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Getting Stuff Done on Linux

makeuseof.com — One thing you hear often about Linux is that there’s no software for it. This is simply not true. There may not be much proprietary software for it, but there is some, and there are plenty of free alternatives to what most offices use every day.

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 16, 2008

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  • shanesemler, on 03/16/2008, -3/+56This article is slightly inaccurate. It is correct that Gimp doesn't have CMYK support, however, you can install the Seperate+ plugin which works far better than Krita's built-in CMYK functions. The combination of the Gimp, Inkscape and Scribus (it has perfect pdf output) has worked VERY well for me for DTP. Adobe would have been a massive waste of money for my business.
  • crownedgriffin, on 03/16/2008, -6/+56I love Linux and all, but seriously... Can we stop submitting Windows X = Linux Y stories every week? I'm pretty sure most everyone here already knows what OOo and Gimp are.
  • doctordbx, on 03/16/2008, -0/+28Probably one of the worst "Linux alternatives to Windows Software" I've ever seen.
    Linux has applications - we get it.
  • capiCrimm, on 03/16/2008, -0/+27I was expecting something interesting, and all this was was a very short list of extremely common open source programs, most were even cross platform.

    I'm all pro-oss but how is this front page material?
  • rolf, on 03/16/2008, -4/+22I often find most Linux distros more capable out of the box than any Microsoft release to date. And software? It's got plent of that and often much better than the MS counterpart. For example K3b > Nero, no contest. On the plus side, it's also not bloatware, nor tries to sell you anything.

    There are some niches unfilled though where it would be nice if some of the big name companies migrated software to it -- like Quickbooks and Photoshop. Although I'm hoping some type of free alternative like Gimp really truly starts maturing into a competitive alternative.
  • argylesocks, on 03/16/2008, -4/+22Krita is my graphics editing program of choice. Great features and great UI.
  • inactive, on 03/16/2008, -3/+15The title of this article and others like it lead to the conception that it is inherently hard to get anything "done" in Linux by a routine end user. While the author thinks he's helping convince people to adopt the platform, he's not. I have a 4-year old who logs in to Ubuntu every day, clicks on the icons and goes about his business.
  • melat0nin, on 03/16/2008, -3/+14The only way I can get online after a reinstall of Windows is by using my motherboard's CD which includes drivers for my chipset and NIC. If I lost the CD (or hadn't downloaded the drivers before reinstalling, which I usually do) I would be in precisely the position you are describing.

    In fact, Ubuntu (7.10 this time) included drivers for my NIC from the start, so I was online immediately.

    Now I realise this is just *my* story and to defend the whole thing on such subjective grounds is irrational, but the point I'm making is that mileage varies with both operating systems depending on your setup. I think the reason Linux is often so scary to people is because they have never had to install Windows -- they bought their machine with it preinstalled. If they reinstalled and went through the rigmarole required for a Windows installation (which I quite enjoy having done it probably hundreds of times :)) then I suspect the Linux equivalent might be a lot less daunting, and indeed, in many cases easier -- like my experience has been.
  • Phocion55, on 03/16/2008, -1/+12This is where I tell you that you're wrong and prove it with my own opinion.
  • Philluminati, on 03/16/2008, -3/+13Linux isn't overhyped. You can't complain about being dugg down if you make a generic statement like "it's unfriendly" and without backing it up with fact or atleast your personal experience.

    Notice that your second post where you specifically go into detail about your issues gets more diggs. It proves you've tried it and your opinion isn't based purely on stereotypes.

