Your analogy does not quite work. And even though I may be an electronics engineer I do not know the fine detail of how my electric car works. I know it has a motor and a battery. But, to use it effectively and safely all I have to know is how to operate the controls. I don't actually need to know how the motor driver works or how to fix it.
Using linux has seemed to me to be very much like being a car enthusiast who is also a mechanic and can fix the car that breaks down often by the side of the road like a friend I once had who is into old cars and prides himself in the fact that he carries so much stuff around in the car that he can fix most things by the road. I would not drive a car that required so much hassle just to get from A to B.
I still don't understand why one distribution is based off another as I do not know in detail what goes into one. All I know is that there is all of this open source software and it gets bundled up with the linux kernel and the desktops that visually hold it together.
As long as you can hire someone to fix it for you when it breaks, I guess this could be true.
Do you... trust your mechanic?
I am not sure I understand your intentions here. You say you do not care to know how it works and do not care to know what it means to be based on other distro, yet you have twice asked what it means to be based on another distro.
I am not sure how to answer a question which states it does not care about the answer.
He means Ubuntu could be a funcionality about don't touch terminal or research if something not working. Something like a complete book from author without (errors on print).
I have spent much time trying a few distros out from time to time only to find I am either as OS programmer or I am to be a windows user. I don't know at what stage in the linux OS the issues arise. So I found that Ubuntu did not fully work out of the box and it took longer to sort that out than just reinstall windows. If other distro's are based off Ubuntu how do they stop issues getting through?
There must be a reason one distro is based off another, I guess it is to cut down development, even pop and elementary are ubuntu based and they seem to have resources backing them so clearly there is some good reason.
So I guess what I am missing is what actually makes one distro different from another? which bit is the one with all the issues and are these the bits that developers of a distro based on another just sidestep and do themselves?
this is the question I opened with, "how is Zorin different from every other distro".
I see that Zorin, pop and elementary all put "OS" after their name and do not refer to linux much, this sort of tells me that they are putting serious effort into making the OS something different and not just another distro, because I do not understand linux like a mechanic understands a car I don't see the difference, hence the original question.
When you tried other distros, you have your own opinion about Zorin and why it is better or not compared to others.
It is good for newbies ( who is switching from Windows, Mac) or for other people who want stable Linux system.
It is easy to install, lot of options, basically plug and play OS.
You can not get wrong if you install Zorin.
For me,for example is boring sometimes, because it is stable and I want to live on the edge , haha.
But now, when lite is out, I switched back from Arch ( Endeavour os distro) and I am satisfied
I can answear about your question. This is very simple. Why some linux many distribution and how they diffrents?
This is about a money and politics also software package.
Something people need some software that why using diffrents linux distribution because another distribution don't have that. Background they exist investors an people who are programmers. They mostly decide what will be in linux or not. We have a example POP OS! company what have inside a politics rules and don't care a people what they sayed or what they liked or not liked. I agree with that. People outside cannot dictate a company what is best for them. That why I gived POP OS!=APPLE.
If someone don't understand this.
Open Suse was sold about $ 2.5 billion.
For me one most important question is what all linux users asking if linux will be near the same stable operating system like apple. I don't talking about companies.
Big companies still hold linux in a hand.
There was a point in your life where you needed to learn how to use Windows. It was some time ago and has faded into the mists of time.
But if you had been a Linux user from the very beginning, and now decided to try out Windows, you would feel like you need to be an OS Programmer and it would be easier to reinstall Linux.
I think that your example about the car may help on this one.
I am a mechanic, so... I can relate to it more easily.
Imagine a Stock Car. It has a chassis, a transmission, an engine, a drive train...
The drive train can have a driveshaft, ball joints and suspension and a rear differential. You do not need to know what all of these are... But what is important is knowing that all of those are the same parts across a variety of different model cars.
What makes those models different may be the layout of the interior cabin. Whether they come with hand-crank or power windows. Whether the body and windshield of the car provides greater or poorer visibility.
Even though many of the components and parts are the same, there are some that are different in assembly.
After driving several different models, you would notice the differences. You do not need to be a mechanic to notice the differences.
What Makes Zorin OS Different:
Additional available layouts
A large number of included Gnome-Extensions that add ease of use and familiarity to the desktop
Excellent performance and speed
An active support forum
Multiple tweaks and changes in the source code that alter the Ubuntu aspects into a more usable distro
Inclusion of Zorin OS Specific applications
Easy customization; As a distro, I find Zorin OS tends to mesh better with other modular Linux Software. Zorin is less locked in than other distros, allowing me to take it apart and reassemble as I wish. Other distros tend to resist these changes. It takes more effort to find what tweaks they added to make their distro less configurable. This is the primary reason that I, personally, prefer Zorin OS aside from performance.
