Linux

Let's use Ubuntu for comparison.

• Ubuntu is more up-to-date than its spin-offs.
• Ubuntu will outlive Ubuntu spin-offs, including Zorin.
• Ubuntu offers paid support, whereas Zorin doesn't.
• Ubuntu community is bigger than Zorin. More resources, tutorials, etc.

Zorin adds only the following value:

• More themes, primarily lookalikes, which is arguably a bad thing.

When people see Windows, they expect Windows. Installers, package managers, peripherals like printers, etc. are different from Windows. Pretending to be Windows makes people feel at ease for a moment at the expense of fundamentally misunderstanding what operating system their computer runs on, and it'll trip them up eventually, probably sooner rather than later.

See macOS: It looks and feels different. People don't mistake macOS for Windows. People who use Windows don't expect macOS to behave like Windows, and vice-versa. But hey, let's make macOS look and feel like Windows at first glance. Why can't I run that .exe? What do you mean, I must use an app store? What is HDCP, and why does it prevent me from connecting this laptop to the projector?

For iOS that'd be questions like: Where is the Play Store? Why can't I install that (Android-only) app? I think you get my point.

This is one of the reasons why branding exists. Yet many Linux distros would like to believe they can replicate the Windows experience through a miracle, and fool themselves into thinking that's a good thing for Linux newcomers. It's especially bad for people who don't know they use Linux, like when they use computers at the office, library, etc. with a distro like Zorin.

😂