Zorin OS Desktop
Posted on 07/24/2020 8:35:40 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Traditionally, Linux was a reserve for developers, system administrators, and Enterprise users for hosting websites and other applications. There was a time when Linux posed a great deal of complexity to beginners and simply discouraged them from embracing it.
Over time, the vibrant Open source community has made enormous efforts in bringing Linux closer to the ordinary Windows and mac users by making it more user-friendly and easy to use.
Read Also: Top Linux Distributions To Look Forward To In 2020
This guide covers the best Linux distributions for beginners in 2020.
Based on Ubuntu and Developed by Zorin group, Zorin is a powerful and user-friendly Linux distribution that was developed with new Linux users in mind. This is notably clear from its neat, simple, and intuitive UI whose look-and-feel closely resembles Windows 7 and 10. For Windows or macOS users who are trying their hand out in Linux, this distribution comes highly recommended.
Zorin OS Desktop
Zorin has been around since 2009, with the latest release being Zorin 15.2 which is available in 4 editions namely: Ultimate, Core, Lite, and Education.
The Core, Lite, and Education editions are free for download with the Ultimate Edition going for only $39. Education and Ultimate editions ship with both GNOME and XFCE desktop environments. Core edition is only available in GNOME while Lite comes with the XFCE environment.
All editions come packed with office productivity software such as LibreOffice alongside useful utilities and applications to get you started. Zorin is also secure with periodic security patches and feature updates to address any security flaws and improve the performance of the system.
Zorin also comes highly recommended for old PCs or systems with low CPU and RAM specifications.
Minimum system requirements include:
If you are a newcomer to Linux, consider giving Zorin a test run and enjoy the sleek UI, stability, and wonderful system performance.
Linux Mint is free and open-source that was built with a focus on desktop users. Based on Ubuntu Mint enjoys a vibrant community of developers who work round the clock to deliver a stable, fully-featured, customizable, and secure system.
Linux Mint Desktop
Right from the start, Mint provides an elegant and sleek interface that is easy to interact with. A simple click of the Start button at the bottom left corner reveals a rich menu replete with your favorite applications, storage locations, and various settings that you can use to tweak your system to your desired preference.
On the taskbar, be sure to find status icons such as the Network status icon, Update manager, volume, battery usage, and date icons just as you would find on a Windows 7 or 10 system.
With Linux Mint, everything works out-of-the-box with full multimedia support, managed system updates using the Update Manager tool, and a software manager repository where you can install your favorite applications such as Skype, Discord and VLC media player.
Mint is a long term support (LTS) operating system implying that it receives support for extended periods of time of up to 5 years.
The latest release of Mint is Linux Mint 20.0 codenamed Ulyana. It was released in June 2020 and is based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. It’s available for download in 3 desktop environments: Cinnamon, MATE and XFCE. However, unlike its predecessors such as Mint 19.3 and earlier, it is only available for download in 64-bit architecture. It’s highly customizable with a rich set of desktop backgrounds, improved monitor support with fractional scaling, accent colors, and other system improvements.
Unlike Zorin, Mint has a fairly large footprint and requires a robust system with higher specifications for installation for it to run smoothly. To install Linux Mint, your PC needs to meet the following minimum requirements:
Developed by Canonical, Ubuntu remains to be one of the most popular mainstream Linux distros of all time, with several other distros derived from it. Ubuntu is open source, and absolutely free for download. It ships with a GNOME desktop environment with polished icons and a rich set of desktop backgrounds.
Ubuntu Linux
It works out of the box with full multimedia support and basic applications to get you started out such as LibreOffice suite, Rhythmbox media player. Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client.
Ubuntu’s massive popularity stems from the availability of over 50,000 software packages from its four main repositories; Main, Restricted, Universe, and Multiverse. This simplifies the installation of almost any software packages using the APT package manager on the command-line.
Ubuntu also comes with a rich Software Center which is a graphical front-end that allows users to easily install and remove software packages from the system without having to run commands on the terminal.
Ubuntu is quite easy to use and highly customizable supporting up to 10 desktop environments. The latest release is Ubuntu 20.04 dubbed Focal Fossa which is a Long Term release with support going all the way up till 2025. It ships with polished icons, enhanced monitor support with fractional scaling, additional theme variants, ZFS file support, and more emphasis on Snaps.
