Why does College hate Linux?

[BBOSAK2143]

Here I am at 49 years old going to College. My major is Business Information Technology. My plight is I have zero belief that every company willing to hire people in my career field only use Windows! No 1, I do not despise any OS. From the 3 months I have spent on quite an adventure exploring many OS's, I have gained a great deal of knowledge. Yes there are systems that are tough to use, or almost impossible to install, but they are all interesting and gives me the basic idea how most systems should work. As I have worked as a laborer in many different areas, I have also observed companies that do not use Windows and those that do. Now I am in my 3rd semester of College and they are pretty much insisting I use Windows or Mac. Sure I can use VIrtualbox and emulate it, but I really feel it is not necessary and very disturbing that an institution of learning would be so biased against Linux. Sure I have used Wine many times, but frankly it seems to be a disaster area! I have yet to try it on Sabayon for fear it would wreck a great system like this! Isn't that strange? I mean before I did not care what I did to a system and now, I do! As I have said in a previous statement on this forum, I only dreamed of an OS of this magnitude! To see it a reality, I will stand behind it 200%! I have emailed my College about my reluctance to use Windows and stay on Sabayon. I am hoping for some resolution to this effect, if not I will need to install Firefox or Invoke Internet Explorer since am sure can fool them someway!!! Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I am truly nuts about Sabayon9 and want to stand my ground!!! Also have to add this note. While using Linux Mint, I installed Sabayon9 64bit G iso and was totally astonished to see that Sabayon9 had the ability to read the real hard drive along with the phoney virtualbox gives! This is the first time I have ever seen that happen! Truly amazing and everyday I am amazed at the time saving abilities Sabayon has for me!

[Fitzcarraldo]

As I have said in a previous statement on this forum

As this is your first post, which previous statement was that?

Anyway, good luck with your studies and with your efforts to use Linux, rather than Windows, in college. I think the tide is turning (Canonical have played a big part in that, whether or not one is an Ubuntu user), so keep plugging away.

WINE works fine in SL, by the way. With WINE (in any distribution) it's better to install applications with separate prefixes (see e.g. WINE tips: Giving each Windows application its own environment).

I have used Linux at work for several years now, although I do use Microsoft Office under WINE, both for compatibility with colleagues' documents but also because I have found it to be better than LibreOffice in some areas (although I'm happy to use LibreOffice for many things). The only time I have to use Windows at work is to check-in documents using Microsoft SharePoint (I can do everything in Linux except check-in: very annoying). But Linux really can be a perfectly viable substitute to Windows on the Desktop in business, so even more so in college where there should be more flexibility.

[anomaly65]

Highlight some tough stuff there. Colleges without a heavy EE/ECE/CS/etc majors don't have the long term "whatever works best at the least cost" ability to diversify beyond what many an MBA thinks....

Most "IT" managers know what they see. "windows" on their desktops, and numerous legacy business apps (still many 16bit even....) that are windows only.

The best punch/approach is to focus in on the virtualization impact of linux. while many middleware/bus-apps run windows, you'll find many being fronted by LAMP servers, etc. Also, MS has put a LOT of code lately into the virtualization parts of linux to help windows play better with linux as the hypervizor. Big work, they get it. Much consolidation and continuity of operations can be facilitated in such a way. think of it as "mini" cloud computing (such a BS term, but it sells) in a box/rack/etc.

[BBOSAK2143]

Will try to be brief as to how my first post which seems to have vanished or an error of my own. Sabayon9 is one incredibly brilliant system! I mean I have seen many operating systems and no Linux system performs as well! To combine the drivers and programs that devastate most LInux OS's into this OS to avoid the hassles is something beyond belief and shows this developer truly cares about its users!!! Combine that with support for 5 years? I don't know about anyone else, but for me I am home!!!! Sure I will still mess with virtualbox since that is my all time favorite thing, but permanent OS this is it I am done! If I had a 200 IQ like this developer, just maybe I could have done something like this! Truly is something beautiful I only dreamed of as I examined many many OS's! Package management? That one is in the clouds, heavens something cause is way beyond! The package manager "RIgo" is like a hero or close friend! I may forget what pieces make a program but not RIgo! Will finish this up next time as now have to get to class!

