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Trying out Zorin OS for the first time on my old laptop

This is the old Fujitsu laptop I received from my sister-in-law last Christmas. I installed Mint Mate on it, but what I should have done is install Mint XFCE instead because it’s tailored towards operating on older hardware more efficiently. All along, I knew I should have installed Mint XFCE on this laptop instead because it would have probably provided faster speed. So I thought, hey, why not try out ZorinOS for an all-new Linux experience?

Like Mint, Zorin OS is another Linux distro that caters to Windows refugees. It’s also said to be pretty slim and ideal for older hardware. I figure that this would be an educational experience since for me. So in the picture above, I’m booting up with the install ISO and I like that pulsating Z. It looks neat.

Everything has been backed up, which wasn’t a problem since this is just a secondary computer for me.

Proceeding with the install.

Here is a screenshot of my desktop. Shantae and her fabulous tits. I moved the panel to the top of the screen because I rather prefer to have it up there. My first Linux experience was on Fedora, which had the applications menu at the top. I like having the constant, subconscious “this isn’t Windows” feeling in my mind that this provides. The taskbar is locked, which means it’s locked… except when it isn’t. I don’t get it. I’ll have to figure it out or get used to it.

This wallpaper image is from the newly-released Shantae Advanced. I bought it on Steam and was disappointed with the incredible slowdown which makes it unplayable. The game is essentially a Gameboy Advanced game, yet the slowdown is intolerable. Shantae: Half Genie Hero is far more graphically intensive, yet slowdown in that game on my system is sporadic and manageable. Half-assed and unforgivable.

So Zorin is supposed to be optimized with strong support for Steam. I do not know what that really entails, so I looked it up. This is what Brave’s AI summary responded to my question.

Zorin OS does not inherently offer more support for Steam than other Linux distributions; rather, its support stems from being based on Ubuntu, which is a widely supported distribution for Steam. The primary advantage lies in the ease of installation and configuration, as Zorin OS includes pre-installed tools and dependencies that streamline the process. For instance, Zorin OS automatically handles Vulkan API dependencies when installing Steam, which simplifies setup for users. Additionally, the system comes with a pre-installed version of Wine, which is beneficial for running Windows games through Steam’s Proton compatibility layer. The Zorin OS software store also includes Lutris, a tool that facilitates the installation and management of games from platforms like the Epic Games Store, Origin, and others, further enhancing gaming accessibility. However, the core Steam functionality is not exclusive to Zorin OS; it is available on any Ubuntu-based distribution, and the main difference is the user-friendly interface and pre-configured defaults that make the experience smoother for beginners.

OK, interesting. Wine comes pre-installed? That’s nice. I still had to install protontricks to get Earthion to play, though. That said, I think the games might load faster than they did on Mint Mate.

Here I’m installing K-Snip, which seems to function differently on Zorin than on Mint and I don’t know why. Zorin’s software library is a bit more simplified and I don’t know why. So far, I like Mint better. Both are Windows-y, but maybe Zorin is more Windows-ier.

Zorin comes with Brave as its default web browser. I know that Firefox is run by woke shitlibs who want me dead for disagreeing with them, but I just like Firefox’s customizability and its ability to add a search box rather than having to use the address bar for that. Is it that hard to just provide that?

So far, it appears that this laptop boots up faster with Zorin than Mint Mate, and Steam games seem to load more quickly too. I imagine Mint XFCE would be at least as fast, but for now I’ll continue to get used to Zorin.

EDIT October 29th: I’m on day 4 of my Zorin install and I can say that it boots much faster. It takes a shorter time to turn this old laptop on. The Zorin website says, “We’ve streamlined Zorin OS to work on computers as old as 15 years.”

The basic Zorin install allows you to switch your appearance between four options, like a Win10 appearance, a Win11 appearance, a GMOME3 appearance, and more of a Win7-style appearance. If you pay for Zorin Pro, there is an option for appearances resembling Chrome OS, Mint, MacOS, and others. I’ve switched it once, but what sucks is that I had to re-configure the keyboard input. Since I depend on Japanese text input, I needed to install Fcitx5 and Mozc to do so. This was a bit annoying, but I got it working again.

