Has Ubuntu Replaced Windows on Your Box?

[Avraham Hanadari]

I really have nothing against Windows XP. In fact it does everything I 
want and need. For various reasons, however, I would very much prefer to 
move to Linux.

I have tried several distros and prefer Ubuntu. The community is strong 
and very helpful and Ubuntu allows me to do much of what I want. I 
cannot abandon XP, however, because there are certain necessary 
functions Linux cannot provide, or at least I have not yet discovered 
them. Here are some:

- Thesauruses for my working languages: EN, FR, DE, HE
- Dictionary for HE
- Chinese text input
- Babylon (handy word/phrase translation tool in Windows)
- Impress that truly replaces PowerPoint
- Recognition of my fax connection
- Recognition of my printer

There are/were other items, but with the kind and ready help of the 
Ubuntu community, that list gets smaller every day. Whenever I get a 
translation job, though, I have to switch back to XP and MSOffice. (I'm 
retired, but translating buys beer and crisps/chips)

These functions may not seem significant to many of you, but they are 
for me. Hopefully I shall discover how to access the functions or I 
shall discover alternative tools. Wine* may be one avenue.

That's my story.

Avraham

* No! I don't mean the drink.