Zorin OS 9 Core Review: As good as Linux Mint 17!

Zorin OS has a lot of takers in the new Linux converts from Windows. Recently, Zorin OS released it's 9th version based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS with 5 years of support. For users who are familiar with Zorin, the release notes states of some incremental improvements over it's predecessors, namely:

"We are excited to announce the release of Zorin OS 9 Core and Ultimate. The main focus for Zorin OS 9 has been on stability and the refinement of Zorin OS' wide array of incredible features. Firstly, Zorin OS 9 includes a myriad of updated software and bug fixes to ensure that your computer runs better than ever. New applications such as the Firefox web browser and Rhythmbox music player have also been included in this release. EFI boot support has been added, making it easier to get Zorin OS on newer computers (64-bit only). In addition, we have introduced a new Blue desktop theme to the Zorin Theme Changer in complement to the Light and Dark themes. As Zorin OS 9 is based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS you can expect to receive continuous software updates until 2019."

From Zorin OS 9 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

For this review, I download the 64-bit Zorin OS 9 Core ISO (1.4 GB in size), which is the free version of Zorin. It ships with Zorin's tweaked GNOME 3.10.4 desktop, resembling Windows 7 and Linux kernel 3.13.0. Files 3.10.4 is the default file manager.

I created a live USB using Unetbootin in Windows 8.1 on a 4 GB USB drive and did a live boot followed by installation on a 20 GB partition.

Read more!

Zorin OS 8 "Lite" Review: Super efficient LXDE spin but released a bit late!

The "Lite" edition of Zorin OS 8, an i386-only variant of the beginners-friendly distribution that features the LXDE desktop, has been released: "The Zorin OS team is pleased to release Zorin OS 8 Lite and Business. Zorin OS 8 Lite is the latest evolution of the Zorin OS Lite series of operating systems, designed specifically for Linux newcomers using old or low-powered hardware. This release is based on Lubuntu 13.10 and uses the LXDE desktop environment to provide one of the fastest and most feature-packed interfaces for low-spec machines. This new release includes newly updated software out-of-the-box. Zorin OS 8 Business introduces a myriad of changes to the business-oriented edition of Zorin OS including updated software, improvements to the user interface and entirely new software."

From Zorin OS 8 "Lite" http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I downloaded the 905 MB 32-bit ISO, created a live USB using Linux Mint Image Writer and did a live boot on my Asus K55VM laptop with 2.3 Ghz Core i7 processor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce 630M hybrid graphics. Indeed, my test laptop is way powerful to test an LXDE distro. Hence, I checked it out on my Asus 1101HA netbook with 1.33 Ghz Intel Atom Z520 processor and 1 GB DDR2 RAM. It is a weak machine unable to run Windows 7.

Zorin OS 8 "Lite" is based on Ubuntu 13.10, which is supported till July 2014. It ships with Linux kernel 3.11.0 and LXDE 0.5 as desktop environment. PCManFM is the default file manager and it is fast.

Read more!

Zorin OS 8 Review: A very good distro for beginners

Zorin is definitely one of the easiest Linux distros to use, IMHO. Most of the things ship pre-installed and pre-tweaked to make life easy for a new Linux convert. Further, it looks quite similar to Windows 7 and it really helps.

From Zorin OS 8 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Zorin has a commercial and a non-commercial line of release. For this review, I downloaded the free Zorin OS 8 Core 64-bit ISO (about 1.6 GB in size). It's final version was released on 27th Jan 2014 and is based on Ubuntu Saucy Salamander with support till July 2014. Zorin 8 ships with a tweaked GNOME 3.8.2 desktop and Linux kernel 3.11.0.

I used Unetbootin to create a live USB on a 4 GB USB drive. I booted it up on my Asus K55VM laptop (2.3 Ghz Core i7 Processor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce 630M graphic card) and then installed it on a 50 GB partition.

From Zorin OS 8 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Read more!

