I have read a number of very good reviews about Zorin 6 recently. (For example http://linuxblog.darkduck.com/2012/07/zorin-os-6-core-fresh-blood.html, http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/zorin-core-6.html).
Having been a user of Zorin 5 up until recently I decided last weekend to download a copy of Zorin 6 and tonight I decided to install it. (Well my wife is watching Geordie Shore, what else am I to do?).
Now this article is only based on first impressions and is not an in depth review but I have to say that Zorin 6 could be the best operating system I have ever used.
First of all we know that it is built on top of the latest version of Ubuntu so it has the latest software and it has all the stability that Ubuntu provides.
The key though for me is that Zorin 6 isn't just another Ubuntu clone. In the review by Dedoimedo he asks is there room for Zorin with Ubuntu being so strong and Linux MINT being so good. Dedoimedo thinks there is and so do I.
Zorin 6 is a good leap forward from Zorin 5. The whole experience is incredibly crisp. It feels 100% professional. The icons are crisp, the windows are crisp. The effects are brilliant and classy.
It isn't just the looks that are good. The software works too.
I ran Rhythmbox and previously I have had problems getting Rhythmbox to recognise a Sony Walkman MP3 player but in Zorin 6 it is picked up straight away. Now I know that is more down to the developers of Rhythmbox and to the Ubuntu team but as a user it is just nice.
No technical set up is required. Anyone who previously thought LINUX was difficult to set up needs to see this because Zorin makes Windows look like CICS running on an AS400 mainframe.
My wireless networks appeared instantly in the list and I connected to both in seconds. Chrome was installed as the default browser and Flash was available instantly as was Java and all the truetype fonts.
The collection of software installed is what you would expect including LibreOffice, Rhythmbox, VLC Player, Brasero, Thunderbird and of course WINE.
Zorin is obviously targetting Windows users and if Windows users take a look they could easily be persuaded to use Zorin.
Now this is my first night running Zorin 6 and I may come up against issues but I have installed all the peripherals that I might need and all the software works. There have been no crashes (nor would I expect there to be).
Over the past few weeks I have reviewed Puppy Linux and repeatedly said that I don't think you would use Puppy as your main operating system on your all singing and dancing laptop. Zorin basically puts the case forward for the reason why.
Don't get me wrong I think Puppy Linux is great and I love the version that was made by Scott Jarvis called Puppy Arcade. As a huge fan of retro gaming (I own everything from an Atari 2600 to a Sega Dreamcast including Sinclair Spectrums, an Atari ST and a Commodore Amiga) Puppy Arcade saves a huge amount of cable swapping and trawling through tapes and cartridges.
What should an operating system be? I could ask all of you that question and undoubtedly get a huge array of answers. For me an operating system should:
- load reasonably quickly
- be unobtrusive (no enforced updates, no popping up of messages all the time)
- be intuitive (icons should be laid out efficiently, menus should be clean and search should work)
- be stable (The operating system should just work and really any pre-installed applications should just work as by pre-installing applications you are validating them)
- be visibly attractive
- be secure
- not be a memory hog
It looks beautiful, but the screenshots are so small :) Also, maybe put a link to the Zorin homepage, so we don't have to google it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I decided instead to create a new post to help promote it even more because I think Zorin 6 deserves promotion. It really is a great operating system.
DeleteVisit http://everydaylinuxuser.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/zorin-6-screenshots.html
Hello There. I'm Bob. Just installed Zorin 6. I love 99% of it. They've taken several right click items. How do I get back .. add desktop launcher? I must have it. My email is wyzard999@msn.com.
DeleteThanks Gary
Check out the respin version Zorin 06 video
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF8-rQrzMuc
Zorin OS is really wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt is not only their Core, but also their Ultimate and Educational versions too!
I too love Zorin. The one thing about it is the download and burning. I have went to a usb install. Zorin needs to download faster, it takes way to long, and this can cause problems. A bit torrent would be nice. Almost all problems with Zorin come from the long download time, and you have to burn at a very slow rate if using a DVD. Otherwise I agree, once installed there is no better OS. The other thing I have to say about Zorin is the moderators at the Zorin forum are the absolute best I have found in Linux. Very knowledgeable, polite, and very patient with newbies, which we all know is not always the case.
ReplyDeleteSet up of Zorin OS 6 was quite easy. It is the same installation software that Ie8 and Ie8 versions.Zorin comes with their own pc appropriately known as Zorin Desktop Atmosphere which is exclusive to this submission. It gives the designers more control over the overall look and feeling than using GNOME or KDE for its pc environment.
ReplyDeletei use zorin 6 myself though on my old pc i used windows 7,an because i had to buy a secondhand pc it came with vista which by anybodys standards is crap.i took a leap to zorin
ReplyDeletebecause of its simplicity it does all what i want without hoggin memory or pc usage
and the guy's who made this os are on to a winner
hiya i'm new to zorin 6 and need help with sharing my media with my xbox 360
ReplyDeleteon windows i simply used windows media and ive never used linux based os before
Hi Jason,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find anything for Zorin but because it is based on Ubuntu I checked the Ubuntu website and found this link https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Xbox360Media. The compatibility warning doesn't look like it is something that works but there are a few other options that I will explore that I found online but until I've tried them out I don't want to guess at an answer.
I will post an article about this subject sometime in the next week.
Regards
Gary
Hi Gary,
Deletethis is why im not sure how to do media sharing as there are a few ways in which this can be done,like via xbmc though all these could be possible im not sure which is the safest.If i find out then i will post it on here,thank you very much for all your help with this
Regards
jay
The only thing i have to say about Zorin is simply the best out there, i've tried over 20 diffrent dists, that people said is the best, but zorin beats theme all. i wanna have a os that is simple and yet u can change everything if u want to. tumbs up.
ReplyDeleteLoved zorin,and have tried many distros ,I setteled on mint 13 mate .
ReplyDeleteI'm a non linux user and found mint 13 to suit my needs better , zorin is great, but things like making a desktop short cut ,I found a bit confusing ,r click to make short cut ,then goto properties to permit the short cut . As a distro that says its for windows users,I found this a little odd ,why not just r click to make a short cut ?
Over all zorin is a very polished distro and I'd recommendto anyone.
Zorin first ...
ReplyDelete(Zorin is U)