This is a valid point, and examples about multimedia could be added. But I'm a competent user and I can solve those issues for myself and family members, so I am fine with the Linux desktop, and so are they, even though they are 'average' users. But this discussion was originally about office software. Don't forget that LibreOffice runs just fine on Windows, and there are no special support issues that I'm aware of.

Except I have trouble seeing how home users are locked into an expensive office product. At work, sure, in a lot of places you simply have no choice. But at home? Where's the compatibility requirement for complex documents?

Here's the thing: People who won't accept a LibreOffice document from me are going to get a PDF. Weird, huh?

Overly complex presentations lose the message. People start watching all the cool effects instead. Great that PowerPoint can do all that stuff, but I have to agree with the poster who said you don't really need it. Not sour grapes. Just a desire to communicate my message to an audience effectively.

And I'm willing to do that (rather than pay an accountant a lot more) because I expect them (e.g. TurboTax) to keep up with changes in tax law and reflect those in the software. If they do that well (and so far I'm satisfied) then it's worth a reasonable annual fee.

Again, even as a die-hard Linuxer, I have to recognize the advantages of a larger Linux community. But I do not pretend that Linux is going to be a dominant force in the foreseeable future, if ever.

Still, I'm OK with that. As long as there are enough knowledgeable users--- and the growth of Linux since the very early days makes me believe that's not a problem--- Linux will be around. It's a fact that I can do more today with Linux than I ever could before. Of course, if I have a problem I troubleshoot it myself, aided by the knowledgebase accumulated by other Linuxers. I don't think or expect that everyone (i.e. "Joe User") would do the same.

But guess what: "Joe User" doesn't troubleshoot his own Windows issues, either.

I'm a die-hard Linuxer and I also pay to use TurboTax online. I doubt if I'd buy the Windoze edition to run at home but running in my browser is just fine and there is the presumed added advantage that the on-line edition is up to date.

The quoted poster's implication is correct. Linuxers don't want everything for free; I pay for lots of value-added services, such as the aforementioned TurboTax, membership on a chess site, etc. I'm even going to BUY--- that's right, I said BUY--- the Linux edition of Scrivener when it comes out of beta.

That said, I do enjoy and benefit from the many free options I have such as LibreOffice, TaskJuggler, etc. etc.

You are of course not the only person to say this, but GIMP comes at a much better price, and certainly has its adherents. I wonder if it is more a question of familiarity (as you allude to below) than essential functionality.

For that matter I've known of people writing a novel with VI. Your statement oversimplifies a little, but my point wasn't that Linux was better for novel writing, only that Windows or a Mac was not a necessity. By the way, the very popular novel-writing software Scrivener now has a Linux version in beta.

I wonder if you are equating "commonplace" with "necessary," although the two categories merge when (as in the discussion in postings above) compatibility becomes an absolute requirement. Otherwise, Outlook is not a basic necessity by any means. Email, contact management, etc., can be done in a lot of ways.

You are correct, but this has nothing to do with the inherent superiority of either Linux or Windows. It has to do with the vast inertia created by a near-monopoly provider.

In my previous employment, I was once asked by a group which I had just taken on as manager if the rumors were true and I was going to dump Windows and replace it across the board with Linux. For the reasons you mention, I had to say "no" because it would have been a poor business decision. That's really unfortunate, but reality is not always friendly. However, I didn't up the ante by bringing in every new Microsoft product as it rolled out the door.

After I moved on, though, my successor certainly did, declaring, "We're a Microsoft shop. They make good software. We're going to use it exclusively." Well, that's a business decision; what can I say?

I do hope you are right. In the past, Microsoft hasn't been so good about this, but I imagine it's possible that the churn will stop with the 'x' formats.

We've all seen this. It's kind of like computer translation from Russian to English (imperfect) and then translation of the result back to Russian (even more imperfect, sometimes completely broken).

Your other comment --- about the problem being entirely within the LibreOffice code space --- is of course correct. I am not at all sure how technically difficult the issue may be, though I would suspect that bright minds could solve it.

In the meanwhile, when someone wants a Word document from me, they'll get the translation and they can take it or leave it. I've been able to get away with this for quite some while. But I admit that there always comes a time when you have to play someone else's game.

My comment above frankly admits that the OP will have no option but to "do Windows." That's as "real" as it gets, even if that reality is not a pleasant one. Indeed, some people will be required to use MS Office products for the reasons which you state.

But perhaps you missed the point I was making about compatibility bugs. If LibreOffice, for instance, were to suddenly start doing perfect conversions, how long would that last? Only until MS could roll out something new and incompatible, and I am pretty sure that they would. Then LibreOffice would have to chase a new target. The key concept is that until people in positions to make demands on others quit assuming that everyone as a matter of course has and uses MS products, this issue will arise over and over again and indeed will keep some users away from Linux.

Still and all, I went for something like my last 12 years in professional life as a purely Linux user, obviously then without ever having MS Office installed on my office computers. Despite being surrounded by MS Office users, I always found a workaround. Admittedly, that was a function of being in a relatively tolerant environment and certainly not everyone would have been able to get away with it.

I would agree that the problem actually is, as alluded to by the other respondent above, the requirement that data be submitted in a closed, proprietary format. The fact that LibreOffice conversion to .doc or .docx is not perfect falls in the "room for improvement" category to be sure, but you can bet that as soon as the conversions are good (if not even sooner), Microsoft will change something.

Of course, as you say, you have no control over the submittal requirements, and I agree you have to "do Windows" to meet your need.*

*I wonder what I would do in such a situation. I don't have Microsoft Office and certainly never plan to have it. I guess I would submit an incorrectly converted LibreOffice document and tell the recipient to deal with it. (It would have to be a job I didn't care about keeping.)

Unfortunately if Linux were to look exactly like Windows and work exactly like Windows and lose the multi-media issues and have a lot more apps*, Microsoft would still dominate ... either just through inertia or more likely through a combination of inertia and additional changes. They would change the game and dare Linux to keep up as they leverage their near-monopoly position.

Linux works great for me, a retired long-time computer professional; I'm able to get more work done, faster and better, than I would be able to do on Windows. (And by the way, that "work" today is novel writing. You certainly don't have to have Windows or a Mac to do creative things.)

It also works for my wife, who is an "average" computer user. But then again, I support her system and fix problems (which are about 99.9% to do with multimedia).

*Does Linux really need 'a lot more apps'? Maybe, when we're talking about gaming. But for basic use? With GIMP, Inkscape, LibreOffice, etc., it seems as if the bases are covered. What "killer" apps are required? (Yes, there are industry-specific 'niche' applications that only run on Windows; I'm talking more basic than that--- and a surprising number of the 'niche' apps have Linux near-equivalents.)

Yes, we do, and in the end they'll get precious little support. Think what these people could do with adequate funding and relief from stifling bureaucracy.

"No, see, the issue is that people don't know they're not supposed to pirate DVDs."

Right, that's why they want to put a warning on something that you DIDN'T pirate, to tell you that you shouldn't do what you didn't do in the first place, and probably never planned to do ... except now they've got you thinking about it ... maybe next time you just might!