True but that was also learning how a computer OS works. Much of what applies to windows applies to any OS, folders, files, a place for settings, or not in the case of many distro's because if you don't do it on the command line you are not a real linux user. Yes windows has a command line but I rarely need it if at all and do not resort to it for every day stuff. A menu of programs, shortcuts, all these things are common.
One OS is a lot like another on the surface like cars are as you say, they all have the same functional items that may not be identical from one model to another but are there and usually it would not be too difficult to find your way around and get stuff done.
Many people use Zorin OS for years at a time without ever opening the terminal.
The terminal is a useful and powerful tool. I encourage its use even if Windows does not. But you can be a real Linux user without it just fine.
The terminal just makes things much easier and faster is all.
I actually consider myself a Linux Novice, in spite of my participation on this forum.
I only recently migrated from Windows to Zorin OS and Linux.
I remember it quite well.
And I still, on occasion, must use Windows even if my personal machines are all Linux.
I have been using Linux Long Enough to know that what you just said is simply not accurate.
Well I guess it depends on the linux distro. Windows has rather extensive settings as it is mostly done by GUI. I have never come across such detailed settings in a linux distro. Obviously there may be some that have more settings, maybe those with the mission Zorin and other "OS" distro's have.
I have only started using Linux full time a few months ago. I am 75 years old. I have used windows since the days of 3.1 and have had almost every version except Vista and 8. You do NOT need the command line in Linux for everyday use. And Zoriin 16 comes with enough apps to do almost anything you normally would need to do. And the software store allows you to easily install almost any other app that you might need.
If for some reason you do have a problem the people on this forum are a tremendous asset. Using your car analogy this forum is like having your own group of mechanics to help you work on your car and they don't even ask to get paid.
I have been spending the time to learn how to use the command line to install special programs that are not in the software store and to do other things the normal user probably doesn't need or want to do. But you sure do NOT have to use the command line. This version of Zorin is especially easy to use without the command line use.
So I have to respectfully disagree with your assessment that THIS distro only gives you the bare minumum. And THAT is what makes this distro different to answer your original question.
i never said that this Distro which instead calls itself an OS has too few settings, I have not used it yet. I am saying that this is generally what I found with linux distro's where the answer was always, sure you can do that, here are several lines of commands to type out, and for all I know the person giving me those commands is simply telling my computer to do something else.
I have just discovered that windows 11 has removed audacity, my patience is wearing thin, but I have a life, and that is not to be a mechanic to my OS. For example this evening in order to to my voluntary work for my local talking newspaper I have to re download and re install a program I already had. I only use this program for this purpose of unpaid work and yet windows makes it even harder.... but at the same time I do not wish to end up with an OS where I am doing even more work just to keep it running.
maybe, I have been fed so much rubbish by some people and been fooled to many times into installing something that then when it has an issue I am told it does not have an issue
As I already said, It's time to give it a go. My only problem will be no 3D cad and no microcontroller development environment - again.
That was probably a valid complaint against Linux some years ago. I can remember first looking at Linux in the early 2000s - Mandrake and SUSE were distros I tried - and gave up because it was just too much bother. However there are distros now that require no extra work. I've installed Zorin and Mint on a number of PCs/laptops and could have run them straight off the bat with no additional work. There are enough options to tweak if someone wants to do so, however for many "ordinary" hardware configurations stuff just seems to work "out the box." I installed Zorin 15 Lite about 15 months ago on the PC my wife uses. She isn't "tech savvy" - she surfs, does email, uses spreadsheets for budgeting and types the occasional document. In all the time she's been running Zorin she hasn't had to ask for any assistance operating the PC. All the required programs were installed with the OS. The only thing she probably couldn't have done was activate the firewall - and a quick google search could have provided the guidance for that (and it's not as if Windows comes with an operating firewall in situ.)
Please give Zorin a try, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. You might even find that installing PlayonLinux/Wine may resolve your 3d CAD Windows program concern.
There are several good 3D cad programs made for Linux or for multi platforms. FreeCad works in Windows and Linux. It is a pretty full featured program and fairly intuitive for anyone already familiar with 3D cad programming. There are several others that range from very basic to full featured.
There are also microcontroller programs for Linux. Ardunio is supported I know but have not looked for others but when I was using Picaxe I am pretty sure there was a Linux programmer for it also.
Once you actually get started with Linux and have it installed then you have access to the repositories that have these kinds of programs. And if you meet the rare one that needs the command line to install it Aravsian and others here can tell you exactly how to do that. The easiest way I have found to do that is to just copy and paste from their posts into the terminal. That way I don't make any mistakes typing.
I really want to encourage you to give Zorin a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you can do easily.
