Student switching to Ubuntu

[Barsoom88]

I wanted to start a thread dealing withthe thrill of switching to Ubuntu and overcoming the Windowsmonopoly in the academic area. Two years ago I tried switching butthe issues were too overwhelming.
But since dual booting Ubuntu 13.04everything is going smoothly.

[CwzJptG]

Hi!!! That's a very interesting thread in my opinion. I started using Ubuntu in 2006, seeing that Windows Vista would be a failure as a OS, and since then I have not had big problems.

Yes, I can have had little problems as GPU/Wi-Fi drivers and the need to use WINE in some Windows software temporally, but in general terms, Ubuntu has met my needs as a PC user and as a student.

In my opinion, since 2011, Ubuntu, has begun to expand really. With LibreOffice, Octave, Chrome Extensions, MonoDevelop, NetBeans, Command Line, PPA & Software Center and Web Applications integration, I haven't needed Windows in the university since 2 years.

[Barsoom88]

CwzJptG,
How did you deal with submissions having to be a Word document? Every college computer upgrade is Windows giving it a niche market but lots of headaches for students.

[drmrgd]

LibreOffice is pretty good these days with working with MS Office documents. There are a few glitches I've noticed here and there, and there are some features that are missing in Libre that I've become accustomed to in MS Office. But, you can certainly get a lot done strictly with LibreOffice, and you can then save your work in a .docx, .xlsx, etc. format so that Windows users can work with them in MS Office.

[CwzJptG]

Barsoom88

In my case, LibreOffice offers all I need for university. Teachers and students use MS Office and LibreOffice without any problem either PC, Mac or Linux. Another option is to use GDrive and share it or export to PDF for a perfect visualization.

Yes, Windows is offered to colleges, institutes, universities, etc. and a lot of people use the licenses, but only if you want a true change, you can do it, and now, thanks to Ubuntu and GNU/Linux in general, is possible :) .

For example, in my situation, the university requires me to release all the documents in .pdf format. Even the teachers use .pdf. For that reason, I only need an office suite to make my document and then convert it from .odt to .pdf without any problems and also, to avoid alterations in documents easily.

The problem arises when people want specific software and don't want to understand that there are good alternatives that meet needs. For that reason, i prefer free software and in general GNU/Linux :D .

[Barsoom88]

drmrgd,
I've used LibreOffice and like it, but the problem arises when the profs only want work submitted inn as a word document, just as CwzJptG suggested. Presently I've downloaded Wine and have got WinOffice to help the transition to Ubuntu.

[Barsoom88]

I invite any suggestions to help with the transition! :P

[Frogs Hair]

I am dual booting student and I use My Labs and Blackboard on Ubuntu with no problem, but depending on your program you may encounter Win only software. A fellow student uses Open Office and has encountered problems with formatting even saving as a Win document which the instructors didn't like . The solution is to save to a jump drive, open them in MSO and correct any format problems before submitting as MSO documents. For presentations I use Power Point or Prezi . Some CAD & Mechanical drawing software is Win only.

http://prezi.com/

[monkeybrain20122]

Depends on which university you attend. There is no real university which would insist on students submitting their papers in MS Office,--except may be in business faculty and such,-- this tends to happen only in vocational schools, community colleges and dimploma mills which call themselves 'universities", and people who teach in these places are not "professors" even though they like to misrepresent themselves as such. For scienctific disciplines latex is the standard, not MSWord. I went to a top research university in Canada for undergrad and graduate degrees and I have never once had to use MS Office, neither do the people I know who are in the humanities,--many do use MSO, but it is not required: you can submit a hand written essay if the idea is good.

[mynamesalex]

I'm going back to school BECAUSE of Linux. I always had some sort of plan, but 6-8 months ago I got sick of Win8, sick of reinstalling Win7 over bogged down installs that age quickly, or other registry, and Windows issues. And setup taking forever each time.

