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.
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.
Pretty sure 80% of them are just people distro hopping, we know the Linux community 😂
Fuh door uh!
Fuh door uh!
Fuh door uh!
Deb-Ian, Deb-Ian!
Beeee Esss Dee!
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?
There’s other options like wine-staging and wine-devel for newer programs, and also there’s paid options like CrossOver which can even be simpler to use than Wine.
If you want the latest Microsoft and Adobe software, you’re likely going to be out of luck, but, if you want the latest Microsoft software you’d probably stay on Windows anyway.
If you’re still dual booting, check out Winboat. It’s the uno reverse of WSL on MS. TBH Hearing good things about it. They are working on GPS passthroughs as well. Still in beta but it’s watch everyone is watching right now.
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.
Yes, exactly. My issues are with the Adobe suite, Affinity and Microsoft Office.
Yup, Adobe and Microsoft def a no-go. Especially Outlook.
For MS, the o365 web apps work as fine as they do on windows. Outlook is nearly at parity with the windows app. (I think they’re slowly making the windows apps web under the hood)
Adobe has to be pre creativecloud
You can run a windows VM, then use remote-desktop but it completely defeats the purpose unless you’re just trying to edge into privacy.
Not Onenote, that is horrible online vs the 365 suite on the PC. The rest are fine though.
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…
If it’s a company computer, it is probably safest to let the company manage it. If it is your personal computer, your job shouldn’t be requiring you to install anything on it.
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.
Take a look at Winboat. It the uno reverse of WSL for Windows. They are working on You passthrough as well
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
AppImage isn’t like an exe in Windows. It’s much more like a App Bundle in MacOS. Way way better than just an .exe
I’m not familiar with app bundles, and tbh my only experience with exe’s are the kind that are just zip files with a different extension. I’d assumed that under the hood they were similar, but I guess I never actually checked.
AppImage is still kinda trash though.
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.
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.
Is that 780k only to Zorin, or to all of Linux?
780k should be enough for everyone.
Correcting the myth: Zorin never actually said that
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.
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!
No
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.
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.
Ooo firefox-based. I will be trying it out.
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.
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.
EnoughZorinSpam
Umm… 5 weeks? That is not a flex AT ALL.
It’s a huge uptick especially for a relatively small Linux distro.
I’d be curious if Ubuntu, Mint, etc have seen similar jumps.