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SWITCH TO LINUX!

I implore anyone who sees this message to ditch the cycle of abuse and liberate yourself. Sticking with Windows is like a battered wife who refuses to leave her abusive husband. (Or a Star Wars fan at this point.) I made the switch over 5 1/2 years ago and I have not regretted it since. It’s easier than you think, and the learning curve is not steep like it used to be. If my computer-illiterate mother-in-law can comfortably use Linux Mint without a problem, so can you. You aren’t barraged by pop-ups and other ads, it’s fast and not bloated, no need to worry about viruses, no more need to hunt down software that may or may not be full of sneaky crap, it’s far more secure, and it is FREE.

If you’re still on Win10 but haven’t switched to bloated Win11 which will only spy on you and strip you of your dignity, back up all your data and give Linux Mint a shot. You can boot it up with an install DVD or USB stick and even run the OS from that alone. It really is that slick. See if it works with your hardware and Linux generally does not need drivers. And keep in mind that Bill Gates was a driving factor in the medical tyranny in recent years that destroyed so many people’s lives. Break free and embrace freedom.

Zorin OS also caters to Windows refugees and is said to be pretty good. I have yet to try it out. And Bazzite is perfect for those who love SteamOS on their Steam Deck. Linux is far more user friendly than it was 20 years ago. Educate yourself! There are so many videos these days about how to switch from Windows to Linux. I suggest staying away from Ubuntu, Pop!OS, and especially stuff like Arch.

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It’s October 14th. Time to switch to Linux!

I made the switch to Linux 5 1/2 years ago after Microsnot ended support for Windows 7. Of course, I was so nervous at first. But once I made the plunge, I’ve been happy ever since and I haven’t looked back. Delete Bill Gates’s authority over your life. It’s crazy that the moonbats who reject RFK Jr. because he is neither a scientist nor a doctor are the same ones who blindly follow whatever Bill Gates says, who is neither a scientist nor a doctor and is an authoritarian scumbag who constantly complains about how there are too many people in the world and have sterilized, maimed and killed countless people through his vaccine initiatives worldwide.

This is my video that YouTube banned for “medical misinformation” even though I was simply reporting on news events. Bill Gates is a horribly evil man and fortunately, Odysee allows freedom of speech.

Back in the ’80s and early ’90s, there was so much more diversity for home computing. If you wanted business productivity, you’d go with IBM. For publishing you’d go with Apple MacIntosh. For music it was an Atari ST. For multimedia, definitely Commodore Amiga. But we let this be whittled down to either Microsoft or ultra-trendy (and ultra-expensive) Apple. It’s time to ditch the Windows/Apple paradigm. My Mac fan Kevin got sick of Apple and he switched his Mac’s OS to Linux. You do not have to continue supporting Bill “I dunno how all that CP got on this computer… it must’ve been an employee” Gates and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Ditch Adobe who just wants you to be a slave forever by renting their software instead of owning it. Break free! Linux is your freedom.

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CrossCode, a retro, Japanese-style action RPG on Steam

I bought this game on a Steam sale the year before last because the ad for it reminded me of Super Famicom action RPGs like The Secret of Mana and Zelda: A Link to the Past. I just played the prologue and when I saw that the gameplay is far more complex than I was expecting, it proved to not be just something I can pick up and play for a bit. Since it was a bit more involved, I decided to play it later. I sort of forgot about this game until last month when I decided to give it another try.

The pixel art in this game is beautiful. It is definitely 16-bit inspired and the in-game sprites are cute and well-detailed, but no Super Famicom could handle the cool lighting and shadow effects that this game has. This game actually comes from Germany and while the up-close character designs show that this is not a Japanese-made game, the actual in-game graphics look very much like a sprite-based, 16-bit style JRPG.

It’s taken me some time to get used to this game’s controls. You definitely need a modern controller with two analog sticks. You have two attacks: a melee slash and a projectile. Enemies vary with which weapon is more effective. Another button activates a spin that helps you dodge. There’s a lot of platforming in this game with pitfalls, but you respawn if you make a fatal fall. Jumping is conveniently automatic, so you don’t have to time jumps perfectly. You also won’t make any accidental jumps.

