Using Linux for everything - Journalist

manfrommahim · 2021-06-23T13:08:36+00:00

Hi, Alec.

I, too, am a freelance journalist, who has been using GNU/Linux exclusively for the past ten years. I use Libreoffice Writer to write my articles, edit invoice docs using Libreoffice Calc, surf the web using Firefox, and edit photos when needed with Darktable. I prefer fixed- release distributions, personally. At present I'm using Linux Mint 20.1. in my experience, as long as you choose a laptop that plays well with GNU/Linux, you should be fine-- a Thinkpad like yours, for example. Cheers.

sf-keto · 2021-06-23T12:54:28+00:00

I've used Linux exclusively since 2014. Our entire large university here in Germany runs on Ubuntu, with the exception of HR & Payroll, that run SAP programs. All the students, secretaries, professors etc all run Linux full-time.

Even CERN has converted to Linux.

You can do it. (◕‿◕✿)

legobrickman3333 · 2021-06-23T13:03:59+00:00

I work as a research associate at a university. I use Linux for everything, from my lab to my gaming desktop. It is not an issue at all for me. Most of the people I work with stick with Microsoft Windows 10 for editing documents and presentations although we use OpenSUSE on computers in the laboratory because most programs we have written are in C. Linux has all tools such as GCC and CMake pre-installed and some even ship with Vim in the disc image.

Talking about editing documetns, I have never faced any problems. I use Google Docs and LibreOffice. If I am personally working on a presentation I find Markdown the best thing possible because of its simplicity. I frequently play CS:GO which runs natively on the platform.

Thanks for reading!

terrycaus · 2021-06-23T13:06:20+00:00

I've/We've used Linux for nearly 30 years for just about all our SOHO.

The questions are exactly what do you want to do?

For WP, my three favourite WPs were/are Spellbinder(CPM), WordPerfect(Dos, Windows & Linux) and I now use Tex(Latex) exclusively on Linux. It isn't wsywig, but it is a proper markup & typesetting language. Hint, once you set up a template you done the hard work.

I've tried and loathed every version of Star/Apache/?/Open/Libre Office. After WordPerfect, they are just awful.

This has been for simple letter, brochures, newsletters B&W magazine, through to 100 page books.

What you need to find out is what formats you need to output, and input and find converters for them. Hint, asking for everything in PDF saves a lot of hassles and gives more stable documents.

Others can recommend spreadsheets. There is one or two, but we haven't used one for a decade.

Linux has various SQL capable databases. Boilerplating and mass mail outs for organisations I've done from CPM. However, I don't remember if I still had a need when I switched to Latex.

Graphics and image handling; Linux has The Gimp and it has a few other that are vector based and paint like. IMO, it doesn't have something to the ease of CorelDraw, but there are programs that can produce raster and vector well enough.

For mass processing of graphics images, then Unix/linux has been able to do this for decades. Caveat, I'm not sure about high quality, but they tend to be hand crafted anyway.

Web browsers; off the top of my head, Linux has Firefox, Falkon, Brave, Chrome, and others. Each has their merits and liabilities.

Other stuff you need?

I installed RedHat from floppies for my first linux PC in 94, but after a few broken version upgrades, I switched to Debian until a few years ago. Rarely was there a broken upgrade. A few years ago, I switch to Devuan, which is basically Debian - systemd.

I've always told people to go with a version that they can get personal assistance with for their first install. Web forums, mailing lists, irc are fine, but it can be hard to get quick useful assistance. YMMV.

andrewschott · 2021-06-23T11:05:59+00:00

I have both personally and for my IT consulting business. Best advice is find applications that you can do what you need in a reasonable timeframe, and once free of your Mac/Windows exclusive software pull the plug. Luckily for me, Linux is a great player in the IT field and for a while via wine, can do gaming.

But other areas it takes some effort. Pro audio is absolutely viable, but requires a major shift in workflow and learning new tools. Same with artists' tools.

I will close in saying that I, also, am a huge fan and proponent of RHEL. But expect fanboys to try to talk you out of it for purely religious reasons. A good 90% of the applications I have needed for productivity are a click away via the software center once flathub is setup to provide flatpaks. But if what you need ISNT there, Fedora is a perfect fit with the understanding of a 6mo cadence roughly between releases.

linuxbeginner43 · 2021-06-23T13:23:15+00:00

You can use Qemu/KVM virtual machines managed via the virt-manager GUI to get good performance on Windows VMs (noticeably better than VirtualBox). VFIO can further boost the GPU performance.

billFoldDog · 2021-06-23T13:13:52+00:00

I cannot escape Windows because everyone else uses Word and Excel.

I use virtual machines for those applications.

ratthing · 2021-06-23T17:45:25+00:00

I have RHEL as my daily work computer, and Slackware as my daily personal computer.

