Linux!

wildebus

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Well, my Windows 10 installation crapped out on Monday for some reason and the auto-repair option didn't work. And seeing as I really was disliking how Windows 10 was going and the inability to stop updates (and likely an update that screwed it up as well!), I decided not to waste any time or effort to try and fix it, so booted up with Windows 7, copied all data on the Win10 and Win7 partitions onto the second drive and install a new install of Win 7 and a new install of Linux (!) on the main drive.

So a bit of Computer Porn for TrevSkoda ....

LINUX
by David, on Flickr

Have to say Linux still has a hell of a long way to go in terms of ease of user installation and Windows is way way better in that respect. A person who is new to computers or even has used them for many years but never installed or tweaked an OS really would wonder what on earth the prompts mean for the installation. (and I decided to use Linux Lite, which is supposed the best for someone who has never touched Linux or not for many years - which could be me, as the last time was in the previous millennium).

So anyway ... Linux Installed ... Trev - any suggestions for good programs to install?
In Windows I use MS Office; Paint.net for simple picture editing - alternatives for those?
Printing & Scanning on Epson Printer; Label Printing on Brother QL-570 and Web Browsing. Drivers and Apps for those?
I also use MS Visio, which I understand will run on a Virtual Machine running MS Windows - any good VM S/W you would suggest?

will be playing around with this a but now (only been installed for an hour or so)
 
[...]
So anyway ... Linux Installed ... Trev - any suggestions for good programs to install?
In Windows I use MS Office; Paint.net for simple picture editing - alternatives for those?
Printing & Scanning on Epson Printer; Label Printing on Brother QL-570 and Web Browsing. Drivers and Apps for those?
I also use MS Visio, which I understand will run on a Virtual Machine running MS Windows - any good VM S/W you would suggest?

will be playing around with this a but now (only been installed for an hour or so)
I'm not Trev, but here goes anyway...

Instead of MS Office, try Libre Office or Open Office (they're pretty much the same thing but Open Office now contains some proprietary bits). If you're an MS Office power user, you might struggle but the open source offerings are pretty instinctive and can import and export MS formats.
Try GIMP for raster graphics or Inkscape for vectors. GIMP is almost as powerful as Photoshop, so it can be a little intimidating at first but the effort is worthwhile.
Most printers have Linux drivers available, I found third party drivers on the 'net for your QL-570.
Virtualbox is probably the easiest VM. I use it extensively to run virtual Windows servers under Debian 9 (Stretch). Some information here.
Good luck & HTH, Geoff
 
Cheers :)
I have since posting the message installed LibreOffice and GIMP, so pleased that you have noted those.
I've found most non-MS Excel 'compatible' spreadsheets apps not very good when it comes to Macros and the like so not expecting too much from Libre (going dual boot so I can revert to 'proper office' if need be on those occasions).
I found flatpak which seems handy so added that - made installing GIMP and Libre quick.

I'll have a look for Virtualbox tomorrow. Thanks for that suggestion.
 
You can still use Office, you have been able to use it on almost anything for many years, it’s just if you want to download the programs you need Windows or a Mac. If you have an Office 365 subscription then just open all your files in the portal (office.com)

The biggest problem I had when I looked at moving folks away from Office at work was Outlook, never found another program that folks would take to like it and I tried a lot. That in the end was what stopped me moving to Google instead of Microsoft. Mind I did manage to get rid of the old mail server which was a pain :)
 
I don't want to buy an office 365 sub though, as my use is not enough to warrant that (I get the cheap ex-bundled corporate subs for older versions with perpetual licenses. Much better value at under a fiver :) )
 
First all is on you require,but go into menu/lite software and click restricted extra,dropbox, games pack,handbrake,pinta,red shift,torent software,torent web browser,openshot.
Next in menu go down to lite tweeks and disable numlock at bootin,this as you will see is where cach etc is cleaned once a week,DONT touch things on the danger list.
Do remember that when on bootup you must put you num lock on where it should now close after boot ,but each time you do up dates you must start with it on and clip of once away.
You will also see in menu install updates,do this every day or so to keep up,again numlock on at password prompt.
Any junk on screen right click disable as not required.
Las bit into menu an right click thunderbird mail sent to panel,it will appear on panel right, right click drage to beside firefox and drop,any more probs im only £10 a hr
 
I would change google for firefox though tricky do do for newbies,also in right top 3 bars open and install badger and advert block stopping all cr-p.,good luck and you should now have a clean screen unlike win cr-p
 
Hmmmm. Bit Torrent? I'll stay clear of that I think. Last time I used that the files were full of viruses. Peer-to-peer with unknowns is - IMO - not good.
I tried to get Pinta but failed. It seems to have become unavailable now? Is Pinta built into the LL distro?
Not keen on Thunderbird email either if it is the same as the Windows client.

