migrating to linux

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Polemus

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So i am attempting to take the plunge and migrate from windows to linux (ubuntu).

I understand it is gonna take some time to adapt, but i need solutions for the following:

  • I currently have an office 365 home subscription, but i do not see the option to install office on ubuntu, is there away to make use of my subscription on ubuntu, without making use of the browser based apps, i know linux have office alternatives, but i would prefer not to change from MS Office 365.
  • Visual Studio - Currently using visual studio community 2019, is there way to get it installed on linux? i also only see a mac and windows option on microsoft's site.
  • SQLYog - I used to have a licensed version for windows, i don't have the details no more, are there any suggestions on alternatives that could be used?
  • RDP - most of the servers i work on runs windows, and previously i used a tool called "Remote Desktop Manager" to store all RDP session details, is there something similar to this for ubuntu?
  • OneDrive - I have a couple of hundred gigs of onedrive storage that i use for backup. How will i sync onedrive data with ubuntu?

Note: I've attempted this migration over to linux a few times, but i would like to commit this time. I'm willing to suffer through the growing pains :)
 
  • I currently have an office 365 home subscription, but i do not see the option to install office on ubuntu, is there away to make use of my subscription on ubuntu, without making use of the browser based apps, i know linux have office alternatives, but i would prefer not to change from MS Office 365.
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Honestly, you could try run them with Wine but I wouldn't bother as it'll most likely be a headache. I would just use the web apps, they're pretty good these days.

  • Visual Studio - Currently using visual studio community 2019, is there way to get it installed on linux? i also only see a mac and windows option on microsoft's site.
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You could try VS Code and install the necessary plugins for your language.

  • SQLYog - I used to have a licensed version for windows, i don't have the details no more, are there any suggestions on alternatives that could be used?
Click to expand...

MySQL Workbench? I don't know what your needs are here though.

  • RDP - most of the servers i work on runs windows, and previously i used a tool called "Remote Desktop Manager" to store all RDP session details, is there something similar to this for ubuntu?
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There are a good few choices, for a native app you could try Remmina, I haven't used it in a while but it should be fine.
 
Microsoft Office online should work to assist with Office 365 and One Drive.
Remmina will work for RDP, not sure if you can save sessions.
Visual Studio should also be in the software manager.
Can't help with SQLYog unfortunately.

All of these you can find it in the software manager, Linux doesn't rely on internet downloads. Have a read through this https://ryanstutorials.net/linuxtutorial/

Bear in mind that Linux is not the same as Windows. You do not need to download the exe or msi and then install it from there, search software for what you require and install.
 
Its been so long since I saw a frontend on Linux that I dont even know what they do anymore.
Last I checked which was around 10 years ago the GUI side was pretty horrible, is it ok to live with on a day to day basis these days?
I have been a Linux sysadmin for about 15 years so I only work with command line.
 
You could also explore some other distros. PopOS seems pretty popular these days, I'm actually going to take a look at it shortly myself.
 
For Visual Studio, you will need to use VS Code and the necessary plugins - if you are doing mobile development, you will need to use Mono I believe.

For RDP you can use Remmina, XRDP or FreeRDP
 
Rocket-Boy said:
Its been so long since I saw a frontend on Linux that I dont even know what they do anymore.
Last I checked which was around 10 years ago the GUI side was pretty horrible, is it ok to live with on a day to day basis these days?
I have been a Linux sysadmin for about 15 years so I only work with command line.
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KDE and Gnome are the best of the bunch I guess, KDE is similar to Windows, Gnome is STILL a bit buggy but not terrible.

I personally use KDE.
 
If you arent keen on Ubuntu, I am entrenched in it so I won't change again.

Try Debian Buster, it's actually pretty good.

Edit: WINE may get SQLYog to work I think.
 
I agree with using the web apps, wine works for the most part but takes some doing.

Why do you want to switch to Linux though? I've tried it a number of times and still run a few distros with VMware but I just couldn't see the point, I found the great majority of this to be a shlep accompanied by a steep learning curve. Other than the performance gains and safety I couldn't really see any other worthwhile gains.
 
