Sell Me on Linux

I posted this as a comment in another post but when I got done I realized it would probably just be better as its own post. I’m sure I could find the answers I need myself but frankly I trust the userbase here more than most online articles.

As my username hints at, I’m a lawyer. I’m considering starting my own firm as a solo practitioner. I need a computer and/or laptop for it, and as a new business my budget would be pretty tight. I’ve mostly only ever used windows, but I’m getting fed up with the bullshit, so I’m considering going with Linux.

I assume Linux is capable of doing everything I need, which is primarily handling word documents, viewing PDFs, watching evidence videos, and online research. But my concern is that some of the more commonly used video types might have trouble on Linux, or that some of the word document templates I use in Windows might have compatibility issues.

I’m also nervous about using an OS I’m not familiar with for business purposes right away.

So I guess I’m asking a few questions. What is a reliable yet affordable option to get started? Are my concerns based in reality or is Linux going to be able to handle everything windows does without issues? What else might I need to know to use Linux comfortably from the get go? Is it going to take a lot of time and effort to get Linux running how I need it to?

For reference, I do consider myself to be somewhat tech-savvy. I don’t code or anything, but I’ve built my last two home computers myself and I’m not scared of general software management, I just don’t make it myself.

So, yeah, sell me on Linux, please.

h3ndrik, (edited )

You need to try it. Don’t just roll it out in your business. Try it yourself before. Get an old/secondary computer and install it, try your templates and workflows. See which version (distribution) you like. Get your E-Mail connected and so on.

I can tell you Linux isn’t Windows or MacOS. For me, it works very well. I can do lots of things Windows users can not do or that are very cumbersome there, and I don’t have any advertisements or privacy issues. It respects my rights and freedoms as a user. And I’ve had way less issues with my printers and stuff than my windows-friends. I’ve never had a virus on my machine. I can’t tell you if it works for you.

I also don’t like selling it. It’s (arguably) better, faster and more user-friendly than Windows in many ways. But you need to find out if you can make use of it. One big factor against it would be familiarization with a different product. Except for that, I invite you to try it.

mateomaui, (edited )

I’m also nervous about using an OS I’m not familiar with for business purposes right away.

Install the latest version of VMware Player (17.5) on your current OS, then install linux distros on virtual machines to figure things out first.

If you settle on any you like, make a full disk image backup, before repartitioning to install linux as a dual boot setup and try it on hardware that way.

Keep the Windows partition around, if nothing else just for games or apps that don’t work on linux, or as your backup working profession setup.

edit: some will recommend VirtualBox instead, but for me (on Windows at least) it always resizes on startup incorrectly and obscures part of the desktop, so I have to manually resize on every VM boot. VMware does it properly each time for me without issues.

0xtero, (edited )

I’m also nervous about using an OS I’m not familiar with for business purposes right away.

Keep using what gets the job done. That's what computers are for. Do not switch to Linux.

nfsu2,
@nfsu2@feddit.cl avatar

Linux is usually light compared to windows, and no nonsense bloatware and faster to run. Plus is customizable.

If you are a lawyer I assume you are looking for stability and prefer simple over complex. So my guess is that Debian(since is the most stable rock solid distro) would suit you, and most importantly is the desktop environment, if you are looking something similar to Windows I would choose KDE Plasma and if you like MacOS interface then Gnome. Both of them are very different but customizable, I find Gnome is simpler and less busy and Plasma is full of features but busy IMO. Oh and Cinnamon desktop environment is best of both worlds I think. If you are concerned about security and encryption then I’m afraid I can’t advice you on that. Finally I recommend looking up in “distrowatch” if you are looking for something most specific, most distros come with Libre Office as some of the comments point out. There are some distros specifically made for business wich I would recommend if you go big.

Here is a post I made of my desktop with Gnome so that you can see how it look and feels.

feddit.cl/…/39b62b9a-ebfa-4d4e-a944-4a58cc765357.…

poddo,

Youre a lawyer just get a mac lmao

anon_8675309,

Nope. Try it and be your own objective judge.

BRINGit34, (edited )
@BRINGit34@lemmygrad.ml avatar

Okay so I am typing as someone who has helped local businesses set up computer systems. Nothing big just one or two person operations. Getting them computers, downloading their software, and making sure they understand how to keep up to date.

I would recommend you use what you are comfortable with at first. Use Windows, get your business in a comfortable position to experiment. And then I would say try Linux out.

I imagine you will need to keep up to date with invoices and the such and you will need to figure out what software you are going to use that. You could always just be basic and use excel sheets but most businesses are using Quick-books or something similar. And a lot of invoicing software does not work on Linux. I would say invoice-ninja is probably the most popular invoicing software on Linux so that would probably get you the best support. This is usually the point people tell me they will stick with windows.

But if you are able to get past that and maybe learn one of those invoicing software applications then I would say you would have next to 0 issues. As you are in a business environment pick something reliable. Debian, Ubuntu LTS, or RHEL. I would test them all in a vm and see what you like best.

Now word documents may cause issues. Maybe. I find libre office works for me 95% of the time. But I don’t do anything very fancy with it. I write essays and maybe every now and then I will include a graph. I would test libre office on windows and see how that works for you. Only office is also an option but I have 0 experience with it.

Also I find that linux is seriously lacking in ways to manage pdfs. At this point I use my browsers built in pdf reader more than any sort of linux app. Digital signing has always been a pain in the ass and the pdf reader I have the best luck out of is Zathura which is a cli application which is definitely not new-user friendly. But this isn’t really an issue it’s just me nitpicking. You can manage pdfs on linux just as well as windows it just may not be as user friendly some times.

You mentioned you are worried about some video formats not working on linux. May I ask what sort of video formats those are. I find vlc or mpv to have great support for most if not all video formats.

My recommendation would be to use linux. I love it. But this is a new business. Use what works for you as much as possible. Get to the point where you have the funds and free time to experiment and try linux. Poke around with some open source apps in windows and see how they work. Invoice-Ninja and libre office both have windows versions.

I wish you luck with your endeavors and I hope my comment has helped somewhat

edit: spelling and punctuation

GustavoM, (edited )
@GustavoM@lemmy.world avatar

That is like, trying to convince a meat lover to eat veggies (only) but seriously? Just download an iso @ linuxmint.com, give it a spin. It’s free. Be aware that “It’s not Windows” so expect some things to not behave “by the Windows logic”. “Duckduckgo is your friend”, even if it means asking the most trivial things “How do I install $thing on Linux mint?”, and you’ll be just fine.

PanArab,
@PanArab@lemmy.ml avatar

No one will try to sell you anything, not even ads

fhek,

Load up Mint or Ubuntu on a virtual machine.

If you like it, install it to a drive. Don’t let people convince you to wipe a HDD and jump into Linux.

It’s not a good idea if you’ve never used Linux before and you need this computer for daily work.

asexualchangeling, (edited )

I don’t tend to use word documents much anymore, but from what I’ve heard, of the 2 main open source document viewers Only Office probably has the most compatibility with word, and iirc it recently added PDF support

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • linux@lemmy.ml
  • localhost
  • All magazines
    •
    Loading…
    Loading the web debug toolbar…
    Attempt #