Zorin OS 16 - Is It Worth Using?
Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux Mint, Manjaro; what do these have in common? They are all very highly used, and respected Linux Distributions. There are a ton of Linux distributions, with some being focused on general use, and others having a specific use case in mind. For example, Ubuntu is a general use distribution, meant to be used as a "daily driver" for all of your computing needs. Kali Linux, however, is designed with ethical hacking in mind, and is used primarily for network security, and penetration testing.
One thing that can be a turn-off to new Linux users is deciding what distribution to learn/use. Unlike Windows, or MacOS, the possibilities for Linux distributions number in the hundreds. When you first start looking into it, making a decision can be really difficult due to all the options, and the limited understanding of what some of these options entail.
I always like to keep an eye out for distributions that I think do a great job of not only being useful, but also offer intuitive user interfaces, and a friendly feel for new users. Recently, I have been checking out the latest version of the Zorin Distribution, Zorin OS 16.
Zorin is based on Ubuntu, which means that it has all of the package and driver support of one of the most popular Linux Distributions. In addition to that, it has a custom desktop interface based on Gnome (the Lite version is based on XFCE), which is extremely user friendly, offering a unique experience where the user can choose multiple desktop layouts, that are designed to mimic other famous desktop Operating Systems. There is one to look like Windows, one for MacOS, one for the new Windows 11 desktop layout, and some others to mimic popular Linux layouts.
There are a few versions of Zorin OS available for download, Zorin OS Pro, Zorin OS Core, and Zorin OS Lite. The differences in the versions can be seen below:
Zorin OS is not only intended for home/general users, it is also targeted at enterprise use (Businesses, Schools, etc). Zorin Grid is a piece of software currently in development (not yet available for use), that will act as an enterprise management software for all of the systems in a business that are running Zorin OS. It is supposed to allow for central management of software, security, settings, inventory, and statistics for all of the Zorin systems running in a business. This is a very neat feature for an enterprise making an attempt at running completely on Linux, as these are features that are currently offered by Microsoft's centralized directory service and management system, Active Directory.
After using Zorin OS for a bit, I feel confident that not only is Zorin OS a great first operating system for new Linux users, but is a well performing, and well laid out operating system for experienced Linux users looking for an everyday use OS, and for businesses looking to move to Linux as a full time OS.
Micah Robichaux 