    Now I'm going to digg you down because of your statement "Linux users hate those who cannot cope with the complexity of Linux" because I think your propagating yet another stereotype.
  • BigglesPiP, on 03/16/2008, -1/+11Is any of this new?
  • inactive, on 03/16/2008, -2/+12Actually there are a few things that are easier and more reliable in Ubuntu than Windows.
  • QaSpel, on 03/16/2008, -0/+10I think if you search hard enough, there is a web browser for Linux too!!!
  • tuxerware, on 03/16/2008, -5/+15Please give a example on what "do something trivial" means! It's obvious that you've never used Ubuntu, so perhaps you should try it before you criticize it.
  • EvilMoose, on 03/16/2008, -1/+10This article was a complete waste of time and bandwidth.
  • TheMu, on 03/16/2008, -2/+10If I ever heard someone say there is no software for Linux, I would slap them. Hard.
  • doolittle, on 03/16/2008, -1/+9I also have been let down by windows with no graphics and no network support on a fresh install, on more than one occasion it involved booting off linux (knoppix), downloading the said drivers and burn to CD with K3B. Once I did that, the windows install was back up and running after installing the drives which were previously inaccessible without another pc or booting into another os.
  • bowens44, on 03/16/2008, -5/+13If you think Linux is complex, try windows. Your problem is that you want everything handed to you. Learning linux is no more difficult then learning windows. You';re just lazy.
  • hiikeeba, on 03/16/2008, -3/+9I really enjoy using Ubuntu. It's much faster than Windows.
  • shakin, on 03/16/2008, -2/+8I have found Krita's resampling (resizing an image) to be very poor. You can select different algorithms, but none do it as well as Gimp. Actually, I think Gimp does it better than Photoshop sometimes.
  • DarkDx, on 03/16/2008, -1/+7You're full of FUD. Also... Wn2K source code? lol
  • Phocion55, on 03/16/2008, -2/+8Ahhh so since he doesn't have to tweak some imaginary configuration files that don't exist, it frees up his time for more trolling and general Digg douchbaggery? I get it. Time well spent.
  • Philluminati, on 03/16/2008, -1/+7I found this really uninformative and incomplete. To get stuff done you need much more than Open Office writer and some drawing app
  • Dojjah, on 03/16/2008, -1/+6I don't know what version of Linux you are running but my copy of Ubuntu was mailed to me on ONE CD. I had to download nothing (but updates) and they mailed me it for free. Who gives a damn about support for windows apps, you use Linux to get away from all that is Windows.
  • Phocion55, on 03/16/2008, -1/+6This is awesome. Please digg this guy up. He just validated every stereotype I've ever had of a mindless MS fanboy.
  • gnoshme, on 03/16/2008, -1/+6xaralx is also awesome
  • Icecream, on 03/16/2008, -1/+6What a completely underwhelming article
  • nixfu, on 03/16/2008, -2/+7Correction....let the "reporting your account for abuse" begin.
  • usingpond, on 03/16/2008, -4/+9One thing Linux users aren't "getting done":

    Getting laid.
  • Phocion55, on 03/16/2008, -3/+8Funny how you say that, yet have enough time to waste trolling Linux threads.
  • JedicodeWarrior, on 03/16/2008, -0/+5Ever notice how these advocates seem to evangelize the same two apps, Gimp and OpenOffice?
  • doolittle, on 03/16/2008, -1/+6Kudos for trying it, I doubt you are being dugg down by "Linux users hate those who cannot cope with the complexity of Linux" it is because there are many situations where it works without issue and you did not give any detail.

    I felt the same way you did when windows 3.0 was released, you were forced to buy a 386 or better and have at least 4mb or better ram, I was just happy with my 286 & 1mb extended memory card running QEMM/ Desqview because it was better at multitasking my dos apps. No doubt I will be dugg down by users who have no idea what QEMM/ Desqview was let alone the fact you can multitask dos apps.
  • HonoredMule, on 03/16/2008, -1/+5A programmer who doesn't understand basic file permissions.

    I hope your work is closely supervised by someone with a clue about security. The rest of us Linux users will rest easy knowing our OS won't see a brand new mass of data and say "Hey, I know, let's EXECUTE that and see what we contract!" (just like a virus laden Windows machine). And if we like to be spoon-fed, we'll use Ubuntu instead of crappy Fedora, which will ask us whether we want to view or execute arbitrary code in random files.

