Zorin OS 12.1 Lite, the Xfce one

Zorin OS has always been famous for its design, specifically made for Linux newcomers, thus made to resemble the Windows interface.

Zorin OS had several versions in the past, the most popular of them being Core and Lite. While the Core and Ultimate versions of Zorin OS are based on heavily customized GNOME 3, the powerhouse of many distributions, the Lite version was based on LXDE desktop environment.

However, things have changed recently with the release of Zorin OS 12.1 Lite. This operating system uses Xfce desktop environment. It is a good reason to check that distribution, isn't it?

You can download the ISO image of Zorin OS 12.1 Lite from the official site of the project. 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available. The 32-bit ISO image is about 1.4 GB in size. I "burnt" that ISO image to the USB stick using the dd command and plugged the stick into the USB port of my Dell Inspirion 17 laptop.

Reboot. Choose to boot from USB. Let's go!

Zorin 12 Core: unpolished diamond

One of the most anxiously awaited distributions in the Linux world this autumn was Zorin OS.  The anxiety was intense, since the last release of Zorin OS 11 stopped receiving any updates long ago because it was based on the non-LTS version of Ubuntu. Zorin OS 12 was finally released on the 18th of November 2016 with the additional release of an updated ISO image on the 20th of November. There were no reports on the official blog about the reasons for the re-release.

Zorin OS is not a stranger to Linux notes from DarkDuck blog. There were several reviews of this operating system. There was a contest together with Zorin OS team. There was even an interview with Artyom Zorin, the Zorin OS team leader.

As you may be aware, Artyom lives with his family in Ireland. And that was the country I had to visit for my business reasons. Was it a coincidence? Maybe... But then, I had even bigger incentive to write about Zorin OS while being in its motherland.

I downloaded Zorin OS 12 Core 64-bit from the official site and burnt it onto the USB stick using the dd command. The image is 1.6 Gb in size. The USB stick is in the port of my laptop Toshiba L500-19X.

Reboot. Choose to boot from USB. Let's go!

Zorin OS 11 Core: quick screenshot tour

Zorin OS 11 continues the line of Linux distributions for the users who migrate from other operating systems. It was released at the beginning of February 2016.

Let's have a whistle-stop tour for the main features of this operating system.

How-to video: Removing old kernels in Ubuntu

Once new kernel passes the test system, Ubuntu offers you to install it through its update system.
At the same time, old kernel remains in the system. It means that after some time of using Ubuntu, you may have a number of old kernels. They take your disk space and also may clutter the GRUB menu, although the latter issue is resolved in newer versions of Ubuntu.

This video shows you the way to remove old obsolete kernels from your Ubuntu installation.

The same approach is valid for whole Ubuntu family and derivatives: Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Zorin OS, Linux Mint and so on.

Please remember that the "best practice" is to keep at least two kernels in the system: the current and the previous one. This is to ensure the fallback solution if current kernel fails for whatever reason.

How many old kernels do you have in your system? How often do you remove the obsolete kernels?

Zorin OS 10 Core: install and forget

You may have noticed that DarkDuck publishes articles about certain operating systems more often than others. They are LinuxMint, Emmabuntus and Zorin OS. The reasons are different, though I can tell you that I keep good relationships with both Emmabuntus and Zorin teams. That's why I cannot miss a chance...

And there is a chance this time!

It has been more than a year since Zorin OS 9 was released. And the 1st of August 2015 saw the release of the brand new distribution from the Zorin team: Zorin OS 10.

I downloaded the image of Zorin OS 10 Core 64-bit from the official site. It is easy to navigate, though a torrent option is definitely missing for downloaders. ISO image size is just below 1.5 Gb in size.

Then I faced the same issues with Zorin OS 10 that I previously had with Emmabuntus 3.1.01. Neither Ubuntu's built-in image writer tool, nor the dd command worked for me. Unetbootin helped me to deal with Zorin OS image this time.

