Zorin, or to all of Linux?
Only to Zorin
This can only be good for Zorin OS.
780k should be enough for everyone.
Correcting the myth: Zorin never actually said that
Can’t wait for the “FOSS enables the bad guys to download 2 marijuanas” headlines from MSM.
Pff, amateurs. I can download 8 marijuanas simultaneously.
I can haz a torrent of marijuanas.
Dude, you have a serious problem, man. That’s way too much marijuanas.
while more users for linux systems is really good, i hope it wont get too big of a market share. I’d rather have malware makers focus on other operating systems. It would be so nice to have good support for everything while simultaneously not having to worry about malware that much.
I think most malware comes from installing cracked software from non-safe sources.
Linux already has a huge market share in servers, so it’s already a prime target for malware. More desktop users won’t make it worse.
Or installing software the Windows way: google “something doer” and click the second link, find the Download page and then click yes when it asks “Allow Sworn Enemies Of Democracy to make changes on this computer?”
You’re browsing habits, emails & P2P mostly, just as you said.
what ways are there for browser to infect you, discounting obvious things like downloading something yourself? I assume javascript can do something, but are there other things?
browsers can have security vulnerabilities in their complex parts that grant the website powers it shouldn’t have. depending on the kind of vuln, it could enable readout of browser memory contents (like cookies containing access tokens), modification of it, execution of arbitrary program code supplied by the site, etc.
Well when using P2P sites you have clickbait, popups, etc. Do aviod that you use blocked, use prowlarr/jacket to get the MAG download pregenerated, no website needed. Anything you click on or download can scam and infect you. That’s why you’re browsing habit & emails cause you the most malware/viruses.
That’s narrow-minded. More users on Linux means greater compatibility. It also means less power for software giants like Microsoft, Apple, and Google. And it means more support for open source overall.
How is it narrow minded to wish for balance that is good both ways?
Serious question, I’m a basic linux user (commandline and shell scripting, crontab, python…) what would I see/feel as different if I switched to Zorin OS?
Edit from mint
Edit from mint
Not much,
If you feel comfortable in Mint, there’s not a lot of reason to switch to Zorin. Under the hood they are quite similar. Similar tools, both based on Ubuntu, all quite similar.
The main benefit of Zorin is that it looks and feels a lot like Windows, so it’s easier for someone switching from Windows. If you aren’t switching from Windows, no need to use Zorin.
Funny when I was a noob, I DEF stayed away from Distro’s that were like Window. I left MS for a reason & one of them was a ridged thene design. The Linux “noob” distros, are a FAD & are setting people up for failure. It’s not Windows and that’s the beauty of it. It’s something we deserve as a highly evolved technologically advanced society. Anything else is stagnant and holding us back as a species.
Not everyone is the same. You might have left Windows because you want to theme and style your desktop. That’s totally valid.
But there are other people who left for other reasons (hardware support, spying, cost, AI being forced onto them, Win11 design being too different, …). And for those people using a system that looks, feels and works similar to what they are used to can be very beneficial.
Not everyone is the same and what works for one person might not work for another and vice versa.
That’s not my only Reason. I’m a power user, gaming, p2p automated server. I use AI for coding, also BTW I use arch 💯 I just think coming to Linux, to have windows pc, is defeating the purpose of leaving. ALSO i love customizing too. but that the least!
This sounds similar to the debate surrounding meat substitutes. Most people don’t give up meat because they don’t like the taste of it, but because of animal suffering or the environmental impact. The same is likely true here. The problem isn’t the Windows UI, but Microsoft’s behavior as a company. For most people, the purpose of switching is likely to be things like greater freedom, privacy, independence, or a general rejection of proprietary software and big tech. Plus, there’s the large group of people that Microsoft is trying to force into throwing away their perfectly functional PCs. In very few cases are these users likely to think that they dislike Windows itself. If Zorin’s look and feel helps them achieve the switch, then that’s great.
This is it.
Same as a lot of people would be very happy with a perfect meat-free replica of a wagyu steak, a lot of people would be happy with an open-source, privacy-respecting Windows that runs on old hardware.
No
Imo, the fact you know what crontab is indicates your a bit more than a ‘basic’ user. You can give yourself more credit than that ;).
Anyway, like the other commenter said, depends where your switching from but Zorin is pretty much making Linux as easy to use as possible. They even have a wrapper for bottles that makes installing windows apps with wine easier. I quite like it and would be what I’d suggest to someone who wants a general purpose computer. It’s not great for gaming though as they don’t use super up-to-date packages so performance is lacking. That being said, it looks great and makes things as easy as possible for noobies
theyre fairly similar as far as i can tell. they both use gnome-terminal so you wouldnt notice any difference there.
mint seems more like a windows 7 style desktop, as in its more compact and meant to be used with a keyboard and mouse. zorin is more like windows 11 where there is more space around everything, which is ideal if you are also using a touchscreen some of the time
im definitely more of a zorin fan anyway. i have it installed on 2 computers, and i have mint on an old computer that i never use, just cos
Thanks!
As an old XP-liker I’ll probably stay on Mint then 😁
From what OS, and for which activities?
Generally, I would advise vibe checking with a Ventoy USB and a live .iso. See if you find your marks, and can do basic stuff. Ventoy will allow you to try different distros in relatively quick succession
I’m an idiot, from Mint.
