HelixNotes and Zorin OS
Started by MadaboutDana
on 3/6/2026
MadaboutDana
3/6/2026 11:48 pm
Well! What fun I'm having in my spare time!
As some of you know, I regularly experiment with Linux as I seek to achieve my long-term goal -- moving away from the big U.S. suppliers. But so far, my experiments have been frustrating. Even Linux Mint, which I installed in early 2025 and then, after a number of seriously frustrating weeks, uninstalled again, was much less impressive than I had been led to believe. But this year I've installed Zorin OS 18 on my very elderly MacBook Air (2013!) -- and it has been a revelation! Not only has it given the Mac a new lease of life (much faster, much better power management), it also talks happily to my Android smartphone, and is exceedingly user-friendly to use. (Zorin OS has been around for over a decade, and can be found at zorin.com)
Yes, there are still some Linux-isms to sort out if you want to heavily customise your system, but the OS itself comes with a range of friendly layouts (including a Mac-alike one and a Windows 11-alike) and the "professional" version of the OS (which costs less than $50) comes with a slew of additional layouts. But actually, even just using the Core OS I've got my desktop to look and behave much like my MacBook Pro. And this means I can benefit from some of the excellent, open-source Linux software out there.
Such as cross-platform HelixNotes, which is a very pleasant three-pane note-taking system which is cross-platform (although not iOS-compatible, and only runs on MacOS in emulation mode) and very quick to launch. You'll find it at helixnotes.com
And I've also reinstalled Tangent, a truly wonderful take on lateral outlining which is also available on other platforms (e.g. Mac), but runs best on Linux.
What works best of all, however, is good ole' Obsidian, thanks to my Obsidian Sync subscription (with which, unlike some forum members, I've not yet had any issues). The great thing is, you can use apps like HelixNotes (or Octarine, or Typora, or any other Markdown editor) on the Obsidian repository, which means that if you're only syncing a single Obsidian vault (which I am, because I'm a cheapskate), you can use these other editors to access any part of that vault as if it was a separate repository. HelixNotes is much faster to launch than Obsidian (as are a couple of other Markdown editors I'm experimenting with), so if I want to update my journal (which is just a small part of my main Obsidian Vault), I do so via HelixNotes rather than Obsidian itself. Providing I remember to launch Obsidian before shutting down the machine, any changes made in HelixNotes are automatically synced with the Obsidian server.
Because HelixNotes also has a very fast search function, I find myself using it as a kind of default high-speed editor. It doesn't outline (in the sense of fold text) like Obsidian (many of those in this forum appear to be unaware that Obsidian now folds and unfolds just like Dynalist or Workflowy -- all you have to do is indent a sentence or paragraph. Headings have folded/unfolded for several versions now, but the latest versions also support folding body text). But that's a small price to pay in return for speed and convenience. For more in-depth editing, I just go back to Obsidian.
Uninstalling apps is also easy when running Zorin OS -- almost everything is handled by the built-in "Software" app, which can install apps from a wide range of Linux repositories, but shows you when an app has been "verified" by the Zorin community. Because Zorin has been under development for a long time, but with the very specific aim of remaining user-friendly, the latest version is seriously stable, and is now attracting users who've been put off by Microsoft's latest attempts to turn Windows into an advertising platform. It's well worth a look -- as is LibreOffice or the German proprietary office suite SoftMaker Office.
I'm typing this on my trusty MacBook Air! Which, I notice, does need a recharge, but has now been running for over 4 hours on a battery dating from 2013!