Rocket-Boy said:
Its been so long since I saw a frontend on Linux that I dont even know what they do anymore.
Last I checked which was around 10 years ago the GUI side was pretty horrible, is it ok to live with on a day to day basis these days?
I have been a Linux sysadmin for about 15 years so I only work with command line.
Click to expand...

I suppose for a sysadmin it makes sense, but for a person that is used to Windows it is a leap to far to go straight to cli
 
gamer16 said:
I agree with using the web apps, wine works for the most part but takes some doing.

Why do you want to switch to Linux though? I've tried it a number of times and still run a few distros with VMware but I just couldn't see the point, I found the great majority of this to be a shlep accompanied by a steep learning curve. Other than the performance gains and safety I couldn't really see any other worthwhile gains.
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Performance and safety is not even on my radar. its the learning curve i am interested on. I constantly face scenarios where i have to work on linux machines, and me not knowing the ins and outs is always a pain in the ass. Just dabbling every now and then is also not forcing me to learn it properly, so the only way to do so is to make the switch and live with it for a year or two. If i then decide to go back to windows it is fine.
 
Polemus said:
Performance and safety is not even on my radar. its the learning curve i am interested on. I constantly face scenarios where i have to work on linux machines, and me not knowing the ins and outs is always a pain in the ass. Just dabbling every now and then is also not forcing me to learn it properly, so the only way to do so is to make the switch and live with it for a year or two. If i then decide to go back to windows it is fine.
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Its not a bad way to learn, throwing yourself in the deep end forces you into that pretty quickly.
I tried to make a full switch a looong time ago and had constant issues with drivers etc. I then went to Mac hoping it would be a great frontend for a *nix backend, I was sorely mistaken and I hated it.
Fast forward to now and Im back on a Mac for the last few months, still dont like it much but it works well with native command line stuff and testing locally without needing to fire up a VM.
 
Polemus said:
Performance and safety is not even on my radar. its the learning curve i am interested on. I constantly face scenarios where i have to work on linux machines, and me not knowing the ins and outs is always a pain in the ass. Just dabbling every now and then is also not forcing me to learn it properly, so the only way to do so is to make the switch and live with it for a year or two. If i then decide to go back to windows it is fine.
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Buy a copy of Linux Bible. 1000 odd pages of light reading. Covers everything from basics right up to security.
 
I dealt with almost exactly the same scenario last year, ~ same software, alles.

My experience:
Office 365 - I use LibreOffice - its very good, it came pre-installed on Ubuntu and found it working really well.

SQL - I loaded Postgresql server - I do all my queries in the Query designer there.
It works incredibly well. Very stable and fast.
I've also opened it up on my LAN so I can connect to it on all my other PC's.

Visual Studios - This is the only place I still prefer windows.
I use Monodev and you get by but VS community is still much nicer to work with.
VS Code is also an alternative but VS Community still works the nicest.

Other than that the basic still is really easy, getting around moving stuff, etc
You'll find it intuitive from the start for the most part. Community has lots of support on most questions.
Intermediate to Advanced needs a bit of researching, but still lots of forums and helpful people around

Drivers - I didnt really have any issues
Gaming - Dont really game so cant say, I think Steam is catering more for Linux these days

Software available - awesome stuff available for all things.
Software like python basically comes pre-installed and works well.
Loads of video editing, photo editing, etc available in the software centre.
 
bchip said:
Intermediate to Advanced needs a bit of researching, but still lots of forums and helpful people around
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Realistically, it is like any OS, you will never fully get to grips every tool Linux has, and it has many.
Managing the file system is where it is at - that can be done through the GUI, and it is similar to Windows in many aspects. You are required to offer a password for Root protected permissions etc etc.

You do not necessarily need the CLI for day to day usage. Not even when you are coding, it does speed up the process quite a bit.

If can make a suggestion, buy a copy of the Linux Bible - it is has everything you need. I read about 10 pages a day and refer to it often. Before working through the book I could not even format a USB drive using the CLI. Linux is actually a pretty amazing world tbh

The only issue I have with Linux is Nvidia and their really crappy support. That and I am using a non-LTS version of Ubuntu, so I always get a little nervous come update time
 
@Polemus
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