Sorry for all you "at home" & "comfortable with" both mentioned software, BUT we are sick & tired of the continued waffle of MS Windows and the expense of Apple stuff.
I know there used to be some "Free Ware" operating systems, word processing, spreadsheet, emailing, image, video and other general type software available for free or low cost.
We do not have the financial where with all to keep updating both software and of course hardware as seemingly required by MS, nor to change over to Apple stuff which I am led to believe still maintains backward compatible change ups.
I admit I got slack in retirement in keeping my I.T. knowledge, skill sets and related knowledge up to date, so now I suffer the just desserts of being slack.
so to those who say "serves you right" fine, I accept.
However I would like to know if there are those who have knowledge and skills and experience who can offer some hope for me.
Any offering will be cheerfully looked at.
Thanks,
Ian
oldbloke said
04:05 PM Feb 26, 2022
I've been using this for 6 months. Every bit as good as office once you get the hang of it IMO.
-- Edited by oldbloke on Saturday 26th of February 2022 04:07:04 PM
Whenarewethere said
04:32 PM Feb 26, 2022
Spreadsheet etc
https://www.openoffice.org/
Image processing
https://www.gimp.org/
3D software
https://www.blender.org/
Video compression
https://handbrake.fr/
Mike Harding said
04:35 PM Feb 26, 2022
I'll probably write a more detailed post on this soon but consider switching to MX Linux; doing so is easier than you may think and it's easy to create a Windows/Linux dual boot system - best of both worlds.
Buzz Lightbulb said
11:27 AM Feb 27, 2022
We had a dual boot PC, Micro$oft Windoze and Ubuntu (Linux). There was a problem with the computer and we had to reload the operating systems. It took three days to reload the Windoze stuff (my wife did that). It took less than an hour and seven answers to reload Ubuntu (I did that).
My wife and I both did computing at uni (that's where we met) so it wasn't lack of skill that caused the difference.
I chose the Ubuntu LTS (long term support) distribution of Linux because it was so easy to install and maintain. It has many of the applications that Whenarewethere mentions and more. it's usually easy to load other software with commands like:
sudo apt install gimp
To load gimp for example.
Most Ubuntu software is free, is as capable as the Micro$oft software and usually takes up less memory so you don't have to keep upgrading your hardware.
The only problem is if you use software that only runs on Windoze.
Ubuntu has multiple desktop interfaces. I chose Mate because I like pull down menus. There are many more looks with some very light distributions for lighter hardware.
Security updates are regularly kept up to date by the Ubuntu community.
Ubuntu is notable from a USB stick. It used to be 2gb but I think someone said on a different topic that it's now a bit bigger.
Good luck with whatever you use.
PeterD said
03:27 PM Feb 27, 2022
I'm another user of LibreOffice. If you look at that link you will see the history and the capabilities of the office suite. I have not purchased any M$ office product this century. I was using OpenOffice.org from its inception. When it looked like Oracle was going to shelve its development I swapped over to LibreOffice. Its development has bounded ahead of OpenOffice.
I also use the following free software on my Win 11:
Nitro PDF Readerfor PDF files, I switched to open software for PDF files back when Adobe produced some over bloated clunky edition of its software.
MultiCommander for my file manager. It uses the very popular and efficient dual-panel layout like Xtree and Norton Commander. It is much nicer to use than the M$ one when you are manipulating files between drives.
IrfanView as an image viewer, editor, organiser and converter program. It has long been a favourite of non M$ proprietary apps.
VLC Media Player is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.Another favourite of the anti M$ apps league.
All the above is "free" software but may have licence conditions limiting its use to non commercial only.
jade46 said
10:05 AM Feb 28, 2022
Apache Open Office 4 work well . Does everything Microsoft Office does. Been using 3+ years no problem
PeterD said
12:35 PM Feb 28, 2022
OpenOffice Vs LibreOffice - it is not a case of one being better than the other. There are features in both that suit different people. Those who like their apps to be kept up to date will prefer LO. Those who have very old files will gravitate to AOO, it supports many more files types than but many of them are from older suites that are no longer in existence. AOO will read the latest M$ Office files but it can not save them in the modern formats. LO reads and saves the modern file formats. AOO integrates better with Google Docs than LO but LO is more like M$ Office and looks more like it than AOO. LO only handles one language at a time, if you wish to work in several languages you need to install a copy in separate directories (folders.) With AOO you can add a second language pack to your current one you have set up with your primary language.