With Linux I find it so easy, I bought a text book on it and now I know Ubuntu and Linux better than Windows, which I used for my entire life until now (24 yrs old, so about 15 years of Microsoft products in my hands).

I even find multi-tasking when gaming, my cheif use of the PC, is far superior to my Windows experience. Unity beautiful. Libre Office perfect for the occassional office work I need to do. And now I'm a command line whiz-kid.

I don't even dual boot anymore. I used to have dual boot, but the only thing I needed windows for was iTunes to download my existing song library I bought on iTunes. But I just VM'd Win7 because it worked perfectly, and ran it from there. Today I reinstalled Ubuntu 13.04 to use all the disk space. My SSD for / and 2tb (total) Raid 0 array for /home, which was split before, and only used as extra storage. I ended up having to move all sorts of directories over to it and symlink them, it was a pain. This is going to be much easier. I'm just glad I got past the automounting raid array on boot issues, and Nvidia driver issues. It's clear sailing from here :)

[Frogs Hair]

I think the point is to give the instructor what they want and not complain about an inability to use certain software . Because an institution has an agreement on a document type for certain courses study that doesn't place what they are teaching in question . A lot of medical and business software that students use is for windows and as necessary as the course text book. In this case a student can use the schools computers or have another option such as a reliable program to run the software. If a student is off campus relying on the school's hardware is less than ideal when it comes to home work.

Sadly there is a shift away from hard copy due to all the costs associated with paper and and 0nline submission is becoming more the norm.Use what ever document format the instructor/school accepts and check the course requirements well in advance so you don't find out that you need Cross Over or Windows the next day. A few have landed here on on the forum with that problem.

[Barsoom88]

monkeybrain20122,
The university I'm attending is a real "brick and motar" university and the profs wanting these MS submissions are Phds. I think it's because they get a super discounted price on the MS software.

[Barsoom88]

Frogs Hair,
Thanks for the link I'll check it out.

[Barsoom88]

mynamesalex,
You give me hope to be able to switch totally to Ubuntu of one flavor or another. I must adimt i've was a Mac fan for quite awhile until they switched from PPC to the intel chip and my computers started having the same issues as the MS machines. Coincidence? Perhaps, but with a larger price tag.

[Barsoom88]

I think the point is to give the instructor what they want and not complain about an inability to use certain software . Because an institution has an agreement on a document type for certain courses study that doesn't place what they are teaching in question . A lot of medical and business software that students use is for windows and as necessary as the course text book. In this case a student can use the schools computers or have anther option such as a reliable program to run the software. If a student is off campus relying on the school's hardware is less than ideal when it comes to home work.

Sadly there is a shift away from hard copy due to all the costs associated with paper and and 0nline submission is becoming more the norm.Use what ever document format the instructor/school accepts and check the course requirements well in advance so you don't find out that you need Cross Over or Windows the next day. A few have landed here on on the forum with that problem.

You made an excellent point the students are the ones having to deal with MS off campus. Also, I'm pretty narrowed on the course options I have hence the need for MS word. I've been taking online courses since they give me more time, no commuting besides the gas savings alone.:p

[Frogs Hair]

Frogs Hair,
Thanks for the link I'll check it out.

You can do some really cool stuff with Prezi .

[LaJuan]

This IS a great thread indeed!!!!!!!!! I was hoping with many colleges using blackboard that somebody would offer an Linux or Ubuntu solution to an college as a trial or test period. I'm sure more would jump on board. Right now, my wife and I begin class and we'll be dual booting. It makes me said because we've been using Linux and Ubuntu since 2006 and the thought of Windows even being on my systems gives me headaches.....

[monkeybrain20122]

monkeybrain20122,
The university I'm attending is a real "brick and motar" university and the profs wanting these MS submissions are Phds. I think it's because they get a super discounted price on the MS software.

