It took a while, but xsane has come a long way in supporting scanners (though it can still be some work to set up properly), and there are now decent interfaces to Tesseract. I used to have to boot Windows to run FineReader but no more. (FineReader's engine is even available on Linux for a lot of money; there is also another less expensive commercial Linux product that I found no need to buy.)
The latest Tesseract is coming close to competing with FineReader, for free. It performs more than well enough for what I do.
Inkscape is an okay stand in for cartoon-like vector graphics. It's not as good for stuff like this, IMO. If you're a graphics professional, you probably use a Mac anyway.
A lot of people disagree with you about GIMP (and others agree). I find it useful for my needs. Same with Inkscape. But I'm not a graphics designer.
But you're right in that nearly all the graphics professionals I've known have been Mac users.
So metered service = good but it has this slippery slope to evil.
Metering and price control to limit access to a scarce resource is one thing, but it appears that large ISPs, when working from a semi or complete monopoly position, are merely gouging. $50 extra for unlimited usage?
If you run cross platform apps, and you should, Mint is a winner.
Given that Microsoft are moving their apps into the cloud, you can run Microsoft proprietary "cloud" apps on Linux too:)
As for Adobe, well, maybe one day, until then, plenty of competitors in the Raw processor arena, just none for Illustrator:( and sadly will never be even in the next 10 years.
Good point about using Linux to run M-soft cloud apps! Never thought of that (although I really don't have a need for those apps).
Adobe Illustrator? Okay, GIMP or Inkscape aren't Illustrator, and if you're a graphics professional, I get it. But for ordinary use... and especially if you don't want to pay Adobe prices!... there are options.
If you're really ticked off and looking to get rid of Windows, you could do worse than to check out Linux Mint.
... However, if you just a need a machine for a little e-mail, web browsing, YouTube, etc. you really can give it a try.
Linux Mint (and nearly all other distros) do the things you mention but they do far more, as you're certainly aware. I do end to end book publishing, among many other things. And that's just one small example.
Mint may not be a drop-in replacement if you have proprietary Windows apps that are mission critical and truly can't be replaced or if you want to be playing the latest Windows only games, etc. What I don't buy is the often-stated argument along the lines of Word or whatever having some obscure niche feature that is life and death.
There are many applications that are windows only and will never ever in a million years have a FOSS equivalent, and there just as many exceptions to "just run wine".
There are indeed some things that won't have a FOSS equivalent, particularly in verticals where there isn't much choice to begin with. But that said, I think the trope that you yourself are quoting hides the fact that for many people Linux has more than enough for them to do the work they need to do.
I've been almost exclusively on Linux for something like 10 years, and it's worked fine for my needs. Some of the last barriers (decent OCR in my case) have fallen. The only conceivable use I have for Windows now is state of the art gaming, which (for me) is not a priority.
You can't rule this out. My weight was fine until I went on a certain medication (Actos) that is known to cause weight gain in many people. I steadily gained a pound a month and couldn't stop it even with 60 minutes of good exercise 6 days a week and a diet that should have worked. After two years on Actos I looked like a small whale. I would NOT put my picture on Facebook, that's for sure.
But I quit the Actos and weight is starting to drop.
Overweight is not pretty and it's not healthy. Now, it would be hypocritical of me to criticize others for being overweight or for their appearance, and I don't and won't. But if this plus model is telling people that it's okay to be morbidly obese, that does no one a service.
Many of the above postings are indirectly saying that metabolism is individual, and while some "collective" rules may make sense (get some exercise, don't overeat), not everything generalizes. I suspect breakfast is one of those non-generalizable things.
We all have to find out what works best for us. I find that a small breakfast prevents me from being overly hungry at lunch and then eating more than I should. A large breakfast might have me skipping lunch and being overly hungry at dinner. I'm in the multiple small meals category, but I don't pretend this applies to everyone.
There's nothing magical. It's not when you eat. It's calories in versus calories out.
I understand the point you're making. Calories in vs. calories out is certainly right. But "calories out" is affected by a lot of things, including when you eat.
Even though your post is hard to read (to say the least) it contains many valid and worthwhile points, especially about Microsoft not being the only one collecting information on us.
But here's the problem. Yes, I can opt out of or block Windows 10 upgrades and backporting of telemetry to (in my case) Windows 8.1. I've done that. But then again, I'm a former computer professional, and I ought to be able to figure out how to do such things. (Disclaimer: at this point I very seldom boot to my Windows partition; I just don't want to deal with it on an ongoing basis.)
The average Windows user, though, is lured right in--- or maybe not even that, these things just happen to them. They don't have a clue how to deal with this and/or make it go away.
Are Microsoft's actions legal, based on EULAs and so on? I'm sure it's all legal but I certainly can't say it's ethical. Now you might respond, what company today is ethical? That's a very good question, but I think if we just let things go and don't demand ethical behavior, we're never going to get it. If we reward unethical behavior with our hard-earned dollars, what are we doing?
