Is there any hope for an official support for Plasma in Zorin 17?
I only speak for myself, of course, but if support will be added, I'd definitely buy ZOS17Pro, just like I purchased ZOS16Pro (which I don't use anymore, but that's another story, involving KDE, and T2 chips 
)
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Oh i hope so too, fingers crossed.
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I hope... not.
KDE is quite simply not as simple, straight forward and easy to use as Gnome or XFCE. Increasing complexity leads to steeper learning curve, which leads to a less welcoming user experience.
And I get that people have different preferences, needs and taste for how their own computer should look and feel. I'm not saying it would never work but the two just don't to share the same goals.
Zorin could have it where you can choose which desktop environment to use.
Because KDE is not simple, it would undermine the strengths of Zorin OS, in my opinion.
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I'm with @Hackgets on this. KDE is complex and its billion settings and addons, not for newbies, but for Desktop tinkers.
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This is the exact phrase that I wanted to say.
It aren't about like KDE or not. It's about what is sensible for new users.
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I love KDE Plasma.
Equally to how much I cannot stand it.
I do not find Plasma D.E. to be complex, complicated, overwhelming or difficult.
I find it to be baffling, disorganized, disjointed and counter-intuitive.
It is not that Plasma has too many settings.
It is that on Plasma, too many settings are redundant and not integrated.
Working with KDE Plasma reminds me a lot of working with a person that doesn't know how to listen.
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I am not saying that KDE is bad. However, I think it is hard to make the same kind of improvements to KDE that Zorin OS is making to Gnome and XFCE.
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Don't mean to go into a tangent here but please correct me if I wrong... KDE is the "parent" project and Plasma the desktop environment?
PS: Glad to have you back, Aravisian.
Not the only one, don't worry
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While I do agree that it'll be hard for Zorin to maintain a KDE edition or integration of sorts, and that it looks scary for newcomers:
- Zorin is not targeting newcomers only
- It's actually quite friendly to new users, more so than Gnome I suspect. This I speak from experience, as it was actually Mandrake 7.3 with KDE that made me like Linux
- It has great app integration, so so many wonderful Qt apps
- It's incredibly fast for how much code it relies on
I'd love for KDE install to at least be tested by the devs and the distro set up so that an upgrade will have very little change of breaking the system. Even an official install tutorial with caveats to watch for should suffice. An install script would be better, having KDE as a desktop option for ZOSPro would be great.
Only if possible, of course. I realize the manpower and time required for this addition is not something to be taken lightly.
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@Storm you can liked KDE this is your hobby desktops.
Changing, creating to be your preferences.
I remember I tried KDE and that is true many options and many things to configuration that desktop.
I remember also when i remove kde it was not fully removed.
And for that reason, I counter your point. It makes you have to learn, re-think, and takes you out of your comfort zone. A new challenge. Being I use my laptop once a week and that Pro has been so steady (I've always preferred Lite hands down but have been using Pro as my daily driver since 16 came out, it's won me over), I recently installed Kubuntu and wiped out Lite. I'm enjoying it. Learning some more things in the Fun World of Linux. I'm not saying it's better than Lite.
What I'm saying is by using Pro and now also Kubuntu, I've learned more of what Linux has to offer. Opened my mind, so to speak. Also gives me ideas of thing to try when I re-install Lite 17 later this year... (I hope)
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Off-topic.
I found Kubuntu buggy and not as well maintained. For latest and greatest go with KDE neon which is based off Ubuntu 22.04LTS. It works great.
Or switch openSUSE Tumbleweed
Or, if you like tinkering, just install KDE on Zorin with sudo apt install kde-full. It actually works great in general, but you have to spend some time polishing it to look good and you'll come across glitches.
There are many more distros which ship with KDE by default, but these are my favs.
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That is precisely my point. It's not what ZorinOS is about:
Zorin OS was built to be as easy as possible, so you won't need to learn a thing to get started thanks to its familiar user interface.
What you are describing is inherent to the nature of open source. It's great that you can install whatever software you want and configure it the way you want it. You certainly can install KDE Plasma on ZorinOS at anytime.
But as great as that argument is in favor of Linux, and open source in general, it has very little bearing on the topic of creating a new version of ZorinOS, equally polished as their Gnome and xfce counterparts.
Most people don't expect nor want a challenge when they login to their computers to check their emails, work on some spreadsheets, etc. Those who want to explore and use different settings or software than what is provided to them by default are welcome to do so. And in fact, installing a new desktop environment is itself an interesting challenge to look into.
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It is not counter to what Zorin OS is about, either.
You make very good points. But something fundamental:
Moving to Linux will do this:
While both of your points appear to oppose each other on the surface, I would put forth that both are just two sides of the same coin.
What Jeff said was an inevitability of moving to Linux. And Zenzen pointed out that Zorin OS seeks to ease that transition by enabling users to get started on Linux without having to crack open books on coding.
It is very important to remember that getting started is not the same as continuation of an effort.
In life, much of any transition, from changing jobs to switching vehicles, requires learning new things. Many steps can be taken to ease those transitions so that you do not need to learn a lot of new things immediately.
It does not remove the necessity to learn.
It removes the factor of feeling overwhelmed by what needs to be learnt.
That is what Zorin OS is about: Removing the fear, overwhelming, barriers and inhibitions to the act of learning something new, by not necessitating having to learn how to just get started using it.
You can start someone on Linux who has never used Linux by putting a computer with Zorin OS on it in front of them and they can browse the web, organize and move files and transfer data without having to re-learn the whole system. But... if they continue using it, need to expand projects, need to enable new software or do anything beyond the basics, they will need to do some learning. Which is also true on Windows and MacOS anyway.
The truth is in your statement:
Zorin OS answers this.
It is still Linux, however, and the longer they use it, they more they face having to apply effort and learning to future projects - Which is just a fact of life.
Opening that door and making that easier to face is what Zorin OS does. It does not remove it. It enhances it.
Which finally brings me to the one and only point of disagreement:
It does have bearing. As Jeff admirably worded it, it may seem as though it doesn't. Your refutation was excellent and clear.
But look a wee bit deeper and... it becomes a bit less defined and clear.
Whether KDE Plasma is an answer to that is a whole 'nother thing but... Jeffs point of something that opens challenges and doors and expands the users horizons is valid and has a great deal of bearing on the future of Zorin OS or any operating system.
I would even go so far as to say it is not just advisable - but necessary to have it.
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I believe that discussion is not to fight, but to stop fighting. Please remember that being too eloquent can lead to conflict.
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