26 Jun 2012

Discovering Zorin OS

It was due to having Agoraphobia that I spent most my time gathering as many tips and tweaks that I could find to make my system run as lightweight as possible while having only 1gb of RAM. I wasted a lot of time and went through a lot of heartache trying to make a window out of what's really a box.

Linux vs Mac vs Windows
Image by KobraSoft
I'm talking about Windows that is. In my opinion Windows is just that. A window you can look through but it is locked onto a house that you cannot truly make your own and be the master of your own domain. You can only see as far and wide as 'they' want you to see which after looking a bit harder you see it is actually an illusion on the wall, tricking the eyes of the masses into thinking they're using the best of the best, the top-of-the-line OS when you're really boxed in.

I was in the dumps with my situation as there was no freedom for me, the limits were quickly found. I had hit a wall. I was to sit with a laptop that I knew had power and strengths; that deserved to shine but couldn't be unlocked to its potential. Only in my dreams, I thought.



It wasn't until I had major computer trouble that I ended up with half of the memory I was used to, 512mb on a much older laptop than my previous one. Again, I tried even the littlest, stripped down versions of Windows I could find. To no avail, I accepted that my passion for writing short stories and editing videos was now, without a doubt, over. There was nothing I could do. No change I could make.

Somehow I stumbled upon a Linux distro which led to another, then another, then it was back to the first, then back to the last one and back all around again. I tried well over a dozen. Juggling them, burning them off, surrounding myself with unlabeled burned CDs not knowing which was which, which had that particular problem and which one I would just have to settle with. It was a frantic frenzy.

I had been familiar with Linux for a while but I wondered if Linux was just freedom much like in the Matrix code. Something I just couldn't bring myself to comprehend. I was stuck with one foot out of the window while the other tip toed around the complexities of Linux.

What was I to do? I finally discovered the key was with LXDE, but the distros I tried were still too beefy and bloated, still with that complicated Linux experience. Then I found the door to balance with Zorin OS 6 Lite.

It's my favorite color, Blue, first of all. It's simple, easy, sleek, smooth and speedy! It's bundled with less programs than other LXDE distros. I don't need to waste time uninstalling things I won't use. The menu is very simple and very well laid out. I love to see that the lists have only what I use and not the more complex customization tools I will never use and are found in other distros.

Something really worth mentioning is that as LXDE distros are meant to be lightweight and take up little RAM. That hasn't been quite the case with what I have tried.

I've actually screwed up my Linux system several times over trying to milk as much performance as possible by ridding the system of extra processes which I didn't need but they were strangely vital to the core system. So there was some extra bloat and baggage I did not like whatsoever.

In Zorin OS, I don't need to bother risking a major mess up from uninstalling processes I don't need. It just works and does its job. The performance is the fastest I've come across. It is very easy to use, get around and do what you need to do when you need to do it. It promises what other distros say they offer but fall short of, in one way or the other.

Zorin OS is truly out-of-the-box. It grasps what lightweight enthusiasts and those it’s intended for want and doesn't fall short at all. As I said before, Zorin OS hits the bull’s eye!

Having also tried the Core version, it is simply a wet dream that flows wonderfully with such an awesome fluid feel. Zorin OS isn't only an OS geared towards Windows users and neither is it another Linux distro. It is, in fact, something entirely new, profound and groundbreaking.

I am willing to bet that Zorin OS will become the next Ubuntu. It is a balance between Windows and Linux that shows continued growth into something bigger than them both. The day will come when It's not just Windows and Mac, or Ubuntu, but a new age of OS's that started from Zorin, the first honest OS for the world.

I found a home with Zorin and the voyage has just begun. It has set my visions further out where they need to be, surely where I will follow and find myself someday.

Thank you, Zorin brothers and team.


This is a guest post by Steven Abeyta, which won the 4th prize in the joint Zorin OS contest.

