Migration to Linux
A few weeks ago my trusted Acer Laptop died after 3 1/2 years faithful service. Whilst restoring data from backups to a new laptop I have decided to migrate to a linux based primary system (I will keep a windows laptop) I have tried to set a little challenge. Can I replace all my software with linux compatible open source software.
Step one was the operating system - no upgrade to vista for me. Having used linux a bit a few years ago I am quite used to a couple of the variations, but for my new setup I opted for UBUNTU basically as (I have been told) it is the easiest system to move to without being a linux / unix command line expert. I have done my fair share of unix stuff in the past, but frequent use of cheat sheets ment that I haven’t really scratched teh surface of what I can / should be doing with my own system.
Bye, bye to MS Office. I must admit I haven’t used MS office (regularly) for a number of years now. I have pushed for the almost completly compatible OpenOffice. What can I say. It works on windows as well as linux and does everything a full copy of MS office does and it is free. There is a wordprocessor, spreadsheet package, database, presentation suite, drawing package - what else does the average person need? All of these packages are compatible with microsoft file formats - input and output, though there are some quirk. The only thing missing really is MACRO compatibility with Microsoft, this is something I have found very useful in the past - indeed i wrote a datafeed website generator using just MS excel about 6 years ago now. Open Office has its own macro system - but it is not something I have gotten round to playing with yet.
Internet Explorer. - firefox plugs this gap nicely - and with most needed software packages this is pre installed with UBUNT. I stil l have a copy of IE on my windows laptop - good for bug spotting
Outlook, using Mozilla Thunderbird, good email client. As far as the calendar functions go I am experimenting with a couple of packages and may report back sometime.
MSN / LIVE messenger. Microsoft has not launched this on other OSs other than Windows. Thankfully there are a number of 3rd party messenger apps that will communicate with MSN. I am using pidgin simply as this is preinstalled with ubuntu. It will also work with a number of other messenger accounts including AIM Yahoo and ICQ. I had to download and install skype myself, thank god for ubuntu forums or I would have given up by now.
I must admit I havent found a good Dreamweaver replacement yet - again I am trialing a number of open source solutions.
One of the best things about UBUNTU is that there is a 1 click install of most of the major opensource projects that have been approved by UBUNTU.
- Any other UBUNTU users out there - any hints or tips, I am always ready to hear them.
