Too bad, it was a short trip

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#1

Too bad, a short trip to Zorin.
After switching hard to Zorin OS two weeks ago, I unfortunately had to go back. I could not work with the system:

  1. several times there were hangs which I could only fix with a hardware reset
  2. with the newest kernel update I could not shutdown the system anymore
  3. the fonts used by my colleagues (Windows) only worked partially (Calibri was displayed pixelated)
  4. the complex Excel spreadsheets we used could not be used in Libreoffice (error)
  5. ripping audio CD's: The program Freac actually makes a good impression, but with several CD's (mostly with hidden tracks) it failed without error message (dbpoweramp does everything correctly there). Besides, mounting and unmounting CD's is always a grumble.
  6. last but not least the biggest problem: Indesign. There is no way to exchange idml files. Since all my colleagues use Indesign, this would have been the only way to use Scribus.
    Goodbye and welcome windows
    PS: Starting up Windows is about 50% faster than Zorin, just because Windows is so slow. :grin:
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#2

I thought InDesign always saves as .ind.
Anyway, its from Adobe and a pain in the *ss to get the Creative Suite running on any Linux distro. As far as I know.

#3

Sorry to see things didn't work out for you .... I'm sure there are a lot of people that can't enjoy Zorin OS in a business setting especially those that need to rely on colleagues or companies that use other types of program formats .....

Maybe in the future Linux well see other program developers coming on board but as long as M$ is a big frog in a little pond that won't happen as they are going to eat up all the competition .....

Good luck to you

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#4

This is the recent kernel regression. There's several threads on how to fix this.

You might want to try FreeOffice or WPS or even OnlyOffice as other users have reported that they are more compatible with Windows Office than LibreOffice.

But good luck with Windows.

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#5

Sad to see you having a generally bad experience with Zorin so far, even though most of these issues aren't related to the OS itself but rather Application support.

so here are some things I suggest trying, if you plan on going back to Zorin any time soon:

About excel spreadsheets: I would recommend OnlyOffice as a more welcoming alternative for ex-MSOffice users
The UI is quite similar, and it's compatibility with MSOffice formats is unmatched by any other program I know of.

About the fonts: I think there was an automated way to rip the fonts and some other non-free-license components - like Microsoft's fonts - in a Terminal
if I remember correctly, it was something like this:

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras -y

This should download not only Microsoft's font package, but also codecs for Mp4 and some other media formats automatically
the only user interaction is accepting Microsoft's EULA for the fonts
after that, I would try checking the fonts again

About Indesign: Indesign was Adobe software if I remember correctly, and sadly, they don't officially release Linux versions of their software
There have been many attempts to port their software using Wine, a compatibility layer for running Windows programs on POSIX-Systems, like Linux or MacOS.
Wine is also used in the Steam client as well as the Steam Deck, and is generally quite mature after it's many years of development.
After doing some research, it seems that InDesign CS6 is usable under Wine
The easiest way to use Wine on ZorinOS is to get Bottles from the software center, create a new bottle from the UI, and run the InDesign installer from there
You might also find more information on the Wine website, specifically, the AppDB, which is basically a user-submitted documentation of what programs and games run, and how well they do.
If you're willing to pay, there is also Crossover, which has automated installation for many popular programs with Wine, including the Adobe Suite.

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#6

The Main Zorin OS page has a Help page

Which includes how to install Fonts for MS.

Your terminal command is also essential, in my opinion.

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#7

I'm sorry you have had a bad experience. What I realized now in couple of Feedback about the OS is that people are complaining about compatibility issues with Zorin OS. However, most of the issues are not related to Zorin OS, but to Linux in general.

If you need to work with complex Excel files (especially with macros) and share them with others it will not work with Libre Office. You would faced the same problem if you did not install MS Office on your Windows device. You would also face this on MacOS if you did not install MS Office.
One way to avoid this is by using Office online, however that's not the same as the real Office app.

The same goes to other tools. Some are compatible with Linux using Wine, but not all.

