i've had no trouble with wireless connectivity, just entered the details & it worked. installing the printer driver via the command line was easier than i expected too, i followed the instructions i found online & it worked first time.
this laptop came with LibreOffice preinstalled, & i was going to switch to Open Office since i've been using that for a few years already, but then i found that i would have to deinstall Libre first if i wanted to install OO. it started to look complicated & so far there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between Libre & OO so for now anyway i'm staying with Libre. yes, not being able to use flash to create swfs is a temporary problem for me - since previously this was quite important for creating media for UpStage. however we are now well underway with a rebuild that frees the platform from flash, & everything is moving away from flash. i am using blender for a few things - mainly simply text animation & video editing - & have found it easier than i anticipated (anticipating difficulty means that one can be more often pleasantly surprised ;) ) one thing i don't have yet & will need, is a good screen recording app (audio-video). can anyone recommend one? h : ) On 24.05.2017 10:35, ruth catlow wrote: > I've been running Linux Mint on the same Samsung laptop for the last 4 > years without a single unfortunate incident... and low level > maintenance. With Gimp, Open Office (sometimes annoying), Inkscape, > Kdenlive, Audacity, VLC, Filezilla. > Good wireless connectivity. Some trouble with print drives (that's it) > > Linux Ra Ra Rah! > > Ruth > > > On 23/05/17 19:15, Edward Picot wrote: >> Helen, >> >> Good for you! I agree that Linux is much less deterring than we are >> generally led to believe. I started by putting it on an old spare >> computer a few years ago, and since then I've been buying cheap >> laptops and over-writing the existing Windows operating system with >> Linux, which always gives me a bit of a transgressive thrill. Apart >> from anything else you save a fortune in anti-virus fees. I started >> out with Mandriva Linux - which was probably an odd choice, but I >> came across a disc for it somewhere - but I now use Ubuntu. >> Unfortunately Ubuntu 16, which is the one I'm currently using, has >> some well-documented wireless connectivity problems, so I have to >> connect to my router via an ethernet cable, not that that's the end >> of the world. There are some rather lengthy fixes out there, but I >> haven't got round to trying them yet. >> >> The range and quality of software available for Linux never ceases to >> amaze me. Libre Office, the Gimp, Audacity, Kdenlive and Inkscape are >> all wonderful. As for Blender, it's mind-bending to be able to get >> your hands on a piece of software that powerful for nothing, although >> it's extremely challenging to learn (I've only scratched the >> surface). The only thing I genuinely miss is Flash - but Flash in its >> Adobe incarnation is now so expensive that I wouldn't be able to >> afford it anyway. >> >> Edward >> >> On 22/05/17 09:47, helen varley jamieson wrote: >>> >>> hi everyone, >>> >>> more than a year ago i wrote to this list asking for advice about >>> buying a linux laptop. it took me a while, but i'm now happily >>> working with ubuntu mate on a no-brand machine :) >>> >>> i spent quite a lot of time looking at second-hand & B-ware >>> (ex-display) machines, & also at new models (lenovo, dell, hp, acer, >>> asus, etc etc ... ) & got quite overwhelmed by the choice & >>> variables. nothing was exactly what i wanted, & i couldn't decide on >>> what to compromise. i had a couple of things that were definite - >>> not bigger than 14", must have ethernet port, prefereably separate >>> audio in & out; so that narrowed things down quite a bit, but still >>> i wasn't finding anything that felt right. >>> >>> then i found a uk company that sells no-brand laptops with linux >>> pre-installed (https://www.entroware.com). i could choose the hard >>> drive, RAM, keyboard layout, etc & it arrived 5 days after i ordered >>> it. i took it out of the box, turned it on, & started using it. the >>> trickiest thing i've had to do so far was use the command line to >>> get it to talk nicely to my printer - & i managed that without >>> incident. >>> >>> i'm still adjusting to the non-mac keyboard shortcuts - it's easier >>> to take a screenshot but more difficult to do an umlaut (ΓΌ), & there >>> are a couple of things i still need to work out. & one loss is that >>> there are no linux drivers for my wireless webcam, so i'm back to a >>> tethered webcam for now. but it is soooo much faster than my old >>> mac, & i've found most of the software that i need. >>> >>> so if anyone else out there is also considering making the switch to >>> linux, i say - just do it! :) >>> >>> h : ) >>> -- >>> helen varley jamieson >>> he...@creative-catalyst.com <mailto:he...@creative-catalyst.com> >>> http://www.creative-catalyst.com >>> http://www.upstage.org.nz >>> >>> *We have a situation, Coventry! >>> <http://www.wehaveasituation.net/?p=1402>* >>> 24 November 2016 >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> NetBehaviour mailing list >>> NetBehaviour@netbehaviour.org >>> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> NetBehaviour@netbehaviour.org >> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > > -- > Co-founder Co-director > Furtherfield > > www.furtherfield.org > > +44 (0) 77370 02879 > > Bitcoin Address 197BBaXa6M9PtHhhNTQkuHh1pVJA8RrJ2i > > Furtherfield is the UK's leading organisation for art shows, labs, & > debates > around critical questions in art and technology, since 1997 > > Furtherfield is a Not-for-Profit Company limited by Guarantee > registered in England and Wales under the Company No.7005205. > Registered business address: Ballard Newman, Apex House, Grand Arcade, > Tally Ho Corner, London N12 0EH. > > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > NetBehaviour@netbehaviour.org > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour -- helen varley jamieson he...@creative-catalyst.com <mailto:he...@creative-catalyst.com> http://www.creative-catalyst.com http://www.upstage.org.nz *We have a situation, Coventry! <http://www.wehaveasituation.net/?p=1402>* 24 November 2016
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