So, USB-stick is ready and plugged into the port of my Toshiba Satellite L500-19X laptop. Reboot. Choose to boot from USB. Let's go!

Zorin OS, consider me a Linux fan for life

After what now seems forever on a Windows based OS (most recently, XP and 7 for desktops, Vista for laptop), I decided to move away from XP and install Zorin OS 8 core. Although I am still on a learning curve, I cannot stress enough how much I love the OS and have not had a moment of wanting to go back to any Windows version.

Other than some challenges with game installs (not a major issue for me), I am a huge fan of the look, feel, and scale of Zorin. So many headaches from XP have been alleviated and as well as endless hard drive clutter.

I find the office applications to be very much like Windows Office (sans $$$ to keep up to date) and the email and messenger clients are very user friendly. In the case of Thunderbird, setup from my existing email was a breeze and it even eliminates redundant messages. When I check email on my iPhone, I used to have to go to the webmail site and clean up on a regular basis as the messages would show in both locations.

While I come across the "old guard" wanting to cling to XP for dear life as it drifts into the sunset and becomes even more prone to virus, malware and spyware attacks, consider me a Linux fan for life.

I look forward to learning and growing as part of the user community.

All the best!

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This is a guest post by Jim Stanley, which took part in the joint Zorin OS contest.

Zorin OS: Can I keep it, please?

"Dad, my windows are broken."

Oh, no! What has he been up to now? Playing football in the garden again? I better go and have a look. There was no glass on the carpet; no damage to be seen at all.

"What are you on about, son? Winding me up again?!"

One name really stuck out - Zorin OS

Good morning / evening / afternoon / day / night whenever you are reading this. My name is Antonio and I really like Zorin OS.

I'm fairly new to the Linux community and I had a difficult time around at first when I stumbled across a few threads that were just distro wars. These sort threw me off track and I completely botched my first Arch linux install. Afterwards however, I found Ubuntu and found it to my liking for much except for a few things.

The first thing was the interface. Unity isn't ugly, but I prefer something a little more like the Windows UI that isn't controlled by a brown-orange background.

I then tried to install LXDE onto the distro, which then asked for root permissions to log on and I quickly lost that install as well.

After finding plenty of top 5 to top 50 distro lists, one name really stuck out. Just the name. Zorin OS. Its was a freaky cool name. I installed it quick and... Updates. I was dealing done with Windows updates so I won't lie that I was erked. Then I found out what the 500MB of downloads were for. All of the preloaded software and I flipped.

It was magnificent. I did a little research and found out that Zorin OS 8 was based on Ubuntu 13.10. Knowing that Ubuntu 14.04 was the LTS release, I waited for Zorin OS 9 to come out to buy the premium version.

I would definitely purchase Zorin OS 9 Ultimate if I didn't win it, but I am glad I had the chance to enter your contest.

Thank you!

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This is a guest post by Larry Adams, which took part in the joint Zorin OS contest.

My business has been saved by Zorin OS

I just recently decided to "relocate".

I just started a company with a very tight budget. I was just tired of being a slave to the system so, I drained the account and decided to go for it.

One of the things that I required was a computer. I didn't have the funds left after getting the necessary tools to get one. Now, I'm in my early 40's and my grandparents offered me their old one.

You could only imagine how old that was, it's a Dell Dimension 3000. It still has the old boob tube type monitor. Quickly I said Yes! It had Windows XP on it. I went out to the local computer store and spent money I didn't have to obtain all the necessary software to keep my business going.

About a week after I got everything up and running, the notices started coming. At first I thought it was one of those scams but quickly I found out it was true. They were ending support for my operating system. Terrified I tried to get other operating systems but none would work.

My son gave me his old laptop to use however it's missing the v button, the / button, an arrow to the right, and the dvd drive is broken. But I push on. Still looking for operating system and being upset with windows, I vowed I would find something else. I searched long and hard then I found Zorin OS!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank you! You made my transition from windows to Linux so easy to figure out. I'm extremely happy to say I will never return to Windows. Because of you guys there, my business has been saved! I quickly realized that I don't have to be forced to follow Windows. There are other options.

