My partner doesn’t do much on the computer except web browsing and writing. The Scrivener writing program had a Linux version at some point that was abandoned.
I wanted to see if anyone personally has used Scrivener with Wine and if it is fussy or not. How has your experience been?
I could set it up for them, but they’re not a tech person and will probably reject Linux if it breaks all the time and they have to get me to come fix it.
Extra irrelevant info: trying to decide on having them try Mint or Ubuntu. Fedora is my daily driver and I typically use a headless Debian install for servers, but I heard Mint and Ubuntu are pretty perfect and low fuss for Windows users.
Not sure there’s really much point in trying to push people to use Linux if they aren’t interested in computers.
Imagine if someone came up to you raving about switching to a new car brand that has a 5% higher top speed and 10% more fuel efficiency for your money but the handbrake is in on the roof, you change gears with buttons instead of a gear stick and you fill the tires with water instead of air
Most people don’t care about what software runs on their computer and just want the default because it works the same way everyone else’s does
Only way Linux gets into the mainstream is if consumer hardware with it preinstalled gets popular, the steam deck is a good start
Thats not really true though… I installed linux on computer-illeterate people so that they would avoid viruses and they were happy with it…
I always worry with those kinds of installations that I’m going to become permanent tech support because Linux problems are far less universal
Also if they need to run Photoshop or full fat Office they’re kinda screwed
Libreoffice is essentially full fat Office at this point. If you need any , more than what it offers, you’re more likely than not a computer savvy person already. Photoshop is hard to fully replace though. I ran it in wine for a long time, still haven’t found a good alternative.
Photoshop runs in wine? Gave up on trying to run it on Linux long ago not that I have a license for it anymore anyway
There’s stuff like photopea but the web based ones kinda suck and are full of ads
Probably old versions from when you could still buy it instead of rent
Yes, I found a guide for getting Photoshop CS6 running in wine (PlayOnLinux wrapper). A recent update to something broke it for me, but it might still work for others.
Ok if they are browsing and reading emails BUT you are the administrator. But apparently s/he has a Windows only program s/he relies on… Using Wine will only increase the probability of the program crashing
It’s their partner. Maybe OP just wants to get rid of microsoft in their home network and the household, which is not an absurd thing I think.
Bingo!
They wanted to give it a try so win-win for both of us if they end up liking it.
I’m probably going to be unpopular for saying this but I think at some point you just have to settle. What practical difference does it actually make to your life if someone else has windows on your network
I think someone trying to get their partner to give free software a chance isn’t necessarily bad. They’re passionate about Linux stuff and maybe their partner shares some of OP’s concerns about the endless enshittification of Windows. Making the switch unguided is hard, but with tech support right by your side it becomes a lot easier.
Linux is as great for the most basic computer users (as a Facebook scrolling device) as it is for experts. Installation and configuration is quicker and easier and updates are quicker. When you just need a browser, a file manager, and maybe a basic spreadsheet, you’re good to go right after installing Ubuntu.
It’s only terrible for the intermediate users thst need to run specialised software, like in this case. The usability vs computer literacy graph is U-shaped. Part of this is because of lack of polish, another part is the lack of proper documentation (and the community telling you to open a terminal every time you ask a question).
The answer to “I want to run this program” shouldn’t be “akshually you should run this free, open source program someone made for a college assignment that looks like Word 97 had a stroke” or “just open a terminal and run sudo apt kajiggle ziggle zaggle --delete-all-my-files | grep -oKbRUH | awk ‘{print $100}’ 2>&123;# trust me bro”.
Hardware support is another issue, but if a device has been out for a while most hardware will just work if you pick a recent enough distro. The latest non LTS of Ubuntu or Mint usually works Fine™, or at least as well as Windows does in many cases.
As for OP: try running Zorin from a flash drive. It comes with integrated WINE support and is supposed to make Linux easier to use for Windows users. Performance isn’t great within a VM but VMs work too if you want to try it without a bootable drive. I don’t know how much easier it is to get used to Zorin because I’ve been on Linux for a while, but my first impressions were quite good.
Preinstalled on consumer hardware like Chromebooks in every school or for some unfathomable reason some of the nursing homes I work with?