Yes, a lot of people are trapped and have no option but to run Windows, whether for mission critical apps, for Windows-only gaming, or just because it's hard to change your software infrastructure. Microsoft marketing has created lock-in that rivals that of public utilities and other legal monopolies. And as long as people keep buying their stuff, nothing will improve. On the contrary, they will feel more and more emboldened and empowered, as recent months have shown.
It's not anti-intellectualism. It's recognizing that languages are idiosyncratic and have many constructs and usages that don't seem logical. The teacher was essentially saying, "Look, this is how the language is spoken, it may not be logical but you've got to deal with it."
I don't know, Chrome is a real power hog... if I run my laptop (Asus Zenbook) with no Chrome running, I get about 10 hours battery life, as compared with about 5 hours with Chrome running.
Without comment on the "merits" of all these arguments, I can make the interesting observation that Linux haters seem just as rabid as Microsoft haters.
All of which, ultimately, is unnecessary. If you hate Linux and love Microsoft, run Windows. If you love Linux and hate Microsoft, run Linux. There's no need to "prove" that one or the other is "better." Run whatever works for you. Heck, run Apple stuff if you want.
The point is: what you do as an individual doesn't affect me much, if at all. And vice-versa.
Now, if nearly everyone suddenly abandoned Linux, there would be a problem for those who remained. But that's not going to happen any more than Windows people starting to adopt Linux in droves.
But I can run Linux without feeling the need to destroy Microsoft. In fact, "hating" is a waste of time and energy better put into doing some productive work.
I don't argue the point that some people should stay on MS Office. If you're in a shop that's been on it for a long time and you use the really deep features of some of the components, it will be hard to switch, and expensive in terms of doing rework.
I do argue that LO will do the job for 95% or more office workers. And I'm including Calc and Impress here. Both of them are adequate for most things.
Slashdot Mirror
It took a while, but xsane has come a long way in supporting scanners (though it can still be some work to set up properly), and there are now decent interfaces to Tesseract. I used to have to boot Windows to run FineReader but no more. (FineReader's engine is even available on Linux for a lot of money; there is also another less expensive commercial Linux product that I found no need to buy.)
The latest Tesseract is coming close to competing with FineReader, for free. It performs more than well enough for what I do.
GIMP is complete shit.
Inkscape is an okay stand in for cartoon-like vector graphics. It's not as good for stuff like this, IMO. If you're a graphics professional, you probably use a Mac anyway.
A lot of people disagree with you about GIMP (and others agree). I find it useful for my needs. Same with Inkscape. But I'm not a graphics designer.
But you're right in that nearly all the graphics professionals I've known have been Mac users.
So metered service = good but it has this slippery slope to evil.
Metering and price control to limit access to a scarce resource is one thing, but it appears that large ISPs, when working from a semi or complete monopoly position, are merely gouging. $50 extra for unlimited usage?
If you run cross platform apps, and you should, Mint is a winner.
Given that Microsoft are moving their apps into the cloud, you can run Microsoft proprietary "cloud" apps on Linux too :)
As for Adobe, well, maybe one day, until then, plenty of competitors in the Raw processor arena, just none for Illustrator :( and sadly will never be even in the next 10 years.
Good point about using Linux to run M-soft cloud apps! Never thought of that (although I really don't have a need for those apps).
Adobe Illustrator? Okay, GIMP or Inkscape aren't Illustrator, and if you're a graphics professional, I get it. But for ordinary use ... and especially if you don't want to pay Adobe prices! ... there are options.
If you're really ticked off and looking to get rid of Windows, you could do worse than to check out Linux Mint.
However, if you just a need a machine for a little e-mail, web browsing, YouTube, etc. you really can give it a try.
Linux Mint (and nearly all other distros) do the things you mention but they do far more, as you're certainly aware. I do end to end book publishing, among many other things. And that's just one small example.
Mint may not be a drop-in replacement if you have proprietary Windows apps that are mission critical and truly can't be replaced or if you want to be playing the latest Windows only games, etc. What I don't buy is the often-stated argument along the lines of Word or whatever having some obscure niche feature that is life and death.
There are many applications that are windows only and will never ever in a million years have a FOSS equivalent, and there just as many exceptions to "just run wine".
There are indeed some things that won't have a FOSS equivalent, particularly in verticals where there isn't much choice to begin with. But that said, I think the trope that you yourself are quoting hides the fact that for many people Linux has more than enough for them to do the work they need to do.
I've been almost exclusively on Linux for something like 10 years, and it's worked fine for my needs. Some of the last barriers (decent OCR in my case) have fallen. The only conceivable use I have for Windows now is state of the art gaming, which (for me) is not a priority.
or you have an actual medical condition
You can't rule this out. My weight was fine until I went on a certain medication (Actos) that is known to cause weight gain in many people. I steadily gained a pound a month and couldn't stop it even with 60 minutes of good exercise 6 days a week and a diet that should have worked. After two years on Actos I looked like a small whale. I would NOT put my picture on Facebook, that's for sure.
