Linux Software that You Use to Replace Windows Software

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by AutoCascade, Aug 24, 2015.

  1. AutoCascade

    AutoCascade Registered Member

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    What do you use to replace Windows software (if you came from Windows) or that you rely on day to day?
     
  2. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    The question that should follow is, also which software you cannot replace :)
    Mrk
     
  3. AutoCascade

    AutoCascade Registered Member

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    +1
     
  4. zakazak

    zakazak Registered Member

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    I find that Microsoft office cant be replaced by Libre or OpenOffice. For easy tasks maybe yes, after a certain point the company/your work forces you to use Microsoft Office.

    Also for me loading times and general performance is a lot better with Microsoft Office..but then again it might only be noticeable at some point (heavy files, syncing via sharepoint, calculating on all 4 cores when exiting, etc). Even when running a vm just for microsoft office (with 4 cores and 8GB RAM) it feels faster than libre/openoffice on the host system.

    Photoshop would be another app I cant think of replacing.

    Besides that I am sure I will find a replacement (but havent found a serious replacement yet) for:

    foobar2000 (customization + lightweight + all the stuff that is featured/supported IF YOU NEED IT).
    uTorrent 2.2.1
    AutoIT scripting... Probably the most use friendly and easy to use scripting language (due to its community and help files). I have done lots of stuff to fix annoyances or automate stuff (e.g. home server, htpc,...). I will need to completely re-learn all that on linux but first have to find smth similiar.
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2015
  5. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    Exactly.
    In my case I find no proper replacement for XnView. Gwenview lacks options and customization and the other viewers are even more basic.
    I tend to use Wine to run XnView or Faststone and PDF-XChange.
     
  6. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    There's no general answer. If you do graphics, and are a Photoshop guru, getting up to speed in GIMP and/or whatever would take some work. But I'm guessing that whatever you need is doable in Linux.

    In my case, using Excel made me very lazy. With four fast cores and lots of RAM and SSD, I can do some wild stuff in Excel. I've found no comparable spreadsheet in Linux. But I can accomplish the same goals with a mix of Linux tools. There's MySQL, of course. And there are a bunch of very cool math tools in Python. Plus the command line.
     
  7. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    For me, it's unfortunately the "cannot replace" list:
    IrfanView, Notepad++, Microsoft Office, SketchUp, many games ...
    Mrk
     
  8. Infected

    Infected Registered Member

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    Cannot replace

    Outlook, Adobe Photoshop, Games.

    Its the only reason I'm keeping a dual boot setup. Besides that, it works perfect.
     
  9. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Have you tried UltraEdit?
     
  10. wshrugged

    wshrugged Registered Member

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    Unfortunately, cannot replace --

    iTunes (I take care of some iThingies), Microsoft Office, Scrivener (has a limited, Linux beta) and Scapple.

    Eventually, I'll do dual boot set-ups.
     
  11. Wroll

    Wroll Registered Member

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    qpdfview // SumatraPDF
    Audacious // Foobar2000
     
  12. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    I'm not doing "wild stuff" so LibreOffice Calc is good enough for me. However, you might want to try FreeOffice. It's not only said to have an excellent compatibility with MS Office - it's also fast. For example, I had a text document with several large images embedded. Scrolling in LibreOffice Writer was nearly sickeningly slow - while in FreeOffice Textmaker it was a pleasure to work on that document. Worth a try!
     
  13. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Weren't you pleased with Kate?

    As previously mentioned, FreeOffice might be an alternative, if LibreOffice is not sufficient: features, comparison with Softmaker Office.
     
  14. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    I am quite pleased with Kate, and I did try UltraEdit, still ...
    Mrk
     
  15. elapsed

    elapsed Registered Member

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    Outlook!? Really?
     
  16. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    If you use it for work, then yes it is rather unreplacable.
    Mrk
     
  17. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

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    Yeah, Outlook is probably *the* best email client period. I don't personally need it anymore because I don't do that much email nowadays, but it's hard to beat. As for all the other things, I am pretty happy with Debian and the apps that come with it for most things. I don't do Photoshop, so I care not about that. I think some of the Windows apps are nicer and more polished than their linux equivalents, but for most daily needs, I can get by in Debian without problems...
     
  18. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    Can't replace Outlook and Garmin WebUpdater.
     
  19. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    I just noticed Cinnamon's calculator doesn't have M+, MC, MR buttons.
    After searching for a good 15 minutes in the software manager I found one with the buttons but I'm still lacking the M- button.

    Why is it that people get so easily familiar with Windows :(
     
  20. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

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    I think it's probably because some of us have been using it since Win95 on the internet, and even earlier in the Win 3.x days, not to mention MSDOS... If you grow up using something for decades then it kinda just seems like the norm. :)
     
  21. RJK3

    RJK3 Registered Member

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    Pretty much this.

    I still remember the first time using a mouse, and in frustration at my inefficiency reverting to the keyboard where possible. We've had a long time to accommodate MS's way of doing things.
     
  22. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Many professional software such as Graphpad Prism, OriginLab OriginPro, etc..
     
  23. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    Well, Microsoft Office could be partially replaced by Office online, or partially replaced by Kingsoft WPS Office (THE best compatible with MS Office). Have not find any PDF solutions that are remotely as usable as Acrobat.
     
  24. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Thanks, I'll try it :)
     
  25. AutoCascade

    AutoCascade Registered Member

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    Same thing with TomTom and their gps uses Linux!
     
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