Has Ubuntu Replaced Windows on Your Box?

[Bry Melvin]

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> To: ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
> From: ulist at gs1.ubuntuforums.org
> Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 04:58:29 +0100
> Subject: Re: Has Ubuntu Replaced Windows on Your Box?
> 
> 
> YES.......i removed windows from my laptop and office pc....
> 
> 
> 
> now ubuntu only systems...pc running on 5.10 and laptop on dapper
> beta..
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> now i am forced to use other pc for powerpoint... my project group
> needs it....:(
> 
> 
> -- 
> neoflight
> 
> -- 

Interesting: I have MSoffice  running  with Ubuntu5.10 +wine+winetools INCLUDING powerpoint. We still have Office 97,and 4.3, but Open Office and or Kword has almost entirely replaced Office. FWIW we also tried Abiword but it was almost useless for transferring existing documents and templates.

What I can't get running is Pageplus Publisher and Coredraw. They don't appear to be supported by Crossover either.

Looked at BOCHS it doesn't seem VGA bios is going to be up to graphics apps, I haven't tried this in a while but it doesn't seem to have progressed much. 

We'll be switching to dapper when it goes out of beta on newer machines looking forward to the 3 year support, Wonder if any virtualization will get backported for it. If not it will be some time before we can retire the windows computers completely. We've TRIED exporting .cdr files to .ai which are SUPPOSED to be supported by Scribus and inkscape.but only the most primitive files with no extrusions etc are supported.and inkscape currently has no means of extruding text or shapes as of yet. nor does any other FOSS vector graphics app.
we have found that we CAN put most apps on the Ubuntu Server, that leaves the old win machines almost a thin client, just OS and swap, this keeps fragmentation etc under control.

What Ubuntu HAS replaced completely now is all our OS/2 servers. We actually left windows with 95OSR2.5 as our Umax scsi scanners lost support and didn't work with windows anymore.(they fixed that in ME but too late)  We stayed with OS/2 until IBM pulled the last plug in December. (actually the Ubuntu servers went on line in NOV ) 

In the past few years we have tried Red Hat and Suse. the everything but the kitchen sink approach was a major nuisance for us. Ubuntu's 
single CD and THEN get Only the extras you need was a big plus.

OTOH about 60% of our illustration and layout work can now be done in GIMP Inkscape Scribus OOo and Quanta+.
This is great, we've been able to expand with  0 licensing costs for new servers and add workstations without the 400-500 per station cost.for Coreldraw etc. and cut the licensing costs for Corel and Serif apps down to 2 machines .

Ubuntu has let us save $1400 in the past year for this family business as this was a have to migrate year with OS/2 being laid to rest by IBM. ( 2 windows server and 5 client licenses)

Ubuntu has also extended the life of our notebooks. ageing ibook G3s which are slower than cold molasses on tiger.They are snappy on Xubuntu.



Bryann Melvin
Melvin Graphics