I have users in my office who regularly screw up windows xp/vista laptops, despite having anti-virus, service packs etc. installed. I am at my wit’s end – solving their issues again and again. But, I have an idea. What if I use a linux boot cd/live distro to boot up their conked off windows laptops – during an emergency ! I will be really thankful if someone can suggest an excellent linux live distro or boot disk ! Please remember – my users must be able to open their ms-office documents (word, excel,ppt) at least for viewing or running them. Is there any linux distro which resembles windows desktop with capability to read ms-office documents too ? Thanks a ton !!
Thanks a lot. I am overwhelmed with the answers. Most of them serve a purpose, but what I exactly want is : A linux ‘pure’ live CD that is very very close to windows look and feel. It should in no way damage existing windows files on the laptop but open all ms office files in an emergency ! Please suggest a tested, perfect distro to download and use. Thanks again.
Red Hat Linux 5 server
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OpenOffice.org comes on virtually every major Linux distro and will open and save pre-2007 office documents (without the x tacked on the end of the extension) and will also open *.docx documents. KDE-based desktops seem to resemble Windows better.
So, I’d take a look at Ubuntu and/or Kubuntu. Ubuntu is Gnome-based, with a panel each at the top and bottom (top has the programs menu, quick launch, clock, and system tray while the bottom has the window list — but that’s customizable) while Kubuntu is made by the same people, albeit KDE-based and with less branding.
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i agree with what “hi” said i personally use ubuntu and its pretty easy to use.
i just wanted to add if you want you can use a program called “wine” in linux to run windows software if needed, or there is another program (i think it was called virtual box or something like that) that will allow you to install window inside of linux.
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i agree with what “hi” said i personally use ubuntu and its pretty easy to use.
i just wanted to add if you want you can use a program called “wine” in linux to run windows software if needed, or there is another program (i think it was called virtual box or something like that) that will allow you to install window inside of linux.
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Installing Ubuntu as a dual-boot with Windows without partitioning (XP and Vista)
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/wubi
You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application.
Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.
Boot in to windows insert the Ubuntu 9.10 LiveCD and you will offered the option of installing inside windows which is where the Wubi installer comes in, you will be asked how many gigabytes you wish to allocate to Ubuntu (I recommend 8gb) then you set a password for your installation then click install and thats it.
Once Ubuntu is fully installed upon starting your PC you will be given a choice of which operating system you want to use Windows or Ubuntu
Ubuntu 9.10 Download
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) User Guide
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Karmic
Linux Mint 7 has a similar feature called mint4win and the directions given above for Wubi can be followed (mint4win is not available for Linux Mint
http://duncsweb.com/2009/09/27/mint4win-a-wubi-based-installer-of-linux-mint/
Linux Mint 7 Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=38
Linux Mint 7 Gloria User Guide
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15884753/Linux-Mint-7-Gloria-User-Guide
Ubuntu 9.10 and Linux Mint 7 can also be run straight from the LiveCD without touching your Hard drive
OpenOffice which comes with both Ubuntu and Linux Mint will read Microsoft Office Documents
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org
LUg.
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If your users are that bad at using windows/vista I doubt that using a linux live cd would be a solution. It would mean training them how to boot into the linux cd and navigate to the correct windows directories and files and then use them. You do not say which version of windows docs you are using but some need to be converted to an open source format; another possible issue for your users.
Have your thought about using the “internet cloud” for your computing. It is not free because they charge you for using their servers. There are many vendors including microsoft (probably the most expensive). You could set up your users with a kiosk type laptop (they could not make any changes to the laptop) but would access all their files on the internet.
Here are some links. Google for internet cloud to find a lot more info.
Good luck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing
http://www.microsoft.com/cloud/?WT.srch=1
http://icloud.com/en
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If I was you I would put forth a business proposal to your company to use a business oriented distro (like RHEL or Ubuntu (LTS)) and I would include with that IBM Lotus Symphony. I suggest Symphony because it is 99% compatible with MS Office 2003 (right down to macros) and is easy to pick up if your use to MS Office (OpenOffice is good and all but can frustrate some die hard MS Office users). I would suggest SUSE and Mandriva as well but I’m not sure if Symphony works on those distros or not.
http://www.redhat.com/rhel/
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://symphony.lotus.com/
http://www.novell.com/linux/
http://www2.mandriva.com/
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PCLinuxOS KDE, the full version (It is based on Mandriva). Will boot as a LiveCD. Ubuntu does not look like Windows, that would be Kubuntu.
These are two examples I like to compare for one reason. PClinuxOS has root access directly if it is needed, where Ubuntu and derivatives of it have indirect root access (probably safer for an Office Type of Environment).
Then the objective here is finding a distribution that includes Open Offive on the LiveCD. It doesn’t come on Every Linux LiveCD Distribution. You will probably want to find one that does not include an Install file on the CD, to prevent them from changing the operating system.
Slax Linux is normally a LiveCD using the KDE Desktop Environment that is similar to Windows. I mention this one and the other is NimbleX because these two in particular, you can choose to customize online at the web site, before you down load the ISO image to burn to a disk. This allows you to choose other things to include with the LiveCD.
Doing a web search for a list of Linux Distribution List will allow you to see what is available and in most situations get to see a description of them. The decision to use Linux can at times be confusing. Not All distributions will work on all computers, so trying a few of them is the best way of judging for yourself.
I love the looks and feel of PCLinuxOS the KDE version and that is the reason why I suggest it for people new to Linux and beginners. You will get all kinds of answers in regards to Linux, but for a word of caution, some distributions will install to the hard drive with no questions asked, so care in choosing is important.
http://www.redhat.com/rhel/
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://symphony.lotus.com/
http://www.novell.com/linux/
http://www2.mandriva.com/
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