Conclusion
Overall, Zorin OS 17 isn't a bad system. It offers the friendliest Gnome desktop out there, which is quite commendable, although the environment still lacks in many practical aspects. Notably, the performance isn't that great. The software management is simply a mess. There's no other word to describe it, and I'm deeply unhappy with this realization. The assumption of human goodness and this almost academic illusion of altruism that permeates the Linux community simply does not hold water in the real world. From my perspective, I want to minimize my supply chain as much as possible. I don't want to rely on third-party uploads to a third-party repo shown in an opaque manner in the distro's first-level package manager. The inconsistency in the search results, the difference between GUI and command line, and a few other problems of this nature only make everything worse.
I also encountered a bunch of other problems - I mean, if you read the review, you know what they are. Flaky hardware support, limited partitioner, some visual bugs. Now, does this mean Zorin OS ain't worth its money? Well, no. I think this distro does a solid job of trying to commercialize the Linux desktop. Sure, the execution ain't perfect. But then look at PAYWARE solutions like Windows 10 and 11 and the frequent update mess, so yes, for 50 bucks or equivalent, I can forgive a few glitches here and there. At least Zorin does not treat you like a lab experiment.
In fact, Zorin OS does not go FAR enough with its offering. I would even try to bundle Ubuntu pro into the mix, so people can buy 10 years of peace and updates. I would try to bundle CodeWeavers CrossOver into the lot, or some sort of WINE and/or Proton layer (but not experimental stuff, proper supported stuff). This would make the operating system even more appealing, even if that means a higher price.
All in all, Zorin OS 17 is okay. Not amazing, but at least they are trying to make a difference. From a purely functional perspective, mission and goal and price aside, the software part remains the biggest and possibly even fatal flaw in the equation. You can't have a pro offering that relies on random third-party stuff. It simply makes no sense (even less so if you actually pay for it). Zorin is also hobbled by its choice of Ubuntu as the underlying system, for better or worse, like the partitioning stuff and whatever updates get in, bugs and improvements included. My final conclusion is, yes, if you want your distro to be ever so slightly more polished, and you want to support the effort, Zorin OS makes a lot of sense. I just wish they could fix a bunch of major problems, because they don't do the distro any favors.
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