As some of you know, I regularly experiment with Linux as I seek to achieve my long-term goal -- moving away from the big U.S. suppliers. But so far, my experiments have been frustrating. Even Linux Mint, which I installed in early 2025 and then, after a number of seriously frustrating weeks, uninstalled again, was much less impressive than I had been led to believe. But this year I've installed Zorin OS 18 on my very elderly MacBook Air (2013!) -- and it has been a revelation! Not only has it given the Mac a new lease of life (much faster, much better power management), it also talks happily to my Android smartphone, and is exceedingly user-friendly to use. (Zorin OS has been around for over a decade, and can be found at zorin.com)
Yes, there are still some Linux-isms to sort out if you want to heavily customise your system, but the OS itself comes with a range of friendly layouts (including a Mac-alike one and a Windows 11-alike) and the "professional" version of the OS (which costs less than $50) comes with a slew of additional layouts. But actually, even just using the Core OS I've got my desktop to look and behave much like my MacBook Pro. And this means I can benefit from some of the excellent, open-source Linux software out there.
Such as cross-platform HelixNotes, which is a very pleasant three-pane note-taking system which is cross-platform (although not iOS-compatible, and only runs on MacOS in emulation mode) and very quick to launch. You'll find it at helixnotes.com
And I've also reinstalled Tangent, a truly wonderful take on lateral outlining which is also available on other platforms (e.g. Mac), but runs best on Linux.
What works best of all, however, is good ole' Obsidian, thanks to my Obsidian Sync subscription (with which, unlike some forum members, I've not yet had any issues). The great thing is, you can use apps like HelixNotes (or Octarine, or Typora, or any other Markdown editor) on the Obsidian repository, which means that if you're only syncing a single Obsidian vault (which I am, because I'm a cheapskate), you can use these other editors to access any part of that vault as if it was a separate repository. HelixNotes is much faster to launch than Obsidian (as are a couple of other Markdown editors I'm experimenting with), so if I want to update my journal (which is just a small part of my main Obsidian Vault), I do so via HelixNotes rather than Obsidian itself. Providing I remember to launch Obsidian before shutting down the machine, any changes made in HelixNotes are automatically synced with the Obsidian server.
Because HelixNotes also has a very fast search function, I find myself using it as a kind of default high-speed editor. It doesn't outline (in the sense of fold text) like Obsidian (many of those in this forum appear to be unaware that Obsidian now folds and unfolds just like Dynalist or Workflowy -- all you have to do is indent a sentence or paragraph. Headings have folded/unfolded for several versions now, but the latest versions also support folding body text). But that's a small price to pay in return for speed and convenience. For more in-depth editing, I just go back to Obsidian.
Uninstalling apps is also easy when running Zorin OS -- almost everything is handled by the built-in "Software" app, which can install apps from a wide range of Linux repositories, but shows you when an app has been "verified" by the Zorin community. Because Zorin has been under development for a long time, but with the very specific aim of remaining user-friendly, the latest version is seriously stable, and is now attracting users who've been put off by Microsoft's latest attempts to turn Windows into an advertising platform. It's well worth a look -- as is LibreOffice or the German proprietary office suite SoftMaker Office.
I'm typing this on my trusty MacBook Air! Which, I notice, does need a recharge, but has now been running for over 4 hours on a battery dating from 2013!
tberni
3/7/2026 3:43 pm
Hello MadaboutDana.
I'm also having a brilliant time with my process of ditching the GAFAM (no mean feat!).
Right now I'm working with elementary OS 8.1 (a Linux distro based on Ubuntu 24.04, beautiful and well-made, which works a treat on an Acer Swift 1 with 8GB+256GB of storage. I've signed up with Proton for email, cloud storage, a VPN, etc. And I'm experimenting with software solutions too (Obsidian, Logseq, Zotero, Zettlr), all of which are going quite well, learning even more about operating systems.
I was looking for a lightweight markdown editor for when Obsidian can be a bit too clunky. How about HelixNotes? Is the difference in start-up and agility noticeable? I've visited their website, can you edit with a light background?...
On another note, you say you're having your Zorin experience on a 2013 Macbook Air. I think that's fantastic! Was the installation difficult? Do you know if it's possible to install Zorin on a 2016 12" Retina Macbook?
Cheers and congratulations!
I'm also having a brilliant time with my process of ditching the GAFAM (no mean feat!).