I have no issues with my Windows laptop, I still run win 7 on it and from day one I have locked out all updates, I have a spare hdd which I connect via USB with a full ghosted image, if I make any changes to the origional setup I re image the ghost drive. In the event of a bug, virus or glitch from my ghost drive. A full reimage of the Hdd takes about 20 minutes.
I still use my owned copy of MS Office 2007, it does everything I want it to do. Along with my Adobe software.
Whenarewethere said
04:34 PM Feb 28, 2022
Still running XP on six PC's for 3D rendering, networked connected to Mac for transferring mostly Photoshop images, Mac running OS 10.6.8 because my bought version PS (now you have to rent it, they can get stuffed) is the last Mac OS it will run on.
Never had any issues running PC & Mac together, but I am careful with file names. PCs still don't have any anti virus software, have worked perfectly since 2007. They are that old.
My licence for Lightwave 3D software I run on both Mac & PC for one licence fee. Usually use one of the PCs as it was the fastest computer in 2009 dual CPU 16GB ram, it was about $9k built from all the components I wanted
I bought a new Canon 85mm f1.4 lens but I can't fully process the images on the old software. So will have to get another computer. In the meantime doing a few workarounds. It is a vicious circle, new lens, update camera, update computer, update software...
JeffRae said
08:42 PM Feb 28, 2022
If you want to get away from Windows, I think you only choice is Linux (there are multiple versions) Try Mx Linux or Linux Mint
If you have good skills with command lines in Windows it will be very helpful in Linux.
There are a lot of USB plug in devices that just will not be recognized in Linux or there are no drivers for them
I really think you would be better staying with Windows.
Once you have an activated Windows you can upgrade from 7 to 10 to 11
Cheers
JeffRae
Mike Harding said
07:56 AM Mar 1, 2022
JeffRae wrote:
There are a lot of USB plug in devices that just will not be recognized in Linux or there are no drivers for them
That's not my experience, which devices are you thinking of?
Buzz Lightbulb said
09:20 AM Mar 1, 2022
Gundog wrote:
I have no issues with my Windows laptop, I still run win 7 on it and from day one I have locked out all updates, I have a spare hdd which I connect via USB with a full ghosted image, if I make any changes to the origional setup I re image the ghost drive. In the event of a bug, virus or glitch from my ghost drive. A full reimage of the Hdd takes about 20 minutes.
I still use my owned copy of MS Office 2007, it does everything I want it to do. Along with my Adobe software.
Locking out updates could be licking out security patches and that could cause problems. Such as, patches to stop hackers using vulnerabilities in code.
JeffRae said
10:10 AM Mar 1, 2022
Mike Harding wrote:
JeffRae wrote:
There are a lot of USB plug in devices that just will not be recognized in Linux or there are no drivers for them
That's not my experience, which devices are you thinking of?
WiFi Hi Gain wireless USB adapter. They have drivers still in beta since 2018. With limited knowledge very hard to install despite instructions supplied.
Basically anything that needs an installation program.
Mike Harding said
01:05 PM Mar 1, 2022
JeffRae wrote:
Basically anything that needs an installation program.
I think you'll find that is much less of a problem that it was a few years ago. Most Linux distributions now come with all drivers for known hardware included.
In any event if one is thinking of switching from Windows to Linux it's a wise move to install Linux on a bootable USB stick or DVD, boot from that and see what happens, I was pleasantly surprised how uneventful the installation of MX Linux was.
Another advantage of course is that Linux makes you a *much* smaller target for naughty people and viruses.
Gundog said
02:31 PM Mar 1, 2022
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
Gundog wrote:
I have no issues with my Windows laptop, I still run win 7 on it and from day one I have locked out all updates, I have a spare hdd which I connect via USB with a full ghosted image, if I make any changes to the origional setup I re image the ghost drive. In the event of a bug, virus or glitch from my ghost drive. A full reimage of the Hdd takes about 20 minutes.
I still use my owned copy of MS Office 2007, it does everything I want it to do. Along with my Adobe software.
Locking out updates could be licking out security patches and that could cause problems. Such as, patches to stop hackers using vulnerabilities in code.
