“Upgrade to Linux”
Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
111–120 of 514 posts
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't imagine trying to replace MS word with libreoffice for businesses. I respect the project and the complexity of the task, but it's just not there for even light professional use. As an example, I recently submitted a manuscript following standard format [0] with libreoffice. Nothing difficult, just basic professional functionality. The only way to do it involved editing global default page styles (because cust…
Programmers use markdown or LaTeX anyway; there’s approximately nobody excited about working on an office suite. It is a completely unrewarding task.
I use typst.
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're going to do this, set them up with something they can get commercial support for. IMO, if a user's needs can be met with a Chromebook, Linux + a browser + email + Zoom/or whatever would suit them well. I think you're going to have a hard sell if they rely on Office or other Windows-only software, and although well meaning, it might be doing them a disservice if they can't run the software they're accustomed…
Wine to run Office on Linux?
Only old versions of Office work on Wine, unfortunately
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
Make sure libreoffice is included, and ublock origin. Show them how much faster it is, with fewer ads, and no subscription to Microsoft required just to write a document. The business customers might want to know that databases are a lot cheaper on Linux, especially for small business. Literally spoke to an automation company the other week that told me "we have to delete a bunch of stuff every time the database gets…
I can't imagine trying to replace MS word with libreoffice for businesses. I respect the project and the complexity of the task, but it's just not there for even light professional use. As an example, I recently submitted a manuscript following standard format [0] with libreoffice. Nothing difficult, just basic professional functionality. The only way to do it involved editing global default page styles (because cust…
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Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#115I've been living on an Unbuntu variant (Pop_OS) for over a year now and it's surprisingly good. Note that I had been a Mac-and-some-Windows user as far as desktops go for about 10 years prior to that, and had lots of Linux experience before that - so I'm experiencing a 10 year before-and-after. Things that intrigue me: - For photos, darktable is surprisingly good. I think this was my biggest single surprise, being a…
- For diagrams, draw.io is a decent alternative - Similarly for Photoshop users, Photopea might suit them better than GIMP. And there's also Photoshop Express/Online if they really want to stay in the Adobe ecosystem.
Draw.io is my go-to tool on any platform now. I did an entire bachelors and masters using it for all my diagrams.
I like OmniGraffle but personally I didn't think it was worth it when draw.io was free anyway. Like I don't feel it was $150-$250 better than draw.io, especially since it's not cross platform.
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#116I have said this 10 times on HN and i ll say it again. Release a version of Windows 11 called "Windows Optinmal" that has 0 telemetry, 0 trackers, 0 bloatware that runs faster than Windows 7 on modern hardware. Charge 4x the prices if you want, I ll pay happily
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#117I'm sure I will regret this, something will change and I'll be "F.U. Win11!". But, I'm on Windows 11 Pro (upgraded from Windows 10 Pro) and I have barely noticed a difference.
Maybe because it's Windows Pro, not Home? Maybe because I have 2 profiles. The one I used to install it which required a microsoft account, and a separate, local only account which is the one I use always. I can't remember the last time I had to use the other account. Maybe when I upgraded to Windows 11. I don't remember.
I'm not trying to excuse Microsoft. I had to go into settings and turn off everything I could find. I had to futs around to get it to stop trying to get me to install Exchange every time I pressed Win-E (or was it Win-W) which I press often because I use the same keyboard on Mac and Win-W is Cmd-W (open new Window) (A: Powertoys). So yea, I cursed that. But, I found a solution.
Other than that, so far, it stays mostly out of my way and just works. I'm hard pressed to notice too many differences. Is it because I'm on Pro? Is it because it's a local account? Is it just luck? I don't know. It only suggests that it's at least possible, so far, to use it.
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#118In addition to the good distro options mentioned, there's also Debian Stable: https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-dvd/d... There are several options for desktop environment, and you can select which ones to install when you boot that installer image (and also add/subtract more later, and change your preference at login time). One of the nicest-looking ones that should be self-explanatory to use (fo…
I use Debian Stable + Gnome as my main PC. I use a handful of native apps which are all available on Linux, and most other apps are web-based. I never used to like the Gnome desktop, but modern Gnome is fast, unbloated, and it gets out of your way.
The author spoke of migrating Windows users, so I suggested what would be familiar to them.
The Cinnamon desktop will use a lot of that Gnome stuff, but things like a start menu and task bar will be more familiar than the corresponding elements of the default Gnome desktop.
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#119Nobody thinks this is a weird reaction to an OS update that's been out for years at this point and barely makes a difference over the previous version? There's no 'Recall'. Co-pilot isn't all over in your face so removing it isn't really a priority. Edge isn't forced on you, it's just part of the bundled software just like a bunch of other items as in every Windows for decades. Not saying it doesn't get hairy if you'…
If you’re not on the corporate managed version of Windows 11, Microsoft frequently resets the default apps related to browsing, svg, pdf etc. I had it done twice in a week recently. That’s what flipped the trigger for me and I finally abandoned Microsoft.
If you’re measuring “Windows isn’t annoying” from the corporate perch, that’s not a fair comparison to what consumers and home users put up with.
Not to mention the forced upgrade and reboots that can’t easily be disabled for same.
Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Make sure libreoffice is included, and ublock origin. Show them how much faster it is, with fewer ads, and no subscription to Microsoft required just to write a document. The business customers might want to know that databases are a lot cheaper on Linux, especially for small business. Literally spoke to an automation company the other week that told me "we have to delete a bunch of stuff every time the database gets…
I switched from Google Docs to Libre Office a few months ago. I'm surprised how buggy LO is, because I tried it a decade ago and it doesn't seem to have gotten any better. I don't plan on going back to MS or Google, but I am very frustrated with the number of bugs in LO's spreadsheets, so I try to keep my sheets simple and CTRL-S a LOT! Examples: [1] I selected a range of cells recently, by clicking and dragging, and…
If I have to use a spreadsheet, I prefer Gnumeric. I don’t have any solid evidence, it just seems less buggy generally.