I’m far more bothered by them making Brave the built-in default browser, than I am by them charging for themes & tech support.
Charging for themes and tech support seems fine to me. As long as it’s possible to do it yourself.
They need to make money, to continue the development and that seems a good compromise
The themes and tech support are totally fine to charge for (as long as they’re original themes that the zorinOS developers made or contracted someone to make).
Brave browser as default is borderline as bad as just sticking to windows if the point of you getting away from windows is to dodge the shady stuff Microsoft has started doing.
It should be zen, i’m mildly upset I didn’t start using it earlier. Randomly decided to try new browsers and goddamn, it’s all I wanted from workspaces and tabs and I didn’t even know it. I always tried to use workspaces before but hated how it worked.
I also never bothered to check for tab based extensions because some similar ones do exist.
In zen you have your tabs vertically stacked, hated it at first, but I get it now, I actually can keep track of them all, swapping workspaces is easy/quick and doesn’t suspend all tabs when you do it so you can have multiple categories open without them pausing when you swap. Like a seperate space for research, tutorials, etc. Those spaces can have folders and pinned tabs. On top of that you get essential tabs which are always visible as app icons and easily accessible so you can have youtube as an essential tab and easily hop back and forth accessing it from any workspace. My biggest gripe with workspaces before was having to reopen youtube videos when I swapped workspaces becuase they would suspend and not be accessible.
Zen is my favourite software currently. It blows away the competition for me.
Literally everytime I use it, I’m like why didn’t I check before, I was so lost before, Id just give up and close all my tabs. Now I easily keep track of 100s, know where everything is and why they all exist because they are organized and easy to check at a glance. Really easy to load and unload tabs. Almost forgot you can split screen tabs super easily too, it’s my favorite way of using it, don’t need multiple windows.
Ooo firefox-based. I will be trying it out.
I had stopped enjoying browsing the web, but I do now once again
My daily needs windows in case my work constantly asks me to install some random application and linux makes that take forever or just wont do it. Have they solved this issue yet? Can I run EXE’s in linux yet? I desperately want to ditch windows…
That “780,000 Windows users” number is just made up for the title as clickbait.
That number is never mentioned in the original blog post.
All they said is they have a million downloads and “over 78% of these downloads came from Windows”. At no fucking point did they imply that means 780k unique users. There’s no reason to assume that everyone who downloaded the ISO actually went on to install it.
They also want $48 for their Pro version which comes with a “professional-grade creative suite” consisting of… GIMP, Blender, Inkscape, Kdenlive, and… Audacity (?), going off the screenshots they show:
click to show
They’re shamelessly reselling free software as some sort of comprehensive package, and it’s not even their own distro. They’re just piggybacking on Ubuntu.
And their premium support only covers… installation?
click to show
But hey, they support this edition with updates until 2029!
click to show
Of course, pay no attention to the coincidence that the Ubuntu LTS version it’s based on also hits end-of-life around then:
click to show
So I’m not really sure what you’re actually getting out of this purchase besides some extra themes and some really formulaic desktop wallpapers, and a couple proprietary apps. They say they “contribute to upstream Open Source projects” but offer zero evidence; their site doesn’t even have any Github/Gitlab links.
Its rare to see someone with brain in here
Zorin pro was the main reason I never stuck with Zorin OS however while they heavily advertise that the price is for the software. I think the real cost comes with “installation support”.
For many first time users, having support help with an install is a necessity and they will pay for it. See Geek Squad as an excellent example.
Plus having a preconfigured Linux experience is good for these users.
Nice perspective. I had a wtf moment reading they charge for Gimp etc, but I imagine some casual PC users installing linux would rather pays for the convenience than troubleshoots.
I remember as a teen needing to learn basic console commands just so I could mount a flashdrive in Red Hat. The amount of troubleshooting is a real barrier for most new Linux users, getting things to work is often a multiple step process one must put together from fragments of old forum posts.
If I had a nickel for every time TomsHardware spreads misinformation, makes stuff up or did 0 research on the topic #Ryzen9700X3D I would be millionaire pretty soon.
Can we maybe ban them as a source from here?
While most users don’t even know their Windows is paid by them - as an OEM pre-install - I can see business persons being oblivious to a concept their workhorse can be just free and good. Zorin is probably targeting that market. Top managers don’t take personal responsibility to integrate some hippy socialist bullshit, they switch from one respectable enterprise solution to the other and can show checks. We can try and take a glance at this from a perspective of a complete corporate buffoon, and it starts to make sense.
I am conflicted about Zorin, they are selling something using free software… but somehow, maybe marketing a not sure… they are able to get people on Linux that never did before. So you know, seeing people ditching Windows for Linux might be the first step… maybe someone start with Zorin, get comfortable and jump to something else.
Are they getting people onto Linux, or are they absorbing people that would be switching anyway and taking advantage of those users by charging them for something they may not need? Hard to say which it is
You’re forgetting what “regular” people are like. /S
Thanks for clearing up the misinfo
I guarantee there are PLENTY of people jumping the commercial ship to try Linux of many flavors
I’m not saying there’s no people trying it, or that the actual number is negligible. I’m just saying I highly fucking doubt that 780,000 people have actually installed Zorin OS in the last month.
Love how you just completely skipped over the entire thrust of the comment and then churned out some blithe remark.
