How many out there are full-time Linux [any distro]? I know a few, but they seem to have dedicated enormous energy getting it to work for them. An easy example, my P-touch printers are used all the time and it is simple in Windows.
I use Linux as my main OS, but what I do and my typical workflow naturally align with "limitations" of Linux.LibreOffice is horrible, I use TeX. There are a number of wysiwyg front-ends for TeX if you don't want to learn it.
LibreOffice is pretty compatible with MS office for basic documents. It may not handle your all-in-one customer billing and accounting spreadsheet you've built over 10 years.
LibreOffice is horrible, I use TeX.The request was to be compatible with MS formats for exchange with outside parties.
Periodically I try to configure a Linux system for my full-time workstation. Perhaps with a few physical or virtual Windows machines for the occasional WINDOWS ONLY utilities.
<snip>
Need a solution for:
Evernote
MS Office [must be totally compatible for sending to the outside business world]
Fusion360
Box / Dropbox or similar cloud storage functionality
./+o+- edy@edy-t43
yyyyy- -yyyyyy+ OS: Ubuntu 18.10 cosmic
://+//////-yyyyyyo Kernel: i686 Linux 4.18.0-18-generic
.++ .:/++++++/-.+sss/` Uptime: 4h 2m
.:++o: /++++++++/:--:/- Packages: 1927
o:+o+:++.`..```.-/oo+++++/ Shell: bash 4.4.19
.:+o:+o/. `+sssoo+/ Resolution: 1024x768
.++/+:+oo+o:` /sssooo. DE: LXDE
/+++//+:`oo+o /::--:. WM: OpenBox
\+/+o+++`o++o ++////. CPU: Intel Pentium M 1.73GHz @ 1.733GHz [66.0°C]
.++.o+++oo+:` /dddhhh. GPU: ATI RV370
.+.o+oo:. `oddhhhh+ RAM: 463MiB / 1946MiB
\+.++o+o``-````.:ohdhhhhh+
`:o+++ `ohhhhhhhhyo++os:
.o:`.syhhhhhhh/.oo++o`
/osyyyyyyo++ooo+++/
````` +oo+++o\:
`oo++.
From what I understand...Dropbox is now limited to only clean EXT4. Maybe not a huge problem, but it is hard to trust that they won't dump Linux altogether.
Oh we're doing screenfetches? Don't mind if I do!
The electronics community may be all windows users now, but it wasn't always that way.AFAIK many engineers use Linux. I have various customers where the entire engineering department runs Linux all day long. Many CAD vendors have Linux versions of their software or are working on it. A couple of months I bought the latest version of Orcad and lo and behold: the PCB part of the package runs on Linux!
The electronics community may be all windows users now, but it wasn't always that way.AFAIK many engineers use Linux. I have various customers where the entire engineering department runs Linux all day long. Many CAD vendors have Linux versions of their software or are working on it. A couple of months I bought the latest version of Orcad and lo and behold: the PCB part of the package runs on Linux!
I'm getting ready to move to Linux. I've been working on this for two years now. I've found replacement for most software and tested it on different Linux distros, but few things are still left. I am also evaluating distributions - it'll be most likely Linux Mint or may be Debian.
I still think windows is a cruel joke
the entire engineering department runs Linux all day long
I'm not sure how my Windows 7 licence will behave in a VM.Read it and you'll see a standard Windows license allows use in a VM.
Make sure you have good, fast storage
Make sure you have good, fast storage. Either SSD, or if spinning disks, RAID0 (striped, no redundancy) for OS.
SSDs and PCIe attached enterprise ones
Oh we're doing screenfetches? Don't mind if I do!