Well then maybe you should talk to them and explain that MS has nothing to do with the quality of the work submitted and that they had superdiscounts doesn't mean you have, and even with discount you still have to pay (unnnecssarily). When I worked as a TA one professor wanted the grades to be submitted in Excel. I did everything with Calc, he didn't even notice the difference. Then I was chatting with him and I told him I had never used EXCEL. I told him about OOO and explained that he shouldn't assume that we all had EXCEL. He agreed and had switched to OOO himself.

[mynamesalex]

Well then maybe you should talk to them and explain that MS has nothing to do with the quality of the work submitted and that they had superdiscounts doesn't mean you have, and even with discount you still have to pay (unnnecssarily). When I worked as a TA one professor wanted the grades to be submitted in Excel. I did everything with Calc, he didn't even notice the difference. Then I was chatting with him and I told him I had never used EXCEL. I told him about OOO and explained that he shouldn't assume that we all had EXCEL. He agreed and had switched to OOO himself.

Hahaha, another conversion to FLOSS software successful. Highfive homie.

[Bucky Ball]

I switched six years ago and am in my final year of honours. They've never known the difference, so the whole Win thing in academia is a bit of a joke, IMHO. There are a couple of Win programs I use when I need them, which is very rarely, and that's it. For 99.9% of the time it is Ubuntu all the way (and a minimal install without bells and whistles, BTW).

Sure, certain fields use Win or Mac only software. That is the exception. For everything else, Ubuntu is no different. Libreoffice, Zotero (install that if you haven't already), Gimp, and a few other bits and pieces. That's it. Presentations, assignments, artwork, even editing music stuff together with Audacity, all done!

The whole recommendation of Unis about using Win is, as we say in Australia, a furphy. Go for it and good on you! Just don't be too smug when you watch your classmates paying through the nose for overpriced Macs or having problems with the latest Windows, both recommended by the uni, naturally.

In the end, is all about money (dig a bit there and you might find some dead ends or, if you're lucky, transparency about the deals they have with Microsoft and others). Ever wondered why the latest Windows is loaded on the library computers which are used for little more than searching the catalogue and researching on the web? They could be running an extremely lightweight Linux distro, but that's not good for business. Might be different in other countries, but not here.

Ring the uni IT department and the staff there will tell you it doesn't make a jot of difference (depending on the course), but you might need to twist their collective arm a bit. ;)

PS: Just read a bit of one of the other posts. Just hand in what you have to hand in and don't mention what it was created on. IT IS RELEVANT and if you say nothing they'll never know. If you do, refer to points mentioned: they have good reason for wanting to force you to use MS. Ignore it. Say nothing.

PPS: I'll be a PhD in a few years and it won't matter a jot to me. I'll be encouraging students to use open-source. How the heck are they gonna know and what is 'an MS manuscript?' If they're so smart (and don't be scared by the bit of plastic on the door and desk) ask 'em to explain that ... :-k

MS manuscript? Pah, they're pulling that out of the ether and if you wanted to take it further (higher up, the PhDs don't really have a say on this) I'm sure you would have a solid case. They're talking rubbish. And that's not IMHO, it is a fact. Ask for conclusive university policy in black and white and if they can present that, you'd still have a case to challenge it higher up still. Good luck. ;)

Jeeps, this sort of drivel from 'educated' professors really rattles my cage ... obviously! :mad:](*,):roll:#-o:evil:

(* Lastly: I hand up an assignment, an 'MS manuscript', which I have created using, on Win, Openoffice, Gimp, Zotero and Firefox. All open-source apps. Well, sir and/or madam, there's a conundrum ... It looks like an MS manuscript, smells like an MS manuscript ... must be. Etc. Further proof they wouldn't have the foggiest idea if you don't tell 'em.)

