Help for Linux . . . please

[DMcFadden]

OK, so now I am feeling the need to economize and the desire to escape Planet Bill Gates. My desktop and laptop are Intel processors (i3 and i5).

Please advise on the best . . .

* Free OS (that is not too techno savvy dependent)
* Free Office (must be able to handle wide variety of video clip formats in its "Powerpoint")
* Free utilities
* Free substitute for Kindle for PC
* Any ideas on Bible software??? I have Logos, Wordsearch, etc. for the Microsoft environment now. Can any of these run in a free OS (by emulation or something like that???)

 

[Semper Fidelis]

*Ubuntu is really easy to install.
*Libre Office.
*You can find a ton of utilities in the store app once Ubuntu is installed
*http://ariaprime.com/blog/linux-and-technology/kindle-linux-read-kindle-books-linux-system/258/
*I don't think you'll be able to run Logos on Linux (https://community.logos.com/forums/t/121.aspx?PageIndex=18)

 

[Jake]

Regarding OS: Ubuntu is one of the most widely used and it has a lot of software available and easy to install, including making it easy for third parties to distribute software. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu and has more drivers and such available out of the box and its interface will be a bit easier to adjust to than Ubuntu's. My wife uses it on her laptop and it installed without issue with drivers (Thinkpad X220 Tablet) and she has had no problems using it, having never used Linux before. http://www.linuxmint.com/

Regarding office suites: most more user friendly Linux distros ship with LibreOffice. OpenOffice is NOT recommended anymore as it is barely being updated. LibreOffice is good, but I've found SoftMaker to be more feature complete, stable, and have better compatibility with Microsoft Office. It has a pay version, or you can get an older version for free. Paid: http://www.softmaker.com/en/softmaker-office-linux Free: http://www.freeoffice.com/en/

There is also WPS Office, which is from China if you trust them. Their interface is more similar to Office 2007 and up. It's not as stable yet, but it's getting there: http://wps.com/linux/

Also, Microsoft Office in the browser is actually really good these days.

Free utilities: There are software repositories on most Linux distros you can browse with lots of free software. If you can specify what you need, I might can give other suggestions.

Kindle PC replacement: Calibre is the swiss army knife of ebook software. It can read about anything, convert it, manage your library, and communicate with lots of different eBook readers. I have the original nook and manage it with this software. http://calibre-ebook.com/

Bible software will likely be the trickiest. The main thing you'll find is the SWORD project on Linux (which is separate from eSWORD on Windows, I believe). There are several different interfaces for SWORD. It has a lot of modules, but it's easier to find older, public domain ones. Xiphos is one of the more popular programs: http://xiphos.org/ I've also used BibleTime. I have never bought a Bible program and don't use them all that much, so others can hopefully chime in better than I can.

Also, there is a program that you can use to install Windows software on Linux without loading up Windows. It isn't quite emulation: it's more like re-implementing parts of Windows, so the applications run natively. CrossOver is a way to do this if you buy it. It can run versions of Office 2010 and older reliably, if you've already bought them. It may also be able to run some Bible software you already have. You can check their database. https://www.codeweavers.com/

There is also a free version that CrossOver is based on, but be warned it can take a lot of tinkering. Codeweavers has taken a lot of the hard work out of it. https://www.winehq.org/

 

[Logan]

Another recommendation for Linux Mint, you should feel comfortable right away with the interface, whereas vanilla Ubuntu's interface can be a bit confusing and unhelpful in my opinion. I was going to recommend LibreOffice for documents/spreadheets/presentations as well, and Calibre for Kindle solutions, but I'm late to the party

Ubuntu-based distributions are nice for another feature: they basically have an "app store" where things can be installed painlessly and seamlessly. You can find lots of free programs and utilities there.

Logos is going to be the hard one to implement. In addition to the suggestions Jake made, one other solution would be to leave a Windows install on the computer and do a dual-boot. I used to have to do this for a couple of programs but over time the need for them went away. The Sword project is a decent alternative, though it isn't as polished in some ways as eSword (they are two different programs). However, I have seen some Logos modules that have been converted to Sword modules, so perhaps there is a way, I haven't looked into it.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

As for Logos, consider Logos Now, which gives you early access to their Logos Web App environment--think www.biblia.com on steriods from what I understand:

"Get exclusive access to the beta version of the Logos Web App! We’re hard at work bringing the power of the desktop to the web. The Logos Web Appalready features powerful features like the Passage Guide and Exegetical Guide, and tools like the Factbook and Atlas, right in your browser."https://www.logos.com/now

 

[Jake]

You can also do some testing. Once you get Linux distros like Ubuntu or Linux Mint onto disks, you can load them and run them from the disk without installing. They might be a little slower depending on what kind of disk, etc. but can give an idea.