I now have 2 computers at my home office and one laptop that all run Zorin.

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This is a guest post by Larry Adams, which took part in the joint Zorin OS contest.

Zorin: That is Flexibility!

I will start off by saying that I am a 67 year old retired male who is only moderately computer savvy.

I started out using Linux with the Mandrake version about 8 years ago as an experiment. I was upset with Windows 95 & 98 because it would continuously freeze up and eventually would ruin the hard drive. Not to mention the virus problems.

I tried Lindows for a while because I liked their repository and the ease at which one could download and install programs. After a few years Lindows which had changed its name to Linspire was discontinued so I switched to Ubuntu with the KDE GUI desktop.

About 2 years ago I tried Zorin 6.0 and have used it and upgraded it on one of my computers since. I especially like the Zorin OS desktop experience because I can change it to look like Windows 7 or like Mac. That is flexibility! I also enjoy the Ubuntu type repository system!

I feel that anyone who has never tried Linux and wants to convert over to Linux from Windows should try a Linux system that is most like Windows - that would be Zorin.

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This is a guest post by Harry S. Durham, which took part in the joint Zorin OS contest.

We would like to thank the Zorin OS team

I'm currently working as the only IT staff member at a small neighbourhood council that is dedicated to helping our neighbours as much as we can by providing various services such as reconditioning schools, parks, and in my case computers.

Now recent we received a huge batch of laptops (Lenovo Thinkpad T60) as donations. We use these laptops so they can provide online and local training to youth workers so they can learn work skills and etiquette that will be essential for them to advance their careers professionally. The issue we are currently facing with these laptops is that the hardware is rather low end and that they were originally designed to work with Windows XP, which unfortunately recently stopped being supported.

Thanks to Zorin OS I was able to breath a new life into these laptops while providing a very similar environment to the end users so that they can feel right at home and continue their work without suffering from freezes or crashes and with greater performance and security to boot.

On behalf of the neighbourhood council, we would like to thank the Zorin OS team for their commitment on an extraordinary software that we hope will be going strong for years to come.

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This is a guest post by Cesar Escoto, which took part in the joint Zorin OS contest.

A Linux love story with real love and romance

My first encounter with Linux occurred about ten years ago when I used to enjoy reading software magazines. I was about 14 at that time. Loving to put in practice everything I was learning from those magazines, I downloaded my first Linux distribution: Ubuntu! I really can't remember which version, but if I look in some old boxes I'm sure I will find the CD I used to install it.

I loved it but my parents that needed to use very often the only PC in the house got quickly tired of the dual boot start page and they asked me to get rid of it. That is how my first experience with the Linux world came to an end. It was quite painful but I never forget the good moments.

How I stopped distro hopping

I, a Microsoft user since DOS 5.x was introduced to Linux in the late 90's when a friend gave me a copy of Novell Linux. I was in awe that you could get a "free" operating system without having to pay for it. The system didn't hold my attention long because there were not a lot of applications for it that were similar to the Windows programs I was accustomed to.

Along comes Fedora and in 2004 I picked up a book called Linux for Non Geeks by No Starch Press which included a copy of Fedora. I learned of Open Source and the Free Software Foundation through this book and thought it was great that a community of folks could come together and make a product they then would give to the world. I loved the idea that software should be shared freely. I used fedora for about a year while dual booting with Windows. During that time I learned there were many Linux distributions gaining popularity like never before. I tried as many as I could but were never satisfied. I had my Windows XP operating system so why bother getting serious about Linux when Windows provided all I needed.