Zorin 6.4 "Educational" Review: Very good for Kids, Fun to use, but lags a bit behind for Graduate students

During post graduate education and doctoral studies I was relying primarily on Windows 2000 and Windows XP to write my thesis. I could recall the nights spent with Adobe Pagemaker, LaTeX and MS Word for writing dissertation, managing references and citations using EndNote and many other software which actually helped me a lot in my research work. Unfortunately those days I wasn't initiated to Linux and today I feel Linux could have helped me a lot better to finish my work faster. For example, once my Windows crashed and I lost about 3 months of work. Fortunately, I had backup of my research data.

With that context, it is not surprising that I check out a lot of the Linux distros which come with "Education" tag. I tried UberStudent 2 earlier this year and was very impressed by the developer's focus on post graduate students. Similarly, Edubuntu is another distro which impressed me a lot. However, majority of the so-called "Educational" distros I tried have little to offer in terms of aesthetics. In fact, quite a few of them look pretty ugly and/or boring.

The Zorin 6 "Educational" is an effort in that direction to combine an aesthetically pleasing interface to a host of educationally relevant software. Like Zorin 6 Core, it is based on Ubuntu 12.04.*, has an LTS focus (5 year support ending Apr'17) and comes with a tweaked GNOME 3.4 DE.

From Zorin 6.4 "Educational" http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I checked out Zorin 6 Educational earlier but didn't get time to write a review. So, here I am with my review of Zorin 6.4 Educational - the latest update which brings in the goodness of Ubuntu 12.04.3 release. 

One point here: unlike Ubuntu 12.04.3, Zorin still comes with long term Linux kernel 3.2.0 and hence, may not work as good as Ubuntu LTS on machines with the latest Intel Haswell processors.

Zorin 6.4 Educational comes in two flavors: one, heavier with GNOME 3.4 and another "lite" version with LXDE desktop. For this review, I used the GNOME one.

I first created a live USB of 32-bit Zorin 6.4 "Educational" ISO (~2 GB in size and with GNOME 3.4) using Unetbootin. Then I did a live boot followed by installation on my Asus K54C with Core i3 2.2 Ghz processor and 2 GB RAM. I have only proprietary Intel graphics and hence, didn't have to worry of installing Bumblebee or AMD Radeon specific drivers. Installation is pretty simple - for details please refer my Zorin 7 review.

Read more!

Zorin OS 7 Review: Windows clone of Ubuntu with great design and good performance

Zorin OS is an Ubuntu spin specially keeping in mind the new Linux converters from Windows. From the beginning itself it has an interface quite similar to previously Windows XP and now Windows 7 (still it gives Win XP appearance as an alternative). Zorin OS is somewhat different from other distros, as it has a commercial angle to it. It has a paid full featured version with support and a free version. In this review, I take on the latest release Zorin OS 7 Free Version. It is based on Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) and has 6 months of support till Oct 2013.

From Zorin OS 7 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

The release note states of significant improvements in design and functionalities in the latest release:

"The Zorin OS team is proud to finally release the Zorin OS 7 Core and Ultimate, the latest version of our operating system designed for Linux newcomers. Zorin OS 7 brings about a plethora of changes and improvements such as a wide array of updated software, the Linux kernel version 3.8, the introduction of new software (Pidgin replacing Empathy and Steam in Zorin OS 7 Ultimate) and an enormous design overhaul. We have given the brand a facelift with our new logo. In addition to this, Zorin OS itself includes a brand new desktop theme. Zorin OS 7 is based on Ubuntu 13.04."

I downloaded the Zorin OS free edition 32-bit ISO, about 1.5 GB in size for this testing. Zorin OS 7 free edition comes with Linux kernel 3.8.0-23, just like Ubuntu 13.04 and has a heavily tweaked GNOME 3.6 desktop. I created a live USB using Unetbootin, first did a live boot followed by installation in my Asus K54C 2.2 Ghz Core i3 laptop with 2 GB RAM.

Read more!