I'm back ... "hello" to Zorin OS (again)

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tenor

So, yeah. Like the GIF from the movie "Independence Day" says, "I'm back." (And I know the GIF says, "boys," but it also applies to "girls," too - want to be equal here.) Anyway, I decided to move back to Zorin OS after having initially decided to stay with Linux Mint. Missed Zorin for its simplicity, overall look, and intuitive design. I have "distro-hopped" quite a bit the last month or so, but always found myself returning to Zorin OS. The brothers Zorin have done an excellent job with Zorin OS. The main reason why I'd leave Zorin was Wine, actually. Not so much because of the OS itself, although I've voiced feedback before, which the developers did listen to in at least one instance, so the change is "baked-in" now, and that's good. In any case, Wine in its current implementation could stand some changes.

While I was on Mint, I trialed CodeWeavers' Crossover program, and was pleasantly surprised at how it worked. I have also tried Bottles before, too. I think that running Windows programs in "containerized" instances is the way to go for Zorin OS. Perhaps the brothers Zorin could explore a partnership with CodeWeavers? Or ditch Wine for Bottles? I am going to continue trailing Crossover and will experiment with Bottles, too, but for now, I will keep my Zorin OS installation a Linux-only install (no Wine except for Crossover or Bottles). My Linux journey (coming from Windows) has been interesting, to say the least. Never have I "distro-hopped" before. It was always every several years I'd upgrade to Windows 98, Windows 2000, and so on and on. I'd be content with whatever I got, because I was used to Windows.

Anyway, gotta run. See everyone around (again) in these parts.

P.S.: When Wine worked, it worked well. But when it didn't, it'd cause problems.

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Update:

So, after having used Crossover more (and Bottles, too), I have a better handle on Wine. Sometimes I learn best through comparative learning (i.e., "comparative education," as they say in the educational field), and it's through this way that I've further realized how Wine works. Earlier, I said that Zorin OS would be better served by using a more "containerized" approach to Wine as with Crossover or Bottles.

However, after using both programs, I decided to give Zorin OS' implementation of Wine another shot. I now realize that how Wine is done at the system level is already "containerized," but to a lesser degree (in the form of folders and such); it's not as "cut and dry" as it is with the bottles-based approach (at least on the surface of things). Each folder that gets created within Wine after a program installation is that program's own "bottle" still. Also, my experience with Crossover and Bottles have shown me that with Wine, the same result is still seen with certain games, such as "Street Fighter 2 Alpha" or "The Ball."

Although I knew it before on a less conscious level, I now realize more fully that the issues I encountered earlier have more to do with the versions of Wine (e.g., 6.03 on Linux Mint versus 8.02 on Zorin OS) and not so much with how Wine works with each OS - it's Wine itself. Not the OS. For example, whether or not an installer or uninstaller shows up is dependent on the version of Wine and its ability to accommodate a game or program, not the OS. Still, there's no doubt the fully "containerized" approach Crossover and Bottles offers is better than a regular system-level Wine install when it comes to keeping things "clean." That's how I see it. That and a few lessons I've learned through trial and error have taught me what not to do going forward, as well. Anyway, I'm still using Zorin OS, as you can gather from this post. It's a good OS, and I'll keep recommending it to friends.

Interesting - on a recent subreddit on Reddit.com, I kept seeing people say "Linux Mint" when they recommended Linux distros for new users, and only one person suggested Zorin. Of course I chimed in and suggested Zorin OS. On DistroWatch, Linux Mint is No. 2, and Zorin is No. 9 (as of this time), so more work remains. (At least Zorin is in the "Top 10," which is impressive, given how many other Linux distros there are to compete with, and Zorin is above openSUSE on the same list, too.) Gonna stop here. Have a good one to all.

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I remember someone on here once pointed out that you cannot take the data from DistroWatch very seriously. Also what you have to remember is that Crossover supports the development of WINE as WINE is developed by the dev team at Codeweavers.
You may also like to watch intergalactic's review of LM vs Zorin as to which was the best for a Windows migrator - Zorin won!

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Apropros Wine and Crossover, anyone remember when Cedega was a thing?

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I wouldn't phrase it this way. DistroWatch is clear about how their ranking system works and it's merely based on a click counter. This only gives a very loose sense of popularity at any given time, but has no correlation with the number of actual installations or downloads.

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Exactly!

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I vaguely remember that.

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Thanks for the post @Omnimaxus just want to say how much I Love ZORIN 17 Pro. Just upgraded.

It all started with Ubuntu 20.04 on a 2012 iMac two years ago then 22.04. Glad I did! After the first year of Ubuntu, I was ready for something new and found Zorin 16 and bought it, installed and that was that.

Recently, I have installed Linux Mint on a 2011 Apple Macbook Air and I do like it a-lot. Definitely a second choice for me but it just doesn't have the level of UI coverage that Zorin has. Zorin is beautiful and seems very stable in my experience - Zorin remains a FIRST CHOICE for me.

Although I am new to the Linux platform, I do feel LIBERATED! :slight_smile: and Zorin made it so easy to feel right at home.

My only pain point right now is just dealing with an issue with xdg-desktop-portal-gnome (filechooser.c) not allowing me to save files from (snap & flatpack versions) Chrome or Firefox to my network drive. (google drive)

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Thanks for sharing! :slightly_smiling_face:

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