Hello. I Am New Here, and This May Not Be The Best Place To Post This

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I decided on this section because it is where I can talk about my ZorinOS experience. That is loosely related to the purpose of this thread.

So I feel like I need to introduce myself in some way, and provide some information about myself, to make it easier to understand some of things I have and will post at these forums.

HI! I am a longtime Windows user who has tried, and failed, many times to move to Linux. I have tried Mint most recently, and some other versions before that. For me, moving to Linux from Windows is a lot like moving from 3DS Max to Blender. Nobody will debate that Blender is the more powerful peice of software. But nobody with a normal brain would debate that 3DS Max has the better "user experience."

I am all about the "user experience." If I could sum up what I need, require and want in two words they would be, "Beautiful and Simple." I drive vehicles with an automatic transmission, not manual. Having to learn how to work that extra pedal gets in the way of me going where I want to go.

Similarly, Blender and Linux have historically gotten in the way of where I want to go. But now Windows is getting in the way of where I want to go. They have done this two ways:
1. They have stopped support of Windows 7, and now I am seeing more and more programs without any Windows 7 release. It wasn't even this bad when they phased out XP!

2. They have forced automatic updates in Windows 10, and I assume the same will be true in Windows 11. I do not allow garbage to run in the background. I can rectify the issue with a customized version of Windows 10 with all the garbage removed. That was the way I was going to go. But then someone pointed me to ZoirnOS, and I decided to try it.

I would say my overall experience with ZorinOS has been encouraging. The whole 3D game sticking point has been resolved in Linux with Lutris and Wine, and I had no issues installing and updating these. I have been able to play Minecraft, record my gameplay with OBS, and get a video ready for editing with Kdenlive. That was my minimum requirements.

HOWEVER there have been some sticking points... First of all diving into Linux waters so completely I am still a little lost as to the best way to get and install software, and I have had trouble with ZorinOS's uninstaller showing me a blank page. I also had trouble with having to enter my password for Minecraft over and over again, and Zorin could not remember my choice of audio device.

I am a fairly experienced computer user - I suppose I should mention that I have a 2-year degree in computer support and have trained a little in Linux, MacOS and Unix. So if I am struggling with these issues, others who are not so technical minded will be struggling far worse. And there is one more issue integral to Linux. The Terminal.

This is the final sticking point for me. I have been constantly advised to learn it here, told it is the simplest, easiest way to do stuff. That may be true, but the process of using the Terminal is not inherently Beautiful or Simple. Plus I can not be asked to remember a small lexicon of commands every time I want to install, uninstall, update or upgrade something.

If Zorin wants to make it easy for Windows users to come over to the Light Side (assuming Microsoft, or M$, is the Dark Side) the developers are gonna have to spend some time in Windows and get as many things as possible to function and work the same way in Zorin, with options for Linux veterans to customize to their liking. To start you need a few things:

1. I am not sure how to best implement this, but have some sort of easy, Trump-Political-Speech simple method, maybe a video link on the desktop, that tells folks the various ways to find and install new programs, their advantages and disadvantages. Stick to the facts here! Use corollaries to how it is best done in Windows.

2. Make sure that there is a 100% functional 24/7 GUI way to manage installed programs. If you could build in some sort of uninstaller like Windows, outside of the one you have in the store, something that is an actual part of the OS and not store/populating depending, that would be good.

3. Fix the issues with Zorin not remembering settings, like the audio device used. I have provided the solution I found in one of my threads. But just fix whatever it is in Zorin that causes it to forget.

4. There really, REALLY needs to be a GUI way to replace the Windows boot manager, and easily set up a dual-boot environment from within Zorin. I am still struggling with this.

5. Need a right-click drag menu with options for copy/paste/etc.

6. Need the Nvidia and other advanced video card drivers update themselves upon install, to avoid issues like a black screen after reboot. Just do a prompt after the initial install and setup that tells the user that there are these updates to install, do they want to install them. But once that initial setup is done, that prompt goes away. Or have a button for settings there so users can configure it to turn off.

Other than that, Zorin really is amazing. I am using it on a 55" screen, and it is actually easier to read, and it fits better, than Windows 7. I love the default wallpaper, how it cycles with time. The settings and various options you have included are easy to install. The apps included are just enough, and every good. It automatically mounts my other drives - no issues there. Running Minecraft, OBS and Kdenlive like a champ - I THINK OBS and Kdenlive are actually running better than in Windows!

It has taken Linux a long time to get to this point for me, but ZorinOS is looking like that one version of Linux I could migrate to from Windows, allowing me to leave the Dark Side for good. Provided I don't hit any more walls that leave me spending time debugging and learning things, which interferes with my creative flow and productivity.

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I know exactly what you are talking about, as I used the be a Windows user. My experience with Windows is...

Windows 3.1 for workgroups
Windows 95
Windows 98 & SE
Windows NT
Windows ME
Windows 2000
Windows XP SP 1-2-3
Windows Vista
Windows 7.

