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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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How was your experience using Linux in college? (midwest.social)

submitted 3 months ago by clark@midwest.social to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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This is aimed at students/ex-students that used Linux while studying in college.

I'm asking because I'll be starting college next year and I don't know how much Windows-dependency to expect (will probably be studying to become a psychologist, so no technical education).

I'm also curious about how well LibreOffice and Microsoft Office mesh, i.e. can you share and edit documents together with MOffice users if you use LibreOffice?

Any other things to keep in mind when solely using Linux for your studies? Was it ever frustrating for you to work on group projects with shared documents? Anything else? Give me your all.

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[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 months ago

I switched to Linux while going back to school in 2014.

My calculus class had one of those "buy the $80 textbook to get the code for the online assignments" things which didn't want to work in Linux. I think the URL had something to do with Wolfram. Figures. Side question: Do they still give out copies of Mathematica to Raspberry Pi owners?

Turns out English professors can't tell the difference between Times New Roman and Liberation Sans.

Writing papers in LibreOffice Writer isn't a problem, it works fine for that. My professors tended to want them printed out and turned in on paper, so they had no clue what software made it. Printing to PDF works perfectly well too; if they specifically want a .docx file you'll probably survive. I would probably recommend OnlyOffice over LibreOffice for MS Office compatibility, but an MLA formatted school essay should survive that conversion.

The least plausible thing was working with other students on PowerPoint presentations. LibreOffice Impress works well enough, you can put words and pictures on slides, but its compatibility with PowerPoint just ain't there. "Let's each make five slides." maybe if you work with a blank template first, collect them all together, then apply a style.