Alternatively, just… keeps Windows 10.
Am I crazy? Like, I would legitimately reinstall Windows 95 were it relatively feasible.
Is it really that ill-advised to rely on outside providers for additional security features?
In wake of Windows 10 retirement, over 780,000 Windows users skip Win 11 for Linux, says Zorin OS developers — distro hits unprecedented 1 million downloads in five weeks
Submitted 16 hours ago by throws_lemy@reddthat.com to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
FosterMolasses@leminal.space 2 hours ago
Rooster326@programming.dev 1 hour ago
Yes it is very ill advised as people often do important tasks on the PC including banking.
To put this in perspective. There were 1,360 Vulnerabilities reported in 2024. Not single one will be patched post end-of-life.
There are vulnerabilities that were waiting for end-of-life to be exploited.
If I use my malware a month before EOL and it’s caught then I have to start from scratching. If I do it after EOL then I can reap the benefits forever.
Evotech@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
Just installed CachyOS. It just works.
Never going back
ConstantPain@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Use Cachy for a while. Not a single issue so far. Very good distro for people who want the OS out of the way. The perfect compatibility with Nvidia is a plus!
Evotech@lemmy.world 5 minutes ago
Yeah I waited till I had a new gpu, got amd.
But yeah, reinstalled all the are stuff I had on windows and other services as podman services, got steam, played a few games. Some Linux native. Some Proton.
Transfered all my stuff then formatted my ntfs disks did btrfs
Never felt like anything pushed back on what I wanted. Was silky smooth.
Technus@lemmy.zip 14 hours ago
That “780,000 Windows users” number is just made up for the title as clickbait.
That number is never mentioned in the original blog post.
All they said is they have a million downloads and “over 78% of these downloads came from Windows”. At no fucking point did they imply that means 780k unique users. There’s no reason to assume that everyone who downloaded the ISO actually went on to install it.
They also want $48 for their Pro version which comes with a “professional-grade creative suite” consisting of… GIMP, Blender, Inkscape, Kdenlive, and… Audacity (?), going off the screenshots they show:
click to show
They’re shamelessly reselling free software as some sort of comprehensive package, and it’s not even their own distro. They’re just piggybacking on Ubuntu.
And their premium support only covers… installation?
click to show
But hey, they support this edition with updates until 2029!
click to show
Of course, pay no attention to the coincidence that the Ubuntu LTS version it’s based on also hits end-of-life around then:
click to show
So I’m not really sure what you’re actually getting out of this purchase besides some extra themes and some really formulaic desktop wallpapers, and a couple proprietary apps. They say they “contribute to upstream Open Source projects” but offer zero evidence; their site doesn’t even have any Github/Gitlab links.
altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 28 minutes ago
While most users don’t even know their Windows is paid by them - as an OEM pre-install - I can see business persons being oblivious to a concept their workhorse can be just free and good. Zorin is probably targeting that market. Top managers don’t take personal responsibility to integrate some hippy socialist bullshit, they switch from one respectable enterprise solution to the other and can show checks.
cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de 14 hours ago
Its rare to see someone with brain in here
the16bitgamer@programming.dev 5 hours ago
Zorin pro was the main reason I never stuck with Zorin OS however while they heavily advertise that the price is for the software. I think the real cost comes with “installation support”.
For many first time users, having support help with an install is a necessity and they will pay for it. See Geek Squad as an excellent example.
Plus having a preconfigured Linux experience is good for these users.
u_u@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 hours ago
Nice perspective. I had a wtf moment reading they charge for Gimp etc, but I imagine some casual PC users installing linux would rather pays for the convenience than troubleshoots.
Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 hours ago
Thanks for clearing up the misinfo
carrylex@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
If I had a nickel for every time TomsHardware spreads misinformation, makes stuff up or did 0 research on the topic #Ryzen9700X3D I would be millionaire pretty soon.
Can we maybe ban them as a source from here?
PattyMcB@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
I guarantee there are PLENTY of people jumping the commercial ship to try Linux of many flavors
Technus@lemmy.zip 13 hours ago
I’m not saying there’s no people trying it, or that the actual number is negligible. I’m just saying I highly fucking doubt that 780,000 people have actually installed Zorin OS in the last month.
Krudler@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Love how you just completely skipped over the entire thrust of the comment and then churned out some blithe remark.
orioler25@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
I really hope these people don’t accept that it’s normal to charge for different desktop environments.
