Fuh door uh!
Fuh door uh!
Fuh door uh!
Deb-Ian, Deb-Ian!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaa
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?
At this point, any programs that won’t work in Wine either have a component that cannot be run in Linux (kernel level anti-cheat for example) or has a DRM/execution stack that enforces Windows use (ie Abobe.) Most of my Windows emulation is gaming, and I’ve managed to get Fitgirl installers and even cracks/updates to run through Wine and Proton. My opinion only: At this point any program that won’t run on Linux is intentional, either by design, or by neglect.
This is pretty accurate. Wine (and really Proton) have gotten very good recently. Most software that isn’t actively hostile to Linux users will work.
It really depends a lot on what programs you are running, what exact version of Wine/Proton/… you are running and how it’s configured.
Wine is finnicky, but it can totally also just be bad luck, depending on what you try to run. Wine on x86 works quite well for me. x64 has issues more frequently, and combining it with Box86 to run it on ARM is more miss than hit.
Also, Wine is advancing pretty fast, so stuff that didn’t work a while ago might work now.
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…
An EXE is a Windows app. This is like asking if you can run an iOS app on Android.
That said yes with Wine but that’s a compatibility layer you should be avoiding as much as possible. Games are of course the big exception here, as Proton uses Wine.
Most apps have an open source alternative on Linux. I haven’t even given it much thought in years. YMMV of course as people’s needs differ.
I hope that your daily driver is 100% paid for and supported by your work. There’s no way you should be expected to bring an unsecured advertising and user tracking device into your home, especially on your own hardware.
There are very few reasons why anyone should be using Windows in a professional setting anymore. Any company that does so is taking a huge security risk with company data. I’m sure there are lots of places that do it, but this is due to typical corporate laziness and ignorance.
If your distrobution’s maintainers have your package in their repos it will generally only be 3-5 clicks in the GUI package manager or 1-2 lines at the terminal.
Flatpak solved compatibility and library issues, becoming huge in the process. AppImage is basically like an Exe for windows.
can I run exe’s yet…
This has been possible for over 20 years, but with the more recent changes to WINE most (MOST not ALL) windows apps will work fine but you really shouldn’t be trying to use the windows apps unless there’s no other option
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.
Is that 780k only to Zorin, or to all of Linux?
780k should be enough for everyone.
Only to Zorin
This can only be good for Zorin OS.
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
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.
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 user, just cos
Thanks!
As an old XP-liker I’ll probably stay on Mint then 😁
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
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.
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.
Dude, you have a serious problem, man. That’s way too much marijuanas.
Zorin would t be my first choice. But happy to see those numbers.
Any other recommendations for non tech savvy people coming from windows?
Linux Mint it’s the mvp now. ElementaryOS is also nice, but more like macOS.
When i switched from windows i used mint im currently on fedora and manjaro i had no real trouble with either one of those. But im mostly using my browser and some applications i need for coding. I dont know what your use cases are but you can make a bootable usb with any one of those distros and test it out befor you actually install it anywhere. If you have an old laptop ore something like this i would strongly reccomend testing on that and see what you like. Also save all the data you need/want to keep before you mess with anything
I would use it if Samba sharing actually worked.
I’m happy to see people enter as a gateway. Ubuntu has, and still does, serve that purpose as well.
So… a few months before this, Linux had been noted to have just tipped 5% desktop market share…
What’s it going to be like now? 6%? 10%!?
1.5 billion windows users, another million transfers to 1.499 billion windows and +0.001 billion Linux. The windows number was purely from Google, no validation has been done.
Mhmm. Though Zorin’s only one distro. And not a really well known one. Fun to speculate around all the unknown variables.
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.
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.
I had stopped enjoying browsing the web, but I do now once again
Zen is my favourite software currently. It blows away the competition for me.
Swapped over to Mint a couple days ago, it plays ATOM RPG so I am contented with my slave jank.
