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<a target="_blank" href="https://zorinos.com/">Zorin OS</a> has been gaining in popularity as of late as a good alternative for Windows users making the migration to Linux but is it a worthy option? Read on to find out in this Zorin OS Review.There are several ways you can get started with Zorin OS; the first is to download <a target="_blank" href="https://zorinos.com/download/#core">Zorin OS Core</a> which is the free edition of the distro. If you prefer the XFCE desktop environment, you can try their <a target="_blank" href="https://zorinos.com/download/#lite">lite edition</a>  which includes this as a default instead of Gnome.There is also a paid version which is called <a target="_blank" href="https://zorinos.com/download/#ultimate">Zorin OS Ultimate</a> and includes some additional layouts for the desktop as well as over 20 different games for $39. This is a great way to help the developers cover some of their costs. (Side note: Zorin OS Ultimate is also available in Lite and 32 bit editions)For the purposes of this review, I'll be focusing on the Gnome editions (Ultimate and Core) but if you are interested in seeing what the lite editions is like with XFCE, I've covered that here: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/zorin-os-lite-review-15-1-version/">Zorin OS Lite Review.</a>The installation process is pretty much identical to every other Ubuntu based distro out there so I'm going to skip screenshots for it and just tell you that it went off without a hitch and within a few minutes, I was greeted with the desktop.<h2>Zorin OS Ultimate</h2>As I mentioned earlier, Zorin OS Ultimate is available for $39 and includes a number of games as well as some additional layouts. Here is what the default Gnome desktop looks like.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-1.png" />Zorin OS Review - Default Desktop (Gnome)As you can see, it's a clean and easy on the eyes look and feel they are going for.  This is the default layout that you start off with but as you'll see shortly, there are several others you can try if you prefer something else.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-2.png" />Zorin OS Review - The MenuThe menu is pretty self explanatory and contains a number of great default applications for pretty much every purpose. The styling and theming should be pretty easy to adapt to for transitioning Windows users and help make them feel at home.As you can see, the Ultimate release includes a number of games to get you started. Of course, you can always download more within the repositories, from <a target="_blank" href="https://store.steampowered.com/">Steam</a> or the ever popular <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gog.com/games?page=1&amp;sort=popularity&amp;system=lin_ubuntu,lin_mint,lin_ubuntu_18">GOG</a> which includes tons of great Linux game options.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-14.png" />Zorin OS Review - Ultimate Edition - Included Games<h2>Desktop Layouts</h2>There are numerous desktop layouts included with the Ultimate edition which let you basically alter the look of your desktop. With Zorin OS Core you get three options but with Ultimate, there are a total of six.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-15.png" />Below, I've included a gallery of the additional layouts you get. I'm not going to bother with layout #2 as it's basically just changing the task bar from showing icons to showing window names so it's not much of a change.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-19.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-16-1.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-17-1.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-18.png" />Zorin OS Review - Additional Layouts<h2>Zorin Appearance</h2>Zorin OS also includes a few interesting theme options within their exclusive theme app, Zorin Appearance. From here you can select between light and dark modes as well as a transitioning theme which will switch between light and dark automatically at whichever times you set. The logic here is that it should make it easier on your eyes in the evenings.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-4.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-5.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-6.png" />Zorin OS Review - Theming OptionsYou can also adjust accent colors and fonts, etc from within the Zorin Appearance app as well.<h2>Zorin Connect</h2>Zorin Connect is another application included with the distro, the purpose of which is to allow you to connect your smartphone to the desktop in order to review alerts and notifications. If you are familiar with <a target="_blank" href="https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect">KDE Connect</a>, this is a similar concept.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-7.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-8.png" />Zorin OS review - Zorin Connect<h2>Software</h2>Installing software is as easy as using the terminal or going through the included Software app which is organized by category and includes a search option.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-9.png" />Zorin OS Review - Software<h2>Settings</h2>Settings for your system can be modified within the Settings app, which is a control center similar to the control panel within Windows. This and the software app above are not exclusive to Zorin but rather are part of the <a target="_blank" href="http://gnome.org/">Gnome desktop environment</a> that Zorin OS uses by default.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-10.png" />Zorin OS Review - Settings<h2>Web Browsing</h2>When it comes to web browsing, the included Firefox web browser, which is generally the default browser on the majority of Linux desktops is included. There's even a custom search page for Zorin OS.I don't quite get why the search font has to be so massive but hey, to each their own.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-12.png" />Zorin OS Review - Web Browsing<h2>Performance</h2>During my testing, Zorin OS Core and Ultimate running the Gnome desktop environment, a terminal, the file manager and Firefox with two tabs clocks clocked in at about 1.3-1.5 gigs of ram on average.It definitely feels like a better performing Zorin OS than prior versions. It seems to have lost the sluggishness I used to experience with Zorin. I'd love to hear your personal experiences, so please do leave a comment below and share.<h2>Conclusion</h2>Zorin OS Ultimate and Core are very elegant interpretations of the Gnome desktop and with the performance improvements, it feels pretty snappy compared to previous releases. I didn't experience any hiccups or issues during my testing and it seemed to handle whatever I threw at it without issue.If you are looking for a slick Gnome based distro, I'd recommend giving it a try and seeing if it suits your needs. Not sure? Check out our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/zorin-os-lite-review-15-1-version/">Zorin OS Lite Review</a> (XFCE based) and see if it suits your needs.You can download Zorin OS here: <a target="_blank" href="https://zorinos.com/">https://zorinos.com/</a>