FG_3479@lemmy.world 17 minutes ago
They are just different layouts for Gnome, but it’s annoying that they call what is essentially a donation to them a Pro edition. A donate button would likely make more as it feels philanphropic.
iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com 4 hours ago
I just installed Linux Mint on my dad’s old laptop. He asked me to do it!
I checked and it could run Windows 11 with a RAM upgrade. But he wasn’t interested in that.
He was surprised at all of the software installed by default. And mostly just uses the browser to read his Outlook mail…
87Six@lemmy.zip 4 hours ago
Same dude!
I got games to run too, using Lutris. I can give you a few tips if you want. I put it on a thinkpad T470p.
I can probably run pretty much anything using Lutris. It can read any iso file and presumably even .exe files though I haven’t tried it with exe’s.
Still, most of what we need is available just in a browser or from open source, like Libreoffice.
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I know some who went to Linux and a few who moved to Mac. But no one is seeing Win11 and saying “oh man, I gotta get in on that”.
sidelove@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I jumped in to the beta and really liked it, they finally got most of the control panel into the new settings architecture and I never once had to dig deep into things to adjust something small, a lot of stuff that took finagling just worked.
And now I fucking hate it. The release version is jammed full of bullshit features and useless AI junk that it is an active hindrance to whatever I’m trying to do. And more and more stupid fucking bugs bubble up in to the desktop and never get addressed, all while I get pop up after pop up urging me to try some bullshit new feature.
I already had one fit into Linux but kept this because it was a Surface and nice at some point, but my next buy has to be a Linux 2-in-1, I can’t deal with Microsoft’s horseshit any longer.
Essence_of_Meh@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
In case you weren’t aware there’s an ongoing project adding Surface hardware support to Linux kernel. It’s in a pretty mature state, with most of the features already implemented and working (here is a full breakdown per device). I’ve been using it on my SP6 for a few years with zero issues.
It might be worth a look until you get to buying new hardware.
st3ph3n@midwest.social 15 hours ago
I finally committed to the switch last weekend. My desktop PC was the last holdout still on Windows in my fleet, because of Adobe Lightroom. I decided to just force myself to learn Darktable, and nuked the Win 11 install and replaced it with Fedora 43.
Fun side note, some of my games run way better than they did on Windows, despite not having native Linux builds. lol.
Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world [bot] 13 hours ago
I left Windows for Linux in the early 2010s. Windows was shit then, but this is a new level of shit. I don’t know how anyone does it. After discovering the freedom Linux can provide I could never go back to Microsoft.
Starfish@piefed.social 16 hours ago
did you try the ltsc version? i heard it comes without all these unnecessary “features” and feature updates.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I know some people who shoot and hunt their own venison. Some people moved over to butcher shops. But no one is finding roadkill and saying “oh man, I gotta get in on that”
faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 13 hours ago
But no one is finding roadkill and saying “oh man, I gotta get in on that”
Fun fact, there was enough public outcry in '16 for the state of Washington to amend it’s laws and make it legal to harvest roadkill for food.
mr_account@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
When I was a kid I visited my cousin in backwoods Missouri, and we heard on the radio that there was an uptick in leprosy because of people eating roadkill armadillo. It was a real wtf moment in my life
Fondots@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
It’s actually not terribly uncommon for people to take roadkill if it’s fresh and in decent shape.
In my state (PA) you’re supposed to report it to the game commission within 24 hours, and you’re supposed to surrender the hide and antlers to them unless you pay for a separate permit.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 13 hours ago
Gotta make fresh roadkill, then it’s edible sure.
Mertn33@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
I have two win 11 licensed for older Dell computers. I shudder at the thought of ever needing them.
Aljernon@lemmy.today 11 hours ago
My machine was once VERY capable. It’s not a top of the line gaming box but it’s still capable and shows no signs of crapping out yet. Can’t run windows 11 but it’s not worth throwing away my computer over.
Fondots@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Same boat, my computer is basically the computer my wife built probably about 12 years ago before we got together, it was pretty beefy for its time. I basically stuck her old components in a new box (and also stuck a newer graphics card in it because I got a really good deal on a used 2060)
Still manages to run most games out there on acceptable (to me) settings.
Made the switch to Linux about a week ago, no major issues, some things are arguably running better now. It’s not without its hiccups but so far things have gone pretty smoothly.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 5 hours ago
I’ve been using a PC with C2D till it died. And I’m still having thoughts of checking whether it’s solvable with a bit of soldering, perhaps replacing power.