I am a macOS user for work and had windows mostly for games on my personal computer, when I got a new laptop last year it came with win 11… it was so annoying to need to skip literally ads for Microsoft services… that even being my “leisure” computer… I spent the time getting Linux Mint, deal with Nvidia drivers on Linux just to have steam there
The games I am playing recently are working great on Linux and my computer feels faster now.
This particular laptop had a problem with WiFi drivers and Nvidia drivers, but getting past this first setup, I must say Linux Destop is easier and fast to use.
Everytime people say there is a problem with nvidia driver, what kind of problem do people have? I am running nvidia drivers on two different machines on arch linux. It was just
pacman -Syu nvidiaand thing just workI would bet money the fanspeed also got much quieter.
I keep hearing about ads on computers, smart tvs, fridges and shit, is that solely an american thing? I’m in Europe and never get any of that shit. Sure, Microsoft will tell me at installation that they’d like to “personalize” some adds for me, but I have never actually had a single one. Did the EU block them or something?
You definitely get more in the US, but Europe isn’t free from ads.
Windows still shoves OneDrive, office, and other things in your face in Europe. They still have featured news stories and the like. They still have recommendations in the start menu and such.
These are all ads, though we’ve been conditioned into thinking MS plastering OneDrive and OneDrive recommendations all over their OS isn’t advertising. It very much is.
If you have an Android TV in Europe, 1/3 of the home screen by default is an ad banner, just like in the US. Etc.
We are not free from ads. We just have it slightly better than the US.
I don’t get any of that. No ads for microsoft products, my start menu is literally just a blank space with Project Diablo 2 and Calculator as quick access. Not even on my Samsung tv do I get ads unless I choose to tune into one of their free channels.
It might be the version of Windows 11 you have installed, too. Enterprise has no ads (or can be configured not to have ads, at least). Same for Professional, I think?
You can also use a post-install “Playbook” to rip all the adware and spyware out of Windows. I used ReviOS in my Windows 11 VM and it works well for me, but I’m guessing that’s not what you’ve done since you’d know about it, lol.
I’m super happy with my switch to CachyOS. Canadian laws roughly mirror US laws, so it’s a breath of fresh air to not need to deal with Microsoft’s bullshit (well, outside of the VM I need for work, anyway.)
I just have windows 11 home
Ms has different releases for Europe due to legal requirements
This is why you have no ads
You can also use a post-install “Playbook” to rip all the adware and spyware out of Windows
Does that actually persist across forced updates? I know they’ve been known to re-install things on updates before.
Most disable Windows Updates for that reason, afaik? You can manually patch security updates without getting automatic updates, I think.
I don’t really care about Windows Updates for my use case since it’s just a VM and I know how to prevent most virus vectors anyway, but yes; there are major trade-offs to “debloating” Windows.
In the longer term, I want to try getting all my must-have apps for work running in browser apps or compatibility layers so I can just stay in Linux.
I just bought a machine with an NVIDIA card which I am going to install Mint on. Do you have any advice?
(I had planned to get an AMD GPU, but was unable to for various reasons.)
Pop!_OS has a dedicated .iso just for Nvidia hardware.
Mint worked the best for me out of the other distros. 3060ti
Multiple monitor setup. One a 4k tv via HDMI others display port.
Had a helluva time getting it to not fuck the displays when one went on/off with anything other than mint.
YRMV
Send it! I’ve heard it has gotten better for nvidia users. The nice thing about a live USB is that you can just remove it and reboot if you don’t like it.
Umm… 5 weeks? That is not a flex AT ALL.
Just installed CachyOS. It just works.
Never going back
Use Cachy for a while. Not a single issue so far. Very good distro for people who want the OS out of the way. The perfect compatibility with Nvidia is a plus!
Yeah I waited till I had a new gpu, got amd.
But yeah, reinstalled all the arr* stuff I had on windows and other services as podman services, got steam, played a few games. Some Linux native. Some Proton.
Transfered all my stuff then formatted my ntfs disks did btrfs
Never felt like anything pushed back on what I wanted. Was silky smooth.
Never once had to even think about if I had drivers for my things, logitech lightning mouse, wireless headset etc
EnoughZorinSpam