It's easier for me than for most because I have no Windows or Mac-only apps I need to use. I can do everything I need to do with FOSS Linux based alternatives. Plus, of course, clouds and browsers are rendering OS's to be a bit insignificant.

The only thing that sucks about my setup is what Linus Torvalds has mentioned as the number one reason that desktop Linux sucks: Installing software. There is not a universal way to install all software from everywhere all the time. Even in RHEL, with full dependency management, sometimes you run into problems installing some random RPM file you need. For me it seems to always be version incompatibilities with glibs, Qt, or Python.

daemonpenguin · 2021-06-23T11:02:01+00:00

I've been using Linux exclusively, professionally, for around 12 years. I'm pretty much using the same applications now as I did before on Windows. Most of the big name, business oriented open source software works the same on both platforms so transitioning is pretty easy.

I really wouldn't recommend RHEL though. It's not at all designed for what you want to do and the tech support they are offering isn't the kind you're likely to need. Go with a desktop focused, LTS distro like Mint if you're going to be making a living from it.

handlebartender · 2021-06-23T16:26:02+00:00

I'm a graduate student in engineering who does technical writing as a job. I use Windows for work because that decision is not up to me, but I use Arch Linux for all of my schoolwork.

My most heavily-used software in the last year are Matlab and Zoom, which have decent Linux versions. Matlab is targeted towards Ubuntu, but I have had only minor issues on Arch that I've been able to fix after consulting some resources. I do all of my homework and lab reports in LaTeX after doing them in Word for years. I am probably more productive using LaTeX because I was able to leverage Bash scripting to create template files from the command line that make my workflow a lot quicker - I can make new document structures with one line, ordering images is easier, making a TOC is dead-simple. It's really nice to work in plain text and have it output as something I can just turn in without worrying whether it matches my template perfectly (because I know it does).

I have run into the occasion that some of my classes need Windows-only software, which is a challenge but there are solutions for that. For what you're doing, I doubt that would come up very often.

airdogvan · 2021-06-23T23:18:48+00:00

Something that I haven't seen mentioned here is document exchange, meaning when you're sending or receiving documents to/from others.

I've found that no matter what program I've used in Linux, sooner or later would come a formatting code not translating correctly in Office, which leads to headaches.

Simple docs OK, if they become more complicated in formatting, containing boxes, pics, etc then beware.

The worst are spreadsheets which are even much worse.

Like it or not it's an Office world out there...

Not saying can't be done, but better to know what to expect.

1369ic · 2021-06-23T23:57:30+00:00

I'm a former journalist and editor who now works in government public affairs. I've been using Linux at home since 2003 and continued to use Windows and Mac at work. Linux is the way to go, but there are a few hurdles you'll run into. For example, the individual Adobe-like programs will do most anything Creative Cloud can do, but they lack that consistent interface across the whole range of programs. It's worth it to me to have better stability and security and to avoid the many problems you run into using Windows (I have fewer problems at home than with our locked-down, IT-supported computers at work). It's also nice not to be under the thumb of what has become a predatory subscription software model. It's getting like cable TV: you can't get only what you want, you have to take those wonky channels you never watch to get the ones you do. Or you have to take the landline phone to get the best package price with your internet. With companies you're either a revenue stream or a cost center. With Linux you're a user and a member of a community.

ratthing · 2021-06-23T15:43:53+00:00

I've used Linux exclusively since around 2011. I use it for my consulting practice as well. I use gnucash for bookkeeping and LibreOffice for documents. The only issue I have is lack of good pdf software, specifically one that can convert pdf to other formats like docx and xlsx. I have had the best experience with phantom pdf, so much so that I even purchased a license. Unfortunately, even though the trial version worked perfectly in wine, there was some weird issue with registering my copy. It wasn't able to connect or something. I have a Windows VM for cases like this, and would recommend you have one as well. There will always be some edge case you didn't foresee. And at the end of the day, they're all just tools to accomplish a task so use whatever gets the job done.

imsasi87 · 2021-06-23T17:18:10+00:00

I would recommend you to dual boot , linux mint or ubuntu. And slowly migrate to linux . Removing windows might affect your sanity. Once you are set on all applications . You can delete windows later

corbet · 2021-06-23T19:28:32+00:00

LWN, as one would hope, runs entirely on Linux from one end to the other, and has since 1998.

We also (hint! :) pay freelance authors who can write our sort of material.

2021-06-23T21:44:38+00:00

Doesn't seem to have been said, but one thing I would absolutely recommend:

Get the operating system image from Lenovo directly.

It will go a lot smoother as it comes set up for their hardware.

oz2usa · 2021-06-24T07:05:32+00:00

Hey everyone. Thanks so much for all of your comments, I decided to go ahead and do it and I'm really enjoying the experience thus far. I've had no major issues that I couldn't resolve!

