Bring Back Browser Chooser for users to decide on which Browser they would like and also include the options by having browsers available in Synaptic Package Manager as PCLOS Debian does.
Vote for your choice.
I say this is a good idea, but I'm not a big fan of not inclduing any browser by default, which could cause some confusion mostly on users who speed up through the setup process, or users who want to take a look in the live session and need to access the internet for any reason.
In my opinion, there should be one browser preinstalled (be it Brave or be it another, doesn't matter to me), but with the Browser Chooser, if you choose to install a browser that's not the installed one, a popup could appear recommending the user to remove the browsers that have not been selected in the Browser Chooser to free up space if they are installed in the system (and include a button to remove said browser). This could work not only to easily replace the default browser with the user's choice on first setup, but also to easily switch from one browser to another later
If one isn’t present in the iso, how does the user get the browser? I’m not a fan of forcing users to immediately download something from the Internet.
A Window where You can choose a Browser during the Installation to install is a nice Idea, but the Point ''without one being present in the .iso'' I don't like. It should be included.
As a developer's point of view - you don't want to be spending/wasting time on useless things like a browser choice. Have them spend some time on some new refreshing feature instead.
If they were to use another browser, why not use the Gnome Web Browser? Again, there's always gonna be those few people that disagree with the choice of browser.
Given how easy it is to install the preferred browser and that a lot of people do this anyway, I do not see the need for this.
I also think it's best to just have something installed that people can use right away, and then download whichever browser you want after the fact. For those who aren't bothered by the browser choice, this feature would only result in an extra prompt.
The only reason I like this is to prevent the whole flatpak vs non-flatpak thing. But I prefer the user walks into Zorin OS with the impression that everything has been set up with some thoughtful deafults, and is ready to go.
Another reason I'm not a fan of this feature is because it will naturally lead to the endless stream of "why isn't my favorite browser included?" type of question. And from there, everything else will follow suit: file managers, office suite, email clients, desktop environments, etc...
It works in PCLOS Debian, if people are desperate to surf they always have their smartphone to hand. The Browser Installer resides in the panel and uses the Surf symbol used by Edge in the Panel. The thing is it is putting choice back into the hands of the user and avoids having to go through removing the pre-existing one. Upgreyed wrote the script, and in addition to the Browser installer, all Browsers can be installed via Synaptic Package Manager. PCLOS Debian Plasma et.al. is the only distro that allows me to install Zen Browser via Synaptic which means as Zen continues to get updates, my installed browser gets updated with system updates. I have tried to install the tar.gz file of zen browser without success. I am limited to an AppImage in Zorin and Q4OS.
I definitely see the appeal for such a feature, but it's not without downsides. Too many unknown choices can be overwhelming, a feeling that is not all that uncommon to see with people new to Linux.
The way I see it, it's best to keep things as simple as possible even when that means a little more work. Which might not even be an issue if the default choice already is good enough, which most likely it is since Chromium-based browsers are very well supported everywhere.
The arguments presented here have made me change my mind.
As much as I love having choices, when I first came into contact with Linux I would have been completely overwhelmed by having to decide on such things as the choice of desktop environment, window manager, display manager, software packages for various purposes (office, images, media player...), X server or Wayland, a nice theme... The choice of browser is a little different, as the various browsers are often already familiar from Windows. But it's easy to install a different browser afterwards. That's why I think a ready-made system without options is best for Zorin, because it's the easiest way to get started with a completely new operating system. Only when all the terms mean something to me will I be able to choose the right one for me. As long as I don't know anything about it, it's better that someone more experienced has made a good pre-selection. The problems that freedom of choice causes for newcomers are best seen in package management. It would be much better for newcomers if there were only the Zorin packages by default and they wouldn't have to choose. The standard use of Xorg would also lead to far fewer problems, so that devices with Nvidia cards would also work well straight away and so much more, too.
However, a browser should be available in the .iso so that you can use the Internet immediately in a live session.
For me, the selection in the grub menu when booting from USB Stick with Zorin was very difficult (normal-but not called so/safe graphics/modern Nvidia graphics...). For beginners, I would find it easier if the Nouveau driver would be installed by default if you have a Nvidia card.
Very good points @Forpli
I have talked about this before on here years ago, about the dangers of overdoing complexity, thus causing it to be overwhelming to newcomers. Additionally, it doesn't help when much of Linux software, have totally nonsense names.
Gimp?
Kdenlive?
This is why its good that the software store breaks up the software in categories, as its the only way a newcomer will find anything their looking for. Nobody new, will know what software is, just on its wacky name.
At the end of the day, Zorin OS is the best OS for newcomers, I just wish Distrowatch reflected that, too much bias on their site to be honest about anything I'm afraid.
Thanks for your awesome feedback!
I would argue that this is where Synaptic Package Manager is superior to 'gnome-software' because it has clearly defined application sections, Education, Internet, Office, Science etc and when an application entry is left-clicked a description appears in the bottom pane. That is another reason why I prefer PCLOS/PCLOS Debian over any other distro.
I like it when a distro's default browser has been tweaked a bit, like how Zorin disables some of Brave's less commonly useful features, or how some other distros theme Firefox to match the rest of the system. Tasteful defaults are exactly the reason I use Zorin over a "pure GNOME" distro.
Letting users pick their browsers from a list would probably mean that each of them comes with the default settings, because the team is hardly going to customize all of them. IMHO that's a step back. Not to mention that it would further delay the Zorin 18 release.