So I would really recommend everyone to think about the software they need for their daily business, before making a major change in your operating system.

I use Zorin OS on my private PC, where I don't need MS Office, or other Windows exclusive tools. On my company Laptop I still have Windows and I would not consider to switch even if I would be allowed to do it.

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#8

Linux isn't for "everyone" but it is available to "everyone !!

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#9

SoftMaker Office can read spreadsheets with Macros but not execute them:

I've never had pixelation with Calibri using KDE (Plasma) and TextMaker (part of SoftMaker Office) as there was one student who could not stand Arial but liked Calibri. It was a simple task of copying the font from my Virtual Machine of Windows 8.1 Pro to USB then using KDE's font manager to install system-wide - no issues, no pixelation.

For ripping CD's I would highly recommend Audacious - great little program.
Unmounting CD's not an issue for me but then again my current go to Distro is Devuan 4.0 with KDE (Plasma) not Zorin. I have been using first FerenOS for work from March 2020 to December 2020 when I changed to Devuan 3 and 3.1.1 when I had a hard drive failure - no issues with work whatsoever. However in design was not in use in my line of work, here are some suggested alternatives, some that offer everything in desing does:

https://alternativeto.net/software/adobe-indesign/?platform=linux

#10

the official Zorin OS "Switch your organization" guide actually mentions this as well.

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#11

I don't think I agree with this

User-focussed Linux distros are designed to be used by anyone, and for everyone, the unavailability of certain third party software isn't the fault of Zorin, or Linux as a whole however.

it is just that, third party software, which only that third party can maintain.

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#12

3. the fonts used by my colleagues (Windows) only worked partially (Calibri was displayed pixelated)
4. the complex Excel spreadsheets we used could not be used in Libreoffice (error)
...
6. last but not least the biggest problem: Indesign.

In switching away from Windows, Excel compatibility (and for you InDesign) was a big concern for me. The MS Office webapps just don't cut it (even ignoring performance or feature differences between browsers) and the Linux alternatives are... lacklustre, to put it mildly. I don't want to sound ungrateful for the herculean efforts put into developing open source office software with MS Office compatibility, but I will say that they still have a long way to go.

I moved away from Zorin for other reasons, but something I have now settled on with my current distro is using KVM / QEMU + virt-manager to run a Windows 10 Pro virtual machine specifically for Excel. The process was incredibly easy as my distro already had KVM installed so I just added virt-manager, used my old Windows laptop to grab a new ISO from the official Media Creation Tool, booted a new VM container, and it just installed with no issues. YMMV. I gave it a 32GB disk and it consistently has 5GB to 6GB "free" with just Office 2021 as the only additional thing I've installed.

I will note that that I don't think virt-manager / KVM currently have a method to easily setup shared folders between the host and guest, you will have to create a Samba share on your host OS and add that as a network drive in the Windows guest. You can, however, copy-paste files (and generally share the clipboard) between a Linux host and Windows guest very easily - just install the Spice guest tools in the Windows VM, reboot it, and you're good to go. I also manually set the CPU configuration / mapping, but that's just me being pedantic and not at all necessary for most users.

I am using a legitimate product key I already owned to activate the Windows 10 Pro running in the VM, but it is possible and legal (check your region to make sure) to buy them cheap from certain online resellers / marketplaces and there are other options for activation as well. Technically you don't need to activate Windows, I think, it just drastically limits customisation settings and probably limits Windows Updates as well.

Anything you need that doesn't run at all, or not reliably enough, on Linux can be installed in the VM, which you only launch as-and-when you need it. Way more convenient that dual-booting, and also more secure as the guest OS can't access the host directly.

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#13

Forgot to mention, Remmina remote outdoes rdp on Windows big style. When logging into the school's rdp website I had to login 3 separate times to access shared drive and my Z:/ drive - With Remmina remote, all I needed was the cpub.exe file and I could easily access the shared drive and my z:\ drive with one login!