That's the great lie propergated by the industry, all so they can acquire more meta data.
Updater is a crock like anti virus and anti this and that, they bloat your system consume resources thus slowing your system down.
If you computer is fulfilling you needs you don't need the latest OS or Update it, if you look at the size of of Win95 and the progression to the latest version they have become larger and all consuming of disk space, full of bloatware and pay as you go programs like office.
If you afraid of getting hacked or acquiring a virus, then you need to follow a couple of simple rules, hide your IP address, don't open emails if you don't know the sender, if you don't need to be connected to the WWW then disconnect, don't watch movies online download it and watch it off line.
smwhiskey said
04:02 PM Mar 1, 2022
I have a few older machine (both PC and Macs) that I've replaced the original OS with Mint Linux because the original OS's were seriously compromised by the updates.
With Linux, for those that want the basics - Web Browser, Word processor, Spreadsheet, email, video player, photo editor etc - its almost a straight out of the box experience. I rarely need (or even want) anything else when I'm on the road.
For anything more specialised then you may be able to use the windows emulator (Wine? No seriously its called wine.) but I leave that sort of stuff for when I get home.
Simon
Buzz Lightbulb said
10:28 AM Mar 2, 2022
Gundog wrote:
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
Gundog wrote:
I have no issues with my Windows laptop, I still run win 7 on it and from day one I have locked out all updates, I have a spare hdd which I connect via USB with a full ghosted image, if I make any changes to the origional setup I re image the ghost drive. In the event of a bug, virus or glitch from my ghost drive. A full reimage of the Hdd takes about 20 minutes.
I still use my owned copy of MS Office 2007, it does everything I want it to do. Along with my Adobe software.
Locking out updates could be licking out security patches and that could cause problems. Such as, patches to stop hackers using vulnerabilities in code.
That's the great lie propergated by the industry, all so they can acquire more meta data.
Updater is a crock like anti virus and anti this and that, they bloat your system consume resources thus slowing your system down.
If you computer is fulfilling you needs you don't need the latest OS or Update it, if you look at the size of of Win95 and the progression to the latest version they have become larger and all consuming of disk space, full of bloatware and pay as you go programs like office.
If you afraid of getting hacked or acquiring a virus, then you need to follow a couple of simple rules, hide your IP address, don't open emails if you don't know the sender, if you don't need to be connected to the WWW then disconnect, don't watch movies online download it and watch it off line.
Well, I used to work in IT for decades and I know you are wrong about that for Linux at least and I expect it could be the same for Windoze. Updates, on Linux, provide fixes for security issues.
Maybe you are thinking of upgrades to different versions of the operating system?
I do agree with you on Micro$oft being bloated. About a decade ago I compared the risk sieve needed for just the Operating Systems. Micro$oft was in the offer of ten times more disk space than Ubuntu.
Similarly with the programs. M$ Office is full unnecessary features that just now out the code.
Yes, no-one should open emails from people they don't know nor click on links within emails unless they fully trust the connection our you are trying to track down scam code.
The hackers have become more sophisticated with intercepting unencrypted emails and changing the content so people still get scammed.
You can disconnect completely from the internet and that would make your computer safe.
Buzz Lightbulb said
10:34 AM Mar 2, 2022
smwhiskey wrote:
I have a few older machine (both PC and Macs) that I've replaced the original OS with Mint Linux because the original OS's were seriously compromised by the updates.
With Linux, for those that want the basics - Web Browser, Word processor, Spreadsheet, email, video player, photo editor etc - its almost a straight out of the box experience. I rarely need (or even want) anything else when I'm on the road.
For anything more specialised then you may be able to use the windows emulator (Wine? No seriously its called wine.) but I leave that sort of stuff for when I get home.
Simon
I've used Wine on 32 bit architecture with different results. It worked for most games, PlantVsZombies comes to mind with hours of pleasure. There were some software that didn't work and I can't remember what that was. It's been a very long time since I've felt I needed any thing that requires Micro$oft.
Mobi Condo said
09:01 AM Mar 10, 2022
Ha! MANY, MANY, MANY thankyous to all responders here.
I am now currently working hard on all ideas.
will post again when results are gained, BUT MS WINDOWS does NOT like me even beginning to go away from it!