Over time, Ubuntu has evolved and now includes Enterprise support for cloud technologies such as Openstack, Kubernetes Clusters and even extended to support IoT devices
Older versions of Ubuntu ran quite smoothly on older PC, but Ubuntu 18.04 and later requires a PC with the following requirements to run smoothly:
Elementary OS has been around for close to 9 years now with its maiden release in March 2011. It comes with a stunning and crisp Pantheon desktop environment, and at first glance, you may be forgiven to think that you are looking at another macOS release given the design cues inspired by mac such as the distinctive centered dock at the bottom of the screen.
Elementary OS Desktop
Honestly speaking the Pantheon desktop is one of the most aesthetically appealing desktop environments and offers an easy to navigate to your applications and files.
By default, Elementary OS is quite minimalistic and takes pride in its App Center where you can install your favorite applications such as Spotify. LibreOffice doesn’t come pre-installed as you would expect but worry not as it’s just a simple click away in the AppCenter.
Elementary OS packs with a wealth of Open Source applications such as email clients, web browsers, photo viewers, music players. Calendars and so on. These include GIMP image editor, Midori web browser, Photo viewer, Geary, etc.
Elementary OS is also based on Ubuntu and is stable and fast even on old and low spec PCs. The latest release is Elementary 5.1 Hera that packs major improvements such as a new-look login screen, improved system settings, and new desktop tweaks.
CentOS is an open-source community-driven operating system that is based on RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). It offers beginners a gateway to try out an RPM-based Linux distribution at absolutely no cost, unlike Red Hat which is subscription-based.
CentOS Desktop
Unlike the earlier-mentioned distributions, CentOS is more geared towards stability and performance than the visual appeal and customizations. In fact, due to its stability, it comes recommended for server environments and for beginners seeking to venture into System Administration and development.
CentOS 8 is the latest release and ships with GNOME as the default desktop environment. Software packages are provided for through 2 main repositories: AppStream and BaseOS.
Though very commendable on stability and performance, CentOS 8 doesn’t have much to offer in the way of desktop customization. If you are looking for an exciting desktop experience, you are better off with the first 4 distributions.
And this wraps up our round-up of the 5 Best Linux distributions for beginners.
Tech Ping
Remember if you plan us use Linux, it is pretty good at what it does. Not perfect sometimes, but better than average. And it is limited in what it can do. For general desktop stuff, it is adequate.
But you can't beat free and the fact that it supports old hardware (computers).
Me likee Mint.
Only complaint is the startup chime, which to me is like nails on chalkboard.
Slackware. Once you figure out how to configure everything by hand, any other distribution is cake.
Centos is rocket fast
I love Ubuntu because of the level of support of almost all hardware and packages and love the Mint desktop. You can install Cinnamon on Ubuntu and make the desktop act like Mint. That is my preference. The best of both worlds. Ubuntu depth and Mint friendliness.
For non-Linux people there is a prepackaged version @ https://ubuntucinnamon.org/
how do you go about authenticating the download? i didn’t see any verification number (Can’t remember what it’s called- it’s a security number to make sure the download is authentic and not mucked with)
Bump for Linux Mint
Only complaint is the startup chime, which to me is like nails on chalkboard.
Me too. Been running it long enough to start forgetting how to operate windows. :D
I long ago turned off all the sounds. Too distracting and I don't need them.
For beginners in search of a Mac or Windows replacement, I’d suggest Elementary or Zorin, followed by Linux Mint. The other two mentioned in the article are server level installs.
Linux Mint is versatile, but not nearly as seamless as Zorin or Elementary.
I run Fedora. It is similar to CentOS as it is the upstream distro for CentOS/Red Hat. Mainly, I run it due to familiarity, but also because I am a RH admin for work, so it keeps environments pretty close.
Twenty years ago I bought a boxed Slackware distro because it had an instruction book with it. Nobody told me it was supposed to be hard to learn. ;)
I just realized you were asking for this: https://sourceforge.net/projects/ubuntu-cinnamon-remix/
MD5’s and SHA’s posted there.
Thanks. I might try it. The regular distribution works well for me.
ah yep that’s it- couldn’t for thel ife of me remember what they were called- thanks for the link
I have to have Gnome Mahjong.
Thanks for posting this. I am planning on putting Mint on my laptop, which is running windows (8.1?). I don’t have any specific Windows software requirements, so if the linux works out, will I be able to get rid of all the installed Windows (and Acer) software? I am new to this, but I will be able to figure it out.
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