I'm right there with you. I love Zorin OS, and am ok with them taking their time with it. It would be nice to see a bigger team, but I get why they also wouldn't want that. No rush at all. I bought both 16 and 17. Will probably buy 18 pro too.
3 Likes
I am new with ZorinOS and find it for being so far the best Linux I have tried.
First Linux I tried was when installation materials came on floppy discs. Suse.
Not a success for me.
Due to work I used Windows as Photoshop came for it and my boss was not into paying for Apple computer so I stayed with CS until retiring.
Since then I have tried very many Linux versions while I never liked Windows but that was what did function.
When I learned that Microsoft would stop keeping Win 10 rather safe I got more serious with looking for alternatives as when Win 11 would need hardware that was different it was easy to know that Win 12 would come with more problems as AI would need bigger and faster CPU and AI is not at all to my liking. Possible to keep AI out of Android with a bit of work and probably also Linux can be kept free from AI. Do not think that giving all personal data are worse giving to China than to US, but would like some privacy.
Installed Q4OS on a ThinkPad with only 3½Gb RAM and it run like a champ, better than when Win 7 Pro was on it, so a SONY VAIO VGN AW41XHQ with Raid book disk and SSD for data 2.8Gb CPU and 8 RAM should run something a bit more fancy.
Tried with Elementary, Manjaro, Rocky, Sparky and Ubuntu and not before coming to Pop!-OS I found something that was functioning partly; I really liked the Cosmic desktop 24.04.
But: all of these had the problem that they could not get my SSD data disc to function, some of the OS could see it but mount it – no luck. I then tried Zorin 17.2 and suddenly I had my data disc fully functioning. Also it boots in 40 seconds where POP needed more than 2 minutes before it would be fast, installing apps in Zorin is in less than half the time of what POP could do.
Only problem I had was that I wanted to install a couple of Windows programs (Affinity Photo 2 and Xara Designer Pro) so I started installing the (in description easy to install) Bottle and Wine for Windows programs. Computer went black, neither keyboard nor mouse could wake it up.
Made a fresh install and have not since tried to disrupt the very fine and super fast ZorinOS.
This is why I write all this as first question to you that probably know all that is to know about Zorin:
Not when will Zorin 18 come, but will it come with a possibility to run some of my personally paid for programs? Not the CS I used while still working. Adobe is not to my personal liking and though Gimp, Inkscape and Scribus are probably able to do what is needed, learning curve for Gimp is not to my liking, Inkscape and Scribus are easy to use but having to export and import files in order to do something that can be easily done in both Affinity or Xara is a bit – not funny. So I still have a Win 11 machine with so much power that it outperforms even the monster machines I had when still working. Maybe before Win 12 I will have learned to use the Linux apps that can make all I like to do so installing Windows programs will not be needed. For all except work with graphics and sound, I now use Linux.
Also it would be nice to have a slide-show as background and the ability to play Blu-ray movies with VLC as is easy when on Windows. Makemkv is not that smart. Maybe I can be told what to do to play my several hundreds Movies on Zorin. All that is needed is to put keydb, libaacs and Java in the right place, but so far I do not know where that right place is. Neither if they are same as in Windows.
1 Like
I believe that this is specifically what you are asking about.
Support for these are not handled exclusively by Zorin OS but by compatibility layers supplied by WineHQ.
While we can do our best to assist: Have you yet tried asking for direct help with these software programs on the WineHQ Forum?
https://forum.winehq.org/viewforum.php?f=5
Thank you for very quick and friendly answer.
Asked before on Wine forum (a few years ago) and got answers like when you do not know what this is about you should stay on Windows and other not really friendly answers like that.
I am pretty sure that Bottles of Wine make things look rosy for some (I use alcohol only to clean wounds from falling on my downhill bike) but what I both think and hope is that when next or maybe next after that version will come things are going to function easier/better.
I can hardly believe you have read all the long gibberish I wrote.
But love the friendly way you write and am looking forward to staying in the forum. Zorin is the most beautiful OS that also does function of these I have seen.
1 Like
A compatibility layer can help run Windows OS software on GnuLinux distributions. But, that also is limited to what the layers can provide. It is not a full Windows OS installation. It provides only the essential skeleton of shared libraries (.dll's) and such - mostly the commonly used ones.
Not everything works on Wine. I do not know about the two you mention. It has been a few years; I would still ask over at their forums. Perhaps the crowd is less inclined to elitism, now.
Another option is to run a copy of Windows OS in a Virtual Environment; This may depend on the RAM requirements of the software.
1 Like
Thank you Aravisian. Will do that.
Oh, exciting!
In respect of Affinity Photo, they never intend to make a GNU/Linux version. Somebody has written a way to get it to run, but @NeilW has posted about this and it is quite glitchy. In terms of Xara Designer Pro, that is an unknown:
You can download a 14-day trial of Cross-Over from CodeWeavers to test out if any version of xara designer will run - the respective pages have 0 votes on it so it looks like nobody has bothered to try it. CodeWeavers are the commercial arm of WINE - purchasing a copy of Cross-Over helps to maintain the WINE project.