I'll check out the rest.
Cheers,
 
I would change google for firefox though tricky do do for newbies,also in right top 3 bars open and install badger and advert block stopping all cr-p.,good luck and you should now have a clean screen unlike win cr-p
Maybe a change in the latest distro, but Firefox is now the default browser when I installed (as you can see from the screenshot :) ). Installed badger and an adblocker.
 
I don't want to buy an office 365 sub though, as my use is not enough to warrant that (I get the cheap ex-bundled corporate subs for older versions with perpetual licenses. Much better value at under a fiver :) )
Libra Office is on,you can also install abbey word for short simple docs or tomboy notes from the full linux repository,menu system,install remove software,this is simple once you work it out,it will take you a while but in a few wekks you will crack it and NEVER return to windows.
 
Hmmmm. Bit Torrent? I'll stay clear of that I think. Last time I used that the files were full of viruses. Peer-to-peer with unknowns is - IMO - not good.
I tried to get Pinta but failed. It seems to have become unavailable now? Is Pinta built into the LL distro?
Not keen on Thunderbird email either if it is the same as the Windows client.

I'll check out the rest.
Cheers,
Bit torrent is for loading distro faster from two or three different servers
 
If the virtual machine works maybe (but then I will still be using Windows even then ;) )
 
Hmmmm. Bit Torrent? I'll stay clear of that I think. Last time I used that the files were full of viruses. Peer-to-peer with unknowns is - IMO - not good.
I tried to get Pinta but failed. It seems to have become unavailable now? Is Pinta built into the LL distro?
Not keen on Thunderbird email either if it is the same as the Windows client.

I'll check out the rest.
Cheers,
Thunder bird is clean and brings you mail from whoever you use,you will have to switch of you window head
 
Im going out now as a central heating job calls,money to be made fixing other people bad workmanship,catch you ltr
 
Do a full install,you dont need windows at all,forget it and move forward and up,windows is dead.
One word .. VISIO.

Find me visio under native Linux and I might believe you.
 
And Thunderbird is pants IMO. (Tried it under Windows. If it is the same program in Linux, no thanks)
 
One word .. VISIO.

Find me visio under native Linux and I might believe you.

Here you go: https://itsfoss.com/visio-alternatives-linux/ you might also get some mileage from searching for "flow chart software for Linux".

That said, I've not tried several of those and the ones I have tried are graphic packages rather than dedicated flow-charters. Some of the packages the referenced page lists are not free. For example, Lucidchart costs five or six pounds a month (but it's free to try). Note also that I've never been a fan of Visio and prefer to use a vector drawing program (Corel Draw! Inkscape etc.) for flowcharts even under Windows.

Even if you get a Linux equivalent of Visio sorted, it's worthwhile playing with Virtualbox as that will let you play with a lot of distros and software without altering the config of your main machine.

Re. mail clients: FWIW, I have only used Outlook in a corporate environment and then only when required by my client's policy. This was even when I was a certified Microsoft Partner! The reason is that Outlook is a virus magnet; i.e. a lot of viruses are targeted at vulnerabilities in Outlook and/or the rest of the MSO suite. Under Windows, I use an old version of The Bat! that will not run scripts or retrieve linked resources unless you tell it to. Under Linux, I use Sylpheed -- which is a hard-core text-based mail client that I suspect you would like even less than Thunderbird. Everyone has a list of 'must have' features. So we might be able to point you in a better direction if you tell us what you most need in a Mail client.

HTH, Geoff
 
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Re: Visio replacement. I've just had a play with LibreOffice Draw 5, and it now has 'live links' like Visio. Some preliminary searching suggests that you should be able to import or convert Visio files to OpenOffice/LibreOffice format but going the other way might be tricky. However, if you only want to deliver the results on paper or PDF, LibreOffice Draw might be all you need. HTH, Geoff
 
You will have Trev (skoda) chewing over that..
OR masticating (sorry Speelcheck not w**king !)
 
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