Zorin OS Review - 15.1 Ultimate and Core Editions

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Zorin OS Lite is a new XFCE edition of the popular Linux distribution. The main desktop environment we're accustomed to seeing with Zorin OS is Gnome but recently, they decided to start offering a Lite edition as well - a smart move that is sure to expand their install base.For this review, I'll take you through Zorin OS Lite and show you around. If you want to see what the Gnome edition, read my <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/zorin-os-review/">Zorin OS Review</a>, which I just just updated for 15.1 Ultimate and Core.Installation of Zorin OS hasn't changed with the Lite edition and there's not much to see other than the standard stuff so I won't focus on that aspect, just know that it went off without a hitch.<h2>The Desktop</h2>Zorin OS Lite uses the <a target="_blank" href="https://xfce.org/">XFCE desktop environment</a> and the developers have definitely done a great job of keeping the look and feel of Zorin OS pretty consistent. It's almost hard to tell it's not Gnome.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-review-1.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - The XFCE DesktopJust like Zorin OS Core and Ultimate, there are also a number of desktop layout options included, which we'll take a look at in a moment.The menu, which you'll find in the bottom left, is well laid out and shows the default applications. The third party apps installed are the same ones you'd find in any other edition of Zorin OS. The only difference here are the DE specific ones (ie: Gnome desktop comes with it's own set of default apps as does XFCE).  In other word's, you'll find differences in the terminal, file manager and settings but apps like Firefox, etc are all standard in each edition.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-1.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - The Menu<h2>Zorin Appearance</h2>Just like the Ultimate and Core editions, Zorin OS Lite includes the Zorin Appearance app which allows you to modify the theme, fonts and desktop layouts.<h3>Desktop Layouts</h3>Let's take a look at the different desktop layouts offered in the Lite edition now. I've put together a gallery below for you showing them all off.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-3-1.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-4-1.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-5-1.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-6-1.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - Desktop Layouts<h3>Theme Options</h3>In addition to the desktop layouts, you can also select between light and dark themes as well as a new option which allows your desktop to automatically switch between light and dark modes depending on the time of day (which you can set). This is intended to be easy on the eyes and reduce eye strain.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-7.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - Zorin Appearance<h2>File Management</h2>The included file manager is Thunar which is the default for XFCE. It's themed nicely (I particularly like it in dark mode) and is a fantastic file manager.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-8.png" />Zorin OS Lite - File Management<h2>Settings</h2>Settings for your system can be found within the Settings tool. Here's you'll find everything from display and bluetooth options to wifi and more.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-9.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - SettingsThere are also a number of nice included backgrounds for your desktop should you wish to change it to something other than the default. You can find these by right clicking on the desktop and choosing desktop settings.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-12.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - Backgrounds<h2>Oops, found a mistake!</h2>I did find one mistake but chance while I was exploring Zorin OS Lite. When I went to click on the XFCE Terminal within the menu, it launched the XFCE terminal preferences instead.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-10.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - XFCE Terminal PreferencesThis is due to a misplaced --preferences flag that has been added by mistake within the menu as you can see below. It's a minor mistake but one to be aware of and it's easy to change. Just remove --prefern<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zorin-os-lite-review-11.png" />Zorin OS Lite Review - XFCE Terminal - Minor Bug<h2>Conclusion</h2>Overall, this new Lite edition is very slick and well put together. It's definitely one of the better looking XFCE desktops I've seen and I'm impressed with how the devs managed to match it up with the other edition's look and feel.Performance wise, I found everything fast, even when running multiple apps at a time with numerous tabs open in Firefox. It just works well and I highly suggest giving it a try if you love XFCE.You can download your own copy of Zorin OS Lite here: <a target="_blank" href="https://zorinos.com/">https://zorinos.com/</a>Don't forget to check out our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/zorin-os-review/">Zorin OS Review</a> to see what the Gnome edition looks like.

Zorin OS Lite Review - 15.1 Lite Edition

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