Feel free to join in with the chorus of voices on their forum asking for a Linux version, being met by a deafening silence.
Affinity Photo is working great in a Win10 VM. I can nip in on those occasions I need it.
2 Likes
I am always surprised by the sheer number of developers, who make software for Windows, come up with every excuse in the book, to not make their software for Linux.
What developers never want to admit, is their Microsoft whipped. They only care about making lots of money, and are so afraid to jump out of their comfort zones, to make something for Linux.
IMO, such developers contribute to the problem in this world, when they simply give Microsoft a free ride to their monopoly, simply because they are afraid to try something different.
But its all about money, money, money, money, the driving force of our lives. Can't make something for the fun of it, nope, got to make millions of dollars, otherwise nope.
The future of Star Trek can't come sooner, we need it. I still remember that line that Picard had, with Lilly from the 21st century. He said to her, "money is no longer the driving force of our lives, we work to better ourselves for a brighter future."
So very well said!
2 Likes
Affinity is also available on macOS and iPad.
I don't know how anybody does image editing on an iPad, its hard enough on a laptop size.
Agreed! That has always been my ethos (hence I work for very little but for projects which aim to improve the environment for the good of nature AND humanity. We have so much potential.
1 Like
Many of those who have little want to share.
Many of those who have a lot want to have more.
I would like to run Affinity and Xara plus eMClient on a Linux machine. But my Win 11 is OK for such things. When Win 12 come and the old no longer have hardware for that, I suppose that somebody bright have made something that can make the good programs run on Linux.
Wine has been trying forever and is still very far from useable; even the paid for CodeWeaver will not run better than to have 3 stars out of 5 and the programs I want are not among those having 3.
It's actually quite fun (and fast, too, once you get into a workflow/rhythm). But I'm referring to Lightroom on the iPad. I could never get used to the Affinity offerings (I'm far too familiar with Ps/Lr).
Although I still cull and edit primarily on Lightroom Classic (on a desktop), I tried Lightroom on iPad and was pleasantly surprised at how fast, fluid, and enjoyable the experience was.
For more heavy editing (like on Photoshop), I would still use a dedicated computer.
As someone who's in the tech these days and am surrounded by software developers, take it from me, the blame is not on the software developers, it's almost always on the people at the top -- be it CEOs or investors -- who are writing the checks and looking at the bottomline.
Many developers I know are super into Linux, but they can't just work on a Linux version unless they are instructed by their company leadership to do so. People have very little time outside of 9-5 (even if they work remotely), so they tend to work on personal projects or something offline entirely (gardening, farming, etc.).
The number 1 reason why most popular software don't get a Linux version is the marketshare. Get Linux a bigger pie of the desktop marketshare, and companies will suddenly start to care.
Why Linux marketshare doesn't see rapid growth is a discussion of its own (and something I wrote extensively about in another thread, but I'm too lazy to find it now. 
).
4 Likes
I used Lightroom Classic for years, switched to PhotoLab Dxo last year for RAW editing which suits me a lot better. I use Affinity for further editing.
Getting back to the original question. The answer is ... When it is ready, not before!
2 Likes
I worked on CS till I partly retired. Did not want to use illegal software and tried a lot and bought Affinity Photo and Xara Designer Pro as they could do what CS could do.
Inkscape and Scribus are easy enough to use but Gimp has a learning curve that is not to my liking; never got much out of it and using 3 different programs with export and import of what I was doing made a slow working style.
Decided that next time Microsoft want us to buy new hardware to run their next version I will not do so as long as the old computers still run like they did when new with only thing I changed in them were HDD to SSD.
The old VAIO run faster on Linux than it did on Windows 7 Ultimate and 10 Pro.
Inkscape is easy and cool, I agree. I use it a lot 8)
Regarding Gimp. There's a photoshop version of Gimp in the sense of layout, here: GitHub - Diolinux/PhotoGIMP: A Patch for GIMP 2.10+ for Photoshop Users
1 Like
Thank you Storm,
Installed it in Zorin 17.2. In a 15 year old SONY computer.
Does look a lot more like something I have used before. Photoshop?
When I have time I will try it a couple of hours and see if it can help me use Windows less.
When I can have all needed in Linux why use Windows?
This forum certainly is a lot different to the Linux forums I visited long time ago. In an extremely positive way.
2 Likes
Hi Storm.
after trying Gimp looking like something familiar I still go back to my Windows desktop to use Xara or Affinity, depending on what I am to do.
Also went back to Pop-Os!
Updating and booting faster and actually is becoming my daily for anything that is not graphic working.
Was a nice exerience seeing that Linux now has a very friendly user forum, much different to earlier experiences.
Keep up and maybe someday Linux become mainstream. Open source should be the way forward.
3 Likes