It’s enough for music, text editing, a little bit of web browsing and old games. Old games here includes a lot of goodness, but even World of Tanks worked under Wine on it back when I used it. Slow, but playable (when you have friends and it’s a social event, alone kinda sad).
Glitchvid@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
I’ve got an Intel 6900K 8-core X99 system. Also not compatible with W11, but serving me well.
The issue is even if I wanted to upgrade, that market segment is effectively dead; X299 and X399 (AMD) were the last real HEDT platforms. The only thing now is workstation tier boards, which are about $1K and processors to match
deleted@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
I’m gonna make it 780,001 today.
SomethingBurger@jlai.lu 3 hours ago
How many computers do you have ?!
mlg@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Bruh ain’t no way people are choosing Zorin OS over all the available options.
If this is a result of people searching “best windows like distro”, they’re profiting off of a windows theme for GNOME, not even a full DE.
You can achieve the same thing with zero effort on any distro because DEs and themes aren’t tied to a distro.
Anivia@feddit.org 11 hours ago
You can achieve the same thing with zero effort on any distro because DEs and themes aren’t tied to a distro
No, YOU can. But for the average Windows user this is far from “zero effort”. Just the fact that Zorin OS will automatically run Windows executables through wine without the user having to set it up is a huge deal for people coming from Windows who want their PC to “just work” without fiddling around
fondue@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
Bringo. I started trying to learn how computers compute in my 40’s, after using them essentially since childhood. Still a dumbfuck. There is a huge class of users who are genuinely interested in… Having a computer - they are neat. The percentage of those people who also want to not be product-fucked on the regular by unimaginably powerful companies is pretty substantial.
It’s odd to look at Linux and open source communities that shame others, and diminish the possible entry point of a user hoping to escape the purgatory of Microsoft’s/apple etc. whims. What’s the goal? Many people are stupid; I’m pretty stupid. Help us more smarter.
What are some experiments I can do to learn grep a little? How do I internalize the file system in this OS better? How do I know I fucked something up, rather than found a loose nut in the software?
Rtfm. Hahah cheers
Ashiette@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Zorin is the best distro when you come from Windows. It works almost similarly so it’s easy to grasp for those who don’t want to tinker / learn a new DE.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
marketing is important. more important than a good product even.
Default_Defect@anarchist.nexus 8 hours ago
Zorin uses gnome? I would not have guessed that based on the couple of screenshots I saw.
Mvp_rx1212@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Can it play .exe without wine
NakedGardenGnome@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 hours ago
No
axh@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
I downloaded Mint last week and started the installation but got cold feet when it came to drive formatting. I still want to keep my win10 operational in case I won’t be able to run something on Linux.
I never actually used Linux before… I installed it 3 times before and always quickly went back to windows due to some compatibility or driver issues, but…
<Rant mode=“venting”> I am NOT switching to win11… It’s enough that I am forced to use it at work. That system is so fuckin stupid… They took a lot of minor elements and just made each of them worse… I get that the sales department told you to shove OneDrive and Copilot everywhere, it’s stupid and annoying but I get it, it’s just plain old greed, but why can’t the Calendar show the whole month and don’t work on the second monitor?!? (Are you planning to add it as a paid subscription later?!?) </Rant>
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 52 minutes ago
One can resize the Windows partition from Windows itself, then install Linux alongside it. But have backups and be careful.
pastaq@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Bruh, they moved rename file. That shit has been in the same place since 3.1. Fucking why.
mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 4 hours ago
lol I forgot about the calendar issue
a perfect example of them making it worse for literally no reason at all
Homesnatch@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
I used disk2vhd to virtualize my laptop windows disk and put it on a USB stick and then got it running on Linux with VirtualBox. I’m gonna need it once a year for taxes.
I did run into some trouble getting secureboot working in virtualbox, but solved it after I figured out the kernel drivers were compressed.
Dazed_Confused@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
You can get a cheap ssd and install linux on it. Before installing disconect existing windows drive. After install reconnect windows drive and make sure that windows boots. Then boot to bios and choose linux as default drive and after booting to mint desktop update grub to include windows. On each boot you will be able to choose which OS you want.
survirtual@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Just add a new partition and dual boot, it is pretty easy.
Also I do not recommend Mint for Windows users, because the officially supported UX layers are more apple-esque. Use a distro that has KDE support baked in. Adding KDE to Mint is easy but may not be for people switching.