But I quit the Actos and weight is starting to drop.
Overweight is not pretty and it's not healthy. Now, it would be hypocritical of me to criticize others for being overweight or for their appearance, and I don't and won't. But if this plus model is telling people that it's okay to be morbidly obese, that does no one a service.
Hey, you're trying to inject common sense into this discussion. Cut that out! Don't you know that doctors are "right" by definition?
Many of the above postings are indirectly saying that metabolism is individual, and while some "collective" rules may make sense (get some exercise, don't overeat), not everything generalizes. I suspect breakfast is one of those non-generalizable things.
We all have to find out what works best for us. I find that a small breakfast prevents me from being overly hungry at lunch and then eating more than I should. A large breakfast might have me skipping lunch and being overly hungry at dinner. I'm in the multiple small meals category, but I don't pretend this applies to everyone.
There's nothing magical. It's not when you eat. It's calories in versus calories out.
I understand the point you're making. Calories in vs. calories out is certainly right. But "calories out" is affected by a lot of things, including when you eat.
My wife, who had a long career in medicine, often says about changing ideas on what's good and bad for you, "That's what they say today."
The power of open source!!!!!!111111111eleven - many mediocre eyes looking at mediocre scribblings.
As opposed to proprietary closed source, which is very often a handful of weak eyes looking at lunatic ravings.
Not knowing what a "cisfemale" is, or even giving a rat's ass enough to look it up (because it sounds fucking idiotic), I wouldn't know either.
A cisfemale is a female who --- oh, the horror! --- dares to self-identify as a female.
NPR = National Palestinian Radio
A very interesting reply, thank you.
Even though your post is hard to read (to say the least) it contains many valid and worthwhile points, especially about Microsoft not being the only one collecting information on us.
But here's the problem. Yes, I can opt out of or block Windows 10 upgrades and backporting of telemetry to (in my case) Windows 8.1. I've done that. But then again, I'm a former computer professional, and I ought to be able to figure out how to do such things. (Disclaimer: at this point I very seldom boot to my Windows partition; I just don't want to deal with it on an ongoing basis.)
The average Windows user, though, is lured right in--- or maybe not even that, these things just happen to them. They don't have a clue how to deal with this and/or make it go away.
Are Microsoft's actions legal, based on EULAs and so on? I'm sure it's all legal but I certainly can't say it's ethical. Now you might respond, what company today is ethical? That's a very good question, but I think if we just let things go and don't demand ethical behavior, we're never going to get it. If we reward unethical behavior with our hard-earned dollars, what are we doing?
Yes, a lot of people are trapped and have no option but to run Windows, whether for mission critical apps, for Windows-only gaming, or just because it's hard to change your software infrastructure. Microsoft marketing has created lock-in that rivals that of public utilities and other legal monopolies. And as long as people keep buying their stuff, nothing will improve. On the contrary, they will feel more and more emboldened and empowered, as recent months have shown.
It's not anti-intellectualism. It's recognizing that languages are idiosyncratic and have many constructs and usages that don't seem logical. The teacher was essentially saying, "Look, this is how the language is spoken, it may not be logical but you've got to deal with it."
it's the fact that 'best practices' are enforced in Windows 10.
Care to say what "best practices" are in Windows 10?
It's a double use of gender that drives everyone trying to learn German nuts, it really makes no sense.
A language teacher I once had stated simply, "It doesn't have to make sense. It just IS."
Switch to Lightning
It's a decent suggestion, but you missed the part where I said "laptop" :)
I don't know, Chrome is a real power hog ... if I run my laptop (Asus Zenbook) with no Chrome running, I get about 10 hours battery life, as compared with about 5 hours with Chrome running.
Without comment on the "merits" of all these arguments, I can make the interesting observation that Linux haters seem just as rabid as Microsoft haters.
All of which, ultimately, is unnecessary. If you hate Linux and love Microsoft, run Windows. If you love Linux and hate Microsoft, run Linux. There's no need to "prove" that one or the other is "better." Run whatever works for you. Heck, run Apple stuff if you want.
The point is: what you do as an individual doesn't affect me much, if at all. And vice-versa.
Now, if nearly everyone suddenly abandoned Linux, there would be a problem for those who remained. But that's not going to happen any more than Windows people starting to adopt Linux in droves.
But I can run Linux without feeling the need to destroy Microsoft. In fact, "hating" is a waste of time and energy better put into doing some productive work.
Unit testing of software is a great way to prove that a given software routine performs the wrong function with perfection.
Just that it seems pretty expensive. If you need it you need it, but I'll stick with $10 cards for now.
I don't argue the point that some people should stay on MS Office. If you're in a shop that's been on it for a long time and you use the really deep features of some of the components, it will be hard to switch, and expensive in terms of doing rework.
I do argue that LO will do the job for 95% or more office workers. And I'm including Calc and Impress here. Both of them are adequate for most things.