Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 22nd Oct 2007 09:08 UTC, submitted by Dan Warne
APCMag has a lenghty article on switching from Windows to Ubuntu. "When I was first given this task I had to sit and blink a few times, if for nothing else than dramatic pause. I'm a self-confessed Linux nut, as some of you may know, but even I'm cautious to do away with Windows completely. There's a reason I have a dual-boot Windows and Linux machine. Several of them, in fact. But have I just been conditioned into using Windows because of past experience, or applications, or file formats, or the myriad other reasons that make Windows a comfort zone because it's all so familiar?"
Thread beginning with comment 279831
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE: Education/Science Publishing on Ubuntu
by MiliTux on Mon 22nd Oct 2007 17:28
in reply to "Education/Science Publishing on Ubuntu"
Member since:2007-05-16
1. You shouldn't be using OpenOffice or Microsoft Office. You should be using LaTeX. If you're a *real* scientist that is 
2. I have run Origin in Wine *flawlessly*. Otherwise, use Gnumeric, bundled with R it has fantastic statistical analysis tools. Otherwise there is Matlab, gnuplot. Take your pick.
Problems solved.
RE: Education/Science Publishing on Ubuntu
by snozzberry on Mon 22nd Oct 2007 19:41
in reply to "Education/Science Publishing on Ubuntu"
Member since:2005-11-14
1. Openoffice.org's bibliography capabilities are not usable. There is no Linux alternative to a program like EndNote.
Zotero for Firefox. Integrates with Word and OO.o.
http://www.zotero.org/blog/making-the-switch-to-zotero/
Member since:
2006-04-05
I teach at a university and use Ubuntu as my primary OS, but I must keep Windows XP on my laptop for publishing research journal articles for two reasons:
1. Openoffice.org's bibliography capabilities are not usable. There is no Linux alternative to a program like EndNote.
2. Data plotting an analysis software is severely lacking. There is no good, easy to use Linux alternative to a program like Kaleidagraph, Origin, or SigmaPlot.
If the above two items were eliminated, I'd ditch Windows on all the PC's in my research group. I use Codeweavers Crossover products, but that doesn't work perfectly either.
I feel if the above two things were addressed, Ubuntu could make significant progress in taking market share in education. Making it work in education will pay off later as people want to continue using what they were trained on in school.