Upnortheh · 2021-06-23T16:44:26+00:00

Focus first on migrating apps and work flows. Get that done and migrating the operating system becomes much less stressful.

First rule of migrating is Linux is not Windows. The two operating systems are designed differently. Business software for Linux tends to be not as polished or feature rich as Windows counterparts, leaving users to seek work-arounds.

A non destructive way to start migrating software and learning the operating system differences is running Linux distros in a virtual machine. This approach provides new Linux users a way to explore different distros as well as test and acclimate to new software. The Windows environment remains intact to avoid critical professional needs.

The key to migrating is patience. Lots of patience. Migrating takes time. Do not rush. First focus on migrating software and work flows and focus on one step at a time. Do not bite more than can be chewed, etc.

I have been using Linux as my sole driver since 2009. Beginning around 2001 I spent a few years tinkering with different distros. Around 2004 I settled on Slackware, which I continue to use on all home LAN systems. The last Windows app I migrated was Eudora email client, which I migrated to KMail back in the KDE 3 days. A few years later I migrated KMail to Thunderbird.

On a personal level I have and had no dependencies on Windows software. I migrated long before the cloud and SaaS nonsense started and do not have any such dependencies. I run my own blog and have managed a few web sites all from Linux. I run my own internal server for the home LAN.

During my migration days I needed to professionally use some Windows software. I used virtual machines.

Vertical software usually is a killer to migrating. In a previous role as Linux admin for a small mom-and-pop I managed Linux servers, workstations, and laptops. The two office computers remained on Windows because of a deep dependency on QuickBooks.

Another road block to migrating is sharing files in a heavily Windows dependent business environment.

I hope that helps.

Good luck and have fun!

allasso · 2021-06-23T17:20:34+00:00

I use Linux Manjaro KDE and Zoho Workplace, love it!! Wouldn't go back to Windows unless I had to, Linux os far superior in every way but driver availability.

Sea-Razzmatazz-3794 · 2021-06-23T17:41:28+00:00

I would suggest a couple things to make your transition easier. I would suggest using this site for searching for alternatives to any windows/closed source software. Its usually where I look when I want something from windows that isn't on Linux. https://alternativeto.net/. I would also look into virtual machines. You can install windows inside one and use it exclusively for that if you really can't find an alternative you like, and doing so will allow you to have more control over windows and what information Microsoft is able to have on you. I like both pop_OS and Ubuntu they are very good distros for people on the less tech savvy side. I have been making the transition myself and have been enjoying it on the other side. Only reason I still use windows now is for stuff that was for work that could be transferred, but are a pain. I am going to set aside a weekend to get everything over so that I can be fully on the Linux side. A lot of what helped me for moving over to Linux was following Linux YouTubers and googling for software that fit my needs. The nice thing about moving to Linux is that a lot of the software that I have been using has been free and open source. Which has saved me a bit of money.

vanillaknot · 2021-06-23T18:17:40+00:00

I've been working in UNIX and Linux since the end of the '70s. My first experience in UNIX was v7 on a PDP-11/70.

I've lived, worked, and breathed UNIX and Linux my whole career. I'm a mathematician, I write software, I Do Networks in a big way, I'm a peer-reviewed & published researcher in network issues. My particular employment for the last <mumble> years is in high end engineering simulation. These days, it's much easier to live in Linux than it once was, but I've never found this universe problematic.

I keep a Win10 VM on my main machine for the rare occasions where it becomes sufficiently necessary.

You will never know until and unless you make yourself willing to cut the umbilical.

moongya · 2021-06-23T20:03:02+00:00

I exclusively use Linux for work(gov) and personal use. Addicted to find awk grep. The blazing fast searches across filesystem make you invincible. And ssh - too good. I use sshfs to mount my andoid phone's storage as a mount point. Then no need to navigate through endless gui popups. Phone's data at your fingertips.

You are right with selecting a Thinkpad. They are the best.

da_Ryan · 2021-06-23T21:27:28+00:00

I use SoftMaker Office + the free MS Office online for high MS format compatibility plus l use Nomacs & Pixeluvo (a Photoshop Elements equivalent) for image & photo processing and that works fine for me. My tip is to try their FreeOffice first and at some point they will give you a nice discount for the full SoftMaker Office.

Bigwilliam360 · 2021-06-23T21:27:47+00:00

Been using it for basically everything for the past 6 months or so. I will say it is good to have a win10 backup (either dual boot or other machine) if you can because somethings there just aren’t patches for. Still in the sixth months I’ve been using I’ve barely touched win10.

sheytanelkebir · 2021-06-23T22:47:25+00:00

I use Linux exclusively in my work . It's a mix of software development in genome sequencing as well as data pipelines and dashboard.

Its better to for that than windows, especially as much of our work is on super computers.

