In All Honesty

[DQSII]

When I run Linux as my main daily driver os i will not use wine or windows software i have pcsx2 git and retro arch running native in manjaro for my gaming needs and everything else i need daily i can easily get from either the aur or manjaros repos so i see no need to run wine on my system

[tinkerer]

I had the same attitude a year ago when I announced that I would not be using any Microsoft products via Wine and that I would persevere with Linux applications, since I have retired and do not need to use Microsoft Office anymore.

As Spatry pointed out to me at the time, there are still some very good Microsoft apps that Linux equivalents cannot match.  Since then, I have used Wine to install my favourite app, SimpleMind Pro.  This app does not have a Linux version but runs perfectly under Wine (I use PlayOnLinux). Wine also runs Paint Shop Pro 7, even though this app is nearly 20 years old it still has many of the features of the more modern graphics apps.

Another little foible of mine was not to try out new distros using VM, preferring instead to install them fully on my spare laptop.  Never say never, as they say - I've used VM for the first time this week to install my old Windows 7 CD to see how I got on, it went very well in fact.  I intend to install Arch Linux on VM as a challenge.

Being an old codger, I guess I was becoming set in my ways and I tended to stick to the old technology.  Linux has helped me to broaden my horizons and I am now enjoying 'tinkering' with OSs, programming and graphics, just like back in the days of the old BBC Micro - the excitement and pleasure of learning new things has come back.  Moving forward, I'm leaving PSP7 behind and using Inkscape.  I have also started an online course on Blender 2.8.

So don't be too hasty.  You may find that even the wonderful Linux with all its great developers and free apps has to concede that there are times when certain projects will need a Microsoft app.  Of course being Linux that's why they created Wine.

Frank

[Kalthrix]

I'm with tinkerer on this one. While I primarily stick with open source software, there's certain programs that I haven't found an adequate "open source" alternative for yet. For instance, I use Google Drive as my cloud storage provider and use Insync to keep my documents current. I get that this program isn't from Microsoft or Google, but it is proprietary and works beautifully on Linux. I've tried a few of the open source equivalents and was either not able to get them to continuously sync or they just flat out wouldn't connect. I'd seriously recommend Insync to anybody else out there looking for a Google Drive client. Also, there have been times where I've used the proprietary AMD/Nvidia driver as well. Nouveau has had some problems in the past.

Other than that, I've become a little bit more accustomed to the LibreOffice suite, so at least for basic note taking as a student; it's doable. Anything requiring macros though and I either end up using my work computer with Windows and Office. Fortunately, I don't have any other courses that would require anything super advanced, so I've moved away from it and so far, it's been a pretty decent suite. Nice, simple, and to the point. So far, in terms of compatibility, it seems to be the best. I've looked at WPS Office, and while it's free for Linux, it's still closed-source to my knowledge. Also, there were some weird limitations with the free version. I believe they used to restrict printing to only the paid version, etc.

[Vintalorian]

Like the other folks have said, I can't use all open source/Linux. In fact, as sad as this is to admit, none of my currently active devices even run Linux anymore. I'm using a MacBook Pro as my main laptop (which I've given up trying to run Linux on at this point) and I just built a monster of a PC that I like to play AAA games on. I'm a Call of Duty player, so Linux doesn't cut it. And there is one other PRIMARY reason I'm not using Linux full-time: ADOBE ADOBE ADOBE ADOBE ADOBE. I'm a real-estate photographer, and I can't comfortably do my job in Kdenlive, RawTherapee, and GIMP. I keep waiting for those apps to get better, and I know Kdenlive has been getting a lot better in recent years, but GIMP, as powerful as it is, is NOT as powerful (or at least as intuitive) as Photoshop, and RawTherapee doesn't cut it against Lightroom either. I'm sure I could force myself to learn a new workflow that would work in these apps, I'm just not sure it would be as good. Adobe on Linux is the dream.

[DQSII]

Well all ur arguments are good an well but in my case i don't work due to heath reasons so i don't need to rely on windows and all i do is game and surf the web so in my case linux works just fine for my needs on a day to day basis

[Ironclaw]

My big weakness is games and own a LOT of games that I run through wine.  I do take the precaution, however, to turn off the file associations so that clicking on an exe or msi in the file manager will not launch wine.  I have to specifically call wine for it to start.

[DQSII]

My big weakness is games and own a LOT of games that I run through wine.  I do take the precaution, however, to turn off the file associations so that clicking on an exe or msi in the file manager will not launch wine.  I have to specifically call wine for it to start.

I only play 16 bit sega and snes games and ps2 games and retroarch and pcsx2 covers that for me ironclaw