One of the most complex questions any Windows user interested in entering the Linux world asks is: Where do I begin? Any debate about a Linux for beginners might end in chaos (and I say this without offense), but what we can do is look for a distro that tries to reproduce some elements of the Windows interface, and that leads us to Zorin OS, which recently released version 11.
Every transition process is complicated, especially when it comes to computing. Microsoft learned this the hard way when it tried to "change" the vision of Windows with version 8, and that was under "one family" of operating systems. Now imagine what it is for a beginner to go from Windows to Linux. Granted, there are many distros out there that have made extraordinary strides in terms of their interfaces, and I would even dare say that Linux is easier to use than ever... however, familiarity is a very powerful element. That brings us once again to the territory of Zorin OS. The first time we talked about this distro was in 2012, and then in 2014, but today it is already at version 11, and basically we are facing a completely new operating system.
For those who have never heard of Zorin OS, it is an Ubuntu-based distro whose goal is to reproduce (to a certain extent) the main elements and general dynamics of the Windows interface. Zorin OS 11 includes three special modes: Windows 7, Windows XP, and GNOME 2, while the rest is exclusive to the "premium" version, with a cost of 9 euros. Zorin OS 11 uses Ubuntu 15.10 as its base, and incorporates version 4.2 of the Linux kernel. Other additions for the recent version are a contact manager, an app called Clocks with alarm functions, and a new multimedia player. Also notable is an optimized scrolling system, an intermediate "gray theme" for the desktop, and default installations of both Wine and PlayOnLinux.
Zorin OS 11 is available in two free versions, Core and Lite. As its name suggests, Lite is a build aimed at more modest computers, and its developers only offer 32-bit images, but the Core build comes in 32 and 64 bits. The downloads are considerable in size, at least a gigabyte, so I recommend arming yourself with patience when obtaining a copy.
