this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2025
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I think Zorin is a pretty solid choice for people with no Linux experience tbh.
It’s at least going to feel familiar
They charge extra for theming that people could get themselves for free. I don’t like that it’s taking advantage of vulnerable people.
I don’t think that’s “taking advantage of vulnerable people”
The options still exist for people to learn and theming is incredibly inconsequential.
They’re monetising to support development in a minimally impactful way, that is completely optional, and I think that’s a good thing.
They should advertise that everything is free and can be installed after installation if you choose not say $80 gets you a Windows like desktop and software replacements that will save you thousands (Blender/Xournal++/OfficeSuite)
The value proposition is ease of use and integration of these theming utilities.
I honestly think this monetisation strategy of theirs is a non-issue.
People who want a streamlined experience have the option of paying for that, people who want the option of doing it all themselves have that opportunity too.
My problem is them not communicating that.
Not communicating that there are alternatives to their services?
I don’t really think it’s their responsibility to spoon feed alternatives to their customers; they’re not being anticompetitive, they’re not being deceptive, they’re not blocking alternatives.
I think your requirements here are unfair and kind of irrational
That the stuff included is free and installable on it’s own.
So what’s your issue then? Zorin has a free version that people can opt for if they want
That they aren’t communicating it.
Why do you believe they need to?
Because I believe not doing so is exploiting people that don’t know better.
If it wasn’t then there wouldn’t be a problem with being upfront about it.
Okay, I guess I simply disagree that it’s their responsibility to tell other people there are alternatives to their service and I don’t think any other software vendor is beholden to such a requirement either.
So does Mint though
And people are free to use mint if they want