Ok, I'm in :)
https://mecrisp-stellaris-folkdoc.sourceforge.io/modern-forth-development-environment.html#mfde
This is my FreeBSD workstation, showing schematic capture, flow-charting, code editing, high speed serial terminal to a Cortex-M MCU running near real time Forth. It's showing a completed project which reads any reasonable number of LMT-01 temperature sensors, but only 4 are configured in this project https://mecrisp-stellaris-folkdoc.sourceforge.io/project.3temp.sensors.html#lmt01
I've been using Unix the last 22 years (no windows) for business, work, everything. I come from a era when *everything* WAS Unix. Then windows 3.0 came out and we all thought it was a joke, it didn't even network. Windows brought low prices, but it also brought instability, Bsod's, Viruses and Trojans.
I still think windows is a cruel joke, a 'white goods os' for the masses, but those that didn't see the previous Unix world have nothing to compare it to, and most are locked into windows ... sadly.
The electronics community may be all windows users now, but it wasn't always that way.
SSDs and PCIe attached enterprise ones
I am not expert, but it seems that SSD doesn't offer the same IOPs, and from what I observe about kernel_drivers, those drivers made on SAS/SATA seem to suffer a lot of DMA problems, while the FC stuff seems neither simpler nor cheaper, but more reliable and neater.
I have zero practical experience, but I am digging into a couple of FC controllers used by SGI. I know the PCI spec was only partially respected, but surprisingly these controllers do work on HPPA without all the problems that I have recently experimented with SATA and SAS controllers made for PeeeeCeeees.
Weird World :-//
[..]That's not my experience, but last I looked at the (then astonishing) difference was with Windows 7.
Windows is very good at caching HDDs in RAM. Most of what I'm doing (such as compilations) repeatedly uses the same files, thus there's practically no difference between "slow" HDD or fast SSD. Doesn't Linux do the same?
IOPS isn’t a problem really now. Latency is.
I get a feeling Linux is getting less attention from some vendors. For instance, Teamviewer used to work relatively well on Linux but version 14 has totally screwed the pooch and sort of works badly only when it is in the mood and the planets align as needed.
have you any experience with FCs and FC-bridges?Nothing up to date. Have used them on servers I've installed and maintained, but that's a decade ago now.
Most of what I'm doing (such as compilations) repeatedly uses the same filesIf your dataset is completely cached, then storage speed is irrelevant. However, having fast storage for your OS means the initial startup latency is minimized. Things like waking up from hibernation, and so on. You'd be surprised how much such latencies affect your work flow.
Doesn't Linux do the same?Always has, even before Windows did.
IOPS isn’t a problem really now. Latency is.+1. Latency seems to be one of those things whose effect you see only when measuring real-world performance, and then it usually surprises everyone how big a difference it makes.
We are playing with an experimental array of RAM-disks (homemade) using them for speeding HDL simulator and FEM stuff; IOPs makes a tiny difference for each interaction but at the end of the day it's an appreciable difference, so we are interested.Dalton, a quantum chemistry simulator program (at least as of 2010 or so), tends to be I/O bound also; it reads and writes its dataset to storage during each iteration step. To give it a good speedup, you simply have to have the dataset on tmpfs ("ramdisk"), as any non-RAM-based storage is simply a horribly bottleneck. While having a terabyte of RAM is horribly overkill in most cases, for quantum chemists using Dalton it makes a huge difference. (I'm sure you can imagine the IT dept. reactions to such machine requests, though.)
OK, yes. I use Libre Office to READ MS documents, and just send out PDFs to anybody that needs something in a typeset form.LibreOffice is horrible, I use TeX.The request was to be compatible with MS formats for exchange with outside parties.
Why not Pdf? And why not Latex for everything else?YES YES YES!
dataset on tmpfs ("ramdisk")
InfiniBand
However, having fast storage for your OS means the initial startup latency is minimized. Things like waking up from hibernation, and so on. You'd be surprised how much such latencies affect your work flow.
SSDs and PCIe attached enterprise ones
I am not expert, but it seems that SSD doesn't offer the same IOPs, and from what I observe about kernel_drivers, those drivers made on SAS/SATA seem to suffer a lot of DMA problems, while the FC stuff seems neither simpler nor cheaper, but more reliable and neater.
