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I love trying new OSs, but I keep coming back to my archived Windows image for a single reason: It works with every bit of software I own, and it does so without tweaks or surgery.

What Zorin will need to do to win - for me, at least - is be all but seamlessly capable of running my existing catalog and hardware collection.
Ubuntu failed after a couple months because near every time I got something working, something else would break, or I'd install a new bit and that would require me to pop the bonnet and tinker for an hour or so. Some bits of hardware refused to work at all, and not for a lack of trying. My Ham Radio programming cable, a standard USB connected device, collected dust and frustration while I trawled the net and tried every trick I could find.

I'm going to get falmed (sp?intentional) for this, but the benefit of open source is negated by the lack of a common standard to make it all play nice together. I LOVE the idea of hybrid vigor, a biological concept that applies to computers quite well. Its the theory that variation within a species makes a stronger community. The downside is there are LOTS and LOTS of failed combinations for every successful one.

how about qq international for linux? and if it existed would it be available through synaptics for linux don't want to learn it idiots like me? i have it in windows xp and windows 7

As a life long Windows user, but now a growing Linux convert, I have tried many of the Linux OSs and have a foot in both worlds.
I agree that Zorin OS 6 is very nice, easy to install and a nice step for moving over to Linux.
I still prefer Ubuntu, Mint 12 and
OpenSuse before Zorin, but I
definitely would recommend it.
I have tried Debian, Fedora, Lubuntu, Mageia and Sabayon.
Zorin is a very Window/Linux transition operating system.

I love Windows. It's easy. I click here, click there (that click I mention is the sound the mouse makes -- you remember the mouse, right?). The "install routine" amounts to -- you guessed it -- click here, click there. Update "procedures" amount to click here, click there -- well, you get the picture. A good Linux distro (that's short for "distribution" for you Windows users that never tried Linux) needs to be easy to use, as in, click here, click there. I use Windows and still have a difficult time with the command line (funnily enough, the only time I use it is to fix errors in dotNet). Many Windows users take their PC in for repair (this can include calling the geek friend) when it gets to the point where they need to "open the hood" for whatever reason. I bet the IT guys love that. This is another point to make. Linux is not widely used to the point where the geek friend will necessarily know what to do, leaving more users with fewer options for "repair." My main problem with Linux is the lack of support for some hardware and much software. And what support there is (even on the easiest of Linux distros) requires plenty more than the click here know-how of most Windows users. Plus it still doesn't support most Windows games even with the emulators, etc. That said, Windows 8 is making it much easier for some to make the decision to buy a console for games and ditch Windows on their next build. Also, imagine how much less expensive the next build will be without the expensive graphics card and copy of Windows. That can potentially pay for the console plus a few games. If that isn't enough, think about this: console games can be traded-in and used games can be bought to reduce costs and can also be rented, further reducing costs. A console is also more portable. If someone is watching a marathon of Breaking Bad, you can unplug the console and go to another room and plugin. Of course, you'll need to hold on to an old Windows build for playing the back catalog of Windows games you currently own. Using Linux as a jumping off point should help in buying the right hardware for a new build (knowing beforehand what works and how well it works in Linux), but the average user won't know how to do that, and it won't be that easy, anyway.

Of the distros I tried about 9 months ago, I would say I was most impressed with Ubuntu, and not just because it installed and applied my nvidia driver without restarting (the fans actually spun down once the driver installed). Windows never did that without a restart. Ubuntu was easier to navigate, and I was able to find more options to customize my user experience. Whether that is because the options were there or just easier to find, the point is I found them. If this distro builds on that AND makes it easier to use, then that could be a benefit to the movement, but the software and hardware issues still remain. I don't think that will ever fully disappear, so any Linux convert will need to settle before feeling content.

^^^WOW^^^...I needed the break anyway.

WTf? Are you people new at this?
GTK? Gnome 2 and 3? for Windows users to feel confortable in?
Are you on crack?
Go with KDE4 and its pretty damn close to Vista-7 out of the box.

