ElectricRider
Sun Nov 10, 2013 8:28:45 pm
As a Windows user who also dabbles with Mint and Vector Linux I have seen the good side and the bad side of trying to wrap my head around the differences in getting around in the OS's. I've tried Fedora, PCLinux OS and others too.
The thing is.. all distros have many similarities in that you can customize them to your liking. This is great but takes work, takes learning a DE (Desktop Environment) and learning how to configure it. Zorin has a great DE interface right out of the box and if you don't like it, you can change it's style. For Windows users I recommend staying with the Windows 7 style. The Zorin Menu in Win 7 style is layed out nicely and is very fast to navigate. It's easier than the popular KDE 4 many distros have. Zorin works like.. looks and feels like something a Windows user can take to right away with very little learning curve. Everything works as it should on a desktop, Right click on dekstop to create a new folder. Cut and paste or copy and paste works as it should, unlike in many distros. All the core common actions you need to operate a windows like system are included in Zorin.
If you dual boot, Zorin can auto mount your drives and partitions directly from the file manager - something you have to manually configure in many distros. I can play videos directly from my windows NTFS partition or copy & paste them to another partition.
Zorin takes all the Unix like stuff that Windows users don't want to see in their face and places it safely out of the way as to not bog down a users experience. This is of major importance ! Only Zorin devs seem to grasp why this is so important. A normal Windows PC user don't care whats under the hood. They just want the OS to execute all their favorite apps, they want it to be fast and stable and have a streamlined experience. If the OS works this way, we don't really care if it's running on Windows, Linux or even a Texas Instruments TI-99 ( for you old timers and yes, I had one LOL). Sure there are many awesome things you can do in Linux with the Terminal (That's the same as the Command Prompt in Windows) if you need to and it's part of the learning curve but for the most part, Zorin simply works out the box to meet a windows like users every need.
Myself, I don't learn the Terminal commands. I refuse to because to me using a terminal is as outdated as using the command prompt in windows. I had to learn similar commands with DOS 6.22 ( Microsoft's text based OS before Windows arrived) and i sure aint going to embrace that again - it's like a major step backwards. The best way for a windows user coming to Zorin to use the Terminal is to use it like we use the command prompt in Windows. We use it by following instructions we read about online to fix a certain problem. Execute the commands, then forget the Terminal till next time it's needed. After you are comfortable doing this for a time, you may find you enjoy learning the Terminal commands and the power that goes with it. You may want to learn all you can about these terminal commands to become a power user but this is not necessary at all for a good everyday experience. Many people enjoy the Terminal because typing the commands can get things done much faster than using a GUI (Graphical User Interface such as the Zorin start menu). No pressure, it's all up to you how you choose to operate your system.
The familiar layout of the file manager is there too. As in Windows Explorer you have the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Video folders as well as your hard drives and or other partitions and Network. This is nice familiar and comfortable.
Zorin comes with many great apps pre-installed like Google Chrome. Windows users will want to add more of the same apps they also use in Windows. For instance there are linux equivalents of Firefox and Skype as well as thousands of other Windows apps. Linux does have many great apps like the Midori Internet browser or the Pidgin Instant Messenger. Some people don't like to use or learn Linux specific apps and thats o.k... you never have to use any of them if you don't want to. These are worth a try and in fact using these Linux apps gives you thousands more app choices to enjoy but they are not necessary and can be ignored if you prefer to use the more familiar Windows apps. Most of these windows apps equivalents can be found through the Software Center with a few exceptions such as Skype or Google Earth. These can be found in the .deb file format you can find through a Google search. To install a .deb file, download it to your hard drive and from the downloads folder double click on the file. The Software Center will open and allow you to install the app and any of it's dependencies needed. Simple as pie. You can also use the Software Center to uninstall any app you have previously installed. Think of the Software Center as as a combination software repository and Programs and Features ( Or Add Remove Programs for you XP users) all in one. . I didn't even get into using Wine to run other native Windows apps but thats a Big plus as tons of Windows apps now work very well through Wine.
For me, it's not about making a switch to Linux or using Zorin as a beginners gateway to Linux. It's about using a Windows like OS that executes all my apps and works well. Zorin does this in such a way as to never have to remind you that your running a (Unix like) Linux system. Sure you know it's under the hood but it doesn't get in the way of your user experience and thats very nice. I think more Windows users don't want to " Use or learn Linux" , they just don't want to use Microsoft anymore for whatever reason and could care less what OS is doing the job. Zorin gives us the best of both worlds. Zorin is essentially The Windows Experience - A Windows like OS running on Lunix. Zorin is Perfect.
Linux fans like to say, "Linux is Not Windows". I beg to disagree. With Zorin 7.1 - Linux IS Windows and I couldn't be happier about it.