I have zero practical experience, but I am digging into a couple of FC controllers used by SGI. I know the PCI spec was only partially respected, but surprisingly these controllers do work on HPPA without all the problems that I have recently experimented with SATA and SAS controllers made for PeeeeCeeees.
Weird World :-//
https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/product-catalog/servers/server-solid-state-drives/pip.hpe-6dot4tb-pcie-x8-lanes-mixed-use-hhhl-3yr-wty-digitally-signed-firmware-card.1010289536.html (https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/product-catalog/servers/server-solid-state-drives/pip.hpe-6dot4tb-pcie-x8-lanes-mixed-use-hhhl-3yr-wty-digitally-signed-firmware-card.1010289536.html)
^^^ we have 8 of these in a SQL server. Goes like the clappers. Much faster than remote 3par.
IOPS isn’t a problem really now. Latency is.
Linux does that even better and faster because Linux can use all the available memory for disk caching but doesn't push stuff into swap (unlike Windows). For large compilation jobs an SSD makes absolutely zero difference compared to a slow hard drive (much to my surprise because I tested that myself).Make sure you have good, fast storage. Either SSD, or if spinning disks, RAID0 (striped, no redundancy) for OS.
Windows is very good at caching HDDs in RAM. Most of what I'm doing (such as compilations) repeatedly uses the same files, thus there's practically no difference between "slow" HDD or fast SSD. Doesn't Linux do the same?
Linux does that even better and faster because Linux can use all the available memory for disk caching but doesn't push stuff into swap (unlike Windows). For large compilation jobs an SSD makes absolutely zero difference compared to a slow hard drive (much to my surprise because I tested that myself).Make sure you have good, fast storage. Either SSD, or if spinning disks, RAID0 (striped, no redundancy) for OS.
Windows is very good at caching HDDs in RAM. Most of what I'm doing (such as compilations) repeatedly uses the same files, thus there's practically no difference between "slow" HDD or fast SSD. Doesn't Linux do the same?
It's GUI also sucks now days, I can't stand windows 8 and 10 GUI. It's too "blocky" and everything is too big and too white. This whole trend of gray text on white is horrible too. I see lot of websites doing that crap as well. It's very hard on the eyes, don't know why it's catching on.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_design
Why not Pdf? And why not Latex for everything else?YES YES YES!
Jon
esign kits & evaluation modules (1)
Name Part# Type
TPS25942EVM-635 Evaluation Module for TPS25942x TPS25942EVM-635 Evaluation Modules & Boards... <snip> ... I suspect that my corporate customers would not appreciate anything short of genuine Excel for the typical fancy stuff.
...<snip>...
My new hardware arrives tomorrow and I think I have decided what I will do.
... <snip>...
Microsoft still has the upper hand. :-(
... <snip> ... I suspect that my corporate customers would not appreciate anything short of genuine Excel for the typical fancy stuff.
...<snip>...
My new hardware arrives tomorrow and I think I have decided what I will do.
... <snip>...
Microsoft still has the upper hand. :-(
As an entrepreneur my self, no doubt, Microsoft still rule.
Spreadsheets exchange for revisions, sales quotations revisions :palm: and worst, legal contract document in never ending revisions back and forth mode :scared: ... you just can not afford by arrogantly "dictate" your customer to move to Latex. :-DD
Olde wisdom still applicable ... "Customer is King" ...
As my previous post on my bad experience -> Post #26 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/linux-is-soooo-close-yet-so-far-wishing-it-was-my-full-time-os/msg2391867/#msg2391867) , as you're going to use new mobo/chipsets/cpu, make sure you've read if any culprits hiding, the devil is in the details. Good luck on your quest.
There was a time when Microsoft WORD was illegal to use in corporate legal offices, has this changed ?
Whats wrong with asking for a real standard, such as a PDF ?