Right now I'm working with elementary OS 8.1 (a Linux distro based on Ubuntu 24.04, beautiful and well-made, which works a treat on an Acer Swift 1 with 8GB+256GB of storage. I've signed up with Proton for email, cloud storage, a VPN, etc. And I'm experimenting with software solutions too (Obsidian, Logseq, Zotero, Zettlr), all of which are going quite well, learning even more about operating systems.
I was looking for a lightweight markdown editor for when Obsidian can be a bit too clunky. How about HelixNotes? Is the difference in start-up and agility noticeable? I've visited their website, can you edit with a light background?...
On another note, you say you're having your Zorin experience on a 2013 Macbook Air. I think that's fantastic! Was the installation difficult? Do you know if it's possible to install Zorin on a 2016 12" Retina Macbook?
Cheers and congratulations!
Bernhard
3/7/2026 5:41 pm
I'm a little wary of Zorin. After all, he was the villain in the James Bond movie "A View to a Kill." ;)
Still, is the Pro version worth it?
Still, is the Pro version worth it?
jaslar
3/9/2026 8:44 pm
I'm another elementaryOS 8.1 user, running on an old Macbook Pro from 2011. I did replace the hard drive with a terabyte SSD. And I think I've mentioned this before, but Outliner, an elementary app is really quite good, with some cool features I suggested from the old KAMAS outliner and the developer quickly installed (move to bin command).
But I also use Dynalist, Upnote, and Emacs with pandoc. A cool and pretty OS that so far works great.
But I also use Dynalist, Upnote, and Emacs with pandoc. A cool and pretty OS that so far works great.
MadaboutDana
3/10/2026 2:26 pm
Bravo! Elementary OS is very nice (and in fact, Zorin OS Pro includes an Elementary-style interface, which is nice).
Installing Zorin on the MacBook Air was ridiculously easy. They've clearly included the Air as a "template" machine, so everything just works. Because I wasn't using the Air, I gave Zorin full control (i.e. wiped and reformatted the hard drive), and everything was picked up: trackpad, audio, WiFi, Bluetooth, screen, etc. etc.
The result is a MacBook Air that's substantially faster than when it was running the last version of MacOS that worked on a 2013 Air. But what's impressed me most is the power management – when Zorin switches into suspend/sleep mode, it really does go to sleep. So the battery is lasting about twice as long as it did on MacOS (I've lightly customised the Gnome desktop to show processor and battery use – very easy to do). I'm actually seriously tempted to invest in the very last MacBook Air with an Intel processor – the 2020 model with Retina display (refurbed, obviously). That would be a dream!
I've been cautiously customising it and loading as many of my productivity apps as I possibly can to see how well they work.
HelixNotes is indeed fast and convenient (and yes, there is a "light" theme!). I'm also running Typora, which is one of the very best Markdown editors. But you can install apps like Workflowy too, as well as Zettlr, TextMaker (from SoftMaker), and of course I've got LibreOffice loaded just in case. Obsidian runs extremely well. I also run Octarine, although it's a little fussier on Zorin than on other Linux distros (I install/update from the command line rather than downloads).
There are many other highly competent Linux text/markdown editors (such as Joplin); I've only recently started to experiment with them. Since I keep all my personal logs, journals, notes etc. in markdown format, it's easy to access them from multiple apps provided you've got a suitable syncing system. Personally, I use Obsidian Sync and Nextcloud, but I also have repositories on Google Drive, Dropbox and IONOS HiDrive, all of which run quite happily on Linux.
Under the hood, Zorin is Ubuntu, but optimised for user-friendliness. That's been the vision of the (I believe Spanish) development team from the start, and it really shows. You can do things in Zorin that would cause other distros to scream and crash (I'm looking at you, Linux Mint!); Zorin simply shrugs and deals with it.
I'm sure I'll run into its limitations sooner or later. I've contemplated getting the Pro version (which is very reasonably priced), but really the only attraction is the extended selection of layouts; you can install the apps themselves from the Zorin Software store in any case.
