Linux applied practically in the office space

[boombaby]

Hello, All...

....... https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/sli ... ort-1.html

Is that something we can talk about? (That is to say, talk about "in a nice way"?)

Would he have experienced the same kind of difficulties with an "MX" kind of setup?

The LibreOffice thing is a worry. I thought that had been around long enough for "practical" issues (fonts & images, etc) to have been (totally) ironed out. [Don't take that as criticism of Devs, but more that compatibility (to the present "standard") would have, both, critical and beneficial foci (ie simultaneous) right up front.]

I had a discussion with a group of Linuxers in 2000 on the application of Linux (desktop, software & networking) to real office work. (At that time I was involved in Windows/software support in business, and could see some Linux potential - and some failings.)

These are just starting points for any discussion. I can not offer "fixes" for his problems and issues; maybe other Members have better ideas on that. Well; talk!

MX?

[I posted here (in General forum) because the nature of issues was not about separate desktop, software, hardware, etc but one of combined & general usage.]

Anyone?

Regards,
boombaby
_

[Pierre]

the real issue, is that Everything will Always be compared to it's Microsoft equivalent. ..
- whether that's the Desktop or the Office Suite .. ..

whilst you can get away with whatever you set as your Own Desktop,
- it's when you try to inter-connect, that issues will arise.
so, most Linux Users will always have to set their documents to be M$ Office compatible,
& not the other way around.

that will even apply to using Skype, or it's equivalent, as well.

it does seem that the World of Microsoft is diminishing, somewhat these days,
as you can now use Google Doc's instead - - but you would still have those compatibility issues,though.

it still seems, that as an Linux User, you would have to baby-sit, that M$ Office User, to convert your files,
if you didn't save them as being M$ Office compatible, in the 1st place.

[sdibaja]

I like Dedoimedo.
great writer, entertaining, fun.

He actually is a Windows fan, and does not really like Linux very much.
He did a Mate on top of MX review within the last year. It was ill conceived, like he staged it to fail... and it did. The conflicts were well known, and avoidable...even Google knows that.
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mat ... eview.html

===
Back on topic.
I am simi retired, but have been 99.4% Linux for all of my work for nearly a decade.
I dual boot with Windows... specifically for
1. AutoCad 3D (not for drafting, for geodetic type calculations)
2. Word and Excel but only to "sanitise" formatting when digital Documents and Spreadsheets are deliverables.
==
a friend/business partner has about 6 or 8 employees in his office (banking related). All are currently using Debian Mate for everything, except 1 person that uses the government mandated tax reporting tool (MS Propitiatory) a few hours a week, on Windows XP or something.

a number of small shops here in Baja, Mexico use some flavour of Linux on ancient hardware for cash registers, linked to the government mandated tax reporting tool, but is another manner for retail business. Sorry I don't know the details.

*Compatibility is happening, economics are driving it in the "third world"
I remain optimistic.

[boombaby]

sdibaja, I am not sure where you are coming from.

Here are a couple of reviews from Dedoimedo website regarding MX Linux (using xfce desktop) over the last 2 years.

1.
This one "Updated: January 14, 2017"...

. . . . . https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mx-16.html

...is titled: "MX Linux MX-16 Metamorphosis - Winds of change"

(Boombaby says: And a nice little play on words, and meaning, deserves one gold butterfly stamp, at least.)

Note in his "Conclusion" he rated MX at . . . 9.5/10. . . . . (Boombaby: Not bad. Wouldn't you agree?)


2.
Then here: https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/bes ... -2017.html

Titled: "Distro of the Year 2017...", he rated MX at number 3 distro of the Year.

How's this for a quote: 'MX is one of those distros that is slowly but surely making its way to the top. Much like Xubuntu, its earlier incarnations drew wrath and negative comments from Dedoimedo, but the distro inexorably progressed on all fronts, becoming a top contender for desktop use in the Linux space.'

Shi...ivers! . . . '...in the Linux space'.

(Boombaby: I think he means THE WHOLE OF THE LINUX SPACE. Crikey! Is that space big enough for you, sdibaja? )


3.
Then in January 13, 2018.

. . . . . https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mx-17.html

Title: "MX Linux MX-17 Horizon - Shaping up beautifully"

In his "Conclusion" he gave a final mark of . . . . . . 9.9/10


4.
Then, in February 2018...

. . . . . https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mx-17-lenovo.html

...under the title: "MX Linux MX-17 Horizon - Second test, top notch" ...

...his "Conclusion" is not rated, but here I quote his summation: 'MX-17 Horizon is truly a magnificent product'


So, I have to discount what you allude to.

Now, Everyone, let's not get into some kind of flame about distros or desktops, or even Dedoimedo motive.

Let's talk "opportunity".

Dedoimedo gave a Linux distro a shot at day-to-day practical use in business. I am wondering if MX might be a worthy choice for that purpose (on his hardware). [My experience on my hardware using MATE desktop has been pretty darn good, once I had the right driver for my hardware (with MATE installed).]