There was a time when Microsoft WORD was illegal to use in corporate legal offices, has this changed ?
Whats wrong with asking for a real standard, such as a PDF ?
Nothing wrong, to be honest, I have OCD too, everything should be nice in an idealistic world, but when it comes to real world and real business world, you can't win at every battle.
Imagine you have a really lucrative business deal, probably deal of the year, but the customer's top executive is an old fart that is still love using proprietary document formats, and that person is the one who make the call on this deal, and worst while really annoying is, that he/she loves to send back and forth revisions on your contract/proposal/technical spec documents and etc.
What would you do ? Call it a day and reject that deal ? :scared:
My experiments running Windows in a VM did not go well - I need 3-4 high-res displays to stay comfortable working. Obviously, that would be a problem in a VM.
A old fart in a legal office probably uses Word Perfect under DOS (the favorite in legal offices as I understand it) and would prefer RTF but he thinks you love to use MS Word so he gets it especially converted for you.
I can't really argue with you tho, you're far too logical and reasonable :)
A finished document should not be sent to someone outside the organization in a proprietary format like MS Word, Excel, etc. It should be sent using PDF. Use the other formats only with people who are actively working on the document and need to make changes.Completely agree. With a PDF you can be fairly confident the receiver sees the document the way you intended. Even if both use the same program, e.g. MS office, if it's not also the same version there can still be differences how the document is displayed. It's also a bit rude to assume the receiver will have access to the same program you used to create the file, especially if it's an expensive proprietary program.
I have had a ton of problems with people sending me documents, especially quotes, in formats that my computer interpreted differently even though maybe it shouldn't. Some were totally garbled. Use PDF!
My old hardware is a 10-year-old i7 12 core with 24GB RAM and an 8GB ATI FirePro 8800 6G SATA SSD's - even with its age, it rips with Linux Mint running various media applications like Kdenlive. I can hardly believe how fast it is with all of its gray hair. That machine will be a permanent Linux machine dedicated to media use as well as VM's that I can experiment with Linux distros. It will likely be a good option for coding as well. This should allow me to stay in touch with the latest developments in Linux.I have ran a similar setup until a few years ago. If you install an Xserver (yes, the client runs the server in the world of Xwindows) on Windows then you can run the Linux programs on your Windows desktop. After that I gradually moved to Linux more & more.
So, yes two separate systems for two separate applications. I just cannot see anything other than a split effort at the moment. Microsoft still has the upper hand. :-(
Excel
You should forget about using Latex or XML in any kind of professional environment. At some point you want to hand-off editing to other people and they will only know MSOffice.There are \(\LaTeX\) WYSIWYG editors these days, so anyone can do it.
You should forget about using Latex or XML in any kind of professional environment. At some point you want to hand-off editing to other people and they will only know MSOffice.
There are TeX WYSIWYG editors these days, so anyone can do it.
Edit: forgot to mention this. Last year I dealt with a SaaS provider who had a client phone up and accuse them of meddling with their PC because they themselves updated to windows 10 1809 :palm: . This is what we're talking here. Literal morons.
A finished document should not be sent to someone outside the organization in a proprietary format like MS Word, Excel, etc. It should be sent using PDF. Use the other formats only with people who are actively working on the document and need to make changes.
I have had a ton of problems with people sending me documents, especially quotes, in formats that my computer interpreted differently even though maybe it shouldn't. Some were totally garbled. Use PDF!
As an entrepreneur my self, no doubt, Microsoft still rule.True - I am not making the norms but I have to go with them if I expect to survive and succeed.
Spreadsheets exchange for revisions, sales quotations revisions :palm: and worst, legal contract document in never ending revisions back and forth mode :scared: ... you just can not afford by arrogantly "dictate" your customer to move to Latex. :-DD
My experiments running Windows in a VM did not go well - I need 3-4 high-res displays to stay comfortable working. Obviously, that would be a problem in a VM.