There are no random encounters, unless you get ambushed as part of the story. Most enemies don’t attack you until you attack them. As you level up, you can upgrade yourself by making additions to your “circuits” by spending CP. This raises your stats and enables you to learn new special attacks to dish out heavy damage. When you begin battles, your rank is at D and the more enemies you defeat, your rank goes up. When you reach rank S, the music changes and you get a disco lighting effect. The more you can defeat at higher levels, the more experience you gain and therefore the more quickly you level up.

I’m at the point now where I’ve learned fire attributes. This helps makes short work of the ice monsters in the mining cave dungeon.

Here’s the jibungous enemy robot in the ice mine. Look at the size of that thing!

Like I said, it takes a bit to get used to the controls. There is a lot of puzzle-solving that involves a lot of platforming. You’ll also have to align surfaces to bounce your projectile in a way so that it hits every surface in order to unlock a door or whatever.

So yeah, the sprites in this game are very cool. You’d think that they came from a Japanese game developer in the ’90s rather than a German indie company! But this is why I’ve come to really love Steam: companies like Konami may as well just not even exist anymore since they have completely abandoned their fans. The big name gaming companies have become pretty boring and I can’t expect Capcom to ever make another sprite-based game again. But these indie game developers are keeping the retrogaming spirit alive, and it’s why I like to talk about them on this stupid blog of mine that hardly anybody looks at.

I found these sprite animations by doing an image search. I assume that these are from the game, but if they are then I haven’t gotten to them yet. Anyhow, play this game or you suck. This game was made in HTML5, incredibly. So, it’s native in Linux, Win, and Mac. It runs fine on my laptop with its 16:9 display, but I have to use Glorious Eggroll to get it to display properly on my desktop’s 4:3 display monitor.

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Neon Inferno, a new retro-style game on Steam!

Holy crap, this game is beautiful. Featuring gorgeous pixel art with a configurable CRT shader, this game is a cross between Metal Slug and Wild Guns. This is a neo-retro game by Zenovia Interactive, who also made Steel Assault.

Here’s the title screen. So beautiful. The music at the title screen is very Vangelis’s Blade Runner-inspired synthesizer. FANTASTIC!

There are two characters, Angelo and Mariana. Mariana is so beautiful, so I always play as her. There doesn’t seem to be a difference in how these characters handle. The character animations are very well made. It took me a bit before I realized that busty Mariana’s boobs bounce as she runs. It’s a very natural bouncing and looks pretty, and not over-the-top exaggerated as many games are like. Nowadays there are so many Japanese-made games with girls featuring what I call “moon boobs” because it looks like the are nearly weightless. It looks creepy and I can’t stand it. Here Mariana’s tits bounce like they have proper weight to them.

Character designs are by Tsukasa Jun of Psikyo fame, who did the designs for games like Gunbird and Sengoku Blade. Kickass.

The Blade Runner/cyberpunk scenery is wonderful, showing New York streets covered in snow. The lighting is gorgeous, and you will see light sourcing at work. The graphics make this game more reminiscent of 24-bit Neo Geo games rather than the 16-bit Super Famicom.

The left trigger button locks the direction of your shooting while the right trigger button has you stand in one place while you can aim around you. There is a dodge roll to duck bullets like in Wild Guns and you can parry bullets and knock the bullets back where they came from, or you can hold the button down to enter “bullet time” and you can change the direction of the bullets. The parry acts as a melee attack which does stronger damage than your gun, helping you make short work of stronger enemies at close range.

At times the enemies are in the background. Use the RB button to fire at them. Here you can take cover behind the police car. In the game, you fight against the enemy gang members as well as the corrupt NYPD apparently.

You steal a racing bike and action ensues on the road. You can shoot at the background or foreground as well as behind, front, and above you. The above screenshot was taken with the CRT filter disabled.

Here is your bounty: a yakuza guy.

You have to take out this mobile weapons truck’s cannons as well as shoot at your target bounty guy who is in the open doorway shooting at you.

Finally you fight him after the truck is destroyed. He will fly into the background as well as shoot at you from the background. You have to wear down his shield until he dies.