Thanks Dev Team, Awesome Job !!! I think I'm going to replace Mint for good now.
The thing is.. all distros have many similarities in that you can customize them to your liking. This is great but takes work, takes learning a DE (Desktop Environment) and learning how to configure it. Zorin has a great DE interface right out of the box and if you don't like it, you can change it's style. For Windows users I recommend staying with the Windows 7 style. The Zorin Menu in Win 7 style is layed out nicely and is very fast to navigate. It's easier than the popular KDE 4 many distros have. Zorin works like.. looks and feels like something a Windows user can take to right away with very little learning curve. Everything works as it should on a desktop, Right click on dekstop to create a new folder. Cut and paste or copy and paste works as it should, unlike in many distros. All the core common actions you need to operate a windows like system are included in Zorin.
If you dual boot, Zorin can auto mount your drives and partitions directly from the file manager - something you have to manually configure in many distros. I can play videos directly from my windows NTFS partition or copy & paste them to another partition.
Zorin takes all the Unix like stuff that Windows users don't want to see in their face and places it safely out of the way as to not bog down a users experience. This is of major importance ! Only Zorin devs seem to grasp why this is so important. A normal Windows PC user don't care whats under the hood. They just want the OS to execute all their favorite apps, they want it to be fast and stable and have a streamlined experience. If the OS works this way, we don't really care if it's running on Windows, Linux or even a Texas Instruments TI-99 ( for you old timers and yes, I had one LOL). Sure there are many awesome things you can do in Linux with the Terminal (That's the same as the Command Prompt in Windows) if you need to and it's part of the learning curve but for the most part, Zorin simply works out the box to meet a windows like users every need.
Myself, I don't learn the Terminal commands. I refuse to because to me using a terminal is as outdated as using the command prompt in windows. I had to learn similar commands with DOS 6.22 ( Microsoft's text based OS before Windows arrived) and i sure aint going to embrace that again - it's like a major step backwards. The best way for a windows user coming to Zorin to use the Terminal is to use it like we use the command prompt in Windows. We use it by following instructions we read about online to fix a certain problem. Execute the commands, then forget the Terminal till next time it's needed. After you are comfortable doing this for a time, you may find you enjoy learning the Terminal commands and the power that goes with it. You may want to learn all you can about these terminal commands to become a power user but this is not necessary at all for a good everyday experience. Many people enjoy the Terminal because typing the commands can get things done much faster than using a GUI (Graphical User Interface such as the Zorin start menu). No pressure, it's all up to you how you choose to operate your system.
The familiar layout of the file manager is there too. As in Windows Explorer you have the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Video folders as well as your hard drives and or other partitions and Network. This is nice familiar and comfortable.
Zorin comes with many great apps pre-installed like Google Chrome. Windows users will want to add more of the same apps they also use in Windows. For instance there are linux equivalents of Firefox and Skype as well as thousands of other Windows apps. Linux does have many great apps like the Midori Internet browser or the Pidgin Instant Messenger. Some people don't like to use or learn Linux specific apps and thats o.k... you never have to use any of them if you don't want to. These are worth a try and in fact using these Linux apps gives you thousands more app choices to enjoy but they are not necessary and can be ignored if you prefer to use the more familiar Windows apps. Most of these windows apps equivalents can be found through the Software Center with a few exceptions such as Skype or Google Earth. These can be found in the .deb file format you can find through a Google search. To install a .deb file, download it to your hard drive and from the downloads folder double click on the file. The Software Center will open and allow you to install the app and any of it's dependencies needed. Simple as pie. You can also use the Software Center to uninstall any app you have previously installed. Think of the Software Center as as a combination software repository and Programs and Features ( Or Add Remove Programs for you XP users) all in one. . I didn't even get into using Wine to run other native Windows apps but thats a Big plus as tons of Windows apps now work very well through Wine.
For me, it's not about making a switch to Linux or using Zorin as a beginners gateway to Linux. It's about using a Windows like OS that executes all my apps and works well. Zorin does this in such a way as to never have to remind you that your running a (Unix like) Linux system. Sure you know it's under the hood but it doesn't get in the way of your user experience and thats very nice. I think more Windows users don't want to " Use or learn Linux" , they just don't want to use Microsoft anymore for whatever reason and could care less what OS is doing the job. Zorin gives us the best of both worlds. Zorin is essentially The Windows Experience - A Windows like OS running on Lunix. Zorin is Perfect.
Linux fans like to say, "Linux is Not Windows". I beg to disagree. With Zorin 7.1 - Linux IS Windows and I couldn't be happier about it.
Thanks Dev Team, Awesome Job !!! I think I'm going to replace Mint for good now.
