Hi,
Looking at the Levono T14 Gen 2 and seems there is the option of 11th Gen Intel or Ryzen 5000 Pro processors. Would one of these be better with zorin os or Zorin Pro ?
Bit of a ticking time bomb as messages telling me this community wont support my current browser long and so I need to get something sorted soon.
Thanks
The difference between Zorin Core / Pro doesn't play a factor into which hardware will be supported, just wanted to say that. As for which option, honestly either of those would most likely be fine, I would just look at performance comparisons somewhere as well as cost differences between the two.
In that generation of chips, I would be leaning a bit more to the Ryzen side of things, but that's just my old knowledge of those gens of CPUs (which could be wrong). Also checking what wireless card they each use might be a good idea, because I generally try to avoid Mediatek chips if I can. They can work, but also can cause some problems.
Out of curiosity, what browser are you using that's causing it to say that it wouldn't be able to use the forum? Or am I misunderstanding that second bit.
Thanks for replying .. honestly its a big girl pants job to dare coming in here and asking questions while feeling so ignorant about tech but i SO wanna get 'free' and set up with most flow/ease whilst being a total tech ignoramus.
Just want to have someone say "get this" and "do this" 
.. but then everyone has a different answer for that.
I'm on an ancient applemac pro 2012 that runs mojave and on a firefox browser.
Was listening to a webinar with Glen Medder the tech privacy guy and he was suggesting that Zorin Pro is the best option for people with little interest/skill in tech and want to move across and have things work as closely as possible to what they already have as 'logic'.
If you're just dipping your toes in, personally I would say you should start off with Core. Pro doesn't offer you anything more than mostly supporting the devs and custom themes, which you could technically create yourself if you really wanted, or you could upgrade to Pro at any time later on if you so choose. It also includes pre-bundled software, but Core comes with most of what you'll need, and you could install everything Pro comes with yourself easily, nothing is restricted to specifically Pro.
Yeah I could see where the old Mac and likely dated Firefox versions would be running into a problem here lol. That being said, if you wanted to you could also try running Zorin on your Mac and seeing if it's any better for you that way. But given the age, it also wouldn't be a bad idea at upgrading either.
I could try running it on off a USB ... and see how it works on this .... bit angsty about adding a dual boot on here or screwing something up and then not having any way to access anything.
I dont even do a huge lot of complex stuff my main 'wants' on top of the basics would be easily able to screen record and zoom meetings, etc. Gawd no idea how the interplay of moving things off itunes or iphotos, etc all works.
I'm that person who kind of wants/needs to change as i want freedom from non-private control,etc but actually if it wasnt for that I'd be happy plodding along... so I need to remember it will be a learning curve.
sounds like a T14 Gen 2 would be a more than ok option to buy then as a 2nd hand machine that 'should' work ok with the different O/S,etc. Just fathoming out which laptop to get is a minefield before even navigating the new O/S
There will definitely be a learning curve, but actually potentially less than you might be expecting. While there's definitely differences, the general gist of how you navigate the system isn't all that different. And you've got this whole forum here, plus infinitely more online if you need any help at all. No question is stupid, as far as I (and most on here) are concerned 
I believe that more and more people are wanting to actually have SOME privacy in today's world, so you're not alone in that. Just look at all the threads on here, more and more people coming in just to try to get some semblance of control back. So there's a LOT of people in the exact same boat as you, and will have gone through the same issues you'll most likely run into very recently.
Laptop options are definitely a minefield. Perhaps some other users here will have some opinions / options for you that you could look through. There are always specific Linux sold laptops that will work, and you could probably find those models on the used markets in some capacity as well.
Thanks - am very grateful for your time and input for people like me who are totally new and just navigating all this and aiming to keep going one foot at a time.
Ugh haha .. the thought of asking here was not disimilar to the experience of taking a car into a mechanics when you have zero clue about cars 
.. so thanks for making it welcoming.
another minefield is what on earth the difference is between all the things like :
Zorin
ubuntu
mint
core
O/S (insert number)
and why people choose which of them all!
That is simply personal Preference. You choose what suits You and Your Needs and Usage.
Well, Zorin is this OS. Zorin Core is the free Version. There is Zorin Pro which is a paid Version but You don't have to buy it. It offers additional Stuff like some preinstalled Programs, additional Desktop Layouts, Installation Support and it supports in Common the Project financially.
But when You don't want/need the preinstalled Software and the Desktop Layouts but You want support the Project because You like it, You can simply use the Core Version and donate a bit Money if You want. Linux Mint is another relatively popular Distro when it is about to start with Linux. It uses the so called Cinnamon Desktop Environment - they actually develop it. That brings the most Difference with it.
Ubuntu is the Base on what Zorin and Linux Mint are built. You can use Ubuntu directly, too. But it has a different Desktop Experience. An easy Way to take a Look at a distro is simply to create a Bootstick and start it in Live Mode. The Performance might not be the Best because it runs from an USB Stick but to get a first Impression from the System and the Desktop Environment, it is fine.
For Your actual Question about the Processors: I would recommend AMD. It is in Common relatively good supported on Linux. Not, that the Intel Processor wouldn't be supported but with AMd in my Experience, You should have the less Issues. On Graphics Site, too. That would be another Question: What Graphics Card will Your Laptop have? Or use it internal Graphics?
Yes, there will be a Learning Curve. It is a different System. So, that Things are run differently is not surprising. But when You have Questions, You can take a Look in the Forum and ask. That's what a Help Forum exists for.
Basically Ponce nailed it as to the differences haha. There's a myriad of differences, and eventually (should you choose) you can try them all out yourself and waste your days going down the rabbit hole. It's almost a rite of passage in some regards 
.
If you like, you can use distrosea.com to take a look into the different distributions and desktop environments.
thanks 
Thanks for this ... really helpful with getting to grips with it all
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.