I can't see why. I use multi head all the time. QEMU/KVM with the SPICE protocol supports multi head natively. I use 2 as a baseline and add a third not-infrequently. That way I can run AutoCAD on 2 screens and use Revit on the third. When I only need 2 heads for Windows I disable the third head and it becomes a normal Linux workspace.
No matter what the tools, things ultimately depend on how inept your clients or cow-orkers are. :popcorn:
My experiments running Windows in a VM did not go well - I need 3-4 high-res displays to stay comfortable working. Obviously, that would be a problem in a VM.
My experiments running Windows in a VM did not go well - I need 3-4 high-res displays to stay comfortable working. Obviously, that would be a problem in a VM.
Every modern video controller can do 2 displays, most can do 3, high end ones should be able to do more. There shouldn't be a problem to give a VM its own display and you can run many VMs at a time.
I'd be curious to know what the consumer public average "Joe" buys as far as computers and what they do with it. I'm willing to bet these days that the vast majority of users, especially students and your typical light-computing home needs are going to be:
Just make the window larger. VMs typically can run in several modes: fullscreen, windowed or seamless. In Windowed mode you can make the VM screen any size (spanning across multiple monitors if you want). In seamless mode the applications running in the VM blend into you existing desktop so there is no specific VM display to begin with.Sure, I have a video card that supports 4 displays, just not sure how to span a single VM across all of them as if the system was running whatever OS the VM is running.My experiments running Windows in a VM did not go well - I need 3-4 high-res displays to stay comfortable working. Obviously, that would be a problem in a VM.
Every modern video controller can do 2 displays, most can do 3, high end ones should be able to do more. There shouldn't be a problem to give a VM its own display and you can run many VMs at a time.
You should forget about using Latex or XML in any kind of professional environment. At some point you want to hand-off editing to other people and they will only know MSOffice.Well, if you are working with scientific publications, LaTeX may be REQUIRED.
I'd be curious to know what the consumer public average "Joe" buys as far as computers and what they do with it. I'm willing to bet these days that the vast majority of users, especially students and your typical light-computing home needs are going to be:Works for me and most of my family. There are two MacBooks, but that is actually pretty close to Linux, anyway.
1. surfing the general web, doing online banking
2. watching videos, YouTube, NetFlix
3. storing your photos/videos from your phone, sorting/editing
4. light office use, Word/Excel/Powerpoint
5. printing/scanning stuff (archiving)
6. ability to play music, maybe video-chat?
Have I missed anything? I bet you most people would be completely fine using some Linux variant to do 100% of their needs. However, there are some major obstacles that will preclude your average person from using it. These include:
My experiments running Windows in a VM did not go well - I need 3-4 high-res displays to stay comfortable working. Obviously, that would be a problem in a VM.
I can't see why. I use multi head all the time. QEMU/KVM with the SPICE protocol supports multi head natively. I use 2 as a baseline and add a third not-infrequently. That way I can run AutoCAD on 2 screens and use Revit on the third. When I only need 2 heads for Windows I disable the third head and it becomes a normal Linux workspace.
I don't understand....you are doing triple display full screen with a VM or a KVM?
I did take a brief look at KVMs that can handle three high-res displays and it looked expensive and cumbersome.
You should forget about using Latex or XML in any kind of professional environment. At some point you want to hand-off editing to other people and they will only know MSOffice.Well, if you are working with scientific publications, LaTeX may be REQUIRED.
Jon
I really have very few complaints about MS Office 2003, that was the last one with a proper UI before they changed to that ribbon nonsense that I had to use at work for years and never got used to. The last time I wiped my laptop when I replaced the hard drive I installed Libre Office simply because I couldn't be bothered to go dig out my MS Office CD, so far so good, I haven't had any issues with it.I am not interested in ribbons, bells or whistles so I am still using MS Office 2003 in my Win XP computers and LibreOffice in my Linux Mint machines.