(But not leastly: My uni fobbed me off when I started contacting them about Linux how-tos for various stuff on the uni IT website (they had them for Mac and Win). That was five years ago. Now there are not just Linux how-tos but Ubuntu how-tos right up there with the others. Not just my hassling but a spurt in Ubuntu users. The IT department told me Ubuntu was one of the least popular distros when I first approached them!!! Their tune has changed and is now a sweet song. Be persistent, don't get scared off, and take it to a higher authority if they decide to 'pull rank'. You'll no doubt find they are standing in quicksand. Don't be surprised if you are not the only Linux user attending. By the looks of this thread, it is doubtful you would be. Find the others and make a case, if you have the time or the inclination. Good luck.)

[erasmusp]

Hi Barsoom88, Did you actually use the 'Save As' in LibreOffice Writer and pick "Save as Microsoft Word 2007/2010 XML (.docx)"? I have used this function successfully a number of times to save MS Word or MS Excel readable documents...

[monkeybrain20122]

I think the point is to give the instructor what they want and not complain about an inability to use certain software . Because an institution has an agreement on a document type for certain courses study that doesn't place what they are teaching in question . A lot of medical and business software that students use is for windows and as necessary as the course text book. In this case a student can use the schools computers or have another option such as a reliable program to run the software. If a student is off campus relying on the school's hardware is less than ideal when it comes to home work.

.

You may be right that they use necessary Windows software in some specialized programs, but then may be not. It doesn't hurt to ask.

LO can reproduce any MSO document type so I don't really see an issue here ( I can't see why one would want to create very intriguingly formatted documents for school papers)

Course textbooks are a good analogy, in some cases they may be necessary, but often they are just formalities, you can get the same info from other sources, I have been a student and an instructor so I can say that from both sides. I never bought any textbook since second year (I bought some reference books because I wanted them, not because they were "required') I only got into a problem regarding textbook when I was actually teaching in a community college. I told my students the textbook was crap and my notes would be self contained and better so they wouldn't have to spend $150 on it. There were complaints not from the students but from other teachers because they all taught out of the book and were afraid that their students might soon expecting printed class notes(= more work for them), also apparently one senior teacher coauthered the book and he was getting royalties on each copy sold.

[Bucky Ball]

LO can reproduce any MSO document type so I don't really see an issue here ( I can't see why one would want to create very intriguingly formatted documents for school papers)



+1. Just spit them out as MS docs. Or PDFs if they'll accept.

[monkeybrain20122]

My uni fobbed me off when I started contacting them about Linux how-tos for various stuff on the uni IT website (they had them for Mac and Win). That was five years ago. Now there are not just Linux how-tos but Ubuntu how-tos right up there with the others. Not just my hassling but a spurt in Ubuntu users. The IT department told me Ubuntu was one of the least popular distros when I first approached them!!! Their tune has changed and is now a sweet song. Be persistent, don't get scared off, and take it to a higher authority if they decide to 'pull rank'. You'll no doubt find they are standing in quicksand. Don't be surprised if you are not the only Linux user attending. By the looks of this thread, it is doubtful you would be. Find the others and make a case, if you have the time or the inclination. Good luck.)

I found that out about my uni as well. :) Their vpn always supports Linux but the how-tos were only for Windows and Mac, they offered a generic tarball for Linux and some compiling instructions, but recently I found that they have screenshots and tutorials for Ubuntu as well and they also offer a .deb for download.

BTW all very good points that you made, I wish there is a "like" button. :)

[Bucky Ball]

I found that out about my uni as well. :) Their vpn always supports Linux but the how-tos were only for Windows and Mac, they offered a generic tarball for Linux and some compiling instructions, but recently I found that they have screenshots and tutorials for Ubuntu as well and they also offer a .deb for download.

BTW all very good points that you made, I wish there is a "like" button. :)

;) And cheers. The VPN setup was my starting point. They didn't supply instructions for Linux or a tarball. How things change, but as I say, this could be largely due to an upsurge of Linux users over the last five years rather than my sporadic missives.

