Miscellaneous > Applications
DAMN NON-MS APPLICATIONS!!
voidmain:
quote:Originally posted by spinningheel4242:
Please, don't get me wrong, I think this fuckmicrosoft movement is great...or I wouldn't be here....it is just that I haven't seen the light yet.
I want to use Linux but so many sites/applications/games/ don't support it
I want to use non-MS word processors but they don't have the full functionality that MS does
I want to use non-MS but the reality is, the alternatives are just not ready yet....
Spin
--- End quote ---
There are a lot of people like you. If you and people like you were all to fire off a message to each of the vendors who write the software that you like (web masters, application companies, game companies, etc) with the above quote maybe we'll see some progress in some applications moving over to the good side. Just curious, is RedHat 8.0 one of the distributions that you tried?
spinningheel4242:
Ok, a reply
I did install Redhat 8 and nothing but problems. It wouldn't recognize my soundcard so, no sound. It also messed up my partitioning and poof went my data on the other partitions.
I was using Desktop LX for a while (a few weeks) and it seemed pretty good. I did have sound with this distro but it couldn't play movie clips (avi, mpg).
As a long time windows users, I am use to things being like windows. But, I also don't mind experimenting with other apps, os's to see if they are better/easier.
But my main complaint, again, is that the linux distro's that I have tried don't totally encompass the everyday functionality that I used to. I want to be able to listen to music (mp3, cd's, ogg etc), watch movies (dvd's, mpg, avi's etc), write emails, surf the net, burn cd's, fix my webpage using a wysiwyg editor, video edit, and play games.
Now, the linux distro's that I have tried (desktop Lx being the most successful) I have been able to surf the net, write emails, and listen to music like normal...but that is where the similarities stop. I couldn't get the CD burner to work, couldn't find a good/comparable html editor like dreamweaver, couldn't watch videos/movies, couldn't play my games, couldn't video edit etc etc.
I would love to have a linux distro that could do the everyday stuff and then switch back to windows if I need to play a game. Maybe I haven't found a good linux distro yet, I just don't know.
Also, everytime I try to set up my partitions for a linux distro, something goes wrong. I use partition magic 8, create a new partition for an OS but something goes wrong. Also, when I delete the linux distro, it doesn't get rid of grub...that bugs me cuz I have to reformat and reinstall (8 times last month!!)
On to a wordprocessor. I have used them all and I did like Corel 7 and 8. But the newer versions constantly crash etc (on my computer). MS Word just doesn't crash like Corel; therefore, my work isn't lost. I also write research papers using footnotes/endnotes; create tables for data; create worksheets for teaching; and use graphics in my writings. I have tried OpenOffice but it just doesn't include all of the tools I commonly use or, if it does, they don't work the same and there is formating errors etc.
I do use Mozilla as my default browser though. It is fast, powerful, and full of features. I do use MS for certain sites (CIBC and the Zone) because they don't work with Mozilla...yet. Some features with Mozilla that I would like to see though, that are on MS, are autocomplete. For example, if you search in google for a variety of things, you can click the search box and a list of your typed searches appears...I like having that!!
Ok, I guess that is enough of a rant for now. I hope you guys comment on this and offer some solid and proven remarks/suggestions.
Spin
voidmain:
quote:Originally posted by spinningheel4242:
I did install Redhat 8 and nothing but problems. It wouldn't recognize my soundcard so, no sound. It also messed up my partitioning and poof went my data on the other partitions.
--- End quote ---
I have never had these problems, but then I buy my hardware with Linux in mind. I have never had partitioning problems. I'm not sure what you could have done to lose your other partitions unless you didn't read the directions.
quote:
I was using Desktop LX for a while (a few weeks) and it seemed pretty good. I did have sound with this distro but it couldn't play movie clips (avi, mpg).
--- End quote ---
As far as multimedia goes, I have *far* better results in Linux than I have with any Windows apps. The multimedia apps may not come with your distro but they are easily downloaded/installed.
quote:
As a long time windows users, I am use to things being like windows. But, I also don't mind experimenting with other apps, os's to see if they are better/easier.
--- End quote ---
That's the key. How many hours of time do you have in Windows (all versions combined) vs how many hours have you put into learning Linux? They are not the same thing. They work different. Once you learn Linux I think you will see how much more power you have at your fingertips. It's not something that you can see immediately without putting forth a certain amount of effort.
quote:
But my main complaint, again, is that the linux distro's that I have tried don't totally encompass the everyday functionality that I used to. I want to be able to listen to music (mp3, cd's, ogg etc), watch movies (dvd's, mpg, avi's etc), write emails, surf the net, burn cd's, fix my webpage using a wysiwyg editor, video edit, and play games.
--- End quote ---
You can do *all* of those things on Linux very easily (and I do). I used "kino" for capturing and editing video over firewire from my Sony digital video camera. I had DV Studio for Windows but I actually like kino a lot better. And I can create any video format I want with the wide variety of video/audio conversion utilities that exist. Maybe you should check out the "vcd" thread in the "Ask a Hacker/Coder" forum.
quote:
Now, the linux distro's that I have tried (desktop Lx being the most successful) I have been able to surf the net, write emails, and listen to music like normal...but that is where the similarities stop. I couldn't get the CD burner to work, couldn't find a good/comparable html editor like dreamweaver, couldn't watch videos/movies, couldn't play my games, couldn't video edit etc etc.