#14

But not everyone is willing (or able) to put in the time to learn how to do things in a different way. Even when they do, it's perfectly understandable that people choose to use what works best for them.

I've introduced Linux to people who were willing to give it a try but then decided to stick with Windows because is what they know and are used to. They could have put in the time to learn how to work out some of the friction due to unfamiliarity, but at the end of the day things need to get done and this learning simply gets in the way.

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#15

I have yet to find any task in life that does not require learning, development and growth.
Relationships - require a lot of learning.
Getting a New Vehicle - you must learn all its new differences.
Societal and Political opinions and ideas - wow, don't even get me started... People fight viciously on these...
Even simple daily tasks that we take for granted, often can benefit from learning and growth.
Learning better diet, better habits, better methods...
We are not born into this world with ready-made knowledge and this often makes itself clear to us with mistakes, regrets and confusion.
We can never assume that we know enough and are fine the way we are. We can always improve and always learn more and and always develop.

Understandable - yes. Agreeable? Not so much.
If a person feels like learning is getting in their way, they really would be well-served to re-evaluate their basic positions on Life and Living.
It is Human Nature to wish for the easiest and lowest energy approach. And... this should be confronted. It leads to litter and pollution, complacency in a pandemic, climate change and all manner of societal problems. It leads to people mistaking Opinion for Knowledge.

Windows dominates the O.S. market. Linux is very small, a couple of percent of the total market. It is perfectly acceptable if a person does not wish to switch to Linux when offered simple because it is easier to not do so.
And Linux is free open source, so it does not depend on a Large Market Share to survive. There is not really a need to recruit and entice the average crowds over.
Linux usage has steadily grown and it has room for Learning and Growth and development the same as we do.
It does not require changing any ones mind - it only requires that it serve the needs of those who want to move away from proprietary systems. And it does serve that need.

If Linux as an O.S. was changed enough - to the point a user could not tell the difference; that they felt totally comfortable without any learning... Then what purpose would Linux serve? Why bother leaving Windows only to end up in the same place?
Such things - free O.S. without even having to put in the most basic effort of personal learning... That must come with a price...
And if you are not paying from your wallet directly, I shudder to think of how you will pay for it.

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#16

I don't necessarily agree with this.

While true, we should aim to be the best version of ourselves, there's only so much time in a day that we can actually use for self-growth. It's self-evident that dedicating time to one task will take it away from another. That's what I mean that learning can get in the way of things, like in this clip :smiley:

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#17

These are very valid points. I suppose it really depends on how much time learning takes. If it is a constant thing, and takes a lot of time, I can see how it could drain time from other tasks that are just as important and get in the way. Learning could get in the way of learning.

Even so... brief learning that you do not have to repeat is also pretty normal. It is not necessarily draining, either.
This is something I do like about Zorin OS. It helps a person to learn, but is not heavy-handed in it. It is easier to use, but not too easy.

I have tried other distros where I felt very confused by how to make something work as a common element in its use. I think I understand what you mean (After your clarification) pretty well. I also have struggled greatly to help a person learn Windows OS, too. I do not personally believe that Windows is easier to use, even with its strong decades long development.
And this has much to do with why I do not believe that learning is tied to our illusions of intellect: Most often, in my observation, people struggle with new learning not due to a lack of ability, but a lack of desire to learn it or a lack of confidence in themselves to do so.

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#18

I never said that's what one had to do.

#19

Absolutely, I think this right here is spot on. This is the reason why sometimes I don't even bother trying to propose x,y or z application that would solve a problem the way that I would, simply because I know that the person won't accept anything beyond an immediate one-click solution. It's a shame that there's so many people with such an inflexible attitude, and I do applaud those who at least try.

Oops, I think I intended to reply to the comment that you also replied to. My bad.

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#20

I think encouragement helps. Many people may be refined by habits, but many are also willing to examine a new way, too. It's hard to know which it will be... but while perhaps some may choose to not try - I still choose to try... to reach them.

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