One further point to this that I forgot: My wife completed her entire masters degree without EVER using an MS app. It was ALL done on Ubuntu. Never a question asked as she provided them with .doc files (or PDFs or other MS files) that would open without issue in MS Office. Easy. ;)

[georgelappies]

Completed my B.Sc. Comp Science degree also using nothing but Linux and opensource programs. Could submit most assignments and homework as PDF's And for the rest LO / OO save as .doc was more than sufficient.

It is actually sad that Universities would force students to use anything other than opensource.

[Barsoom88]

This IS a great thread indeed!!!!!!!!! I was hoping with many colleges using blackboard that somebody would offer an Linux or Ubuntu solution to an college as a trial or test period. I'm sure more would jump on board. Right now, my wife and I begin class and we'll be dual booting. It makes me said because we've been using Linux and Ubuntu since 2006 and the thought of Windows even being on my systems gives me headaches.....

I've found that the browser (currently using Midori) your using is important to be able to copy and paste onto Blackboard while using Ubuntu. I've pasted a few times and there's no difference in looks or performance.

[Barsoom88]

Bucky Ball,
Nice rant! It even made me feel better reading it! If I could I would convert the whole world over to Linix but it's really about the money isn't it?

[Barsoom88]

Well then maybe you should talk to them and explain that MS has nothing to do with the quality of the work submitted and that they had superdiscounts doesn't mean you have, and even with discount you still have to pay (unnnecssarily). When I worked as a TA one professor wanted the grades to be submitted in Excel. I did everything with Calc, he didn't even notice the difference. Then I was chatting with him and I told him I had never used EXCEL. I told him about OOO and explained that he shouldn't assume that we all had EXCEL. He agreed and had switched to OOO himself.

"If we used a working operating system I would be out of a job" quoted from an IT person. So there are others things at play besides common sense. :p

[Barsoom88]

[QUOTE=erasmusp;12809623]Hi Barsoom88, Did you actually use the 'Save As' in LibreOffice Writer and pick "Save as Microsoft Word 2007/2010 XML (.docx)"? I have used this function successfully a number of times to save MS Word or MS Excel readable documents...[/Q

No, I haven"t but I'll check! I'll take any advise I can get!

[Barsoom88]

You may be right that they use necessary Windows software in some specialized programs, but then may be not. It doesn't hurt to ask.

LO can reproduce any MSO document type so I don't really see an issue here ( I can't see why one would want to create very intriguingly formatted documents for school papers)

Course textbooks are a good analogy, in some cases they may be necessary, but often they are just formalities, you can get the same info from other sources, I have been a student and an instructor so I can say that from both sides. I never bought any textbook since second year (I bought some reference books because I wanted them, not because they were "required') I only got into a problem regarding textbook when I was actually teaching in a community college. I told my students the textbook was crap and my notes would be self contained and better so they wouldn't have to spend $150 on it. There were complaints not from the students but from other teachers because they all taught out of the book and were afraid that their students might soon expecting printed class notes(= more work for them), also apparently one senior teacher coauthered the book and he was getting royalties on each copy sold.

Excellent point! As a student the syllabus is a contract that must be adhered to-period.

[Barsoom88]

+1. Just spit them out as MS docs. Or PDFs if they'll accept.
That's just it, in most cases a PDF submission is a big no-no! The profs even take major points off for giving a PDF!

[Barsoom88]

Completed my B.Sc. Comp Science degree also using nothing but Linux and opensource programs. Could submit most assignments and homework as PDF's And for the rest LO / OO save as .doc was more than sufficient.

It is actually sad that Universities would force students to use anything other than opensource.

Sad that places that claim to be open minded are not opensource.

[Bucky Ball]

That's just it, in most cases a PDF submission is a big no-no! The profs even take major points off for giving a PDF!

Just give 'em a word .doc, then. They probably want to add comments (in the little comment boxes that attach to particular bits of the text) and send it back to you digitally. All good. The commenting function works fine with LO or OO, too!