For that reason, I recommend going with distros with KDE Plasma by default. Kubuntu or KDE neon.
Why KDE? It feels like where Windows should have gone. It’s like the glory days of Windows (windows 2000, etc) in the modern age. It is a drastic upgrade from Windows with more freedom than you ever had.
demonsword@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
I do not recommend Mint for Windows users, because the officially supported UX layers are more apple-esque
you can’t have a more classic desktop look and feel than using MATE, and it’s from the same people that maintains Mint
MagnificentSteiner@lemmy.zip 2 hours ago
Mint has the Cinnamon desktop environment which isn’t that different from Windows/KDE. You’re probably thinking of Gnome?
nailbar@sopuli.xyz 7 hours ago
One pretty safe way is if you get a separate drive for Linux and completely swap out the Windows one. It’s not dual booting but at least you can switch back if it doesn’t work out for you.
Just make sure you have whatever you need to get the Windows drive working again if it’s encrypted.
Lumisal@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
If you have issues with mint, try something based on Debian or Fedora rather than Ubuntu like Mint is.
For Fedora I recommend Bazzite if you do gaming and nothing too technical. Flatpaks make it easy to find and install software without messing things up. Otherwise Fedora Kiinoite.
For Debian I recommend Debian itself really. Also runs very well on much older machinery.
MagnificentSteiner@lemmy.zip 2 hours ago
If you didn’t know, Ubuntu is based on Debian.
kalkulat@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
The Mint team also puts out a very stable version called LMDE which is based on Deb rather than Ubuntu.
melsaskca@lemmy.ca 4 hours ago
At least Bill Gates won’t be able to afford the third home for a distant cousin he’s never met. /s
MrBungle@lemmy.ca 16 hours ago
Even if most of those trying it out eventually go back to Windows, this is still great for Linux?
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 hours ago
That’s a fucking low number
TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca 6 hours ago
How popular is it against other distros? First I’ve heard of it (which admittedly doesn’t say much since I’m used to the older ones), which makes me wonder how close to a million people did. Did influencers spread the word or something?
voodooattack@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
Decade of the Linux Desktop. It’s here guys!
Batmorous@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
More!! More! Everybody get others into Linux Mint and Pop OS Cosmic as well!! I am doing my part if we want better we must grow the community
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Can’t blame them. The sloth has done so much to alienate their user base that should just kill the division
flamiera@kbin.melroy.org 5 hours ago
Eh, that's fine but I'm good until 2032 with my Windows 10.
Also, we aren't for sure certain how many of those people are uniquely downloaded from Windows and specifically the purpose or reason.
Some could've downloaded Zorin for experimental purposes. Some could've downloaded it from a Windows VM. Some could've downloaded it from Windows when they're in a dual-boot system.
Hate to burst that bubble, but you need to consider these things before big numbers are boasted. There's a lot of variables involved.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 9 hours ago
also because w11 is filled with glitches and bugs to the brim.
MoogleMaestro@lemmy.zip 16 hours ago
Penguin sounds intensify
0ndead@infosec.pub 15 hours ago
Says some distro nobody’s ever heard of
someguy3@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
I mean I downloaded 4 to try out.
ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 10 hours ago
I am ashamed to say that I did use windows 11 for longer than I should have.
Blackfeathr@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
There are two things that are keeping me attached to Windows - my PC not supporting 11, and Photoshop. My god, if anyone can get a copy of Photoshop to work with Linux, I will say goodbye to Microsoft immediately.
(Yes, I’ve tried GIMP, Krita, et al. They didn’t click for me.)
Eternal192@anarchist.nexus 10 hours ago
Good, keep going, people have become way too complacent about how much control their OS has over their lives, with a little bit of patience anyone can get on the Linux train these days.
goatinspace@feddit.org 11 hours ago
YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca 14 hours ago
I wonder if ZorinOS gathers runtime statistics and can tell if those new installees stick with Linux or switch to Windows or MacOS.
stebator@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Someday Microsoft might realize that Windows should be rolling‑based, like CahyOS. It will be too late for them to catch up and bring everyone back to Windows.
Rooster326@programming.dev 1 hour ago
That’s literally what Windows 10 was supposed to be. “The last version of windows”. Does no one remember that?
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 57 minutes ago
I remember. I also remember Windows 8 which was supposed to make everything metro stylish and convenient, with tiling, ARM version, claims of being optimized and good for updating even on oldish boxes.
Same times as Nokia Lumia.