I installed Kubuntu 11 and now 12 on my parents, both my grandparents and aunts computers and it just works. I have one great aunt who I only visit once a year and she has no problem with Linux. All the updates are done automatically and she doesnt have to a thing.
My granps was on Kubuntu 10.04 LTS and finally updated to a newer version but he was using Windows for over a decade and it was pretty easy to switch.

Being a Kubuntu user is no harder than being a windows or mac user. Im not out of high school yet and Ive already switched 20 people.

Linux's biggest weakness for some users is also its greatest strength for others: the variety of distros, each a little different from the others. No distro is "perfect" in its stock form, and some lack tools and utilities that are commonly included in others. True, it's possible to add just about any package to any distro provided all its dependencies are supported, but I have yet to find any distro that has everything "out of the box" or allows casual users to add everything they need in an easy, obvious manner. The good new is, Linux is improving quickly and a number of distros are getting very close to being as easy to use productively as the latest versions of Windows and OS X. For some of us, Linux is "good enough" now, and it just keeps getting better.

Linux's biggest weakness for some users is also its greatest strength for others: the variety of distros, each a little different from the others. No distro is "perfect" in its stock form, and some lack tools and utilities that are commonly included in others. True, it's possible to add just about any package to any distro provided all its dependencies are supported, but I have yet to find any distro that has everything "out of the box" or allows casual users to add everything they need in an easy, obvious manner. The good new is, Linux is improving quickly and a number of distros are getting very close to being as easy to use productively as the latest versions of Windows and OS X. For some of us, Linux is "good enough" now, and it just keeps getting better.

Linux's biggest weakness for some users is also its greatest strength for others: the variety of distros, each a little different from the others. No distro is "perfect" in its stock form, and some lack tools and utilities that are commonly included in others. True, it's possible to add just about any package to any distro provided all its dependencies are supported, but I have yet to find any distro that has everything "out of the box" or allows casual users to add everything they need in an easy, obvious manner. The good new is, Linux is improving quickly and a number of distros are getting very close to being as easy to use productively as the latest versions of Windows and OS X. For some of us, Linux is "good enough" now, and it just keeps getting better.

Probably it's just me. I had made donations to Firefox. I wouldn't have done so if there was a premium version that required a donation and a regular version that is free.

I don't like Ubuntu Unity and i've moved to use Linux Mint. I think Linux Mint 13 MATE is the best new distro for both older Linux-users and newbies too. It's very easy to install and very easy to use/customize. And what's even better it has now 5 years support which is a great because i don't have to upgrade Mint now for years to my cousins and parents.

Another one: youtube, flash working fine and IcedTea replaced Sun Java relatively well now.

Personally i'm looking forward Linux Mint 13 KDE too cause KDE, especially with Netbook Plasma is my favorite desktop activity.

I recently converted to Zorin OS after using Windows for over 10 years. I was fed up with the constant crashes and viruses that I encountered while using Windows so I decided to try out Linux. I tested Ubuntu and was impressed by its speed and stability but I felt a little bit out of my comfort zone because the interface was a bit confusing. A friend of mine recommended Zorin OS to me so I installed it on my computer. I found it very easy to use and I haven't encountered any problems with it. All of my hardware was recognized immediately. It has a lot of useful programs including an office suite which worked well with my Microsoft Office documents. I still keep my Windows install alongside Zorin OS just in case but I haven't used it much as Zorin OS does everything that I need.