Sorry for all you "at home" & "comfortable with" both mentioned software, BUT we are sick & tired of the continued waffle of MS Windows and the expense of Apple stuff.
I know there used to be some "Free Ware" operating systems, word processing, spreadsheet, emailing, image, video and other general type software available for free or low cost.
We do not have the financial where with all to keep updating both software and of course hardware as seemingly required by MS, nor to change over to Apple stuff which I am led to believe still maintains backward compatible change ups.
I admit I got slack in retirement in keeping my I.T. knowledge, skill sets and related knowledge up to date, so now I suffer the just desserts of being slack.
so to those who say "serves you right" fine, I accept.
However I would like to know if there are those who have knowledge and skills and experience who can offer some hope for me.
Any offering will be cheerfully looked at.
Thanks,
Ian
I've been using this for 6 months. Every bit as good as office once you get the hang of it IMO.
www.libreoffice.org/
I use Windows. But mike will come in on the replacement for that one. I can't remember.
Only use android mobile and tablets.
-- Edited by oldbloke on Saturday 26th of February 2022 04:07:04 PM
Spreadsheet etc
https://www.openoffice.org/
Image processing
https://www.gimp.org/
3D software
https://www.blender.org/
Video compression
https://handbrake.fr/
I'll probably write a more detailed post on this soon but consider switching to MX Linux; doing so is easier than you may think and it's easy to create a Windows/Linux dual boot system - best of both worlds.
We had a dual boot PC, Micro$oft Windoze and Ubuntu (Linux). There was a problem with the computer and we had to reload the operating systems. It took three days to reload the Windoze stuff (my wife did that). It took less than an hour and seven answers to reload Ubuntu (I did that).
My wife and I both did computing at uni (that's where we met) so it wasn't lack of skill that caused the difference.
I chose the Ubuntu LTS (long term support) distribution of Linux because it was so easy to install and maintain. It has many of the applications that Whenarewethere mentions and more. it's usually easy to load other software with commands like:
sudo apt install gimp
To load gimp for example.
Most Ubuntu software is free, is as capable as the Micro$oft software and usually takes up less memory so you don't have to keep upgrading your hardware.
The only problem is if you use software that only runs on Windoze.
Ubuntu has multiple desktop interfaces. I chose Mate because I like pull down menus. There are many more looks with some very light distributions for lighter hardware.
Security updates are regularly kept up to date by the Ubuntu community.
Ubuntu is notable from a USB stick. It used to be 2gb but I think someone said on a different topic that it's now a bit bigger.
Good luck with whatever you use.
I'm another user of LibreOffice. If you look at that link you will see the history and the capabilities of the office suite. I have not purchased any M$ office product this century. I was using OpenOffice.org from its inception. When it looked like Oracle was going to shelve its development I swapped over to LibreOffice. Its development has bounded ahead of OpenOffice.
I also use the following free software on my Win 11:
Nitro PDF Reader for PDF files, I switched to open software for PDF files back when Adobe produced some over bloated clunky edition of its software.
MultiCommander for my file manager. It uses the very popular and efficient dual-panel layout like Xtree and Norton Commander. It is much nicer to use than the M$ one when you are manipulating files between drives.
IrfanView as an image viewer, editor, organiser and converter program. It has long been a favourite of non M$ proprietary apps.
VLC Media Player is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.Another favourite of the anti M$ apps league.
OpenOffice Vs LibreOffice - it is not a case of one being better than the other. There are features in both that suit different people. Those who like their apps to be kept up to date will prefer LO. Those who have very old files will gravitate to AOO, it supports many more files types than but many of them are from older suites that are no longer in existence. AOO will read the latest M$ Office files but it can not save them in the modern formats. LO reads and saves the modern file formats. AOO integrates better with Google Docs than LO but LO is more like M$ Office and looks more like it than AOO. LO only handles one language at a time, if you wish to work in several languages you need to install a copy in separate directories (folders.) With AOO you can add a second language pack to your current one you have set up with your primary language.
If you want some comparisons then go here - comparison of open office and libre office.
I have no issues with my Windows laptop, I still run win 7 on it and from day one I have locked out all updates, I have a spare hdd which I connect via USB with a full ghosted image, if I make any changes to the origional setup I re image the ghost drive. In the event of a bug, virus or glitch from my ghost drive. A full reimage of the Hdd takes about 20 minutes.