I wish I could do that but unfortunately Office 2003 isn't very compatible with the docx format (even with the translator). Documents are likely to get screwed up.I really have very few complaints about MS Office 2003, that was the last one with a proper UI before they changed to that ribbon nonsense that I had to use at work for years and never got used to. The last time I wiped my laptop when I replaced the hard drive I installed Libre Office simply because I couldn't be bothered to go dig out my MS Office CD, so far so good, I haven't had any issues with it.I am not interested in ribbons, bells or whistles so I am still using MS Office 2003 in my Win XP computers and LibreOffice in my Linux Mint machines.
I wish I could do that but unfortunately Office 2003 isn't very compatible with the docx format (even with the translator). Documents are likely to get screwed up.Yes, if you need to be compatible with other people then you just need to use whatever they are using. In my case I work on my documents and then convert to PDF before sending.
MS Office actually occupies a space much like the QWERTY keyboard. It is workable, but far from optimum. But will probably never be replaced by better alternatives because of the huge number of people trained in its quirks that would require significant retraining to use something that is better, but not better enough to be worth the investment in retraining.
No amount of testimonials from users of chording keyboards or Dvorak keyboards will kill QWERTY. Same is probably true for MS Office.
You can install PROXMOX on the top of that - Windows/Linux(/MacOS if you wish) VMs with GPU passthrough and attached monitors (yes, separate video card for each VM). If you prefer to use same keyboard and mouse directly across these running VMs, you will need KVM switch for these, but not for monitors. Basically, all-in-one solution with dedicated video card for each VM. Also, easy to manage VMs (clones, backups etc)...
I don't understand....you are doing triple display full screen with a VM or a KVM?
I did take a brief look at KVMs that can handle three high-res displays and it looked expensive and cumbersome.
I know someone who used a DVORAK keyboard. Outside of his own controlled space, he basically had a disability.The DVORAK guy I assume had trouble using QWERTY keyboards?
Same goes for MS office unfortunately.
I don't see how not using MS Office is much of a problem, as long as you can open the MS files and get the information you need out of them (which you can for the most part). I haven't really noticed much of an issue, certainly no problems to rely on only LibreOffice or \(\LaTeX\) for private use.
I don't see how not using MS Office is much of a problem, as long as you can open the MS files and get the information you need out of them (which you can for the most part). I haven't really noticed much of an issue, certainly no problems to rely on only LibreOffice or \(\LaTeX\) for private use.
A number of years ago, I hired a load of new people that all needed computers. I was nervous about short term cash flow so I moved to OpenOffice to avoid the cost of the Microsoft suite. Internally, it worked great. No complaints and we were doing reasonably sophisticated spreadsheets. Then comes 2-3 critical customers that we were dealing with on collaboration projects. Our Open Office spreadsheets were not working for them and Excel was not working for us. There were little syntax differences, and newer functions were simply absent.
We were the small kids in the group and were not given the option. Excel was the only acceptable option to continue with these customers. Then, we had to deal with learning the sometimes subtle differences between the two and migrate all of our existing work. That turned out to be a VERY expensive way to save money.
I guess the rule is if you have to inter-work with any Microsoft product then you're probably going to be locked in to Microsoft forever. Naturally this lock-in doesn't occur by accident of course, it's Microsofts way of chaining its customers to its products.
On the other hand our state owned vehicle registry converted to Linux and Openoffice about a decade ago for cost savings and reliability. I asked their IT guy how the change over went and he replied, "most of our thousands of staff didn't even notice". Those Microsoft licenses really add up to some serious cash across thousands of users.
If there was something that compelled the companies I am surrounded by to switch [perhaps learning how much they are spending] - they might switch and all would be happy. Microsoft has successfully spun a web that is hard for end users to escape. Very clever."Chicken or the egg" problem I guess. People are hesitant to switch 'cos it's not widely used, it is not widely used 'cos people are hesitant to use it.