Here’s the game over screen. I could beat the game in Medium mode, but not in Arcade mode. It’s pretty tough in Arcade mode as there are no checkpoints.

This is just the free demo of the first level. I’m really looking forward to when this game gets released! What’s more, I did not have to specify any compatibility tool version to get this to work on my Linux desktop. The game just loads without having to do anything. Nice!

EDIT: I didn’t have the same luck running the game on my laptop. I had to enter this for the boot option to get it to work: PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%

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Monday morning Windows 10 blues

So coming into work Monday morning, I had to put up with this gay crap. The laptop had installed an update Friday evening when I left, then when I turned it on again it wasted more time. The computer couldn’t be used for nearly 20 minutes. Let me guess: Windows 11 is more of the same, right? Assuming this laptop can even be upgraded to Win11 by October, it’s just going to get even slower. With Linux, your computer is usable while updates are installed, without having to shut your computer down. It just updates in the background. You may need to restart your browser or sometimes logging out and logging back in is required, but there’s no thumb twiddling like there is with Windows. I hate Windows. This would would be a better place if businesses and institutions would just switch to Linux. I feel like the escaped slave from Plato’s Cave trying to convince his fellow cave dwellers of the existence of blue skies and green grass, but everyone would rather focus on the shadows on the wall of the cave. Windows sucks!

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Nostalgic screenshot of Fedora Linux circa 2006 I found, plus some Linux memes

While doing a Duck Duck Go image search, I found this image of a Fedora desktop, circa 2006. This looks exactly the way my old laptop did after my friend installed Fedora on it, breathing new life into it. This is just so nostalgic for me. That was my first real experience with Linux. I’ve updated the essay I wrote a few years ago in the Greg’s Life section with the above image.

Another friend shared this article with me. The journalist is rather excited about SteamOS putting a dent in Microsoft’s market share. But since SteamOS can’t just be downloaded for free and put on any random computer, I’m not sure how far it would go. Still, people are getting very sick of Windows. Windows is like Star Wars and Star Trek… it’s like an abusive, violent husband whose battered wife refuses to dump him. “BUT I NEED HIM AND HE LOVES ME!” No, you can do better. He needs you; you don’t need him. Leave him! The way people refuse to leave Windows is like battered wife syndrome.

Here are a few Linux memes I saw recently.

One interesting thing about Win10 was the return of the Blue Screen of Death. I hadn’t seen the BSD since my WinXP days. Good going, Microsoft. I have to admit though that my Mint computer can screw up at times, but usually it’s Steam playing a Windows-made game through the Proton or Glorious Eggroll compatibility tools.

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I got a new hand-me-down laptop! Linux Mint Macross desktop wallpaper

While staying at the in-laws’ place, I upgraded my mom-in-law’s Fujitsu laptop. I had set her up with Mint Cinnamon nearly 5 years ago and she needed a major update. Going from version 19 to 22, she remarked how nearly identical the versions are, unlike Microsoft where they reinvent the frickin’ wheel with every damned iteration of Windows and make it gayer with each release. “Hey, you got used to finding what you needed, huh? Well too bad! Now it’s all in different places. Go ahead and get tons of vaccines and eat bugs while you’re at it, too.” Go to hell, Microsoft!

I was hoping to find a used laptop on Yahoo Shopping or Rakuten or something, but the chances of getting some crappy refurbished laptop that will croak after the warranty expired is too high. Or having the keyboard not work properly, etc. The best scenario would be to obtain a laptop from someone who had taken good care of an old laptop, and that’s what happened! I’m glad I didn’t buy one because I got this for free. I had told myself that whenever I got a laptop that I’d install Zorin OS to try it out, but I ended up just going with Mint Mate, the same as my desktop computer. This laptop is about 12 years old. 750gb HD, 8gb RAM, and even a bluray drive. I can’t get it to play any bluray movies yet, but this is still good. It was designed for Win8, but Yukari had upgraded it to Win10. She said that it would take about 10 minutes just to boot up. Now that it’s running on Linux, it’s quicker, of course! Go to hell, Microsoft! Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Just go straight to hell and don’t come back with your totalitarian bullcrap. Eat a bag, Bill Gates!