I posted this as a comment in another post but when I got done I realized it would probably just be better as its own post. I’m sure I could find the answers I need myself but frankly I trust the userbase here more than most online articles.

As my username hints at, I’m a lawyer. I’m considering starting my own firm as a solo practitioner. I need a computer and/or laptop for it, and as a new business my budget would be pretty tight. I’ve mostly only ever used windows, but I’m getting fed up with the bullshit, so I’m considering going with Linux.

I assume Linux is capable of doing everything I need, which is primarily handling word documents, viewing PDFs, watching evidence videos, and online research. But my concern is that some of the more commonly used video types might have trouble on Linux, or that some of the word document templates I use in Windows might have compatibility issues.

I’m also nervous about using an OS I’m not familiar with for business purposes right away.

So I guess I’m asking a few questions. What is a reliable yet affordable option to get started? Are my concerns based in reality or is Linux going to be able to handle everything windows does without issues? What else might I need to know to use Linux comfortably from the get go? Is it going to take a lot of time and effort to get Linux running how I need it to?

For reference, I do consider myself to be somewhat tech-savvy. I don’t code or anything, but I’ve built my last two home computers myself and I’m not scared of general software management, I just don’t make it myself.

So, yeah, sell me on Linux, please.

  • Matombo@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    Ever got that feeling that your PC doesn’t do what you want and that it seems malicous and intentional?

    Switch to Linux where at least you know that when you hit a brick wall it’s an honest bug!

    Just making some fun ;) But seriously the main reason is switched to Linux is that it at least tries to be the best os for the user, unlike windows or mac os, which tries to be tge best os for the company that is selling it, which just happens to include not pissing of it’s user too much, but a little bit is ok from ms and apples point of view.

  • h3ndrik@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    You need to try it. Don’t just roll it out in your business. Try it yourself before. Get an old/secondary computer and install it, try your templates and workflows. See which version (distribution) you like. Get your E-Mail connected and so on.

    I can tell you Linux isn’t Windows or MacOS. For me, it works very well. I can do lots of things Windows users can not do or that are very cumbersome there, and I don’t have any advertisements or privacy issues. It respects my rights and freedoms as a user. And I’ve had way less issues with my printers and stuff than my windows-friends. I’ve never had a virus on my machine. I can’t tell you if it works for you.

    I also don’t like selling it. It’s (arguably) better, faster and more user-friendly than Windows in many ways. But you need to find out if you can make use of it. One big factor against it would be familiarization with a different product. Except for that, I invite you to try it.

  • TCB13@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    I’ll instead “un-sell” you on Linux: https://tadeubento.com/2023/linux-desktop-a-collective-delusion/

    Given your job I wouldn’t do it:

    People who need MS Office because once you have to collaborate with others Open/Libre/OnlyOffice won’t cut it. If one lives in a bubble and doesn’t to collaborate with others then native Linux apps might work and might even deliver a decent workflow. Once collaboration with Windows/Mac users is required then it’s game over – the “alternatives” aren’t just up to it.

    Windows licenses are cheap and things work out of the box. Software runs fine, all vendors support whatever you’re trying to do and you’re productive from day zero. Sure, there are annoyances from time to time, but they’re way fewer and simpler to deal with than the hoops you’ve to go through to get a minimal and viable/productive Linux desktop experience.

    It all comes down to a question of how much time (days? months?) you want to spend fixing things on Linux that simply work out of the box under Windows for a minimal fee. Buy a Windows license and spend the time you would’ve spent dealing with Linux issues doing your actual job and you’ll, most likely, get a better ROI.

    Linux desktop is great, I love it but I don’t sugar coat it nor I’m delusional like most posting about it.

    • h3ndrik@feddit.de
      0·
      1 year ago

      I’ve debunked that article before. Nearly every statement in it is wrong.

      https://lemmy.world/post/7068568

      It’s written by someone who expected it to work 100% like the Windows on his PC he is accustomed to. But it doesn’t work that way.

  • Helix 🧬@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    You’re already fed up by Windows, so why use it?

    You’ll probably be forced to use some Windows programs specific to your profession. You might not have a huge choice.

  • Pantherina@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    As a lawyer you should always use Linux.

    Have a LUKS encrypted hard drive.

    Video formats? There literally are VLC, ffmpeg and MPV. Every normal format works on every Distro.

    Get most apps from Flathub.org, use any Distro you want but I recommend Fedora Kinoite.

    Word documents for sure, PDF editing actually too. PDF editing is cursed in itself, but Okular + PDF arranger + Firefox + sometimes GIMP (for actually censoring) work.

    Have a look at Stirling PDF, a project combining all of these effords. Its not yet a fully graphical desktop app but this command will work on Fedora Kinoite:

    podman run -d \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v /location/of/trainingData:/usr/share/tesseract-ocr/4.00/tessdata \
  frooodle/s-pdf:latest

    Then you can use StirlingPDF in your browser by opening localhost:8080

    Use any modern Linux Distro and stay away from outdated Desktops like Mint (Cinnamon), XFCE, Budgie, Mate etc.