An Ubuntu-based Linux distribution
"Zorin OS is exactly what a desktop operating system should be "
—zdnet review
We need several things to get to the year of the Linux Desktop. The base has to be an easy-to-use operating system to draw people away from MacOS and Windows. According to the ZDNET pundits, "There is one Linux distribution to rule them all, but it's not the one you think it is.", and they claim this distribution could just be The One.
A good operating system should be two things—functional and beautiful. "Functional" in this case means not just that it works, but that it's familiar. There should not be a steep learning curve with a new operating system, in an ideal world it would look and feel like what you're used to. The developer and designers of Zorin seem to have seriously taken that to heart. Zorin allows, even encourages the user to easily change the layout to one that's familiar to them.
Some OS details
Being based on long-term releases of Ubuntu Linux means the user benefits from stability and security. This doesn't mean it's a slave to everything Ubuntu, as it chews the snap installation process for FLatpak by default (though the user can revert this). In addition, software can be managed using the apt package manager.
Two desktop environments are available—the default GNOME and the lighter-weight XFCE. Several versions of Zorin are available, Pro and Pro Lite, both paid offerings ($US48), the former with Gnome, the Lite wih XFCE. Then there are the free-to-use Core, Lite and Education (which also has a Lite offering).
In short, it looks good, behaves well and avoids falling too deeply into the well of Ubuntu. Will it become my OS of choice? Probably not, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a first GNU/Linux system and a gateway to the world of open-source operating systems.
nicolasstag says Of all the distros and desktop environments I'd tried (probably a dozen), Zorin just felt the cleanest out of the box. I don't know how else to describe it.
[xclip -o | wc -w
309
It's available for download at https://zorin.com/os/download/
$ xclip -o | wc -w