Linux for college

It didn’t matter though, I got away with using LibreOffice and .docx in my UNIX class.

Brackets/Atoms?

I agree, but I think the development of Brackets doesn’t have much force behind it, so I’m hesitant to recommend it.

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I use Python for what I see is its intended purpose - scripting, small command line utilities, data processing and graphing. It is my “MATLAB” in terms of letting me deal with data and graphs, but only after using another compiled language for my modeling.

Brackets is really good, its just they don’t add very much all at once. I use Atom now mostly.

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My experience has been good using Arch so far.
Altho i would advise you still have access to a Windows install somewhere either dualboot or VM.
My college gives classes in c# and expects us to program in Visual Studio. Eventho I know
that it’s possible to develop C# in Linux due to the testing i have to do on the windows platform i just dual boot for those classes.

For all the other classes Linux has been their for me. We as a project group have decided to use
google docs for almost everything we do, making what os you use irrelevant to document preparation.

Altho I do want to give some warning tho your IT at school might not be expecting you run Linux meaning you have to sometimes figure stuff out on your own. At our college they use a weird system for the Wi-Fi wich i did not know how to configure at first but when running to the IT department to get help they looked at my screen and sed 'Linux? Well… I honestly don’t know".

The tools you use on Linux wil of course be different from Windows but I find them to be way more powerful in some aspects. Developing web based projects on Windows just does not compare to Linux.
Just make sure you hand in your assignments in the document format they expect and you should be good. I would also advice looking up what is required if your school does exams on the computer. I had a frustating moment during one exam where ‘shockwave flash’ was required which I had to install during the exam costing me some time.

I hope you have a good experience with using Linux! Don’t fear asking questions or posting problems you may encounter the Linux community is glad to help!

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This got me thinking about more I looked more deeply at what classes I have to take and what language they revolve around most and one is a Visual Basic class. So i have to Use windows (i think) at some point so Dual boot/VM is a must at least for a semester.

I feel Like we will use Google Docs or office 365 since the school seems to have a partnership with Microsoft for it ( i think most schools at least get a discount no idea). I think all students get MS Office and Office 365 for free or extremely cheap.

This is helpful I may call and ask the IT department some time after classes start this semester ( since i have to go to summer now for financial reasons). When I go for summer orientation i will see if I have issues then and make adjustments to my plans from the information gathered.

Alright, my school seems to have a tool to check your browser for compatibility problems with the site. So for instance firefox just does not work with the site at all, it breaks a lots of the site and tells me to use edge or chrome. So hopefully that will help with that problem. It checks for flash and a few other things.

This took me about 6 hours to ask because I felt like the answer should already be out there, but after researching it for a few hours, I seen lots of information that was either from 10 years ago or post that turned into distro wars after someone mentioned anything about changing distros.

The best part of Linux so far to me isn’t privacy or freedom or customization it is how passionate the community seems to be behind it.

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Depends on the college and the professor. Some colleges accept Open Office although the majority are still stuck in their old ways. I’ve been taking Java classes using a Fedora laptop. It hasn’t caused me any issues since Eclipse is essentially the same on any platform. But for paper writing I use a separate windows machine since I don’t want to cause myself a headache. While I prefer Linux I am not a Linux Zealot. To me it’s about using the best tool for the job. And as someone pursuing a degree in Information Technology I can’t afford not to be well versed every platform available.

If the college or professor is locked down on something. Even stupid or good. Be adaptive and follow.
That is not to say they not wrong or write but in charge. When your finally incharge, change it.
Being a rebel or criminal does not work if you can not blend and fit in. Being adaptive is a skill above all others. If you can spare the time and make linux work vs the course you’re doing requirements. Your a cut above the rest anyway.
Nothing wrong with running Windows or MacOS to get the job done for a task. Even if that is a course at school.

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Thanks for the information from your situation. A dual boot is the way i am going now. I Like MS office better any way it is the better tool for the job in college since it is the standard. Started to forget they are both just tools.

Yeah. I was started to forget that they are both just tools. Knowing MacOS, Windows and Linux is a positive; Where as refusing to use anything other than BSD or Linux will hurt me overall. You are 110% right about being adaptive being a skill above all others. I have been a Windows power user for years and to let that knowledge go to waste (tho not at much as others) would be a shame and an idiotic move on my part. The last few months I have started to debate what i believe in for free software and proprietary and what I want to support. I am still thinking alot about that, but I right now I feel like why would I not just use the best tool available to me for that job. One would never use a chainsaw to cut plywood.