Also, programs like LibreOffice and Calibre are cross platform and can be run from Windows to see if they're suitable for you beforehand.

 

[Edward]

Mint seems to be the leading candidate these days.

The page for each major distro on Distrowatch http://distrowatch.com/ shows the major packages that come with each. (Look on the right side of the page for the most looked at distros, and click on them. ) Scroll down that page, and there is a table at the bottom showing what office productivity software is included and the browsers and mail clients. Mint here: http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mint

Set up your machine to boot first from CD (if you have a CD drive), burn the ISO to CD, put it in the drive and reboot (sorry if you know all of this and I am talking down to you) to test drive before you decide to install. Or set up a partition on your hard drive, and run your machine dual boot. (Or add another hard drive, and set it for first boot).

If you have really old hardware, some of the distros with fewer features can be useful.

 

[DMcFadden]

I put Mint on my wife's laptop and it gave me an option to install for dual boot. But, when I tried to install it on my laptop, it only gave me the option of erasing the hard drive, encrypting, or doing something else. Any suggestions?

 

[Edward]

Any suggestions?

Sorry, I've just started playing with Linux again after more than half a decade gap. And it's been longer than that since I've partitioned a drive. Hopefully someone else could help.

 

[Logan]

How much space does your laptop have left?

 

[Tirian]

I put Mint on my wife's laptop and it gave me an option to install for dual boot. But, when I tried to install it on my laptop, it only gave me the option of erasing the hard drive, encrypting, or doing something else. Any suggestions?

I use Mint for my development workstations. The one area that I find very annoying is that one part during setup where you have to select the boot drive setup - it is really unclear. I think that what might be happening here is that you dont have a spare partition for it to install into so your only choice is to format. One scary option is to boot into linux mint Live CD and use a partition tool to try to create a partition from unused space. This is quite dangerous if you aren't really familiar with disk partitioning and you could lose all your data if you are not careful.

What I have been doing recently with laptops is to buy an SSD drive (for about $AUD120) and install that as a second disk (assuming there is room for it inside the case). This let's me install Mint onto a really FAST hard drive while preserving my other disk purely for Windows.

Because SSD's are fast it has breathed life into older machines that I might otherwise have abandoned.

Running Logos will always tie you to Windows though. I tried to get it working under emulation but it took days of time and what was left of my sanity to no avail.

 

[DMcFadden]

I put Mint on my wife's laptop and it gave me an option to install for dual boot. But, when I tried to install it on my laptop, it only gave me the option of erasing the hard drive, encrypting, or doing something else. Any suggestions?

I use Mint for my development workstations. The one area that I find very annoying is that one part during setup where you have to select the boot drive setup - it is really unclear. I think that what might be happening here is that you dont have a spare partition for it to install into so your only choice is to format. One scary option is to boot into linux mint Live CD and use a partition tool to try to create a partition from unused space. This is quite dangerous if you aren't really familiar with disk partitioning and you could lose all your data if you are not careful.

What I have been doing recently with laptops is to buy an SSD drive (for about $AUD120) and install that as a second disk (assuming there is room for it inside the case). This let's me install Mint onto a really FAST hard drive while preserving my other disk purely for Windows.

Because SSD's are fast it has breathed life into older machines that I might otherwise have abandoned.

Running Logos will always tie you to Windows though. I tried to get it working under emulation but it took days of time and what was left of my sanity to no avail.

Logos is probably going to be the show stopper for me. [sigh]

I have too much invested in Logos to dispense with it. However, it might be an idea to leave Windows on my machines and go to Libre Office in place of Microsoft Office. It will still allow me to save in the Word format for passing to others.

 

[Tirian]

Logos is probably going to be the show stopper for me. [sigh]

I have too much invested in Logos to dispense with it.

A picked up a refurbished Mac Pro for around $AUD700 which runs Logos very well. The other thing I did was to move to Office365 - keeps me up date for around $9 a month though I don't know if that deal still exists.

I find with Libre/Open Office that it's ok generally but you have to be really committed to not go back to M$ Office!