Bye Bye Windows!

[igor83]

Weigh the cost between buying Windows ($75/PC) and buying a new printer that has new features and is supported by Linux (Epson printers are probably a safe bet there). I would for sure buy a new printer if that is what it took to use Linux instead of Windows.

For me, the decision was a no-brainer. I have 3 desktops and 1 laptop. To put them to Windows 7 would cost $75 * 4 = $300, and I still wouldn't like the performance or customization options in the end. Even the latest Windows is still slow to boot. It requires an antivirus which must be configured, maintained and troubleshooted when it goes haywire, which in my experience is not all that uncommon. Windows remains vulnerable to malware and this is why no computer user should use it at home unless they absolutely have to in order to access a software program. Identity theft and loss of finances can be one result of choosing Windows. But most commonly, users fall into the cycle of buying Windows over and over in order to repair broken Windows. Some may argue they can get a free copy off Pirate Bay, but I wonder how many of those copies contain malware. There is no way anybody can say that those pirated copies are clean. They have no way of knowing and could never know unless they disassembled the binary code and studied it for the next twenty or thirty years, and even after all that time they might not know for sure. With state intelligence agencies now into the hacking game, all bets are off where viruses and malware are concerned. Windows is the #1 target all over the world, because everyone knows it has the most users and is the easiest to compromise and its user-base tends not to be very savvy on security issues.

Linux is great, because I do not have to spend any time out of my day worrying about antivirus. If I need to reinstall, I can, no problem, no need to call Microsoft on the telephone and wait on hold for thirty minutes and then beg the person on the other end to let me reinstall the operating system I already paid for. There are tons of options where customization is concerned. Don't like the way the desktop looks or acts? Fine, you can choose from Xfce, Mate, KDE, Unity, Gnome, LXDE, E17, and the list goes on and on. You download the CD or DVD or Flash Drive off the internet at any time of the day or night and install it whenever you feel like without entering a serial number or begging on your hands and knees to Microsoft. You can even choose from hundreds of distros, although my favorite has to be Linux Mint. I experiment with a lot of distros but always come back to Linux Mint in the end. I guess that means it is well-designed.

[teatime]

There are other advantages over Windows: I can have hardware longer in use as I do not depend anymore on driver politcs of a certain hardware vendor as long I use open source drivers and that's in my case one of the biggest advantages. How often happend it to somebody that the used hardware do not work anymore with a newer Windows as the hardware manufacture do not offer drivers for older hardware for a new Windows system. I have saved with Linux and open source in general some bucks and this bucks I donate to opensource projects which is in the longterm much better for me and the opensource ecosystem.

[igor83]

There are other advantages over Windows: I can have hardware longer in use as I do not depend anymore on driver politcs of a certain hardware vendor as long I use open source drivers and that's in my case one of the biggest advantages. How often happend it to somebody that the used hardware do not work anymore with a newer Windows as the hardware manufacture do not offer drivers for older hardware for a new Windows system. I have saved with Linux and open source in general some bucks and this bucks I donate to opensource projects which is in the longterm much better for me and the opensource ecosystem.

Good point there. I am typing this on an old laptop that would be slow as molasses on Windows 8 but is zippy and responsive on Linux Mint Xfce! I don't plan to buy any new computers either for quite some time to come.

[xfrank]

As to your main arguments for not completely erradicting Windows as of yet;

1 - Have you looked around to see if there's a repository that contains working drivers? My Canon printer doesn't work with available drivers. I have to download drivers that a benevolent developer decided to donate his time to tweaking to work in this environment. Scanning is still a bit if-fy but the wireless printing works good with the tweaked drivers. Have you tried doing a thorough search to see if others have the same printer & have gotten it working?

2 - LibreOffice can both open and save in .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, and all the other latest M$Office formats so that argument seems invalid.

1 - Yes I did, the problem is that the driver is only for 32bit, don't work for 64bit. I tried almost everything following advices in various forums, but nothing seems to work. The system recognizes the printer, but don't print.

2 - I like LibreOffice, it fulfills almost all my needs and I use it a lot. But as a professional writer, I have to check the final work before to send it to the editor. For some works I can convert the text to pdf and send it, or in some cases even send it in .odt. But generally, a book have to be sent in .docx. If i save in .docx from LibreOffice, I can't be sure of the exact formatting of the text, for example, notes or font sizes. Is true that the last version of LO are quickly approaching to a 99% conversion to word format.

In the end, dual booting for now is the safe solution.

[BlitheCalamity]

1 - Yes I did, the problem is that the driver is only for 32bit, don't work for 64bit. I tried almost everything following advices in various forums, but nothing seems to work. The system recognizes the printer, but don't print.

2 - I like LibreOffice, it fulfills almost all my needs and I use it a lot. But as a professional writer, I have to check the final work before to send it to the editor. For some works I can convert the text to pdf and send it, or in some cases even send it in .odt. But generally, a book have to be sent in .docx. If i save in .docx from LibreOffice, I can't be sure of the exact formatting of the text, for example, notes or font sizes. Is true that the last version of LO are quickly approaching to a 99% conversion to word format.

In the end, dual booting for now is the safe solution.

1 - I don't know how old your printer is, but if it's served you well for a number of years it may be time to put it out to pasture. The cost for devices have come way down in recent years.
2 - Try out Softmaker Office. The free version found on freeoffice.com will not save in .docx but will save in .doc, though it will open in all formats and is the best at preserving original formatting that I've encountered. The paid version (I believe it's on sale now for $19.99) will open and save in .docx. It's one of the best around. Try out the free version before you buy. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Don't totally give up on the idea of being able to no longer need Windows. It's a process that some of us undertake over time. I'm sure once you iron out the issues and make the leap you'll barely miss it.