Learn Linux and Still Get My Homework Done

Basically what the title says. Someone here suggested that the only way to use Linux is to use it everyday. I'm an engineer student so I don't really have the time to mess with Linux. I pretty much set everything up, MS Office, email, etc, but the problem is I have too use MS Office, its far superior than Open Office. I'm using MS Office under wine, but not everything displays perfectly. Similar things happen when I use open office.

How do I solve this predicament?

All the software mentioned is up to date. Dual booting seems like the best option, but to be honest it feels like a waste of time to switch OS just to send a small email. I might as well do it all under Windows.

I really want to make the switch, but I can't just figure how.

 

Why do you need windows for something like email?

Also, you could use a VM.

 

"email" is just a metaphor for office. I use MS Office everyday, excel, word, and Visio too. I might need some autocad in the future, but not now. Can VM handle the office stuff with Linux host? I have a p8600 CPU with 4gigs of ram. Which one would be better to virtualize XP or Seven?

 

their is a tool called playonlinux Its mostly designed to help you to install games BUT It does have a section to assist in setting up office...that might help to perform better.... as with a vm... virtual box can run whatever os your heart desires and should run any office app perfectly like a native installed os would

 

I don't know what kind of hardware you are using, but what I'm about to suggest runs well with the latest processors under Windows 7.

What I set up for people who want to learn Linux after having used Windows is to install Sun/Oracle VirtualBox on Windows. Then I install, say, Ubuntu 10.10 onto VirtualBox using the ISO image. The user will boot Windows as usual (no dual boot), then open VirtualBox/Ubuntu in a new window.

In full screen mode, Ubuntu is completely transparent: all system resources are available to it and the virtualization overhead is barely noticeable. Whenever the user needs an Windows-specific application, it is just a mouse click away.

Hope this approach is useful to you.

 

Yes, you might as well.

edit: this might sound like flamebait, but I'm really serious. Choose an OS that doesn't waste your time and lets you get work done. At some point, Linux will require your time in manually installing a tarball, compiling something, fixing something broken, etc. Your time is valuable, so choose a software solution that lets you hit the ground running.

 

What he said ^^^. There's nothing special about Linux. Stop worrying what OS you run, the computer is just another tool. As long as you get your job done, I say stick with it.

I run Linux because there are apps I need that only run on Linux. I also use MS Office, but the Linux-only apps are more important to me, so I run VirtualBox. I have tried a lot of office suite software, and I can tell you there's no replacement for Excel (and Powerpoint). For everything else, including Outlook, there are a lot of equivalent software on Linux. So if you really want to use Linux, and need office, VBox is the best solution. Wine doesn't cut it.

If you're thinking about AutoCAD, I suggest you stick to Windows platform.

 

I mostly agree with Bog and f4ding. Chose the OS that fits your needs best. In my case it's Linux, but in your case it seems to be Windows.
In other words: What's your motivation to use Linux if your software is Windows-only and you don't see chances for alternative software?

Well, I said I agree mostly

No, it doesn't. I run multiple Linux distributions for several years now and I never had to install tarballs, compile software or fix things to keep it running or to get my work done.
Nevertheless I did it out of curiosity from time to time, but I always had the choice not to do it.

 

If you want to look for alternatives for linux, see osalt.com. There are 3 autocad alternatives on there.

AutoCAD | Open Source Alternative - osalt.com

 

I'm also voting for the windows only option. Its one thing to have a vm to play with occasionally, but there is no reason to force yourself to use an os for no good reason.

 

I'm gonna have to join the chorus in saying that you should save Linux for the weekends and stuff. I'm kinda in the same boat as you, in that I could probably use Linux full time except for X, Y and Z for school.

I used Crossover a year or two ago and it worked well, but in the end, Linux is relegated to weekends and breaks when I won't need absolute Office compatibility.

 

@booboo12:
I which situations does a student need "absolute Office compatibility"? I guess you're talking about MS Office.
Or to ask differently: In which situations does OpenOffice not work for you?

 

I was in this same boat when it came to school. I solved it by buying a really, really cheap netbook running Windows (an Acer AspireOne). Now the laptop in my sig runs Linux and the netbook is for those few things that just don't work in Linux or I'm too lazy to iron out. I love what Linux can do for me and there is no way I'm giving that up. The main problem I had towards the end was that one program for business will only run in Internet Explorer and Safari, nothing else. And since its 45% of my mark, I had to find a solution. If you can afford it, this is what I suggest.