P.S.
I am running MX with MATE but, after warnings in this forum about that combo, I will likely be changing back to xfce desktop soon.


Regards,
boombaby
_

[sdibaja]

@boombaby: sorry, I went way off topic.
Yes he gave MX great reviews, and well deserved.
He trigged me me with his poor review of Mate using MX as base. I am a Mate user first, OS base is secondary in my preferences.
I am now using Mate on MX, and it is pretty slick. I am now Considering migrating from Debian Mate.

Question: what warnings are there about using Mate on MX? I am kinda new here.
Thanks

[clicktician]

Office 365 is popular for not only Windows, but Mac, iPhones and Android devices, too.
These apps were decoupled from Windows long ago.

Chromebooks (linux laptops) account for over 50% of the education market. Microsoft and Apple are terrified of Google because a whole generation (the "Z's) are now entering university or the job market with very little loyalty to Office 365.
And since the majority of the Fortune 500 (including Microsoft) does it's segment-specific heavy lifting with 'nix apps delivered through browsers, the writing is on the wall.
Chromebooks are often the dominant laptop I see at conferences where young-grads are, and they're oddly popular at SecOps conferences, too. So, LInux may be more ingrained in businesses than people realize.

MX isn't a good fit for business, especially at scale. It's a distro for and by enthusiasts and hobbyists. It is very much on a personal level, which contributes to its popularity.
The needs of a paying customer are best left SuSe, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc. I don't think those needs would even be tolerated here. It's just not the raison d'être.

[Jerry3904]

MX isn't a good fit for business, especially at scale.

I've found it to be fine for small business with no corporate overhead, though. I've been using it for more than a decade without problem.

[boombaby]

Hello, sdibaja...

I did a quick search for the (aforementioned) post but couldn't find the reference. Sorry.

My vague recollection was that someone warned me (with respect to a problem I had referred to Forum) that my use of MATE on MX was not "safe" usage. I also have a vague recollection that the argument was "...that's why there is no official release of MX with MATE desktop..." (ie only officially tested MX with xfce). Whoever mentioned it might clarify for you. [I am (a.) not pointing fingers in "blame", and (b.) not claiming precision in a quote - but the gist is there.]

Anyway, after sorting out my problem with a graphics driver I have not encountered the freezing issue any longer while using MATE desktop. It's just that I might switch back to the "official" thing.

Interesting slant on the thread topic from jerry3904 and clicktician. . . . . . [EDIT ...but it might be a "thing" if you get MX to number ONE, but then say, "Nup; only for minor application and usage.". At that point, I figure MX would be playing in the Big League, with the big boys. So get ready for the action.]


Regards,
boombaby
_

[PPC]

Hi:
I only recently found out about dedoimedo's blog, and his reviews were part of the reason I installed MX on my latest machine (and not antiX). He basically said only praises about MX... So I don't believe he has nothing against MX or Linux, from what I read...
Now the office use problem dedoimedo talks about... He's kind of right, unfortunately what he said about the problems derived from LibreOffice's very near but not quite perfect MS Office compatibility is a problem for Linux adoption all over the world...
Before smartphones and tablets became common, people did all their "computation" on computers (pardon the pun...). Then, using a system other than Windows got people looking at you like you were a geek... Now, most people are used to other systems that are not Microsoft related- IOS and Android. People adopt them without problem. But if you show them a Linux computer, they'll probably say something like: "Cool... It looks great, runs fast... Here's Firefox, here's Chrome... Hum... the file manager seems a bit different, but no problem... Hey, where do I click to open Word or Excel?..."
Even if about 90% of Ms Office users only use the options that are available in LibreOffice, the fact is that no one wants to spend their time doing a presentation (in MS PowerPoint or LibreOffice, or WPS, or Google's Presentation software) and get everything a bit "off". It's a standards problem.
The de facto standard for office files in most parts of the world is Microsoft's documents. It's not like that everywhere (for example in Portugal, court documents are all in PDF format, the IRS is done via a Java program, and so on). But most people, specially in business don't care about MS standards or monopoly. they just want their text file, presentation, spreadsheet and so on, to run like intended everywhere. MS, it seems does a poor job adopting open standard to stop their users from fleeing to other office suits... And in my limited tests, Libreoffice and WPS and Gdocs were more compatible with Ms Office generated doc and xls files than MS Online, a MS product in itself, that should be 100% compatible!
I have no bright idea how to solve this and help Linux go main stream. Saying people have to use open standard files to force people to adopt open standard is not really the way.
My options? In text documents and even presentations without animations, when possible, use PDF files... for complex spreadsheets and presentations with animations or embedded multimedia files... I can't really see a solution, not for now...

P.

[JLS727]

Give the new version of WPS office a try if you haven't already. Many people find it to be more compatible with MS Office.