I still use my owned copy of MS Office 2007, it does everything I want it to do. Along with my Adobe software.
Still running XP on six PC's for 3D rendering, networked connected to Mac for transferring mostly Photoshop images, Mac running OS 10.6.8 because my bought version PS (now you have to rent it, they can get stuffed) is the last Mac OS it will run on.
Never had any issues running PC & Mac together, but I am careful with file names. PCs still don't have any anti virus software, have worked perfectly since 2007. They are that old.
My licence for Lightwave 3D software I run on both Mac & PC for one licence fee. Usually use one of the PCs as it was the fastest computer in 2009 dual CPU 16GB ram, it was about $9k built from all the components I wanted
I bought a new Canon 85mm f1.4 lens but I can't fully process the images on the old software. So will have to get another computer. In the meantime doing a few workarounds. It is a vicious circle, new lens, update camera, update computer, update software...
If you have good skills with command lines in Windows it will be very helpful in Linux.
There are a lot of USB plug in devices that just will not be recognized in Linux or there are no drivers for them
I really think you would be better staying with Windows.
Once you have an activated Windows you can upgrade from 7 to 10 to 11
Cheers
JeffRae
That's not my experience, which devices are you thinking of?
Locking out updates could be licking out security patches and that could cause problems. Such as, patches to stop hackers using vulnerabilities in code.
WiFi Hi Gain wireless USB adapter. They have drivers still in beta since 2018. With limited knowledge very hard to install despite instructions supplied.
Basically anything that needs an installation program.
I think you'll find that is much less of a problem that it was a few years ago. Most Linux distributions now come with all drivers for known hardware included.
In any event if one is thinking of switching from Windows to Linux it's a wise move to install Linux on a bootable USB stick or DVD, boot from that and see what happens, I was pleasantly surprised how uneventful the installation of MX Linux was.
Another advantage of course is that Linux makes you a *much* smaller target for naughty people and viruses.
That's the great lie propergated by the industry, all so they can acquire more meta data.
Updater is a crock like anti virus and anti this and that, they bloat your system consume resources thus slowing your system down.
If you computer is fulfilling you needs you don't need the latest OS or Update it, if you look at the size of of Win95 and the progression to the latest version they have become larger and all consuming of disk space, full of bloatware and pay as you go programs like office.
If you afraid of getting hacked or acquiring a virus, then you need to follow a couple of simple rules, hide your IP address, don't open emails if you don't know the sender, if you don't need to be connected to the WWW then disconnect, don't watch movies online download it and watch it off line.
I have a few older machine (both PC and Macs) that I've replaced the original OS with Mint Linux because the original OS's were seriously compromised by the updates.
With Linux, for those that want the basics - Web Browser, Word processor, Spreadsheet, email, video player, photo editor etc - its almost a straight out of the box experience. I rarely need (or even want) anything else when I'm on the road.
For anything more specialised then you may be able to use the windows emulator (Wine? No seriously its called wine.) but I leave that sort of stuff for when I get home.
Simon
Well, I used to work in IT for decades and I know you are wrong about that for Linux at least and I expect it could be the same for Windoze. Updates, on Linux, provide fixes for security issues.
Maybe you are thinking of upgrades to different versions of the operating system?
I do agree with you on Micro$oft being bloated. About a decade ago I compared the risk sieve needed for just the Operating Systems. Micro$oft was in the offer of ten times more disk space than Ubuntu.
Similarly with the programs. M$ Office is full unnecessary features that just now out the code.
Yes, no-one should open emails from people they don't know nor click on links within emails unless they fully trust the connection our you are trying to track down scam code.
The hackers have become more sophisticated with intercepting unencrypted emails and changing the content so people still get scammed.
You can disconnect completely from the internet and that would make your computer safe.
I've used Wine on 32 bit architecture with different results. It worked for most games, PlantVsZombies comes to mind with hours of pleasure. There were some software that didn't work and I can't remember what that was. It's been a very long time since I've felt I needed any thing that requires Micro$oft.
Ha! MANY, MANY, MANY thankyous to all responders here.
I am now currently working hard on all ideas.
will post again when results are gained, BUT MS WINDOWS does NOT like me even beginning to go away from it!