Zorin OS 12 Lite (XFCE) sneak peek

Zorin team have indicated that a sneak peek (guessing a beta) version of Zorin OS 12 Lite should be available within a few weeks here http://zoringroup.com/blog/2017/03/21/z ... downloads/ on the last paragraph.

Having been using Zorin from version 8 and an Ultimate purchaser for versions 9 10 11 and 12 I am looking forward to the Lite version of 12. It is an XFCE based desktop environment, so this gives me great hope that I could install (even better if already installed/configured??) my much loved Compiz and Cairo Dock and finally have the Zorin 12 experience that I found missing in the Core/Ultimate versions.

I only hope that Compiz and Cairo don't mess up the theming as another thing I always liked about Zorin is there theming out of the box. I have had Compiz and Cairo installed configured and working in OS 12 but it always messed up the Zorin theming, dam. Not a fan of the Gnome Shell thing at all so I wait like a kid for their next birthday or xmas present...

XFCE is a great DE in my opinion with many tweaks and options available so I'm really looking forward to this and I recall others wishing Zorin used XCFE for the Core and Ultimate version rather than Gnome Shell so likely others will also be delighted with this news.

So give us your thoughts are about Zorin OS 12 Lite given this new information?

Hi, All I can say is that Compiz will not work completely in XFCE as I think I attempted to install it on SolydX - you won't get the cube. I thing Voyager 16.04 uses XFCE and no Cube there - plus the workspace changer of Gnome shrinks to one so instead of seeing 4 desktop squares on the right to see what's what there is only the active one.

Not sure myself as I currently have Linux Mint 18 (18.1 - 16.04) XFCE with Compiz Cube and Cairo Dock on an old laptop (2Ghz 2GB RAM 2 Cores) working and running just fine and also the Mate edition of the same Linux Mint on my desktop with all the Compiz/Cairo eye candy I can handle as well. Would have been Zorin but for gnome shell...

I have had some hit and miss experiences with Compiz but mostly on Arch based system like Manjaro as I am not as adept with those system, more out of my depth (pun intended ). As mentioned in the opening post, I have had Zorin 12 Ultimate with Cube/Cairo all working the way I like it but just lose the Zorin theming in the process. This XFCE release gives me some hope of the Zorin 12 that I was anticipating before that Gnome Shell was used.

Even if Zorin 12 Lite doesn't work with Compiz or Cairo, XFCE is still a really great DE and very configurable so there is always that as a fall back because I am not using Zorin 12 currently even though I purchased the Ultimate version of it! Bring it on.

Challenge accepted, install SolydX, make cube work, report back, off to give it a go, lets see what happens. Just for some fun that is, I'll let you know what happens. Might revisit Voyager as well although I think it uses a mix of DE or something ??

Hi, MBMz10,
I think you might be right about Voyager using a mix - it's slightly odd in that the panel is at the top with a 'Mondrian' menu button (similar to Manjaro but different) with the expanding/draggable menu like SolydX and a 'Mac' like bar centre bottom. Pretty cool (and plenty of!) wallpapers - it also uses the drop-down terminal like manjaro - the curious thing for me on Voyager is whether it can be transferred to mobile phone as it has interesting mobile phone style hidden bar on the left - the desktop is very configurable. I would check SolydX latest community edition - the only downside to some of the lighweight distributions has been version of Clementine that is supported - has to be 1.31 Clementine to allow remote control from your phone (only Android, not iPhone). I am looking to install the latest Ultimate Edition alongside of Zorin Ultimate 12.1 - that has the features of OzDiamond BII of a speaking female voice when logging in and closing down.

I had a bit of a read on the Voyager web site and looks like they make a mobile phone image/iso/ROM? I have seen a few reviews of Voyager and they wonder (as I did) why so many repeated items on the desktop and the reason is just remove the ones you don't want is the Devs theory (choice), worth a read (some language problems on web site) as it explains what they did and why. Brings me to another point about reviewers...some of them go off half cocked and don't understand the intent behind certain Distro's (I'm guilty also).
Not sure if it is a mix of xfce and other DE or just xfce with 'extra' stuff! Lots of interesting and cool stuff happening in Voyager though. A new ISO was released March 10, 16.04.2

SolydX, Debian based, I hit a road block with trying to install Compiz, it wasn't in Synaptic/software.

Good luck with UE, I have tried it before and recently, always lots of bugs and issues but also some stunning looking Distro's which is why I tried them. I just couldn't imagine anyone getting one of them to function, shame really as some of them look sensational. I hear enough voices in my head without needing another in the PC

I suspect that we are Distro hoppers in denial.... Having said that my Pearl Linux that I am on now is 2 months old.

If Zorin 12 was what I was expecting it to be this thread would not be here! So I still wait eagerly for the Lite version, meanwhile I shall have a tinker with Voyager and SolydX to see if I can break them or make them! Wish I had an old Mobile to try Voyager on that but think I'll get into enough trouble with the test rig anyway

Cheers

Now that OS 12 Lite Beta is out! Have installed on a VM, runs very fast, have installed Cairo Dock and Compiz and have a working cube with expo mode and again the theming get messed up. Mostly the 'title bar' and the close/restore/minimize buttons goes to some other theme/look. There is a "Window Decoration" button in Compiz setting manager that points to "/usr/bin/gtk-window-decorator" so not sure if it could be pointed at wherever the Zorin theme is located to stop messing up Zorin themes or not?

I tried right clicking the 'Z' (menu) as I normally would when running xfce but some of the options to configure the menu appear to be missing, maybe because Zorin have included there Desktop Layout app that allows a simple click to change it, not sure.

I am hoping that "Zorin OS 12 Lite Ultimate" has Compiz pre-configured just for me when it is released... and "Background Plus" is another great part of the Zorin Ultimate experience.

Beyond all that is how good 12 lite looks, as usual Zorin do an awesome job in the beauty department with there Distro's.

Zorin 12 Lite is out in Ultimate Core Business and Education.
Seems there are some choices for old and new computers and 32 or 64 bit, not sure what the difference between 'old' and 'new' is?
From the main download page if you click on Lite it now has its own page with all editions.

https://zorinos.com/download/lite/

Think I might just have to give it a whirl