And that's where my experience ended. Once support was gone on Win7, I jumped ship to ZorinOS. When your used to Windows, you have a lot of expectations.

Linux in general has been a 30-year work experience. The first 20-years, it pretty much was only a hackers OS or government use OS. Linux for the average desktop user, really only became a thing 12-years ago.

Today, it's much better then it was, but it has much farther to go if it wants to fully compete against Windows as far as features. But it's important to note, that it is getting better every year.

If you install Synaptic Package Manager, I think you'll find it's an awesome package manager. It of course will take time getting used to for a beginner. But it's better then Software.

You mentioned my favorite video editor Kdenlive, I love it, it can work with 4K videos. If you need a great photo editor, I recommend GIMP.

One of the things you will notice about Linux, most all software is free. Microsoft is in it to make a buck, all software is usually paid, and it's expensive.

The cost of Adobe Premiere alone should have you screaming, and you practically need a collage degree to learn how to use the darn thing!

Open source is the way to go. It keeps people honest, and is fair, everybody benefits. With closed paid software, the only people who are benefiting is greedy Microsoft and big company devs.

I know the switch is not easy. I gave up a lot when I first jumped ship. But things are better now, more support. The gaming department was still bad on Linux 6-years ago, much better now.

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: ( I only used Windows 10 lmao. The reason I switch is because Windows Keep breaking my laptop

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If you want to set default audio device u can use a GUI application called Pulse Audio

sudo apt install pulseaudio
sudo apt install pavucontrol

IMG_20210901_205708
If you click the tick it will set the device as ur default

Hope this helps

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I don't really understand what your trying to say, can you rephrase

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I mean most people just use the terminal but you can try synaptic pakage manager it's rly good at managing software. It doesn't look as good as the Windows Store but it is very easy to use.

To install synaptic pakage manager:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install synaptic

In my opinion the store which comes with Zorin by default is very slow and buggy, search results don't show up like 95% of the time, very slow to install local packages(.deb) so I just type sudo dpkg -i #.deb in the terminal to install all my local packages. It's good to use the terminal when u can it is the easiest way to install pakages.

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Bruh I uninstall store, and I use the terminal all the time. In my opinion Windows is a good Operating System it certainly changed how we all use computers. Windows however just don't work for me, I just don't like it, but I won't judge those who are using Windows. Heck even I need to use Windows sometimes for testing, gaming(some games only work on Windows), etc.

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When you select an item in Windows, you can right-click and drag the item to another location. Once you release the right mouse button, a menu pops up, with options like Extract Here for 7zip (if you enabled that option), copy, paste, etc.

Linux does not inherently have this capability. I keep catching myself trying to do it, because it is part of my normal, every-day workflow, but Linux has no such right-click menu, or it is not enabled initially in Zorin.

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I will double-check, but I believe I tried all of this and it failed to work. The only method that worked as the one I posted about in another thread.

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In Linux you can actually change your file manager, so if you don't like one u can change to another.

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In Nautilus you can actually Hold Alt+Middle Click+Drag to do what you want.

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I already use Gimp for alll my image editing. Qbitorrent for torrents, 7zip for archives, ClamWin for antivirus scanning, Kdenlive for video editing, Freac for audio encoding/ripping, mpv for media playback,OBS to record videos, Libre Office for all office tasks.

If I can find a viable free and "open source" alternative (or FOSS as you lot might call it) I will use it. I learned not to make the mistake I did with 3DS Max. If I had spend that time learning Blender I would still be level designing and making stuff with Blender today. I had to transfer over to Blender from Max, Gimp from Photoshop, freeac from DB Power Amp, etc. Most of these transitions have been difficult. Don't want to go through that again.

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In two months, Linux will be very easy. It's all about getting familiar with the desktop and how we do stuff in Linux World.

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OK, so next stop will be learning how File Managers work in Linux, and which ones are compatible with Zorin.

Thank you.

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To choose a file manager for Zorin just make sure it's built with GTK, trust me if you install anything QT you will have a headache.

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Linux totally does.
Gnome does not. Gnome removed much in the way of usable features.

If you are used to using Gnomes Nautlius file manager by now and used to Windows File manager... I recommend Nemo File Manager. It is a fork of Nautilus, with all the user functionality and tooling restored.

sudo apt install nemo

It will bring some dependencies with it.
But it is well worth it. I only use Nemo FM on Zorin OS. Right click functionality, right click to open as Admin, drag and drop; it's all there.
If you really want to go above and beyond, the latest Nemo FM includes an improved Search Functionality that can search not just files, not content within files.

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Bruh, when I use LibreOffice as my first office suite.

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Yo, Nemo is very epic, I love it I use it on my Linux MInt machines all the time. (I use Nemo on Linux Mint is because I didn't bother to install anything else)

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I count Nemo and SpaceFM as close favorites in File managers with Nemo taking the win. Thunar comes in third place. Nautilus is dead last and Dolphin didn't make it into the running due to an unfortunate incident with a Tuna fishery.

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Bruh I just use the default file managers