@HistoPol You will not be able to get MS Office working properly on Linux, your options are either running an older version (I think 2005 is the version that works fully through Wine), or sticking only to the Web version of Office 365. There are mature and powerful office suites on Linux, the best for compatibility is OnlyOffice however if you use a lot of newer excel features, macros, power query, vba etc this will not function.
So, as I need the high-performance current 64-bit Excel Version incl. PowerQuery etc., Linux is a no go at present.
BTW, with all the #AI integrations being developed/used already, this kind of use-case percentage is bound to increase sharply, whereas at present, I am an outlier.
@HistoPol for a standard user linux desktop is great, stable, fast, infinitely customisable. It can do anything that 90% of desktop users ever need. Can't recommend it enough over windows. The big caveat though is if you absolutely must use the full Office desktop suite or Adobe applications, then Linux is sadly not for you.
@HistoPol there are some fine alternatives to excel or photoshop which are free and fairly powerful, but they won't cut it for professional useage. As a hobby, tinkering, or keeping old hardware chugging along it's great.
Out of curiosity, as I sometimes need a 2nd #spreadsheet app running in parallel, apart from #LibreOffice (1), what #FOSS did you have in mind and which #Photoshop substitute, as #Adobe's licensing policy is getting ever more abusive (2)?
@HistoPol Libreoffice probably has the most features, however OnlyOffice better integrates with MS document formats and basically shares all of the same functions/formulae as excel circa 2016 (they also have essentially the same layout). You can use macros in it however it's done via Javascript rather than Visual Basic.
The goto Adobe replacement is Gimp, though it hasn't been updated much in the past 10 years. It replicate the basic functions but clunky and a different workflow.
BTW, I still find the #Office365#spellchecker still lacking. It always overlooks 1-4 error per printed page.
I often use #LibreOffice for my #Word docx files as an additional step.
Haven't done any papers larger than 20-30 pages with this method, but never had a layout etc. issue after re-opening and saving ahson in #WinWord.
(I do make a backup before switching to...
#Abbyy is the global market leader in massive #OCR (ex China) for multinationals, etc. I think they therefore have always the latest technology.
It has spell checking for almost any language.
@DSWadeLPC@HistoPol Maybe try PhotoGimp https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP though beware it's not a 'replacement' and like excel if you are a professional it probably wont fill the niche. But it's a capable editor for manipulating images.
@HistoPol if MS Office/Excel is a must for you, your best hope is either to dual boot with Windows (difficult to set up for new user and fraught with pitfalls) or run Windows through a VM, which will come with a performance sacrifice if you have low ram/processor power.
@HistoPol compatibility with HP laptops is probably fine, installing a Linux distro is very easy now. There is a learning curve with the switch but stick to something well documented and with a large community and you should be fine if you run into trouble. I'd advise downloading virtual box and testing linux in a VM for a few weeks while you decide if you really want to switch, and get an idea of the compromises you're willing to make on software.
@HistoPol addendum - have seen some evidence of office 2013 working well on linux, and office 2016 running... Ok. You would need to use the 32bit versions.
That #Excel 2013 works with #Linux is good to know.
I will not throw away old #MSOffice licenses then.
For work, though, no go. I have been using the 64bit version since 2019 (and would like to have a 128bit version not infrequently 😉.)
It seems that #HP gaming laptop, in particular #OMEN, seem to be partially incompatible with #Linux.
The chief reason seems to be the #GPU: we all 3 have an advanced #NVIDIA card.
@HistoPol@Linux4Everyone@linux I have that laptop and Ubuntu runs well on it. Make sure you are running the latest Nvidia graphics driver. It's an Optimus laptop which game me problems running a second screen on it, but I work around it by setting it up to use the DGPU all the time (sudo prime-select nvidia from the terminal). Probably not smart for battery life to do that, but everything is gravy for me after doing that.
I am assuming you know about #libreOffice and office365 (online) but you still want to run excel on Linux. you either need to use a compatible layer thing called #wine or #crossoversoftware for Linux not sure which.
Once you realize, that you need to select the #Etcher version for the host system, not the target #OS you want to install, it is all great. - Already at 20% of #Ubuntu on the #USB stick.
Ok. The installation on the stick is completed.
I put the stick in the target system (HP) and did not mess with any further settings, but pressed Try Ubuntu (first option).
Then, I selected the colorful (:)) option "Try Ubuntu" (without installation)
Not sure if I understood everything. I created the USB bootstick with the latest 5yr "warranty" versión.
Then, I reebooted and selected the 1st option: start or install.
I then selected boot from USB.
Then I got the BIOS Error screen for some second.
After that, the yellow screen from the UEL below, but with white instead of green.
The answer says to enable Wayland. But does not say where to put those commands: Ctrl+Alt+T will open a terminal (command prompt-ish). The first line will open a hacker-like text editor. Do the edit and a menu in the bottom tells you how to save and close. "^" is ctrl key. Nano (the text editor) is made for computers without mice. @ubuntu@Linux4Everyone@linux
Yes, exactly, but with no green but white instead (even worse contrast).