I began to notice Microsoft in the news more and more for unscrupulous business practices. This contrasted with the meaning of Open Source I had learned from my Linux experience. Microsoft started losing it's appeal. I began to see how with each new Windows release the systems became more draconian and restrictive. I am a hard core first person single player shooter fan and Windows played all my games when nothing else would. I could not just leave Windows no matter how I wanted to.

I decided I would try to use Linux for everything else except gaming. I used several distros for a while, PC Linux OS, Mint, Ubuntu (until Unity) and learned to love a slackware distro called Vector Linux. I even tried and liked PC-BSD 9 and 9.1. My goal was to try to find the system that most resembled the look and feel of the Windows systems I was used to because of familiarity and ease of use. I didn't like the terminal much and only used it when I had to. Though I liked each distro they somehow fell short of my expectations.

I first found Zorin with Zorin 5. I liked it but Zorin 6 had just come out and so I switched but felt Zorin was still too new so I didn't stick with it. Zorin 7 came out and it was Linux love at first install. I used Zorin 7 till Zorin 8 came out and now I'm onto Zorin 9 my first LTS Zorin distro (still dual booting). I have seen how the Linux community has grown up over the years with stable distros that have all the features I could desire but Zorin has a style that matches my expectations of how a distro should work.

Steam now has games that work in Linux and thanks to the stability of Ubuntu I know Zorin will play those games. GOG will be coming out with game versions for Linux at the end of this year. Between the two, I hope to leave Windows forever in a heap of dust. I can finally have my cake and eat it too. Linux for me means a chance at computer freedom. I know I can have that with Zorin.

Thank You Zorin!

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This is a guest post by Electric Rider, which took part in the joint Zorin OS contest.

Zorin OS Contest Results

And today is the day...

First of all, Zorin team, Linux notes from DarkDuck and Linuxaria would like to say THANK YOU to all the participants of the contest that we ran for last few weeks. It was a real pleasure to see such a response, and to read all your article.

Unfortunately, not all of them could get the prizes. It was a difficult task to select the winners. It is time to announce their names!

Drums, please!

Zorin OS 9 - a step forward for Windows migrants

Linux notes from DarkDuck has closely followed the development of Zorin OS for a long time now. The first review was for Zorin OS 4, and since then it seems like I haven't missed any new release. I also interviewed Artyom Zorin, the leader of the distribution.

Even though I don't do reviews en masse now, I felt I had to write a review of Zorin OS 9, which was released in July 2014, just few days ago.

I downloaded the version Zorin OS 9 32-bit Core. It is about 1.3 GB in size, which means you either need a DVD or a USB stick with >1GB capacity to get this ISO working.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get Live USB with this distribution. I tried different methods: dd command, Unetbootin, and even USB image writer from Linux Mint 17 toolkit. None of them created a workable Live USB stick.

Then I reverted to a Live DVD option.

So, DVD with Zorin OS 9 Core is in the DVD-ROM of my laptop Dell Vostro 1500. Reboot. Choose to boot from DVD. Let's go!

Contest for Zorin OS lovers

Contest is closed. Results are here.

You probably remember a contest that ran about two years ago. It was dedicated to Zorin OS 6. A new release of Zorin OS 9 has been released only few days ago, that is why it is time for yet another contest, isn't it?

Let's Do It!

Just to refresh your memories, here are the rules.

This contest is organised together by Zorin OS team, Linux notes from DarkDuck and Buy Linux CDs.

Who can participate?

Everyone with a passion for Linux, and with some writing skills. If you're good enough to compose a short e-mail to your friend, then you're ready for the contest.

What you need to do?

Please write a short story about Zorin OS, or maybe just Linux in general.

Why do you use Linux? How did you come to the Linux world? What do you like here? What are you doing to promote Linux? Any of these, or maybe your own themes are good.

It would be better, if your post is about Zorin OS, but this is just "nice to have".

The text you're going to write should not be one-liner. Please be little bit more productive. At least 50 words, if you don't mind.

Where to send your works?

Please e-mail them to zorinos.contest@darkduck.com.

