Zorin OS is one of the few Linux distros that work hard to make switching from Windows to Linux easy and smooth without users having to do any extra steps after installing it. In addition to that, the distro also comes with a beautiful and customizable desktop interface similar to that of windows, and a handful of apps and tools installed by default, making it a productivity-ready operating system out of the box.
To make switching easier than before, the distro development team announced the release of Zorin OS 16.2, a new sub-version of Zorin OS 16 that was launched in August last year. Zorin OS 16.2 is based on Ubuntu 20.04, and it is powered by the Linux kernel version 5.15, the same version of the Linux kernel as in Ubuntu 22.04, that comes with new drivers and bring better support for more hardware like the12th Generation Intel Processors, Xbox One Controller, Apple Magic Mouse, and more NVIDIA, AMD Radeon and Intel graphics cards.
The lack of some well-known Windows programs on Linux is one of the reasons that discourage users from using this free and open-source operating system, and although that there are several tools that enable these programs to run on Linux, installing these tools is a job that is not everyone enjoys doing.
To solve this problem, Zorin Menu includes a new option (under the “System Tools” section) called “Windows App Support”, that allows you to install Wine (a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on Linux), and PlayOnLinux (a front-end for Wine) with one click, and configure the distro to run Windows programs without requiring any additional effort from the user.
Zorin OS 16.2 also comes with five metric-compatible open-source alternatives to some of the most popular fonts in Windows, to ensure that a user's Office documents when opened and edited in Zorin OS look almost the same as they do in Windows, given that Office documents created on Windows, uses by default fonts that are subject to a proprietary license, and so they cannot be included by default on any Linux distribution, which explain why Microsoft Office documents on Windows look different than on Linux where those fonts aren't present.
The list of fonts that are included in Zorin OS 16.2 includes the following:
- Carlito: the alternative to Calibri (the default typeface in Microsoft Office/365)
- Caladea: the alternative to Cambria
- Gelasio: the alternative to Georgia
- Selawik: the alternative to Segoe UI
- Comic Relief: the alternative to Comic Sans
This selection of fonts complements the existing compatible replacement fonts that were previously included in Zorin OS to make this distro the perfect choice for Windows users who want use Linux for productivity.
Additionally, the education version of Zorin OS 16.2 comes as well now with GDevelop, a full-featured, no-code game development software that lowers the barrier to learning to code and enables students to develop games with ease. The app is also accompanied by a comprehensive set of tutorials that guide students through every step of developing a game to make things easier and more amazing.
Last, Most of the default programs in the distribution have also gotten updates to newer versions, so Zorin OS 16.2 now has Libre Office 7.4, Firefox 105, and Gimp 2.10.8, the Zorin Connect tool has been updated with support for showing your computer's battery percentage from your Android phone, and the Jelly mode has also been updated to make the animation engine for wobbling windows using an updated physics variables by default, to add more fun when you minimizing or maximizing windows.
Existing users of Zorin OS can upgrade to this new version by installing all available updates from the update manager, meanwhile, Zorin OS 16.2 is also available for download on the official distribution site for free, if you want to do a clean install, with both GNOME desktop (Core version) and Xfce (Lite version), and you can also support the Zorin OS development team by purchasing the Pro version that contains It has additional features not found in the free versions such premium desktop layouts, additional artwork, and some Professional-grade creative suite of free apps.
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