36 comments:

  1. I have to say that I am now using Zorin as my main distro.

    Initially my view was that it would be great for Windows users who were looking for a new home but would ultimately be a stepping stone for each user's journey into Linux from Windows.

    Now that I use it regularly I have changed that view. The user interface is good. The effects are great without being too much (I love compiz).

    It has the ease of use of ubuntu, the power and security of linux and familiarity of windows.

    Great review by the way. Thanks Steven

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  2. Not really sure what you mean by "I am willing to bet that Zorin OS will become the next Ubuntu" given that Zorin is based on Ubuntu itself.

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  3. And then, one day, you discover Slackware and realise that all the bells and whistles and pre-configured niceness is for noobs and that you not only don't need them, but can now make Linux be just how you want and not how someone else thinks it should be.

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    1. Sure, but before you start climbing onto Slackware Everest, you need to learn how to walk with Zorin. :)

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    2. Nope, there are some Slackware flavours which are simple to install. Like SalixOS (my favourite), of Vectorlinux.

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    3. I tried with Salix for some time, even had it installed on my HDD for some time. I must admit it still requires more knowledge than Ubuntu. In this case, Salix can be somewhere in the middle of the education line, like the first wooden bike.

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  4. So what did we learn here? The author loves Zorin OS and favorite color is blue, nothing more. No details, no technical information, no useful information. Where are the comparisons, examples, anything useful?

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    1. This information is probably waiting for you to write up, and submit to me as a guest post. Happy to publish then!

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    2. I would be more than happy to! Are you willing to accept a post from anyone?

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    3. I can consider an article from anyone. E-mail me, if you have something to offer. 8-)

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  5. When I build computer for friends and family I always install Zorin. It has to be the easiest distro out there. When I do a gaming (yes linux gaming)Computer I install Ultimate Edition but Zorin has what most people are use to and are switching from Windows. Even some of my family uses it on their Macs.

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  6. It's 'waste time', not 'waist time'.

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  7. Would you like to review ROSA 2012 "LXDE"? once the final come out

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    1. You won't believe, but it is at the top of my "to do" list. I usually don't like LXDE systems review, plus I dislike ROSA in general. But there is something in the screenshots I've seen which makes me curious.

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    2. Seems like ROSA's downloading server is down. Can somebody e-mail me a .torrent file for LXDE i586 edition please?

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  8. Zorin is definitely one of my favorites and most of the time works as intended. I haven't tried the Lite version yet but surely will in the near future.

    I also just discovered Voyager xfce and it's very, very nice so far. A really beautiful distro. Would love to see a write up on that!

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    1. Why not write up yourself? ;) I'll publish.

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  9. Great story. I wanted to submit one, but unfortunately I don't have much experience with Zorin, and I figured a Zorin story would win (looks like I was right about that). However, I look forward to participating in more of your contests. :) Keep up the good work!

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    1. To be honest, we have not receive any non-Zorin articles for that contest. :)

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  10. I tried Zorin-lite 6 on my 2004 Dell Dimension and it worked really great. I had been using Xubuntu, which, while working, did not work well with any video in full screen. Zorin seems to solve that problem and make a smooth environment all around.

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    1. I've tried Zorin OS 6 Lite too. It is very nice, you're right.
      Although, it is based on Ubuntu 11.10, which is not the latest. 8-(

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    2. I have tried 3 of Zorin Os's Distros. I am amazed to finally find what I have looking for all along. Tried, Core 1st, which gave me the WOW factor. So I decided to donate to get the Ultimate version, same WOW factor, but with a lot of extra's. Made me feel like The core of Ubuntu, with Linux Mint Dressing, which = Linux version of Win 7 Ultimate, but at least 4 times faster. A friend asked me what do I have for an older PC.. I said nothing to speak of. Then last night I decided to try the Lite version...simply put...Awesome! Today, I will tell him about the Lite version. I have tried many others, but Zorin OS 6 LTS Ultimate is where I am gonna call "Home". And yes, all of the 6's are LTS version. I know I didn't give a review, but I wanted to let all the noobs, like me, can get an "out of the box" experience!! Thx...

