I enjoy the custom experience Zorin provides, but my main gripe is the obsolescence of some core parts like mail and calendar.
I'm ok with Evolution choice; it integrates with system accounts (take that Thunderbird) and is quick, but 3.44 is several years old. 3.56 was released just two months ago. It looks very very outdated and trying to install more current version, not available in Zorin repos, did not went well. I understand there's a balance act between this grade of customization and keeping core system stable so that nothing brakes, but this is by far the main drawback and needs attention. Please, take the resources needed to tackle it!
Thank you so much.
You can install the flatpak version of evolution. It is newer. You can install it via the software manager. Before doing this remove your installed version.
Tl;dr: It looks to me like updating Evolution could be like playing Jenga here.
My guess would be that there's a dependency issue in the way. Since Zorin's based on Ubuntu 22.04, it has a variety of older components that make certain updates impossible. I kind of suspect that's the issue here. Zorin uses GNOME 43, which is older. Checking dependencies with Aptitude:
zorin-os-desktop depends on gnome-shell
gnome shell depends on libedataserver-1.2-26
libedataserver-1.2-26 depends on evolution-data-server-common.
Also, gnome-shell recommends evolution-data-server (without the "common"). I've uninstalled Evolution as a client and still have both data server packages because the DE and Zorin's additions want it. If the newer version of Evolution removed anything they were using, or changed it fundamentally enough to require changing the version of GNOME, it could be an overhaul that would have to wait for Zorin OS 18 and a rebase to a newer version of Ubuntu.
I went through this when I got my new computer in 2021. Back then it was OS 15, and that was too old to use the modern hardware, and I'd have issues if I had installed it. I waited till OS 16 came out before I installed Zorin OS on the machine I'm on now.
Zorin OS is typically behind the other distributions like POP OS, in order to maintain long term stability, with LTS releases. Other's often go for rolling releases which happen more often, but often invite stability issues to do so.
On Q4OS it is using 3.46.4-2. The thing about Evolution is that it can handle Enterprise accounts such as Outlook365. I am more than happy to use Evolution over any other mail client. But like everything else, it's horses for courses. Zorin has no control over Evolution - there is only one Developer (not with Zorin) who maintains it.
Snap and Flatpak are disliked and or not used by some ZorinOS users. They are not good (bloated) if disk space is at a premium and there has been concern regarding security. Also we see many instanced where sandboxed apps don't play well with system integration. You may also come across the phrase "newest is not always the best" mentioned on this forum.
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The Zorin included Gnome Software Store actually does default to Flatpak. Which... is one of my main complaints against it.
That said, Zorin is not maintaining a vast library of dependencies.
Zorin OS is based on Ubuntu - the dependencies are maintained by their maintainers and supplied by Debian and Ubuntu, not Zorin OS.
Zorin OS is only responsible for maintaining their in-house developed applications like Zorin Appearance.
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I have been here for years; we see both.
Many users struggle with the instability of Flatpak and Snap, since both isolate the application from the system, causing it to not run or operate properly.
Whether an app is up to date appears, from my observation, to be more a trending thing than it is about actual application fixes or features.
The vast majority of Windows users operate on applications that are generally, years older than any GnuLinux application.
Yet, on GnuLinux, applications are more transparent and open about updates.
So transfers to GnuLinux are more inclined to "crave what is new" without any regard to whether it brings something they need, much less, whether it is stable.
In some cases, the newer app is needed, for a new feature or a critical bugfix.
But...
If it is a critical bugfix - These are backported to the Stable Version the vast majority of the time.
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Well, yes... Flatpak does. They are sandboxed by their very nature. Zorin OS cannot change that.
I suppose that they could also preinstall Flatseal, then configure it for each application... But this would contradict your argument of making less work. That would create a lot more work.
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I suppose there are two arguments, one is, "Let's make it easy for us to just have one kind of installer, that way we don't have to rewrite for different package managers!" This is essentially what flatpak and snap aimed to do. However, Red Hat were trying to force it on other distributions to accept flatpak as the 'de facto' package management of choice, just as they did with systemd (ugh!) and just as ugly Pulse Audio. Then Ubuntu pushed against this, developing an equally inferior product. I don't know what security issues there are about flatpak but I did post separately an article on why one should think twice before using flatpak or snap over apt:
You can override a rule, all at once, but not all apps, all rules, at once.
Flatpak is specifically designed with per-app sandboxing to enforce least-privilege security principles.
Though you may have a point...
A constructed command that uses a loop to iterate each by listing all flatpaks, then assigning permissions globally might work...
But this would also mean bypassing the portal and I can assure you, the ZorinGroup would not open a security hole like that.
You rely on COBOL. Heavily. You do not use it... But the majority of financial institutions, governments, taxes, all circle around COBOL, the rugged and highly functional programming language and mainframes that manage that infrastructure.
It was developed in 1959.
What we look at is stability, durability and quality. We do not measure programming in years or age, but effectiveness.
Debian selects its packages based on most stable. Ubuntu is based on Debian, but Ubuntu can and does review package inclusions in the Universe repository, changing if it believes fit.
Zorin OS does the same. Even on major packages, where Zorin OS uses a higher XFCE version, Gnome shell and Kernel, than the base.
Age, in this case, is just another number.
Keep in mind that Zorin OS 17 is based on Ubuntu 22.04, and the applications are offered from those repositories. These are still maintained and supported, though.
Flatpak is a great thing to have, but certainly not as the default option. It creates far more problems than its worth. Browse the forum for a while and you'll see plenty of cases of this.
It's not rare to see people complaining about version numbers once they've figured out that their favorite app has released a new version, and they cannot have it. It gets really interesting when you check the change log for that latest update and see there are only minor bug fixes or translations... That's just FOMO at its finest.
You also see cases where people ask for genuinely meaningful updates that introduce newer features or bug fixes. I think that's when Flatpak can fill the gap and save the day.
A similar thread on the topic, for reference:
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It's definitely something that I would evaluate on a case-by-case basis. For example with the recent (few months back, I think?) Thunderbird update there were a lot of significant changes, and the only option possible for that was to use Flatpak.
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