MaryCryan, on 23 June 2012 - 03:24 AM, said:

For me, software compatibility wasn't an issue in Zorin OS at all. When I looked for the Windows software that I needed in Zorin OS, there was always some sort of free alternative to it (many of these free programs were even better than the proprietary Windows versions of them IMO). There was one program that didn't have an alternative on Linux (Ableton Live 8) so I installed the full Windows program in Zorin OS and it worked perfectly. I also heard that some major game vendors like Valve and EA are starting to make games for Linux, which is always a plus to attract even more major software vendors to Linux. So there's no real need to worry about software compatibility.
Some people might get hardware compatibility issues when using Linux since a minority of hardware manufacturers don't support Linux. When I tried Ubuntu the Wifi and graphics drivers weren't working perfectly but somehow Zorin OS worked 100% with all the hardware in my PC. I've seen some reviews of Zorin OS that said that Zorin OS worked better for them than Ubuntu hardware-wise, so it might work for you.

I haven't tried Zorin 6 yet but have been using Zorin 5.2 in a dual boot with Windows. Worked fine for a while except every now and then when I sign in I lose my keyboard! I had the same problem running Fedora, Mint 13, and Dream Studio.

The problem seems to be neither Toshiba nor Synaptics provide linux drivers. I have no problems in Windows but I got so irritated with not knowing when Zorin would work and when it wouldn't that I took it off my laptop. Of all the OSs I tried though Zorin was the easiest to setup and when it was working it worked great. I was running 5.2 Ultimate and have only good things to say about it. If Toshiba or Synaptics would only provide the right linux drivers I would use it all the time. Everything else sets up fine during setup except my video card which I can update in about 5 min through their additional drivers program.

As far as Windows * goes I can't wait for the final release. I used the developer preview til the consumer preview came out and am waiting now. I will definitely be installing it the First day it goes on sale.

The most important use I found for linux is if windows crashes you can install zorin and use it to transfer your files off the hard drive without losing them!!

Day two of Zorin 6 on my laptop in its own partition.

So far, Meh.
Boot time is slightly worse than 8 at 45 seconds (timed from BIOS post, time stopped for OS selection and restarted at the click) but still better than 7, which was near a full minute.

Solidworks, Garmin's Mapsource and the Zune music service (all programs I use on a near-daily basis) refuse to install. Attempting emulators now, we'll see how it goes. FWIW, all three programs installed and run seamlessly in 8, 7 and XP SP2. The radio cable that gave me fits with Ubuntu? Still not working under Zorin. Fortunately, I don't *need* it, I can program the radio via its own interface.

Its easier and smoother than Ubuntu, I'll grant, but I don't see it taking over the main partition on this computer.

MaryCryan, on 26 June 2012 - 07:03 AM, said:

I don't get the complaints. You should complain to the software companies, because they aren't developing that software for Linux. You can't blame Ubuntu or ZorinOS for that.
For CAD, there are good quality alternatives like Bricscad, CATIA, DraftSight, FastCAD, Unigraphics NX and VariCAD. All of these support Linux.
Free alternatives include QCad, FreeCAD, HeeksCAD, BRL-CAD and OpenSCAD albeit limited.

Here's also a list of GIS software, you'll find that some support Linux http://en.wikipedia....ystems_software

For Garmin devices I think that Qlandkarte (http://www.qlandkarte.org) is compatible.

For a music service on Linux, I suggest trying the Ubuntu One Music Store (it's DRM free!), because I really doubt Microsoft will ever release Zune service on Linux. Or else you can switch to a web based service (ie, Operating System agnostic).

If you don't want to change software, your only option is to use Crossover Linux (http://www.codeweave...oducts/#cxlinux). Solidworks 2010 and MapSource 6.15.x should work more or less well.

Again, blame the software companies, not Linux/Ubuntu/ZorinOS. Or, even better, change your software usage habits. I, for once, started using Libreoffice instead of Microsoft Office; Gimp instead of Photoshop Elementes, etc.

This post has been edited by IcyEyeG: 27 June 2012 - 05:31 AM

IcyEyeG, on 27 June 2012 - 05:29 AM, said:

I disagree. Its up to the OS to tie it together, not the software company to make a thousand different flavors to suit every taste.

FWIW, day three and I'm back to 8. It Just Works and has from day zero.


