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[Alastar]

Hm... That's not a bad idea at all. I don't have any experience with Linux, though. Is there an easy way to install it?

Dead easy. If you want to retain Windows, you may have to make some free space for it (shrink the partition Windows is installed on from within Windows).
Linux is very modular though, you don't install "Linux", but a particular distribution. For a first attempt, I'd recommend Ubuntu or Linux Mint for a moderately fast machine (there are leaner alternative if your computer is underpowered or you simply consider most modern OSes bloated and excessive. Crunchbang is a very usable middleweight.). Detailed instructions are on the distribution's download pages.

Although one of the other people in the office asked if she could use her Mac, and they said no, because they weren't sure she'd be able to use all the software. But the only software I need for the job is Thunderbird, Chrome, LibreOffice (everyone else uses Microsoft Office 2010 but FUCK THAT), Skype, FileZilla, and Google Drive, all of which will presumably run on Linux without any complications, as long as the file extensions when I create documents are all the same. I'm a magazine editor, so all I mostly do is write and edit Word documents, which are stored on Google Drive, and communicate with Skype (which I hate but I can't get them to switch to anything better) and email.

Sounds fine. Biggest problem should be MS Office and LibreOffice compatibility (MS Office formats are the equivalent of requiring all correspondence to be submitted spelled phonetically, with a Swahili accent, in Cockney Rhyming Slang). But if you use the former anyway that's not a concern.

They might say that they need all the computers the same, in case someone else needs to use mine. But I could counter that we already have a "guest editor" computer available, and that no one knows how to use my software anyway (they all use MS Office for mail and documents and Total Commander for FTP and all seem very nervous about me using other programs that they've never used before).

But I'll ask, and see what they say. I should make sure I know how to install it first, though. Can anyone point me to a good tutorial?

I should also probably wait until a day when I have time to mess around with it. At the moment I'm snowed under with work that they want me to get done ASAP (even though we have a month before it goes to print).

Installation is so easy you won't need a tutorial. One nice thing about Linux is that most distributions work as live systems - you can use them directly off a CD or USB drive, most distribution come with basic things like a file manager, office package, image editor etc. out of the nonexisting box.
There is a speed penalty, but it's good enough to get a good first impression and check whether the distribution works well with your hardware without any fiddling.

[Aklyon]

I'm pretty certain .doc files are the same between the two, except for some specific features. This is from a guy who hasn't needed to do anything like what Sappho's doing for a magazine though.

[MaximumZero]

It's too bad you're so far away, Sappho, or I'd offer my services as an IT dude.

[Tellemurius]

Sappho, keys are reusable no matter what system. The trick is that Microsoft doesn't know that. If they ever ask what work was done with the computer just say you had warranty work done and the motherboard was replaced.

[Sappho]

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I think I will give Linux a try, as long as I can keep Windows as well. I'll have to see how much hard drive space is on the computer. I know it has an i5 processor and a reasonable amount of RAM, so hopefully it can handle it. As for LibreOffice, I'm already using it with no compatibility issues, just using the MS .docx format, so no worries there.

Sappho, keys are reusable no matter what system. The trick is that Microsoft doesn't know that. If they ever ask what work was done with the computer just say you had warranty work done and the motherboard was replaced.

Anything that involves calling MS is pretty much out of the question. My computer is American and I'm trying to unlock an installation on a Czech computer, halfway around the world. I did try putting in my key and it said it wasn't a valid key, so I gave up. If I can't get Linux to run (or can't get them to allow me to use Linux), I'll just have to crack the installation of Windows. Those seem like the only two options for having a working system AND keeping my awesome job. : )

[Arx]

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I think I will give Linux a try, as long as I can keep Windows as well. I'll have to see how much hard drive space is on the computer. I know it has an i5 processor and a reasonable amount of RAM, so hopefully it can handle it.

MATE Mint runs fine on the machine I have taken to calling a toaster, with 2 gigabytes of RAM and 1.5 gigaHertz CPU.

[MitchTheLich]

RemoveWAT is your friend!

[Sappho]

RemoveWAT is your friend!

I've heard bad things about that, actually. Not at all sure it's a good idea. From what I've heard, it hasn't even been supported for years, and people sometimes get nabbed by Microsoft for using it (something I can't risk at work).

In other news, my internet was out ALL FUCKING DAY today. I spent half the day trying to get tech support on the phone and getting the same recorded message over and over, "we're sorry, we don't have any English-speaking representatives available right now. Please leave your name and number and we'll call you back." I left only one message. After that, I didn't trust myself not to make death threats. This connection goes down all the frigging time, and they refuse to help me with it. When I signed the contract, they promised me 24-hour tech support in English. Fortunately, my contract runs out in another month or two. I can't wait to cancel this crap and sign up with another company that comes highly recommended by a coworker and actually *does* have English tech support.

So I think Linux is sounding like the way to go at work (I'm starting to consider using it at home as well -- does everything Minecraft-related run ok on it? What about Adobe Premiere?). I've heard of Ubuntu, so I'm guessing it's probably the most popular and, hopefully, therefore the simplest to set up? I don't know when I'll have time to do it, since I need to finish my current project first, but that's the plan, anyway. We'll see what my boss says about it...

[Arx]

Minecraft runs at more than ten times the speed at top settings on Linux than at bottom settings on Windows for me. Mods should all transfer fine.

As for installation, Mint was a matter of pushing the obvious buttons. Others shouldn't be worse.

[Sappho]

Maybe I should use Mint, then. I really don't need anything fancy. If it can run the programs listed above, it's enough for work. If it can run the programs listed above plus Steam, Minecraft, and Premiere CS5, it's enough for home. And at home, I only need to last another 2 months, until I have the money for the new computer, which will come with Windows 8. And then I can deal with that when the time comes.

[Rose]

Premier will likely not work, but it might with wine.

[Arx]

Never bet on anything running in WINE, rather dual-boot.
Especially premier software by a big-name company.

[Sappho]

Hi, everyone! It's me again! AGAIN! : D

I got ahold of tech support for my ISP this morning. They said they can see all the outages on their history of my connection, but that it's not their fault. Their service is not going down, they said. In fact, they told me exactly the same thing they told me last time I complained about this (over a year ago): it must be my router.

Naturally, the warranty on my router is expired, so I'd have to buy a new one (not cheap, and I'm still saving up for my new computer). Before I invest in this, I want to check with you guys: is it really my router? Can that really be the case? This has been happening for over a year, and the outages are very irregular. Sometimes it will work fine for weeks. Sometimes it will go down for five minutes, five times in a single day. Yesterday, it was out for eight hours, then came back up and has worked perfectly since then.

I can't think of anyone who might lend me a spare router to check with. I could buy one and, if the outages continue, return it, but that's a lot of hassle and risk. So should I take that risk? Is it likely to solve my problems? Or are they feeding me a load of nonsense hoping to squeeze more money out of me?

[LordSlowpoke]

had the same problem recently

did you do anything to the signal cable since it was installed? it's plausible that the parameters are all fucky

next time it happens, try unplugging it completely, waiting circa five min and plugging it back in

[Sappho]

I've tried that many times.

I haven't done anything to it, other than unplugging and restarting it many times. The thing that doesn't make sense to me is that this only happens some of the time. Most of the time it works just fine. If it was a problem with the router, wouldn't the interruptions be consistent? This ISP is famous for shitty customer service, so I don't trust their assessment at all unless someone here can confirm it. On the other hand, if I can fix the problems simply by buying a new router, it's definitely worth it...