I AM (TRYING) TO MIGRATE FROM Microsoft Windows and its applications to Linux Ubuntu.
I’ve been using LibreOffice — also available on Mac and Windows — or several months. It’s almost as functional as Microsoft Office and it has the same form, fit, and function as MS Office.
My #2 Son the computer guru, installed Ubuntu, a/k/a Ubu (“you-boo”) and everything was fine.
UNTIL
Until the Ubu software was updated.
Suddenly I lost Internet connectivity — the modem/router and HP laptop wi-fi connection was lost, gone, AWOL.
This is not the first time a Ubu update has done”mean and nasty” things to the system.
Several years ago I installed Ubu — it came complete on a CD so even I could install it — and it was fine until The Dreaded Update was downloaded — good bye Ubuntu.
- Then, as now, Ubu was loaded alongside MS Windows; life went on.
Most Microsoft Windows applications and utilities play together nicely and most share a lot of “across-the-board” commonality.
Lots of Linux applications and utilities play together nicely, and many share an “across-the-board” commonality
Still, since Linux software is generally free (donations graciously accepted), the Linux “environment” is less controlled than either Microsoft or Mac environments (operating systems).
Which may explain why when “Application 1001” was updated to “1001-a” there was an unforeseen impact on my wi-fi connectivity.
Shift + number key
I am “blessed” with a number pad on both the computer’s keyboard and in an external keyboard. Because I am NOT an accountant or number cruncher, the number pad’s are most often used to move the cursor: 4 = left arrow, 8 = up arrow, 6=right arrow, and 2 = down arrow. A, 7, 3, and 9 also have move functions.
With MS Office, pressing the Shift key and one of the number pad keys extends a block of text (or whatever).
I
Not so with Ubu. Press Shift and a number pad key and the digit appears.
After years of Shift+number key with MS Office, it is a hard habit to beat. Shift+non-number pad keys, e.g., Shift+Home blocks everything from the cursor to the beginning of the line. Not a problem for a number cruncher who only uses the number pad for calculations, but for me . . . a habit to break.
Many of Ubu’s shortcut keys are the same as MS’ shortcut keys. Ctrl-S=Save; F1=Help , F7=Spell check to name a few.
There are a few things LibreOffice does that MS Office cannot.
LibreOffice can open and save in MS Office format as well as several others. MS Office can neither save in LibreOffice’s “od*” formats nor open an od* file.
There are some things that seem to simply work better with MS. Creating a PDF fillable form is easier (for me, at any rate) using Cute PDF than LibreOffice’s Draw.
The more I use and “poke around” the applications available on Linux, the more I find things that compare favorably with MS Office products.
- I was bemoaning the loss of MS Office Picture Manager until I “discovered” Shotwell, a pleasant surprise.
Linux lacks FrameMaker — actually, FrameMaker lacks Linux — and while it offers page composition applications, I have (so far) seen nothing to compare to FrameMaker or Ventura (before Corel) or even the late and unlamented Interleaf. Neither Word nor LibreWriter is made for long, multi-chapter, highly indexed manuals with graphics and tables. It can be done — I know masochists who did it — but dedicated page composition software does it better, faster, and with less user aggravation.
No, Virginia, Linux is not exactly like Microsoft (or Mac), but with a little patience and being prepared for the occasional upgrade glitch — blowing away the wi-fi connectivity — it is a legitimate option to Microsoft.
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