I fully moved to Linux-based OS in 2010, because my work environment on Windows XP was more and more consisting of software designed for POSIX systems. I was simply limited by not being able to use various things, because Window would not support them. I was also administrating a few servers, so incompatibilities were a bit of PITA too. I never thought about moving back. No more routine system reinstalls, no more garbage accumulation, unparalleled clear view of what’s going on in the system, much less poor advise from ignorant people who always feel compelled to post comments and mislead help seekers, less scam/spam websites (that changes slowly in recent years).
I went fully open source in 2014, but IIRC the only non-free component I had since 2012 was nVidia’s blob. That coincided with and solidified the shift in how I see my relationship with computers. The Windows environment is now simply incompatible with my brain. I doubt I could easily return to it.
But going Linux for expected financial gains alone is not a good idea. Expect it to cost you more in time and lost opportunities, unless you are already running a company with a decent IT department (business use), you are a seasoned administrator and coder (personal use) or use it in an environment typically based on Linux (e.g. servers). There is a reason why it is so often stressed, that free software is free as in freedom, not as in free beer (but see this (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Beer) ;)).
My experiments running Windows in a VM did not go well - I need 3-4 high-res displays to stay comfortable working. Obviously, that would be a problem in a VM.
I can't see why. I use multi head all the time. QEMU/KVM with the SPICE protocol supports multi head natively. I use 2 as a baseline and add a third not-infrequently. That way I can run AutoCAD on 2 screens and use Revit on the third. When I only need 2 heads for Windows I disable the third head and it becomes a normal Linux workspace.
The family Linux challenge has begun.....
I had to replace my primary workstation and I re-purposed the old hardware for a dedicated Linux system that will be used for video and image editing as well as audio recording for voice-overs. My daughter will use it for homework, web browsing, etc.
Mint 19 was chosen for ease of use and broad support. Kdenlive for video, GIMP for images, and Audacity for audio.
10-year-old hardware is working like a champ - i7 Extreme 12 core, 24GB RAM, 500GB SSD on SATA-6G, ATI FirePro 8800 with dual monitors. It is rather quick for ancient hardware. Zero driver challenges so far, even with the audio interface M-Audio Fast Track PRO before AVID purchased them.
My biggest challenge so far is the administrative tasks of drive/folder/file permissions and sharing with Windows. I was hoping to find some GUI tools to help me get it all sorted, but alas I end up in the terminal slaying the problem on the command line. I have no problem with the command line for everyday stuff, but generally, prefer a GUI for tasks that I don't deal with enough to memorize the command line. Setting up systems from scratch and getting them all configured for sharing, users, security, is a very occasional tasks. Mint has quite a bit of GUI tools built-in, but configuring SAMBA is apparently a CLI thing.
Anyway....this is my first attempt to have a general purpose, everyday-use, Linux system. It will force me to develop my understanding and skills in Linux and perhaps escape Windows someday soon.
I've never had to configure Samba because I haven't used Windows since 1997 but many friends have and after a couple of weeks of bitching about all the config they seemed to settle down with it ok.
In my 22 year experience, Linux (any Unix really) gets exponentially better the further one moves away from Windows which is hard to inter-work with BY DESIGN.:-+
I don't see how not using MS Office is much of a problem, as long as you can open the MS files and get the information you need out of them (which you can for the most part). I haven't really noticed much of an issue, certainly no problems to rely on only LibreOffice or \(\LaTeX\) for private use.
A number of years ago, I hired a load of new people that all needed computers. I was nervous about short term cash flow so I moved to OpenOffice to avoid the cost of the Microsoft suite. Internally, it worked great. No complaints and we were doing reasonably sophisticated spreadsheets. Then comes 2-3 critical customers that we were dealing with on collaboration projects. Our Open Office spreadsheets were not working for them and Excel was not working for us. There were little syntax differences, and newer functions were simply absent.