When comparing Windows vs Zorin OS, the Slant community recommends Windows for most people. In the question“What are the best portable operating systems?” Windows is ranked 6th while Zorin OS is ranked 14th. The most important reason people chose Windows is:
No other OS comes close to supporting as much hardware as Windows 10 does. Because it's the most popular OS, the bulk of hardware manufacturers support Windows first, and all other operating systems second.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Best driver support of any OS
No other OS comes close to supporting as much hardware as Windows 10 does. Because it's the most popular OS, the bulk of hardware manufacturers support Windows first, and all other operating systems second.
Pro Widely used
Windows is the most-used desktop OS in the world.
Pro Windows comes first
Windows is the most used platform in the world. If you build something and need a third-party software it will most likely run on Windows. Not because it's good, but because everyone uses it.
Pro Free access to great development IDE in Visual Studio Community
Pro Ubuntu bash shell
Windows has a binary compatible Ubuntu shell to run non-Windows apps natively.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-au/commandline/wsl/about
Pro Stable
Pro The most solid choice for .NET development
Pro Free with most new computers
At least the non-Apple variety at any rate.
Pro Touch screen support
You still can't get touch support on a Mac. Windows has had touch for 5+ years now.
Pro Best support for Visual Basic
Pro Stable
Pro Good Selection of pre-installed software
New users may be unaware of what software is available for Linux, but Zorin includes a good selection for everyday tasks out of the box.
Pro Windows desktop style
The desktop UI was made to resemble Windows 7, but alternative settings are available.
Pro Ubuntu-based
Zorin is compatible with Ubuntu's sizable repositories of Free Software.
Pro Bundles tools for changing the look and feel of the distribution
Zorin includes look changer and theme changer.
Pro Partial Windows compatibility
Zorin includes WINE and PlayOnLinux to run many Windows applications and games.
Pro Installer can set up dual boot
Pro Ubuntu got too big
Ubuntu uses too much resources, Zorin uses less.
Pro Accessibility features
Pro Zorin Connect
Allows syncing notifications with your phone.
Pro Low resources consumption
Cons
Con Uses more resources than most alternatives
Con Most software is closed source, including the operating system itself
Con Weak default terminal
The standard terminal lacks basic features that Linux and OSX has. Alternatives to the default terminal for Window can be found here.
Con Lacks package management
It is not easy to install/keep current development packages that developers need and use.
Con Limited in its flexibility
Window managers, startup systems, and system components cannot be changed.
Con There are some privacy issues
By definition, it's spyware. Pre-compromised OS.
Con Scanning for viruses makes builds slow
Compiling a project means reading and writing a lot of files. Even fast anti-virus software slows down the build time (which is almost always too long).
Con Update policy / scheduling is a nightmare
Pop-up to update your system that will restart it if you don't interact quick enough and will have to be in reboot mode, which can freeze your activity until the update is done.
Con Unstable and slow
Windows crashes often and is much slower than alternatives, especially at file IO, which is important for developers.
Con Maintenance is time-consuming
Previous versions needed to be formatted ever 6 months to maintain performance.
Con Embarrassing to give talks
On conferences or in user groups the audience laugh at speakers presenting their talk on a Windows machine.
Con Limited desktop styles in Free Version
All free editions only offer Windows XP, 2000, and 7 and Gnome 2. You have to pay $9-10 in order to get Unity (Ubuntu) and Mac OS X themes.
Con Even with v16 Pro, zero tech support replies
Do not pay for Pro. You’re supposed to get tech support with your $39 purchase. After contacting them a few months ago about the inability to install build tools due to their wonky custom versions, to date there has been no answer. You could find a friend and get them to send you the theme and look packages. The rest is all available easily in the Ubuntu catalog.