Will linux defat or reduce Microsoft, if yes when.

[Xeen]

quote:Originally posted by DukePuke:
I just too familiar with office programs, and I dont know how I would write laboratory work with KEdit

What the fuck? I have no idea what KEdit is, but have you ever tried OpenOffice? I still use Windows but I've not been near MS Office for over a year now and couldn't be happier. The features of OpenOffice are fantastic, and I do papers, including science labs in it almost every day.

[flap]

If you're writing papers you should be using latex. In fact everyone should be using latex.

[Laukev7]

quote:Originally posted by flap:
If you're writing papers you should be using latex. In fact everyone should be using latex.

Ha ha. I like something that doesn't require a whole semester to learn, if that's alright with you.

[Unforgiven1]

open office is the best office program I've yet to see    easy and more complete than M$ office.

[insomnia]

quote:Originally posted by Unforgiven1:
open office is the best office program I've yet to see     easy and more complete than M$ office.

It's good for people who come from MS-Words.
...but it's also making the same mistakes...

[flap]

quote:Originally posted by Laukev7:


Ha ha. I like something that doesn't require a whole semester to learn, if that's alright with you.

It takes less time to learn basic latex than it does to make the nasty output from a word processor look presentable.

[Laukev7]

quote:Originally posted by flap:


It takes less time to learn basic latex than it does to make the nasty output from a word processor look presentable.

What's so great about Latex, anyway? I keep hearing that it's so much better than word processors. But I don't see how it can be better for average people who just want to type an essay with an intuitive interface in a limited amount of time without having to learn all kinds of bizarre commands.

I might try to learn it when I have time, but since I can hardly even meet my deadlines, it's not a option for me right now.

[flap]

The output is much better looking than anything you get from a word processor, though that isn't the reason I use it. For me the main advantage of using latex is that I can produce documents using only a text editor and a command line, and I can avoid the clunky point-and-click interface of a word processor. Actually that pretty much sums up generally the power of the Unix way of doing things.

For some more advantages, a quote from The Not So Short Introduction to Latex:

 

quote:

[Laukev7]

Quite frankly, I do find both M$ office and Openoffice (though Wordperfect is better) clunky for scientific work, especially formulae, or for any work, for that matter. The structure part sounds interesting (if there's anything I need, it would be structure!). I think I'll dive into it in my summer holiday.

[Refalm]

quote:Originally posted by Laukev7:
Quite frankly, I do find both M$ office and Openoffice (though Wordperfect is better) clunky for scientific work, especially formulae, or for any work, for that matter. The structure part sounds interesting (if there's anything I need, it would be structure!). I think I'll dive into it in my summer holiday.

Yes, but they're both made for accountants.
And, OpenOffice.org (please add .org, there's another OSS thing called Open Office) does the job better and for less money. Well, for home use anyway.
If you're looking for a cheap Office packet for your comany, I suggest StarOffice. It's got all the stuff a company needs, licensing, SLA, corparate support, etc.

[Laukev7]

I don't have a company (not yet, at least), I'm a science student who has to work with that bloody Excel crap to enter lab data and plot graphs. It's annoying as hell to squeeze all those long formulae in a single line with all the parentheses and slashes and stuff. And I have used StarOffice / OpenOffice.org, and I do find them more intuitive than M$ Orifice, if only slightly.