Open source has a LONG way to go in my opinion.

i am a xfce ubuntu user.... zorin os gives te people opportunity to try that! and mayby too stay, easyly in virtual box.. it looks ok, and the backhand of the sucurity from ubuntu... give a try for me is just xfce

MaryCryan, on 27 June 2012 - 05:37 AM, said:

Well, saying that only means you don't really understand what it means to develop an Operating System.
For that to be like you said, an alternative to Windows would need to be a Windows clone: that's the only way to do it, if you want to run windows-developed software.
An attempt to clone Windows is currently in early stages (see http://www.reactos.org). However, it may never reach a good state, because Microsoft may sue it out of existence if it becomes more popular.
MacOS X is not a Windows clone, which means that, apart from the software that Apple develops for it, it has to rely on companies to develop software that runs on it as well. I wonder what would happen to the artist/producer user-base of MacOS if Adobe discontinued its MacOS products...
So it's not up to the OS to tie it together, and currently there are 3 different flavors to work on: Windows, MacOS and Linux. Both MacOS and Linux have negligible market share, when compared to Windows. Yet many companies don't hesitate on develop for the former, mostly because of the hype that surrounds Apple (it's good marketing for the company, because their software will work in "cool" computers).
Fortunately that's changing: For example, in gaming, you can now see many successful games being ported to Linux, EA and Valve are set to start porting games as well. The Unity engine (one of the most popular game making engines out there) is going to release the version 4 that supports Linux, as well.

I run a computer shop in which we are always looking for better alternatives then paying for windows upgrades for used laptops with the curse of Windows Vista. Perfrectly good hardware spoiled by a bloated and disfuntional OS. We have tried KDE, and Ubuntu straight out of the box.. They were OK, but not quite good enough. There was just was no way to make them user friendly enough for our windows masses. This was the answer. The frist machine we installed on was a dell studio 1556. This particular machine is missing about half the drivers in Windows 7 or or XP, the only way to run it correctly is in Vista. It had been returned several times due to performance issues under vista. and bothced end user attempts to upgrade the windows.
It blew me away when the software finished loading and my face showed up on the webcame ready to set user picture. The webcam divers take forever to find correctly even in vista as dell does not list them on the driver page. More of a look through the system revealed everything was preinstalled even the quick launch media bar.(Very impressive!).
a tour of the desktop showed everything working except the wireless which just required activating the 3rd party drivers in "additional drivers."
This being a fairly new machine decided to give it a more difficult challenge. We had an older Z series IBm desktop with Dual Xeon processors. We had been trying to reinstall Xp on this thing forever.. Home wouldnt work because its two processors, and Professional couldnt find half the drivers, IBm didnt even provide most the drivers we needed. We had managed to scrape together several drivers but none for the Audio, or the Raid or Scssi busses.
Zorin found it all. No aditiional driver installs at all. no issues with the dual processors and was faster then Xp ever was with 1GB of Memory and an 80GB IDE HDD. Also impressive.
So still being enthusiastic about the products, here are the issues we found.
The Toolbar constantly crashes, which would normally be a big deal except you just click on it and it reloads. This was fixable by running the Update manager. It still crashes but only about once a day. you MUST run the update manager immediatly after installation, there are some 405 updates to fix some super glitchy right out of the box isues. But then its a solid platform. I would relate it to running windows 7 before SP-1 (not a good idea)
The native flash player in Google chrome was highly unimpressive I went to try facebook games because 90% of our customers lay them or pogo games, and they crashed almost 2 to 1 over IE in windows. We used the firefox which used the system flash plugin, it was a lot more stable. Same thing with you tube; Chrome was choppey, but not the firefox.
Overall, I think we will be using this a a viable alternative to windows for the basic user. We have some users that seem to be virus magnets. I think this will make things better. For the future of open source since we know that big developers arent going to support open source I would like to see better emulation software support for gaming and productivity suites. but that is a topic for another day.