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This is mostly true for me. I've been using Linux exclusively on all devices since 2002ish, so largely know nothing about Windows or Office happenings. I do u

by axaxs 7y ago

This is mostly true for me. I've been using Linux exclusively on all devices since 2002ish, so largely know nothing about Windows or Office happenings. I do use VSCode, which is great. I wish Microsoft would take my money for an Office that works on Linux. It's great software, but I refuse to use Windows to use it. Not out of spite for Windows or anything, it would just be foreign to me.

WorldMaker 7y ago
Out of curiosity, have you tried using Office on the web lately, such as editing documents from OneDrive?
- axaxs 7y ago
  I haven't. Is it any good? I absolutely detest Google Docs. I've used the new(ish) Outlook web interface and it's quite nice, though.
  - WorldMaker 7y ago
    It's quietly more converged with desktop functionality than a lot of people have noticed (especially with the fact that most recent components being built directly in React Native there is a ton of codeshare between desktop, mobile, and web these days according to Office team presentations). In some ways the web is at least slightly ahead of the desktop apps (the "Simplified Ribbon" transition has mostly already occurred for all the web apps, but it is still in progress on an app-by-app basis on desktop). I get a strange "OpenOffice/LibreOffice knock off trapped in some alternate 90s" vibe from Google Docs and I've never quite used Google Docs enough to detest it, but every time I am asked to use it I find it's off-putting feeling for a web app. I've used the web PowerPoint to present from in a pinch, and I've used the web Word to write from in a similar pinch, and other than obvious native control distinctions I think in most circumstances I'd be hard pressed to tell you the difference between the iOS/Android versions of Office applications and their web counterparts shrunk to that form factor. Sometimes the same can be said between web and desktop, though ironically right now the "Simplified Ribbon" gives web away immediately right now for the Big 3 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Microsoft has been doing a good job converging the experiences and all the platforms still feel like "Office" to me, at least. I think I still prefer to use the desktop versions day-to-day over web, but I don't know how much of that is just inertia that I always have them installed anyway. But I do wonder sometimes if I were to experiment with another run at a Linux only system in my life if I'd feel the web Office was sufficient for most of my needs. (Hence my curiosity if you'd tried it.)
    - axaxs 7y ago
      Gotcha. Thanks for the writeup, I'll give it a go. I don't do too much with Word, either, mainly Excel I suppose. Sometimes I'll write a script to output a CSV and want to visualize and play with the data. OpenOffice is awful, especially Calc. Last time I tried doing the above I couldn't even figure out how to sort. Not that it doesn't exist, but it sure wasn't obvious. As for using Linux day to day, go for it! When I started, it wasn't easy. Mainly because you had a lot of SWF out there still, and everything say, like video calling, was an EXE. These days, with the rise of the web based everything, it's a cinch. As much as I despise Electron on principle, it's been amazing for the Linux community. Now we have VSCode, Slack, etc. Nothing requires an EXE anymore, even gotomeeting believe it or not. My biggest pain point was email. Evolution is OK, but not great. I just started using OWA and it gets me by.
AsyncAwait 7y ago
I found SoftMaker Office to be great when it comes to office format compatibility. For OO documents, LibreOffice does it well.

by axaxs 7y ago

WorldMaker 7y ago

Out of curiosity, have you tried using Office on the web lately, such as editing documents from OneDrive?

axaxs 7y ago
I haven't. Is it any good? I absolutely detest Google Docs. I've used the new(ish) Outlook web interface and it's quite nice, though.
- WorldMaker 7y ago
  It's quietly more converged with desktop functionality than a lot of people have noticed (especially with the fact that most recent components being built directly in React Native there is a ton of codeshare between desktop, mobile, and web these days according to Office team presentations). In some ways the web is at least slightly ahead of the desktop apps (the "Simplified Ribbon" transition has mostly already occurred for all the web apps, but it is still in progress on an app-by-app basis on desktop). I get a strange "OpenOffice/LibreOffice knock off trapped in some alternate 90s" vibe from Google Docs and I've never quite used Google Docs enough to detest it, but every time I am asked to use it I find it's off-putting feeling for a web app. I've used the web PowerPoint to present from in a pinch, and I've used the web Word to write from in a similar pinch, and other than obvious native control distinctions I think in most circumstances I'd be hard pressed to tell you the difference between the iOS/Android versions of Office applications and their web counterparts shrunk to that form factor. Sometimes the same can be said between web and desktop, though ironically right now the "Simplified Ribbon" gives web away immediately right now for the Big 3 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Microsoft has been doing a good job converging the experiences and all the platforms still feel like "Office" to me, at least. I think I still prefer to use the desktop versions day-to-day over web, but I don't know how much of that is just inertia that I always have them installed anyway. But I do wonder sometimes if I were to experiment with another run at a Linux only system in my life if I'd feel the web Office was sufficient for most of my needs. (Hence my curiosity if you'd tried it.)
  - axaxs 7y ago
    Gotcha. Thanks for the writeup, I'll give it a go. I don't do too much with Word, either, mainly Excel I suppose. Sometimes I'll write a script to output a CSV and want to visualize and play with the data. OpenOffice is awful, especially Calc. Last time I tried doing the above I couldn't even figure out how to sort. Not that it doesn't exist, but it sure wasn't obvious. As for using Linux day to day, go for it! When I started, it wasn't easy. Mainly because you had a lot of SWF out there still, and everything say, like video calling, was an EXE. These days, with the rise of the web based everything, it's a cinch. As much as I despise Electron on principle, it's been amazing for the Linux community. Now we have VSCode, Slack, etc. Nothing requires an EXE anymore, even gotomeeting believe it or not. My biggest pain point was email. Evolution is OK, but not great. I just started using OWA and it gets me by.

AsyncAwait 7y ago

I found SoftMaker Office to be great when it comes to office format compatibility. For OO documents, LibreOffice does it well.