I read the link now:
"
I managed to solve the problem, I had to set the monitor calibration in Settings/Color and set sRGB as default for both monitors."
Will not work for me as I cannot see a think w/ white on yellow. The power-down button was puré luck.
Also, this us a laptop monitor, no #display buttons, etc.
No, the PC had (!) already not been working anymore b/c some smart-ass HP support technician thought it necessary to update the BIOS as a 1st step in finding about why the replaced battery did not work longer than only 45 min. Now, the PC doesn't find a bookable OS on the 2 upgrade SSD's anymore, that had been working nicely for several years. What he should...
...have done, is to check and reset the max #BatteryCapacity, a manager from a specialist battery company informed me recently. The content on the upgrade SSDs is still unchanged, though.
@HistoPol
That is strange #Ubuntu is normally purple or orange. And defo should not look like windows 1.0 . icons run on the left side and a very thin info bar on top
Could it be some sort of BIOS/UEFI config? Screen?
I hope I don't lose any of the helpful new contacts who responded to my initial question by adding something I found from 4 (!)years ago re/ my PC:
"utsukushii_rei
I'd advise against hp laptops if you can find an alternative it would be much more simple of an install process. Gaming motherboards by themselves have been known to have excessive bios/uefi settings...
"...that make the install process exponentially more difficult and tiresome. Not only that, but HP has it's own quarks to it. Such as optane memory management, IRST and various proprietary options that need to be disabled while trying to install Linux"
This sounds very serious to me, however, it was 4 years ago - a lifetime, even for BIOS/OS related issues.
If you want to experiment with it you could try a live Linux USB. it just requires a spare USB drive and there's no permanent changes.
Try googling hardware compatibility.
Ubuntu is the friendliest start, but there are many good options. The office tools are excellent, I've used them exclusively for years and years. Steam has excellent gaming options and runs many windows games just fine.
@SmallOther@HistoPol@Linux4Everyone@linux seconded for trying a usb boot! Getting Excel running is possible (but tricky) using something called Wine but it’s worth investigating Libre Office or the browser based versions of Office 365 to see if they will do what you need
@satsuma
Thanks, I'd agree re/ Libre Office or the browser version for 90-95% of the people.
Unfortunately, I do Excel spreadsheet developments, and I'd rather need "Excel 2025." ;)
Apart from that, I do not want to store spread-sheet or doc-data in any clouds for privacy/security reasons.
#Wine sounds interesting. The question is, does it limit performance?
@SmallOther
Trying a USB stick version is actually an excellent idea!--Maybe I can even access my two SSDs again, which the "very compentent" HP service technician made inaccessible when he tried upgrading the BIOS last week.
Linux distributions in my experience have supported all hardware I've used with it. NVIDIA graphics cards sometimes don't play nice due to drivers but in general your laptop should be supported. In regards to which distribution generally Ubuntu would be a good choice, I've also heard that Zorin OS is pretty good when moving over from windows and should feel a bit more familiar. Linux Mint could also be a good pick. In general most of the major distributions will work out fine.
In regards to Office I think you might be out of luck. Would the web version be sufficient for you? I personally have moved from MS office to ONLYOFFICE full time. Its quite similar and might not have all the features but its sufficient for me. There are other options like LibreOffice as well.
As you say if you've installed many other systems before this should be quite easy. You just need to download your chosen distributions iso and create a bootable USB in a program such and Rufus or balenaEtcher and just follow the installation process once you boot in.
"In regards to Office I think you might be out of luck. "
Are you saying that MS Office 365 (64-bit) will not run on #linux.
I have been using the 2019 version of Excel since its ß-version for performance reasons (and often don't have enough).
This is a k.o. criterion for me. :(
There it probably a very hacky way of doing it through a compatibility layer like wine but I doubt it would be either easy or stable. Have you thought about using windows as a VM within Linux and using it that way? Otherwise unfortunately then it wouldn't be a fit for you.
The VM idea is feasible. I am presently doing it on a Windows PC, while the Omen is supposed to be being repaired. However, this reduces performance, as memory is shared, etc.
If I have the VM(ware) on Linux instead of Win10 or 11, what would I have as benefits?
Well you would have the advantage of privacy/security as your host system in Linux so would send far less telemetry data if any at all. Also no more windows updates being shoved at you or restarting your computer in the middle of work. I'm sure you'd also learn a lot to. Its always good to have options.
I get that point, which is what I had hoped for to switch.
However, I would still be working on a "Windows PC," though a virtual one, as I work with MS O365 must of the time, apart from the browser and some other app's for editing pictures, pdf's, etc., but that is just "cosmetics."
I am not a security pro, but my VM would still be hooked up to the WWW, so what is the (security/privacy) difference - apart from that I can more easily reset the PC to an earlier state?
Yeah if Office is that necessary there is only so much you can do to isolate yourself from windows without getting overly technical. The VM is only connected to the internet if you have it on and the network connection enabled in your VM software's settings.
Add comment