When to send?

Any time until the 31st of July 2014.

What will you get?

Organizers of the contest will select winners, and they will receive:

1. Disk with Zorin OS 9 Premium with all the attached support. Prize is given by Zorin OS team.
2. 10 GBP e-voucher for Amazon.co.uk site. Prize from Buy Linux CDs.
3. CD with any Linux distribution of your choice. Prize from Linux notes from DarkDuck.

Update: there is another prize from Linuxaria: 25 USD voucher for amazon.com. It will be awarded to the 10th article submitted to the contest, disregarding the content of it (unless it is a really dummy submission)! Please hurry!

Will my work be published?

By submitting your work, you allow organizers to use your work on their web sites, unless you specifically withdraw your permission in writing.

When will results be announced?

The results will be announced on the 2nd of August 2014.
The winners will be contacted by e-mail.

Small print:

1. One prize per contestant.
2. Decisions of contest organizers are binding, and cannot be changed.
3. Non-monetary prizes cannot be exchanged for money.
4. No cash equivalents.
5. Monetary prizes will be given in currency stated: 10 GBP and 25 USD.
6. In order to get non-monetary prizes, you must provide your postal address. This will be kept confidential and never disclosed to 3rd parties.
7. Winners must respond the requests within 14 calendar days. If there is no response, the prize will be withheld.

Zorin OS 8 Core Quick Screenshot Tour

Zorin OS is one of the Ubuntu derivatives that aims the fresh Linux converts. It allows you to start using Linux in the interface similar to Windows.

Zorin OS 8 was released on the 27th of January 2014. Let's have a quick screenshot tour on the features of Zorin OS 8 Core.
(Attention! Heavy graphics!)

Divergence in the distros: how the Linux community is splitting into a two-tier system

Multiple revenue streams aren't a bad thing.

Look at any major service provider: Heroku, Google, Amazon, Apple. All of them offer different levels of access to what they offer, usually at different prices. There's even an established route to enticing customers towards the paid plans, via the well-worn 'freemium' model.

Let's be clear about this: Linux isn't dividing into paid and unpaid. It's not going the freemium route (although the cynical will suggest that Canonical might be thinking about it). What we're seeing, though, is the development of a clear split. A kind of meiosis.

• Debian 7, Fedora, and openSUSE are one head of the hydra;
• Mint, Zorin, and Ubuntu the other.

And, much like the mythical beast itself, these heads enable the Linux beast to tackle both the herculean developer community while snapping up computer-averse consumers at the same time. If Linus Torvalds ran the Linux Foundation for-profit, this would be exactly the kind of business move that'd make sense: a two-tier system of Linux distributions, with one aimed at various levels of consumer and the other squarely aimed at the million unpaid developers who'll push the company forward.

Smart.

Zorin OS 6 Educational: the operating system for students' and pupils' home computers

Just a few days ago I wrote about Edubuntu, the Ubuntu-based Linux distribution targeted to the "market" of teachers, students, pupils and everyone in the industry of education.

You can install this operating system on a Linux Desktop or Laptop, which you bought for your child or yourself.

Of course, Edubuntu is not the only distribution with the purpose of helping people to teach and learn. Another example in this area is Zorin OS Educational.

As you can understand from the distro’s name, this is a product of Zorin OS team, which is focused on releasing Linux-based operating systems that will ease the learning curve for ex-Windows users.

The image size of Zorin OS 6 Educational is 1.9 Gb. It is available from one of several mirrors for free download.

I used Unetbootin to "burn" the image to the USB stick, which I later plugged into the port of my laptop Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pi 1505. Reboot. Choose to boot from USB. Let's go!

Three LXDE-based distributions: race them face-to-face

I am in a very interesting situation. Some time ago, I promised myself to stay away from LXDE-based distributions. At the same time, I wrote about three of them in the last 6 weeks.

Can I compare them somehow? Probably yes. Let’s do it.