Zorin, a Linux distro that positioned itself as a familiar and accessible entry point for users leaving Windows, continues to move with growing confidence toward reaching a broader user base. I say this because the most recently published information on the subject is impressive.
Following the release of Zorin OS 18 on October 14, the project recorded more than 100,000 downloads within the first 48 hours. In just one month, that figure climbed to 1 million. Now, Zorin OS has reached another milestone.
According to a post on the distribution’s official X account, Zorin OS 18 has reached 2 million downloads in less than 3 months since release, marking the fastest adoption in the project’s history. But what’s even more interesting is the fact that more than three-quarters of those downloads came from Windows users.
I have mixed feelings about Zorin.
They are doing a great job of promoting themselves and in attracting converts from Windows. It seems like a nice enough distro as well that users are likely to have a decent experience with.
On the other hand, they are charging money for a “pro” version that mostly just bundles software that users could get for free. My first reaction to this is that it is exploitive, both of uses and software devs.
But then I remember that they also offer support and I think that introducing people to software they did not know about is also a service.
And if they use the money to do all of the above, the Linux ecosystem benefits. So, perhaps they are not that bad.
Perhaps the best thing about them is they make it harder for truly scammy “windows” distros like Wububtu to take hold.
If they start to make “real” money, I do hope they share some of it back with the projects they leverage.