1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18 • Hacker News Board

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#81

Post by thekevan » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:24 PM UTC

sph wrote: post #12

christophilus wrote: post #4

Why Zorin? It’s always struck me as a weird distro. I can’t put my finger on why, but it feels off. I wonder how much of a bump other distros have seen in the same period.

Probably like MX Linux, which has, for some reason, topped the Distrowatch popularity list for years in front of Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Debian. Strangely enough, CachyOS seems to have adopted the same strategy and it's now first place on that site. I've been using Linux since 2001, and I honestly I find it funny how these niche flashy distros are popular with the new generations. Probably because newbies follow…

I don't trust Distrowatch's popularity list. I have thought for years it was probably gamed.

There are constantly distros in that top ten list that aren't in other top ten lists like mentions of reddit, mention on Twitter, Google searches for "linux distro", etc.

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#82

Post by trelane » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:25 PM UTC

rolph wrote: post #67

trelane wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So... modern Lindows? Hopefully it goes better for them than it went for Lindows. Though at least the name isn't lawsuit bait.

microsloth windoze https://jargondb.org/glossary/microsloth-windows would probably be even better bait, due to the perjorative, and 2 trademarks being adulterated what was it? "go make a cup of tea this may take awhile"

That seems almost, but not quite, entirely unrelated to my comment.

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#83

Post by oliyoung » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:26 PM UTC

Could it be? Could 2026 be the year of linux on the desktop?

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#84

Post by immibis » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:29 PM UTC

constantcrying wrote: post #24

If people stopped creating weird spinoff distros, which offer zero value except for a preconfigured Desktop, the entire Linux Desktop ecosystem would be in a far better place. These distros focus on aesthetics choice, but underneath they are always plagued by the same things, tiny maintainer teams completely overwhelmed with the task of managing a distribution. Leading to a great first impression, but an inevitable b…

How else will you ship your desktop to less-technical end users? Convince Canonical to include it in Ubuntu by default? Every time you create a customized version of Linux that people can install out of the box, you are by definition creating a distribution.

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#85

Post by stefanka » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:29 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #60

I've been a Windows user since 3.1; and I've even defended Microsoft in the past (particularly when they made unpopular choices, but for technically correct reasons, like UAC or forcing vendors to rewrite their drivers into userland or using a safer driver model). BUT, I won't defend Windows 11 and Microsoft's general direction. I feel like there has been a slow cultural shift within Microsoft, from a core of fantast…

You mean the m3 MacBook Air?

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#86

Post by incompatible » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:32 PM UTC

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #15

sph wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably like MX Linux, which has, for some reason, topped the Distrowatch popularity list for years in front of Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Debian. Strangely enough, CachyOS seems to have adopted the same strategy and it's now first place on that site. I've been using Linux since 2001, and I honestly I find it funny how these niche flashy distros are popular with the new generations. Probably because newbies follow…

Distros like Debian and Ubuntu also suffer from issues with compatibility with newer hardware due to their older kernels. This is part of why distros based on Fedora and Fedora Atomic (such as Nobara and Bazzite, respectively) have seen popularity.

I have tried Debian, but I found that the software on the main version was out-of-date, and the testing version eventually broke during an update (which is when I abandoned it.) It's not something I'd recommend to a new Linux user.

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#87

Post by prmoustache » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:33 PM UTC

constantcrying wrote: post #41

more_corn wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This opinion is what’s holding Linux back. Having a clean and pleasant user experience on top of a stable Debian based distributed is the goal.

Exactly, you do that by installing Debian with KDE. Not by creating a new distro, which you do not have the resources to properly maintain, which is then perpetually broken in weird ways, which no user can figure out since the base distribution does not have the problems the completely understaffed maintainers introduced. What all of these distros want to be is a basic configuration script. What they are is a nightma…

> Not by creating a new distro, which you do not have the resources to properly maintain

Given the fact said distro is based on Ubuntu LTS there is very little to maintain except a set of themes and desktop customisation and default choices. The long support cycle makes it that the Zorin team is not facing major changes so often as they keep the same Gnome version for a long time. This is a perfectly decent sokution for people who do not feel the need to stay current with the latest version of any given desktop at all time.

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#88

Post by mips_avatar » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:33 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #60

I've been a Windows user since 3.1; and I've even defended Microsoft in the past (particularly when they made unpopular choices, but for technically correct reasons, like UAC or forcing vendors to rewrite their drivers into userland or using a safer driver model). BUT, I won't defend Windows 11 and Microsoft's general direction. I feel like there has been a slow cultural shift within Microsoft, from a core of fantast…

I think the toughest thing for me has been watching my former coworkers on Windows transform from technology loving builders into depressed cynics. Like these were some of the most brilliant people I knew and now they struggle to get out of bed.

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#89

Post by oAlbe » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:34 PM UTC

oarsinsync wrote: post #62

oAlbe wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That has not been the case for quite a long time now. Lots of distros still have websites that look like a wiki, see Arch. But in their case the Arch wiki is one of the best wikis ever existed for what it covers. If you look at modern yet established distros, I struggle to find the outliers that don't have professional looking, slick web pages. See all the *buntus, Fedora, Elementary OS, Cachy OS, Bazzite, Endeavour,…

Check out the Debian website. Slicker than it used to be. Still not slick.

I mean, ignoring the fact that it's one example versus a list of examples I posted, I still don't think Debian website is that bad. I remember how it used to be, when it had a link to get the CDs with the distro and the option of getting all the packages in the package manager repository. Debian evolved like everybody else.

To me, and of course this is personal, Debian website looks pretty professional in an enterprise-y kind of way. I quite like it.

But then again, it's one example. Hell, even OpenSUSE's website looks super slick and modern.

Re: 1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18

#90

Post by chillfox » Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 10:37 PM UTC

jackvalentine wrote: post #73

I’m looking for a replacement OS for my mother in law whose computer is aging out of Windows 10 support. I’m glad to see slick distributions like this trying to fill that gap. That said her requirements are _so_ simple that Debian with Chromium would probably satisfy 100% of her requirements which are ‘download documents from gmail and print them’.

Get her on a Mac if you can. I got my mum to switch to Mac from Windows over a decade ago and it’s been fantastic for both of us. Her support needs dropped from once every two months to once every few years, and she’s been able to do more with her computer than she would ever have attempted on Windows. She’s been using knitting software to make patterns to share and learnt how to use photoshop, all by herself. The computer just working and not breaking anytime she tried something was fantastic for her confidence in trying/learning new things.