Is Linux worth it?

ok i dont mind that i just need compatibility.

Well you really will not get 100% compatibility with linux.

You need to dual boot or have a secondary machine for windows tasks.

Use Linux for everything except gaming. I use OS X for work (audio/video), productivity (email, etc), and all other misc tasks (music, movies, etc), and just boot into windows to game. Use another drive or partition if you only have one. I use a separate drive even for just games, so I can install all I want and it won't waste the space I use for important stuff. LibreOffice all the way. Works great and IMO better than MS' offering.

Linux takes some getting used to if you're really only accustomed to using Windows, but it's well worth it once you realize that all the little problems you had accepted as pitfalls of general computer usage were actually just Windows problems all along.

I use libreoffice for all my university stuff and it's more then capable

As as has been said in other replys @Taco_Bell "Linux isn't free Windows". If you need 100% Windows compatibility then stick with Windows, you can always take the option to run Linux in Virtualbox or VMware. On the other hand you could step out of the Microsoft Matrix into the real world of Computing:

Quote from a well know film:

"You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in
your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red
pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole
goes. Remember: all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more."

Is Linux worth it? Definately! If you take the time to find out, you're in for the ride of your life.

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My recommendation would maybe to use linux with a Windows VM, otherwise stick with Windows.

The very simple answer is... dual boot. I personally have my Linux installation on my desktop, then I have a separate drive with Windows and games on it. I also need M$ stuff for school, so I have Windows on my laptop. It's very simple. Dual boot works for most people, I found myself not needing it anymore, but I use that hard drive sometimes on occasions like GTA V coming out.

Why can't you use LibreOffice? Most popular distros come with it preinstalled.

@Pesho
1. Compatibility with Office isn't always good.
2. There are missing functions or they are located somewhere else, so e.g. you can't follow instructions in a book.

However, Calc is an exception. In a course that was made for Excel, it worked better than Excel itself.

  1. I've never had issues with opening Word documents, especially the old 2003 .doc formats which everyone still seems to use. Is there a list of incompatibilities anywhere?
  2. It should go without saying that if you're switching software, then you may run onto a few differences along the way. People can switch from Word 2003 to Word 2013 but not this?

i think i might take the red pill. windows is boring
sides most of what i want is either on linux in WINE or native so yeah. say i want assassins creed revelations how would i get that on linux, its not on steam for linux.

If I were you, I wouldn't switch to Linux on my main productivity machine. It will be extremely frustrating to have to deal with OS issues when you're trying to meet deadlines. You will have OS issues at the beginning, but after you know Linux and have your system set up pretty well, then you can use it for productivity.

Personally, I dual-booted until I realized that I hadn't used windows in over a month, at which point I moved Linux from the slow 8-year old hard drive to the new SSD that I had windows loaded on.

it seems like a waste of money to buy windows and then not use it

Are you a student? You can get a discounted copy of Win 8.1 Pro for around 69.99 I think.
That will also give you Win 10 if you want when it is released.

I mean even at full price, yes it is expensive but I have spent $100 on a lot worse X D.

ya know what i have a laptop with windows. so i could (i think) download a repair version for free(if its not illegal) and put that on my other machine that i will be buying. or keep windows here and use that only for work, and put linux on the desktop. the desktop is mostly for gaming and other graphics and processor heavy stuff

I didn't pay for windows. I was able to use the license from my old machine without issue.

is it legal? im not even sure i care but i would like to know

The legality depends on the type of license you have. I honestly don't know which license it's legal with. Supposedly OEM licenses are only good for 1 machine - ever. I had an OEM windows license though, and MS didn't seem to have a problem with me re-registering the same license on a different machine.

i have windows 7 enterprise it came with this computer and i dont have a cd, but i think i could still get a new windows and put it on a thumb drive

If you can get a copy of a windows 7 iso that's meant for a clean install and not an upgrade, then you may be able to use that with your old registration key to register your windows.

I just remembered. I used this guide to deactivate my windows license before loading it on another PC:

EDIT: Corrected link:

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