 

Did you try to modify your user agent string or to use a webkit browser?

 

No I did not. It says when you open it, will not work on any browser other than this. It sucks. We're petitioning for it to work on Firefox as well.

 

Sometimes if a site will work with Safari, it may work with other webkit based browsers like Epiphany, Konqueror, Arora, or Chromium. If they're blocking access based on the user agent string, there are plugins for that. Some web scripts are just genuinely broken and non-portable, in which case you have another couple alternatives: run IE via wine or use windoze in a virtual machine.

 

I tried. Not going to work for me. It says "your browser and operating system do not meet the requirements" and on the tech help it also says will not work anywhere nut Windoze and Mac. Must be getting paid to restrict access because this is a mandatory program for my degree. LOL I always think of the worst first.

 

In some cases they use Java applets and detect your platform that way, or install ActiveX stuff that basically is software run locally. There's no real way around that except to cave to their demands.

I'd have to use a proprietary OS running natively in order to scan in checks for my bank account, as an example. Nothing I could do would get around their OS requirements since they need to interact with device drivers through the browser. Instead I go to the bank in person.

 

@FarmersDaughter: Would you mind giving us the link to that website? So we could find out if there is a way to use it with Linux.

Did you think about changing your bank?

 

The problem with that is most banks don't advertise their system requirements to the public. I have two banks, both require the same sort of plugin for electronic check deposits. One has an android app but I have a Nokia N900... it's not a big deal, since the bank is less than a mile away from me. If I could find a bank that had electronic check deposits that worked across platforms, I'd definitely open an account.

I was just trying to point out a corner case where there is no way around having a proprietary OS because of a browser-based app. It's frustrating.

 

Its from Pearson Education, their MyBusinessLab. All of their other web-software I have to use so far runs fine in Linux. Its just MyBusinessLab. I don't have the link handy right now. Hopefully will not have to use any of that next semester. That sucks about the bank, and its something for me to keep in mind.

 

My big thing is grammar and spell checking. OpenOffice doesn't have a very good grammar checker...idk I just can't feel confident in it. Also, I do very specific things in Excel (analysis toolpak, logic statements) that I know how to get to because I've used Excel for so long....Calc just doesn't feel the same. Finally, Impress doesn't come close to PowerPoint in terms of variety of design templates and such that are available.

This. I was able to get MyMathLab working....but my IT lab refused to work in Linux...really annoying. -_-

 

I would try to run WINE on Linux, and run Internet Explorer on top of WINE.

WineHQ - Run Windows applications on Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac OS X​

I have successfully used some Windows applications on WINE/Ubuntu. Good luck! (Another Canuck)

 

You can virtualize anything, 4G of ram is plenty. Use VirtualBox and allocate 2 gb of ram to windows.
I would go for win 7 because of its better security features.

You can even use an unlisenced copy of win 7 ultimate/pro etc if you are willing to reformat the virtual machine every 120 days (fully legally and with the blessing of MS)

 

4GB is NOT plenty for running virtual machine, remember your main OS uses ram as well. It depends on how much you have available.

I used to run a lot of different Linux distros from time to time, and now I"m settling on Mint since I have more coding to do everyday. For C/C++ Linux feels more "natural" than windows simply because of its Unix nature.

If you have more than 1 computers, you can install windows on one and Linux on the other, that's what I do for my laptop and desktop. However if you only have one I recommend that you stick with Windows, maybe dual boot. A lot of engineering work will require Matlab or other CAD programs that I have yet to find a suitable replacement for in Linux.

 

I second that. VMs are the main reason why I have 12GB of RAM in my laptop.

Matlab is available for Linux too [1] and currently there is a thread including CAD on Linux [2]. But I can't tell how useful qcad or other current Linux CAD programs are. It's a long time ago since I used CAD software.

[1] MATLAB - Requirements
[2] http://forum.notebookreview.com/linux-compatibility-software/533639-cad-software-linux.html

 

Interesting....
Is that 7.11 version the same as R2010/R2009?
I know those CAD versions but never tried them out, plus there's also SolidWorks and Maya that are used a lot

 

According to Wikipedia it is 2010b:
MATLAB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edit:
This might be an interesting list for CAD on non-MS systems:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_CAD_software