Issue 1 is keeping me from using Zorin because this really interrupts my work flow.
Missing thumbnails when saving images. I have to manually open the file manager and go to where the pictures are to get thumbnails generated. This is the biggest blocker for me to use Zorin and I know this is a Gnome bug, but it is too big of a pain point with all the work I do.
Notifications. The notifications are really poor on Zorin, especially on a wide monitor like my 49" and on all Linux distros. On windows, there are numbers that appear on the taskbar icons such as email programs. On Mac the taskbar icons bounce when there is a notification. I speak to this because I have missed meetings because the notifications on Zorin are not getting my attention.
No Spotify taskbar media controls. Yes I know about the Gnome plugin that runs on the taskbar that gives media controls. But it takes up a HUGE amount of space and I have a lot of apps pinned to my taskbar. This seems like a feature that could be coded into the Zorin taskbar. I am even tempted to code a Gnome extension when I have time. But that would be a great feature to have. I tried every taskbar out there and none of them have this feature. This feature would make Zorin stand out even more from the rest of the distros.
Better access to more current video drivers. The Ubuntu driver installer for Nvidia only goes to 535. Since Zorin 17 chooses to use Wayland, it would really help to be able to use the latest drivers. Even 555 would be great as it has features to support Wayland. Manually installing them is a real pain and can totally screw up the system unless the user knows what they are doing.
None of this is meant to argue, only discuss. Any suggestion isn't an attack on your point, just a workaround. (And I only have one for point 4.)I actually largely agree with you.
There are a lot of reasons I wish Zorin would adopt KDE Plasma (as an option). If this really is a GNOME issue, I'm adding that to my list.
GNOME again. As I recall, the last time I tested TUXEDO OS, there was a prominent notification item on the taskbar when a notification was waiting. It's possible your apps could do better too, though--I know I've seen apps in Zorin bounce their icons when a notification was waiting, or put a badge on the icon. Still not as good as a prominent notification item, I agree.
I got nothin'. I certainly understand why a Spotify user would want it, but where's the line on what services they should support? I feel like a community extension is the right way here if Spotify won't provide their own solution. (And we know they won't.) Providing convenient controls for a service should fall on the service, not the OS, but since so few care to target Linux users...
I agree to a massive extent. I've felt this way for ages, but it compounded when Zorin updated to the 6.8 kernel. (I'm glad they did, honestly, I've considered other distributions just for newer system components!) That update was incompatible with the 545 drivers, which is what many of us had, and the update killed performance. I'm curious about your only having up to 535 available though. I was on 545, and I switched to that from the Additional Drivers tab of the Software & Updates utility.
A workaround (which shouldn't be necessary in my opinion) is to manually add the PPA for the driver. Instructions can be found here, though you may or may not need the first step of uninstalling all things Nvidia. That's included because I was seriously broken when this help was offered to me:
To Point 4: Even the latest Driver wouldn't help for Nvidia Cards and Wayland. Because Zorin uses Gnome 43.9 and for the Nvidia-Wayland Support You would need Gnome 46.1. This Explicit Sync Feature must be have to be in the Driver and in the Desktop Environment.
If You have interest, You could install the 550 Driver if You want a newer One than the 535/545 Driver. But this One isn't available on the Additional Drivers Tab. You have to install it manually over the Terminal.
For this first remove the older Driver with the Command sudo apt remove nvidia* libnvidia* and after that use the Command sudo apt install nvidia-driver-550