Too Many Problems with Zorin 18

[zenzen]

@StarTreker

It would really be nice if the Zorin team communicated, to keep us in the loop. Its one of their main faults, which in a time like this, is a massive failure in judgment.... IMO

Yeah, maybe waiting a little longer was the better move here. Now, it feels like releasing on the Windows 10 EOL deadline was rushed unnecessarily.
If you are looking to upgrade, I still think Zorin OS 17 is a good choice, though.

@hrichard

So if one wants a Zorin type experience, but not Zorin,

One thing you could do is install Debian with the Gnome desktop environment, which is what Zorin OS Core uses, and add the theme icons and extensions from Zorin OS. It's important to point out here that there will be a mismatch in the Gnome versions between Debian and Zorin OS, so there's a chance some things won't work 100%, or at all.

If you install Debian with XFCE instead, which doesn't change as quickly, then you'll have a better experience. This will be akin to installing Zorin OS Lite. Here's how that might look like:

Share your desktop, what does it look like?

Inspired by Abdulhalim's Zorin DE on Debian, I decided to try with Zorin Lite. It's only the icons and desktop theme, no other utilities included like Zorin Appearance, but I might add those at a later point. [sc1] Wallpaper from Tromjaro.

But if you prefer something without much fiddling, and still suitable for beginners, then I'd recommend either MX Linux or Linux Mint. I still have a grudge with Linux Mint because I've had to completely re-install two computers after a bad upgrade. Make sure to create snapshots if you are going to use Mint; MX Linux is pretty decent however.