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Zorin OS

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Re: Zorin OS

#121

Post by qn9n »

xarope wrote: post #106
qn9n wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not going to lie, I feel a System76 machine is way overkill for someones grandmother who likely doesn't really need that kind of horsepower... Especially given the cheapest model they sell is 1400.

minus the cost of windows minus the cost of supporting windows minus the cost of malware and virii on windows hmm, so that works pretty well, IMHO :-P

Windows is like 80? For the average user the average cost of supporting windows is basically 80.

You can get windows laptops for $100–$500 just get one of those and put Linux on it? Not a single person's grandmother (except maybe that one that plays Skyrim) needs a $1400 laptop, total waste of resources.

Re: Zorin OS

#122

Post by qn9n »

panja wrote: post #103
qn9n wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not going to lie, I feel a System76 machine is way overkill for someones grandmother who likely doesn't really need that kind of horsepower... Especially given the cheapest model they sell is 1400.

Could have been one of the mini desktop models

That makes more sense

Re: Zorin OS

#123

Post by kwanbix »

ThinkBeat wrote: post #101

I used this (pro) for a few years. It is ok but it does not have any particular feature I found worth the cost of the upgrades. I bought the current version back then. I dont remember the number so X. Less than a month later they released the new version X+1 and that was at €39 I believe for a discounted upgrade. (numbers may not be 100% accurate it has been a while) But they do have a free version and that is nice o…

The full price is 48+tax, so 44+tax for the upgrade sounds wrong.

I personally use Mint/Ubuntu with XFCE which I found it to be the closest to my work habit and the closer to Windows (I use both Linux and Windows).

About ZorinOS Pro, I think it is too expensive. They are competing with Free Windows, Free MacOS, and Free Mint/Ubuntu/Fedora/Arch. That said, if it works for them, let them be. AS long as they respect the GPL/LGPL and contribute back, I don't see a problem.

Re: Zorin OS

#124

Post by jeroenhd »

t_mann wrote: post #70

This looks like my favorite for installing on relative's PCs before the Windows 10 sunset - I'm just a bit worried about Dual Boot, I've heard some stories about hiccups there. Does anyone have comments about how Dual Boot works with Zorin today, or general experience with that use case?

For what it's worth, Windows 10 will sunset in two years. You can pay $30/year for security updates (or get updates for free by enabling Windows Backup or spending Microsoft Reward Points you earn by using Bing) and keep using Windows 10 until programs stop working, which will probably take a while with the current status.

My advice on dual booting Linux in general:

1. Resize the partition from Windows if you're going to install to the same disk

2. Do not use MBR mode to install anything. Windows updates will break your Grub bootloader, and Grub updates will break the Windows bootloader. Most PCs default to UEFI these days already, but it's always good to check

3. If at all possible, use the computer's UEFI OS dialog rather than chainloading Windows from the Linux bootloader. Kind of requires a user-friendly motherboard GUI, but if Bitlocker decides to turn itself on, you'll be struggling with recovery keys a lot less if you let both bootloaders just manage themselves.

4. If that's not possible or the motherboard OS selection sucks ass, and Bitlocker is enabled, write down the recovery key, boot through the Linux bootloader once (Windows will notice the boot process changed and prompt for a recovery key), and enter the recovery key. After a reboot, Bitlocker should unseal when booting from the Linux bootloader automatically, and now directly booting from the motherboard OS selection will require the recovery key.

5. If you're going to use a new disk, make sure to create a sufficiently large UEFI partition (>1GB, storage is cheap these days!) so bootloader/kernel updates don't break in the coming years.

6. Not really a dual booting issue, but if you're doing tech support for your relative, do yourself a favour and set up a tool like Timeshift (including automatic snapshots on updates, and if your configuration permits automatic integration into Grub). It'll offer system restore-like features, allowing you to revert the system to a known-good configuration in case an update breaks something. Timeshift itself works best on btrfs installs, but it'll also work in rsync mode on any file system, and other tools like it exist.

Re: Zorin OS

#126

Post by close04 »

lproven wrote: post #83
mrheosuper wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how would you compare it with PopOS

For most purposes, much better. Pop OS has a whole new desktop metaphor. That doesn't bother a techie; it can totally throw non-technical folks. Zorin coerces GNOME into a Windows-like design, but unlike too many distros, it looks good while doing it, and the paid version comes with a tonne of apps pre-installed and paid support.

> and the paid version comes with a tonne of apps pre-installed

I didn't like the way they sell this on their page, "Bundled with alternatives to over $5,000 of professional software". They list the commercial alternatives with their prices but no mention of what's the bundled alternative. Probably the usual free software that any user with a modicum of familiarity with an app store can install in minutes.

The lack of transparency about what software they bundle, and the implication that this software is entirely equivalent to the commercial/professional one feels a bit dishonest and puts me off.

Re: Zorin OS

#127

Post by flkiwi »

qn9n wrote: post #121
xarope wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

minus the cost of windows minus the cost of supporting windows minus the cost of malware and virii on windows hmm, so that works pretty well, IMHO :-P

Windows is like 80? For the average user the average cost of supporting windows is basically 80. You can get windows laptops for $100–$500 just get one of those and put Linux on it? Not a single person's grandmother (except maybe that one that plays Skyrim) needs a $1400 laptop, total waste of resources.

My kid has an excellent Thinkpad I picked up for something like $500. Runs linux (NixOS, specifically) perfectly well. Even the fingerprint reader works! And if he spills something on it, replacing it is substantially less awful.

Re: Zorin OS

#128

Post by olejorgenb »

I assume it's due to marketing, but it really irks me that I have to scroll down to the bottom and click "View technical details about Zorin OS" to find out that this is a Linux distro build on top of Ubuntu...

Re: Zorin OS

#129

Post by graemep »

pjmlp wrote: post #117
fao_ wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On windows you have to apply "a few tweaks" just to get the start bar to stop showing advertising and work as it should. Windows users in the modern day have to do way more tweaks than Linux users do just to get a functional and unobtrusive operating system.

Which Linux users, from the myriad of Dritrowach rankings? And no, many normies use Windows just as out of factory, as anyone that has had to fix the cousin's computer during a holidays visit is well aware.

> And no, many normies use Windows just as out of factory

Which means they do not "get a functional and unobtrusive operating system."

My experience of Windows users is that if they do not know how to tweak it, they complain about it.

> Which Linux users, from the myriad of Dritrowach rankings?

Any of them

Re: Zorin OS

#130

Post by kube-system »

kjellsbells wrote: post #64
nartho wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Zorin OS is built on the same Open Source software that powers the New York Stock Exchange and computers on the International Space Station. >Thanks to the advanced security features of Linux, Zorin OS is resistant to PC viruses and malware The whole landing page is full of those statements. It seems like they are targeting a demographics with low tech literacy, but I don't know how productive those statements are r…

It's simultaneously too much and too little. If the reader is genuinely a tech layperson, eg, someone who grew up on iPad and nothing else, then "open source" and "Linux" are just confusing filler words and a better statement would be "Zorin OS is built from the same software that powers the New York Stock Exchange and computers on the International Space Station. Thanks to its advanced security features, Zorin OS is…

I think the market they're targeting here makes no sense whatsoever. What cross section of people are both:

1. A tech layperson, and ...

2. In the market for downloading an OS?

Normal people buy computers and use OS that is installed on them.

It would probably make more sense to be targeting OEMs or something.

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