What applications would I need on a lap top?

[Daithi O Buitigh]

Libreoffice - does almost everything that MS Office can do and it's free

GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) - almost as good as Photoshop (and free)

Inkscape - CAD (and it also can handle, with plugins 3D printing and CNC control) - again, free

Adaware Anti-Virus (free personal copy)

Puran Utility suite (loads of maintenance applets and, again, free)

Last two are for Doze only

For Linux, get Clamav (it's a fallacy to assume that Linux or any other OS can't be hit with a virus) and also p7zip. If available, get file-roller and, in combination with XFCE4 desktop and the Thunar archive plugin, you can open and extract almost any archive. 7zip is also available for Doze (same app as p7zip)

One recommendation for anyone using Doze - get an app called Rufus.

You can then go and download the current version of W 10 from Microsoft in iso format and use Rufus to convert that to a bootable thumb drive (I've noticed on the latest laptops that they aren't fitting an optical drive). It can also convert a Linux installation to thumb drive

Edited By Daithi O Buitigh on 14/10/2020 10:32:35

Oh and I forgot to mention: if you like flight sims, look for Flightgear (available in doze and penguin falvours)

Edited By Daithi O Buitigh on 14/10/2020 10:42:45

[Alex Ferguson 2]

Posted by Daithi O Buitigh on 14/10/2020 10:20:58:

For Linux, get Clamav (it's a fallacy to assume that Linux or any other OS can't be hit with a virus)

and also p7zip.

Puran Utilities - Not very good reviews i.e. "does not do anything programs like CCLeaner do 100x times better., etc. etc."

"p7zip is based on the 2016 version of 7-Zip and is no longer maintained while 7-Zip continues to be developed."

How many here ever zip files? It isn't needed for unzipping.

As for viruses and Linux, I'd suggest reading the Linux Mint forum as it has been discussed a few times there. None of the Linux users has ever had virus problems nor do they ever expect to. Yes, articles written about how it might happen by those trying to "sell" an idea or a magazine article.

OK, there was a discussion by on OP asking how to remove Ransomeware from his Windows files, hit when using Windows and would never have happened if he'd been using Linux and it happened before he changed over to Linux.

[Daithi O Buitigh]

P7zip handles almost ALL archive files - if you notice that's what I said - not that it was 'zip' only

I repeat - Linux CAN be vulnerable to trojans and virii - no OS is immune. Apple users used to boast the same but what was overlooked was the reason - Macs were a minority and the script kiddies tended to ignore it. Linux is in the same category. It's not that Linux is immune - it's just not as actively targeted as other OS'.

I use Gentoo which is a lot more powerful (but equally a lot more difficult to install) but it gives a lot more installation options and can be finely tuned to my own OS rather than a generic 'one size fits all' distro

[kc]

I would say you need the free Adobe Acrobat DC.   Very handy for printing off a plan or just a section of a plan at any scale you need.

I was going to suggest Picasa but it seems to be Google Photos now. Any opinions on that would be interesting.

Edited By kc on 14/10/2020 11:25:32

[perttime]

Open Office is another option. Not sure if it is significantly different from Libre Office.

Otherwise: Inkscape if I want to draw something and Paint.net when I want to adjust photos and other images.

[Lima Hotel Foxtrot]

Realflight, for the rubbish winter days and nights coming up.

[Daithi O Buitigh]

perttime - Libreoffice is a fork of OpenOffice.org (to give it its correct name) which was, in turn a development of Star Office and hasn't had an update since 2011

[Plummet]

Posted by kc on 13/10/2020 18:03:58:

We shouldn't forget that the free software we get is like the free tuition at the flying field and the good advice here on the forum - it's largely down to volunteers who are trying to put something back into society instead of making themselves rich.

... which is the advantage. In addition, this method of writing software results in more efficient more usable software.

[rant warning/]

I often hear people say that you just get what you pay for. This does not apply to the open source software.

Companies selling software keep their source code (their programmes) secret. Only the company people have the ability to debug it. They are motivated to get the software on sale, not to spend time and effort to debug it.

In contrast, open source software is just that. The source code is available to everybody. It is written to be used, not just to be sold. If there are any bugs in it they are reported and dealt with; often someone who is not the original programmer will be able to identify the problem. Having been a programmer, I know that it can be hard to find your own mistakes!

The operating system I use is Linux, which is derived from Unix which pre-existed the IBM PC and Microsoft. It was developed by some brilliant computer people working for Bell Labs in the US. They also developed the "C" programming language which was largely used for writing Windows.

There is also a group called GNU which is devoted to producing open source software to run of the operating system. They have the philosophy of taking a small simple task and writing rigorous code to undertake it. To solve a complicated problem you divide the problem into lots of smaller problems. Solve these, and then join them together.

This results in lots of snippets of code that do simple jobs very well. These snippets are then available for everyone to re-use.

You would be amazed at how often you use software derived from Unix and Linux. It is embedded in many household electronic equipment.

[rant over/]

Plummet

[Peter Christy]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What he said!

--

Pete