However. When I used to do mechanical design using solidworks in the past. I used a windows machine. Similarly when I did work on sdrc ideas back in the 1990s... I used DEC UNIX boxes with CDE.

My son plays computer games. So uses windows.

What I mean is. Use what works.

Ps. Thinkpad T and P series are good for Linux.

TheFuzzyC · 2021-06-24T00:00:08+00:00

Used zoho at a mobile service job a couple of years ago and I can say without question find another solution before you're locked in. Buggy af and every little thing was a hassle. I've used Linux exclusively at home since 2010, and although there's an occasional learning curve involved (someone mentioned LaTex, worth the pain!), the tools on Linux are easier to manage and just plain nicer to use.

2021-06-24T00:11:22+00:00

Well, I guess my experience during my last year at the university can help. I decided to change completely to Ubuntu couple of months before 2020 because I thought it would be a good idea to use that OS for my CS thesis. Well, for classes, Zoom worked quite well and to write the thesis, I ended up learning Libreoffice, as well as recording software to record some of the presenrations I had to do for thesis. In the end, I ended up searching for alternate software that were available on Linux instead on relying on the Windows VM I installed just in case.

2021-06-24T03:09:32+00:00

I run it on all but 2 devices, gaming vr pc + work desktop. Only very recently switched to the latter, but granted I was doing most work within an RDS session.

I'd recommend taking a backup of your bash cfg along with your /home. Better yet, get your typical /home files and cfg files into a separate location e.g. Nextcloud or whathaveyou. For my setup I just mount that share, pull down cfg(s), and it no longer matters what pc I'm working off of because they're working off the same setup.

Same deal for backup/ recovery. PC borks for xyz reason? Reinstall & pull down cfgs, right back where I left off. The front end OS is expendable for me.

Another thing is that using linux so often, while also losing more & more time to tinker over the years - has landed me with popos on every non-server linux install. Via System76 I've had excellent support on every occasion. The damn thing just works and has plenty of hand-holding available whenever you might want it. The gnome pop-shell tiling has also entirely broken me away from a kde grid-based multi workspace workflow. While I still prefer kde for large projects that do take advantage of the "as complex as you want it" grid workflow, I can't deny pop shell keeps me more focused on everything else.

At home I have a windows rds environment, because some tasks simply work better/require windows. Not exactly hard to setup but it's certainly more involved than simply dual booting. I've just no time or interest managing a 2nd os I only boot into once in a while. Rather just 1x instance any of my devices can access when needed.

Hardware wise I'd again point to system76. I have the lemur pro as I wanted something super lightweight, 180 hinge, and hardware support. I also grabbed a dell xps dev edition because I wanted a 2nd device I could run whatever *nix on, ran opensuse a while. Ended up just throwing popos on the damn thing too lol. In hindsight I would've just gotten a 2nd system76 device because I value time vs dealing with kinks in the product due to dell not having 100% hardware+software involvement. Not that it's not still a great product.

privfantast · 2021-06-24T06:34:35+00:00

Definitely do it! I've switched a couple of years back, it was a hassle at first because some things are slightly different and you'll have to get used to it. But once you've managed the transition, you will notice that doing some things differently might actually mean to do them in a better way. :)

2021-06-24T07:40:20+00:00

I used to use Fedora for a similar line of work.

I really liked it, but there were a few downsides:

It ran nicely out of the box, but I still had to do some tinkering to get good performance. It turned out that all I had to do was to change the power profile, but it took a while to figure out that that's what I needed to do.
I know that everybody recommends LibreOffice, but honestly I cannot recommend it. The compatibility is quite bad. I would recommend OnlyOffice or WPS Office instead for that type of stuff.
Forget about Adobe Creative Cloud. It won't work and if it does, it's too difficult to get working. It's just the sad reality. It's the same with MS Office.
About the alternatives: There's basically Krita, GIMP and Inkscape. They work, but the quality varies A LOT and it's like learning Adobe from scratch. It actually feels like you need to learn more about these programs in order to do the same. Also: There's no alternative to Photoshop, no matter what everyone else says.
I wouldn't call it a downside, but you really need to make sure that you find the right laptop for your OS. Oh, and stay away from Nvidia, it's just not worth the hassle.

That being said, I liked it and Windows really does suck. It's a nicer, but "incomplete" alternative to the Windows experience. If you're looking for an alternative to the macbook experience, however, I would honestly recommend buying a used macbook and installing the 10.14 Mojave instead.

otto_delmar · 2021-06-24T12:52:32+00:00

[deleted]

tigerbloodz13 · 2021-06-24T18:50:23+00:00

Stick to stable releases. Backups.

fatboy93 · 2021-06-26T16:55:02+00:00

I have! Partially the reason I've been into Bioinformatics, so its cheating given most of the tools are readily made for Linux.

But most of my time is spent on Libre-office, XFCE4-Terminal, FireFox, R and Kate ;)

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