Zorin OS Lite vs Core

What is the big differences between Lite and Core!
I have installed Lite so i wonder is there some programs that doesn't work on Lite but on Core or is vice-versa?

@tomscharbach How about Video-Playing then is there some difference does Core plays video better?

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Hello Jonte,

Without knowing all the technical differences that the Zorin team implemented between Lite and Core, I would say that you can run the same programs on either. Both versions are based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, which itself is based on Debian. This base determines what programs can and cannot run.

On the download page you can see an overview of the differences. The big difference is the use of GNOME or XFCE as the desktop environment (think user interface). These do not affect which programs you can run.

There is one caveat however. As you may notice Zorin Connect does not work in Lite. This is because it is a GNOME specific desktop extension. GNOME and XFCE support different widgets, tweaks and extensions. These affect how the desktop looks, how you can use it, and some information it shows to the user (like weather, resource usage, etc).

Software and games work the same on both. Arguably on Lite, programs will run faster and appear more responsive (hence Lite), while on Core they look better with more fancy animations.

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Core does not play videos better. On an older budget PC or just very old PC, the opposite may be true because Lite requires fewer resources. In theory this means more resources available for smooth video playback.

Without knowing which hardware you use, I cannot say if you would be able to see any difference.

It should be noted that the performance difference between playing a video in 1080p and 4K resolution is far greater, than between playing on Lite or Core.

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The main difference is the DE which comes with the installation. Lite uses XFCE and Core uses Gnome. You can install XFCE on Core, install Gnome on Lite.

Zorin-Connect is a fork of KDE connect, u can use KDE connect instead of Zorin-Connect. U can also use GS-Connect on Core (Gnome) with extensions.

Most programs which work on other distributions of Linux should work on ZorinOS Lite or Core. Usually, if one program works on a distrobution, it should work on another.

XFCE is usually a bit faster than Gnome, but if your machine is really fast, you shouldn't see much difference in performance. Running XFCE should also not give you a big performance increase in games, it is not a magic bullet.

Gnome focuses more on simplicity and user friendly-ness, while XFCE focuses more on performance and usability. Both Desktop Environments are great in their own ways, use what you feel comfortable with.

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