[Barsoom88]

UPDATE:
I downloaded NOOKStudy and it seems to be working fine. I have been using it for all of my etextbooks that I need. Another goal finished! =D>

[Frogs Hair]

]
You may be right that they use necessary Windows software in some specialized programs, but then may be not. It doesn't hurt to ask.

They instruct using the required software so there is no way to use a substitute as nice as that would be . As just one example, all laboratory science programs require an MS Access course.

[monkeybrain20122]

]

They instruct using the required software so there is no way to use a substitute as nice as that would be . As just one example, all laboratory science programs require an MS Access course.


Well "laboratory science" doesn't sound like anything that would be offered by a respectable university, sounds like some community college program for lab techs, so I am not surprised. That's why I said in my first post on this thread that such requirements are not usual in real universities (except in some specialized areas) The depressing place where I taught for one semester actually had a required course on MircoSoft Office in their biochem program, such thing is never heard of in my own university, the instructor (who was a grad student from a reputable U) told me this was just nonsense, he himself never used MSO, all he did was rtfm and presented to his students. In my uni one component of physics lab (computation) was guess, Linux (they use redhat) We (starving Phd students) taught in such programs just for the money. :)

[Frogs Hair]

Well "laboratory science" doesn't sound like anything that would be offered by a respectable university, sounds like some community college program for lab techs, so I am not surprised. It part of many medical programs . My brother is PHD and a professor so I'm aware of what you consider a respectable university. He had humble beginnings in a two year collage that is part of state university system.

[monkeybrain20122]

My brother is PHD and a professor so I'm aware of what you consider a respectable university. He had humble beginnings in a two year collage that is part of state university system.

Sure. The place where I taught had an option to transfer to a real university in third year if the student meets certain GPA requirement, and I had a couple of bright students who were there because they figured it would save them some money for the first two years, but that is besides the point, the place was not a real university and reputable U don't teach students to use EXCEL to do stats (except may be for the business faculty) Those who end up transferring are exceptions rather than the norm (and you would have to do a lot of work on your own to catch up if you do end up qualify to transfer)

[Frogs Hair]

So , we agree the in certain specialized fields that a student may encounter MS based software. I give credit to any person trying to better themselves through education and not every person gets an opportunity to start out at an up scale university. I certainly would not be disrespectful or elitist towards a student because they start out at a state university.

Many students go the two year route because it is about half the price for courses and they using the same material in most cases. During this process a student might have to use some Windows software.

[monkeybrain20122]

I certainly would not be disrespectful or elitist towards a student because they start out at a state university.

Many students go the two year route because it is about half the price for courses and they using the same material in most cases. During this process a student might have to use some Windows software.

No, I am not disrespectful towards the students, but I am frankly, contemptuous towards the teachers who insist on such requirements, these are not serious academics or "Professors" as they like to be called, just glorified trade school instructors.( I told my students to address me by first name and told them I was not a 'professor' and nobody who taught in that institution was one) My "elitism" is directed against these so called "higher education" institutions and the people who pretend to be academics, not the students.

Sure there are Phds who teach in these places, but they are either 1) part timers between jobs or 2) senior teachers who have not published anything or done any research since they finished their thesis 30 years ago. You know, when I taught there I was paid $60 an hour just as a part timer with no experience or seniority, the regular teachers easily made $80+ an hour and got all kind of perks and minimal work loads, but I would not like to stay there for long, too depressing, your brain turns to mush after a while.

I don't know how it is in the U.S., but in Canada the first two years in the colleges and the real universities are definitely not the same. The difference is between education and training. Education emphasizes on abstract thinking skills, whereas training emphasizes on following rules and repetitions. So contrast "you must submit your paper in .docx format or it won't be read" with "As long as your paper is well written I don't care if you write it on toilet paper" (actual words from one of my professors)