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    3. BTW DarkDuck...kinda "smilin" here about what you said in #2)I prefer to stay away from LXDE. --well now, according to the 'horse's mouth', Zorin said: "Zorin OS 6 "Lite" edition, a Lubuntu-based distribution featuring the lightweight LXDE desktop environment: "The Zorin OS team is proud to finally release Zorin OS 6 Lite, the latest evolution of the Zorin OS Lite series of operating systems, designed specifically for Windows users using old or low-powered hardware. This release is based on Lubuntu 11.10 and uses the LXDE desktop environment to provide one of the fastest and most feature-packed interfaces for low-specification machines. New features and refinements include a more lightweight version of the Software Center which makes it much easier to install applications in Zorin OS Lite and update programs." And thx for looking at my not really a review above. I usually go by maxweis1 instead of anonymous...lol I have tried Arch, is okay, just wasn't what I was looking for...Kelvin...but the Zorin lite with LXDE was, Awesome!!!

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    4. Please stay tuned. I am preparing a review of ROSA LXDE, and I will explain (at least one) the reason why I try to stay away from LXDE.

      Arch is rather a steep learning curve for Linux newbie. I have not tried it yet, and I am with Linux for more than 1.5 years. 8-)

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  11. You obviously have not tried Archlinux with LXDE they don't come much lighter or faster.
    Or try Archbang even faster still openbox but in its pure form.

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    1. You're right, I have not tried Arch with LXDE for 2 reasons:
      1) I prefer to review Live versions, and Arch is not available in Live
      2) I prefer to stay away from LXDE.
      Although, I am currently preparing a review of ROSA LXDE, which has something special from my point of view. Stay tuned. :)

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  12. DarkDuck, could You please mention memory consumption of ROSA LXDE in Your review? Thanks.

    I tried all LXDE distros about 2 years ago. All. It always felt incomplete and from 90 Mb (#! - Crunchbang) to about 130 Mb (OpenSuse, Mandriva...) it wasn´t that far to XFCE or Gnome 2 which offer a lot more comfort in my eyes.

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    1. Let's wait for my review. I won't announce anything from it until it is published.
      I can only tell that the text was drafted and currently being edited.

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  13. I tried Zorin before and was alright. Was curious if Zorin still has the cube effect and the explosion effect when you close windows. I thought those effects were quite amazing. Is a shame I was so upset I could not get wine to work so well with it! Finally, I woke up and found out wine doesn't work so well with any OS! I feel bad I blamed Zorin for Wine's faults! Although, I think Zorin is nice, I have really found Sabayon9 to my liking better. Still as a former Windows user, I would have to say Zorin is a little easier to move to as is not complicated to install or use!

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    1. Yes, you're not the first person to say that. Zorin is like a launch pad for people moving into the Linux world... That's why Zorin is likely to be the first, but not the last distribution for many people.

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  14. I have used Zorin Lite to bring back some old boxes back to life. For example a discarded Compaq Presario model 5012us with 512 ram initially not running windows ME ;
    My brothers old Acer Aspire 3003WLCi etc.While its true I added ram for them all; I have tried other OS for these older machines such as puppy and Lubuntu but Zorin worked. Nice GUI and one can do almost anything with the terminal. For most users this all they need to run firefox and surf.

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    1. What is Zorin compared to Puppy and Lubuntu? Can you share your comparative experience?

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    2. Zorin is a different version flavour of Lubuntu 11 but I had problems installing Lubuntu on a resource limited box. Puppy and the other small distros ,Damn small linux run off the optical drive but take a long boot time and do not have the easy to work with GUI and are best used for repair as they have gparted on them. There was one quirk with Zorin it would only install one way on the menu. ie not when in live. Its more familiar to me after using ubuntu 9 though this pc amd quad core is running Precise 12.04

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  15. Richard Marquis24 July 2012 at 20:14

    Distribution that needs to be much better known. Really great.

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