[BBOSAK2143]

The apt-get command can be nice but most times seems to be a disaster, so I sure appreciate I can just type into "Rigo" and it is there almost all the time! I did see a Linux Distro with a brilliance very similar to this package management system. I was very proud to have downloaded the program that would assemble these packages to make programs available in the repo! Is pretty complicated and very precise in its actions! So yeah, I praise the package management on Sabayon9 as I also praise the same on the Chinese Linux distro "YLMF". Will also add "YLMF" has the very best graphical boot up screen at present. The animation is very precise and beautiful to watch. Of course since they are not running the full blown 64bit it is a little easier to accomplish. YLMF's color scheme was also easier on those of use that are on the computer for hours and the same goes for Sabayon9! These developers respect the fact us users have many daily tasks to perform and don't just toss the system out as is! YLMF 5 is still in the beta stage of development. Has been there since February. Their YLMF 4 was absolutely stunning in its looks, but unfortunately got outdated fast thru kernel change. I am afraid 5 might suffer the same plight! So all of us here are lucky we have such a great developer that keeps up with the kernel change and can keep things running perfectly! Before I start looking like a novel let me get back to the original idea. In another OS I had seen a browser that was capable of sending the signal it was MS Explorer which fools these sites that are against those of us not MS into thinking we are! Love the idea, but never had the chance to use it. So was wondering if anyone remembers the name and if it is possible to get?

[BBOSAK2143]

The ole memory finally kicked in! Remembered Konqueror from my travels and am happy to say with the help of some very helpful people on here is installed and running great. Of course was a long haul since dependencies between KDE and Konqueror are great and can call those two symbiotic. A warning to those that want only Konqueror on G(Gnome) version after installation is missing a module called libkhtmlpart.so. As I was in a hurry since have loads of studying and tests, I was unable to spend time to just find the module itself and install. Side effect is I have installed KDE desktop. Athough I am told KDE looks nice and functions well, I am not seeing it to my liking at present. I will investigate more when time permits! So far with the desktop switching that I need to do, Gnome is just out-performing anything I have ever seen!!!! So far am also unable to set Konqueror to any other home page than KDE, but in time am sure I will cure it! Most likely I will use the KDE desktop when I have to enter sites that want IE! Konqueror is the master of disquise on that so should be no problem! As I stated in my first post in this coffee clutching section(lol!) I love Sabayon and it awesome performance and refuse to give into using an OS I don't want to use, just because it pleases the College! Am staying right here on Sabayon9 and enjoying computing like never before! Keep going developers I will constantly hail you as the best, because you are!!!!

[dymatic]

In Harvard, you are required to use Linux to do the work there. REQUIRED. Although, they use Fedora and not Sabayon, but at least it is Linux.

[Fred111]

Dude, I feel your pain. I had a class over the summer about office 2007. Got by with using the demo version, but It was a pain to have to use windows that entire semester. Uggh, windows is so practical.
I'm having to use Excel 2007 once a week for a Chemistry class I'm taking this semester. Windows is a PITA, but at least this is a great opportunity for me to figure out Office 2007. I couldn't do half the things I'm doing now on Excel with the open source alternatives.

[Fitzcarraldo]

^I've been using Office 2007 in Linux for three or four years now. Works with WINE.

[pepe999]

Hi all,
I have just installed (and said good bye to old Debian) the latest Sab 11 Mate and it looks pretty awesome so far.
About College and linux. Windows whatever is the most popular system at the Manchester College but tutors at least on IT courses use or acknowledge linux systems so handouts or any other stuff for students is always at least in two versions (.doc, .pdf or .odt). I remember when I joined them that tutors used Kubuntu or openSUSE but it stopped when MS released Win Seven.