    Fedora isn't for your mom.
  • PhailQuail, on 03/16/2008, -2/+6How come my Wi-Fi card doesn't work under Windows yet it works perfectly under Ubuntu?(and yes I installed the drivers on Windows)
  • homosaur, on 03/16/2008, -2/+6I'm sure there are plenty of charlitans out there still trying to sell Linux as a granny platform, but I also think your judgement of Linux as a "work" platform is mostly inappropriate to the notion of "casual user." In a commercial setting, these users are anything but casual and in general I as an IT manager am thrilled that you don't know how to get into the guts of the system and muck about with the system. Linux will succeed on the enterprise desktop long before the home desktop.

    And despite you having high expectations, that's your fault, not Ubuntu's. People are fans of Ubuntu because it is insanely easy to operate for a Linux system once you get it up and running. This doesn't mean that every single piece of even fairly common hardware is going to be supported. You might have more luck with OpenSUSE on that front, which I have found to have far superior driver support. Or Linux Mint, which is an Ubuntu based distro with a ton of commercial drivers and the like built in.
  • arma, on 03/16/2008, -0/+4Linux open-source software is still not as powerful as Adobe and MS Office applications, you can get stuff done on Linux, just takes extra time, well I guess if you get paid hourly thats beneficial for you.
  • PhailQuail, on 03/16/2008, -1/+5Internet has always worked in Ubuntu for me since version 6.04 automatically. Which is something Windows has actually failed to do on a couple of occasions (Wi-Fi doesn't work on my Laptop under Windows - hows that for irony).
  • int19h, on 03/16/2008, -1/+5With Linux, I don't have to reinstall the OS regularly, I can usually just upgrade it. This saves me time. And, with a Windows-reinstall, finding drivers and applications takes many hours of websurfing and downloading. This is done in one operation in Linux, just check the boxes and click apply or type a single command. And I can tune how windows and hotkeys work, which has saved me a lot of time over several years. And I never really have to reboot, even though I do that some times. Linux respects my time more than Windows, at least. With OS X, I think it's about equal since it's such a polished cathedral.
  • troopa, on 03/16/2008, -1/+5There is no software for Linux.
  • STKD, on 03/16/2008, -5/+9I can has moar Linux spam on digg nao plz?
  • cmost, on 03/16/2008, -1/+5There should be a law against useless blogs. This article commented on a few basic programs that are already considered common knowledge to anyone using Linux or open source. Marked as extremely lame!
  • zmigliozzi, on 03/16/2008, -0/+4A guide for using linux, touches briefly on open office and gimp and thats it? A little more content would be nice.
  • JQP123, on 03/16/2008, -1/+5"I'm all pro-oss but how is this front page material?"

    It's not. It's not good marketing, it doesn't help promote anything ... it's mostly just an annoyance. But try explaining this to OSS fans who can't spell marketing.
  • inactive, on 03/16/2008, -0/+4Sad thing is these arnt even my two favorite softwares for linux...
  • inactive, on 03/16/2008, -1/+5I dont constantly edit files in vi to get stuff to work... linux has been my primary os for years.
  • init100, on 03/16/2008, -0/+4"Linux has no real support for windows apps"

    Just like Windows has no support for Linux applications, Windows has no support for Mac applications, Mac has no support for Windows applications, etc, etc. Applications made for one operating system usually does not work in another, barring compatibility layers such as Wine.
  • santaliqueur, on 03/16/2008, -2/+5Isn't it funny how most websites use a "toy" to power themselves? Google, Amazon, how do they do it? Maybe they know more than you.
  • LittleLORDevil, on 03/16/2008, -1/+4So I love linux and all as much as the next guy. But seriously... how many of the articles do we need?
  • grimward, on 03/16/2008, -1/+4I don't get this mentality either "my granny/dog/dad/microbe/toaster can use [insert linux dist here]" well, if they installed the OS themselves, WITHOUT CONSTANT TECH SUPPORT FROM YOU, I'd believe it. If not, STFU and stop pretending like your preparations didn't matter, because they DID!
  • se1zure, on 03/16/2008, -1/+4I like photoshop more primarily because of the interface, and hotkeys. It is easier to learn, not only because of the better layout, but because there are more resources available to beginners. Photoshop is more universal.
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