--- End quote ---
Like I said, I have no problem doing *any* of this. CD burning in Linux works *much* better than it does in Windows. In fact I even have a P100 machine that I can burn CDs on and use it for other work. In Windows a machine of that class would just lock up if you tried to burn a CD and do something else. I use Xine or Ogle for DVD/VCDs. MPlayer for all video formats (it can play everything Windows can play and lots more because it can even use Windows codecs). I personally hate WYSIWYG editors but there is a good one for Linux much like FrontPage called Quantu Plus. There are countless apps like xmms for playing audio (mp3, ogg, etc). xmms is a skinable player very very much like winamp.
quote:
I would love to have a linux distro that could do the everyday stuff and then switch back to windows if I need to play a game. Maybe I haven't found a good linux distro yet, I just don't know.
--- End quote ---
I think RedHat 8.0 is very good for a person such as yourself. And there are some games that work great in Linux. The idSoftware games (Quake, RCW, Doom, etc) have native Linux ports. Unreal Tournament has a Linux port. Some other Windows games work well under Wine/WineX. But I will not argue with you on this one, games selection is not good for Linux (good thing I don't care about games). It would be nice if people like you send a nice email to your favorite game vendors and ask them to someday think about porting to Linux so you have a choice. The more requests they get the more likely they will be to port.
quote:
Also, everytime I try to set up my partitions for a linux distro, something goes wrong. I use partition magic 8, create a new partition for an OS but something goes wrong. Also, when I delete the linux distro, it doesn't get rid of grub...that bugs me cuz I have to reformat and reinstall (8 times last month!!)
--- End quote ---
You don't have to reformat to get rid of GRUB or LILO from your MBR. The easiest way for you is to have a DOS or Windows bootable floppy handy with a copy of FDISK.EXE on it. Boot it and type "FDISK /MBR". Problem solved.
quote:
On to a wordprocessor. I have used them all and I did like Corel 7 and 8. But the newer versions constantly crash etc (on my computer). MS Word just doesn't crash like Corel; therefore, my work isn't lost. I also write research papers using footnotes/endnotes; create tables for data; create worksheets for teaching; and use graphics in my writings. I have tried OpenOffice but it just doesn't include all of the tools I commonly use or, if it does, they don't work the same and there is formating errors etc.
--- End quote ---
I have never had a problem with OpenOffice, nor has my duaghter who is a freshman in high school and uses it for all of her school work. By formatting errors, I will assume that you mean formatting errors when opening a Microsoft formatted document. If so, try opening a Native OpenOffice file in Microsoft Office and see how good it looks (you won't be able to even open it).
quote:
I do use Mozilla as my default browser though. It is fast, powerful, and full of features. I do use MS for certain sites (CIBC and the Zone) because they don't work with Mozilla...yet. Some features with Mozilla that I would like to see though, that are on MS, are autocomplete. For example, if you search in google for a variety of things, you can click the search box and a list of your typed searches appears...I like having that!!
--- End quote ---
Send your feature requests to the Mozilla programming team, they will add them for you.
quote:
Ok, I guess that is enough of a rant for now. I hope you guys comment on this and offer some solid and proven remarks/suggestions.
--- End quote ---
I don't recall *ever* hearing you ask for help here on any of the issues you brought up in this message. If you would like to try again, but ask for help this time, most of us will try very hard to solve any of your issues. But if you have your mind already made up then there's not much point now is there?
[ November 01, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]
Calum:
spinningheel, you have a closed mind, i think, from your comments, you need to embrace the concept of open source software. Here, if you ask for help, you will get it (in general, not specific to this site).
Also, linux IS totally different to windows. don't be fooled by interfaces that try to trick you into thinking it is similar to windows. I was as frustrated as you are with my buggy laptop with red hat 7.0 on it to start with, but i have persevered, as i had to do with windows the year before, and now that i know how to use both OSs, i prefer linux by a long shot for far too many reasons to list.
Invest and you will get returns, ask and you shall be answered.
spinningheel4242:
Ok, I need to respond to this one. I really don't think I am close minded. If I was, I would never know this site existed...
Also, I am not asking direct questions but I am...I am explaining problems I am finding with non-MS apps and hoping that someone will offer suggestions and/or alternatives.
Personally, I won't be giving up windoze because of my games and other related junk. But, I do want to find a suitable, everyday replacement for web browsing, word processing, etc...
As being a newbie, I need help with what linux distro would be the best and easiest to set up. Also, I will probably get help on how to fix any problems that crop up with a new linux install.
I have resigned to the fact that my hundreds of older MS Word documents need MS Word to properly display them. But, all of my new documents are going to be OpenOffice or some alternative....the only problem is trying to convert the wife :(
I would also appreciate anyone that can direct me to a thread/site that can easily and susinctly partition my harddrive, using partition magic 8.
Also, some previous posts commented that linux had better video editing and cd burning software than windoze....please tell me what distro you were running because Lycoris's Desktop/LX wasn't a success.
So, thanks for all of the input and hope to hear back soon.
Spin
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