The only downside? Zorin doesn't run on ARM processors. Yet. (They are talking about it!) My efforts to run it on (a) Parallels Desktop, (b) UTM and (c) VirtualBox all came to naught (UTM probably would have done, but was ridiculously slow so I cancelled the installation). In short, you need an Intel or AMD 64-bit processor.
The Zorin website is very comprehensive! I advise a visit.
tberni wrote:
Installing Zorin on the MacBook Air was ridiculously easy. They've clearly included the Air as a "template" machine, so everything just works. Because I wasn't using the Air, I gave Zorin full control (i.e. wiped and reformatted the hard drive), and everything was picked up: trackpad, audio, WiFi, Bluetooth, screen, etc. etc.
The result is a MacBook Air that's substantially faster than when it was running the last version of MacOS that worked on a 2013 Air. But what's impressed me most is the power management – when Zorin switches into suspend/sleep mode, it really does go to sleep. So the battery is lasting about twice as long as it did on MacOS (I've lightly customised the Gnome desktop to show processor and battery use – very easy to do). I'm actually seriously tempted to invest in the very last MacBook Air with an Intel processor – the 2020 model with Retina display (refurbed, obviously). That would be a dream!
I've been cautiously customising it and loading as many of my productivity apps as I possibly can to see how well they work.
HelixNotes is indeed fast and convenient (and yes, there is a "light" theme!). I'm also running Typora, which is one of the very best Markdown editors. But you can install apps like Workflowy too, as well as Zettlr, TextMaker (from SoftMaker), and of course I've got LibreOffice loaded just in case. Obsidian runs extremely well. I also run Octarine, although it's a little fussier on Zorin than on other Linux distros (I install/update from the command line rather than downloads).
There are many other highly competent Linux text/markdown editors (such as Joplin); I've only recently started to experiment with them. Since I keep all my personal logs, journals, notes etc. in markdown format, it's easy to access them from multiple apps provided you've got a suitable syncing system. Personally, I use Obsidian Sync and Nextcloud, but I also have repositories on Google Drive, Dropbox and IONOS HiDrive, all of which run quite happily on Linux.
Under the hood, Zorin is Ubuntu, but optimised for user-friendliness. That's been the vision of the (I believe Spanish) development team from the start, and it really shows. You can do things in Zorin that would cause other distros to scream and crash (I'm looking at you, Linux Mint!); Zorin simply shrugs and deals with it.
I'm sure I'll run into its limitations sooner or later. I've contemplated getting the Pro version (which is very reasonably priced), but really the only attraction is the extended selection of layouts; you can install the apps themselves from the Zorin Software store in any case.
The only downside? Zorin doesn't run on ARM processors. Yet. (They are talking about it!) My efforts to run it on (a) Parallels Desktop, (b) UTM and (c) VirtualBox all came to naught (UTM probably would have done, but was ridiculously slow so I cancelled the installation). In short, you need an Intel or AMD 64-bit processor.
The Zorin website is very comprehensive! I advise a visit.
tberni wrote:
Hello MadaboutDana.
I'm also having a brilliant time with my process of ditching the GAFAM
(no mean feat!).
Right now I'm working with elementary OS 8.1 (a Linux distro based on
Ubuntu 24.04, beautiful and well-made, which works a treat on an Acer
Swift 1 with 8GB+256GB of storage. I've signed up with Proton for email,
cloud storage, a VPN, etc. And I'm experimenting with software solutions
too (Obsidian, Logseq, Zotero, Zettlr), all of which are going quite
well, learning even more about operating systems.
I was looking for a lightweight markdown editor for when Obsidian can be
a bit too clunky. How about HelixNotes? Is the difference in start-up
and agility noticeable? I've visited their website, can you edit with a
light background?...
On another note, you say you're having your Zorin experience on a 2013
Macbook Air. I think that's fantastic! Was the installation difficult?
Do you know if it's possible to install Zorin on a 2016 12" Retina
Macbook?
Cheers and congratulations!