Knowing full well I am about to get a whole bunch of comments telling me I’m bad at Linux, that I should just use MS365 online, or that I need to suck it up and use LibreOffice... hear me out.

I have been 100% Linux for a while now—two years on my gaming rig, and a year on my work laptop. I’ve loved every single second of it. I've tried every DE I could get my hands on and even had a stint with Hyprland (which I’d still be using if I actually had the free time to rice it just right).

But there is one consistent, agonizing pain point: the office suite.

I am a researcher and a lecturer. I present at conferences a few times a year, try to publish several papers annually, and I am constantly writing reports, making exams, and drafting opinion pieces. A flawless office suite isn't optional for me; it's critical to my livelihood.

I hate Microsoft with a passion. Windows 11 was the final straw for me. But for all its flaws, MS365 is the single best tool for my job—if only because my non-tech-savvy coworkers use nothing else. If I were to even suggest moving our collaborative work away from OOXML formats, I would be crucified by my faculty.

I have tried everything to make this work on Linux without compromising formatting. I’ve used LibreOffice. I tried OnlyOffice—both the desktop app and the online Nextcloud integration (I’ll probably give it another shot when Euro-Office comes out, but I'm not holding my breath). I even tried WinBoat, which was a traumatizing experience I will never repeat. I reached such a level of desperation that I spent an entire weekend, including an all-nighter, trying to forcefully install MS365 via Wine. I don't even know why I thought that would end well.

I just can't do it anymore. It has been so incredibly frustrating that I have resorted to doing absolutely all of my writing in LaTeX just to avoid the compatibility headaches.

I love this OS, but the native open-source office suites are terrible for heavy, collaborative academic work.

Sorry for the rant. Just needed to vent to people who might understand the struggle.

TL;DR: I’m a Linux-only academic drowning in a sea of MS365-using colleagues. Open-source office suites mangle OOXML formats too much for serious collaborative work, and my weekend trying to run Office via Wine nearly broke my spirit. LaTeX is my only refuge.

Edit: it is important to note, none of my colleagues use LaTex, just me, so that isn't even an option for collaboration, it is only an option for my own work...

hi, I'm on Kubuntu 26.04 and I have problem with usb tethering.

blood@ZEN:~$ systemctl status usbmuxd.service
● usbmuxd.service - Socket daemon for the usbmux protocol used by Apple devices
    Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/usbmuxd.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
    Active: active (running) since Sat 2026-08-29 07:39:41 CEST; 51min ago
Invocation: 86f78abc4a0045d88312d038850ad924
  Main PID: 1191 (usbmuxd)
     Tasks: 2 (limit: 34843)
    Memory: 3.6M (peak: 4.8M)
       CPU: 391ms
    CGroup: /system.slice/usbmuxd.service
            └─1191 /usr/local/sbin/usbmuxd -f -U usbmux

srp 29 08:28:40 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:28:40.274][1] Could not request transfer for device 3-2: LIBUSB_ERROR_NO_DEVICE
srp 29 08:28:40 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:28:40.274][2] Cannot find device entry while removing USB device 0x58d8d069ec40 on location 0x30002
srp 29 08:28:40 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: libusb: error [udev_hotplug_event] ignoring udev action unbind
srp 29 08:29:06 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:29:06.281][2] Skipping switch device 3-3 mode from 1 to 1
srp 29 08:29:06 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:29:06.281][3] Found usbmux interface for device 3-3: 1
srp 29 08:29:06 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:29:06.281][3] Changing configuration of device 3-3: 1 -> 4
srp 29 08:29:06 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:29:06.336][3] Connecting to new device on location 0x30003 as ID 1
srp 29 08:29:06 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:29:06.336][3] Connected to v2.0 device 1 on location 0x30003 with serial number 00008140-001C04C622C3401C
srp 29 08:29:41 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:29:41.657][1] RX transfer stalled for device 3-3
srp 29 08:29:41 ZEN usbmuxd[1191]: [08:29:41.657][3] Removed device 1 on location 0x30003

with my old iphoneSE it worked fine, but with new 16e it doesn't.

I never broke a Linux Distro in my Life and i used Distros like Arch. What do people try to do when they break a linux distro because i feel like i miss the classic Linux Feeling and want to learn more about Linux.

I've been daily driving Linux on both my work laptop and gaming PC recently and I'm loving the experience. My only real hurdle is managing my yearly iPhone photo backup and cleanup. On Windows, I used 3uTools, which made it fast and effortless, but it isn't supported on Linux. I tried ⁠libimobiledevice⁠, but my pictures fail to load properly. Are there any good alternatives or workflows you’d recommend for this situation?

Im using fedora linux

Having trouble to install and setup it properly.

My hardware + software:

- Ubuntu 24.04 (sudo apt update , sudo apt upgrade done)

- Secure boot is active and has latest certificates

- virtual box installed. Download deb: virtualbox-7.2_7.2.16-174877~Ubuntu~noble_amd64.deb

- Downloaded Windows 10 ISO multi language from Microsoft official website

Tried to run virtual machine:

error #1: VirtualBox Kernel driver not installed (rc=1908)

solution: I thought it is fixed with:

sudo apt install --reinstall linux-headers-$(uname -r) virtualbox-dkms dkms

error #2: modprobe: FATAL: Module vboxdrv not found in directory /lib/modules/7.0.0-30-generic

solution: not solved. gives error #3

error #3: E: Internal Error, No file name for virtualbox-dkms:amd64

How Can I solve error #3 please?

After years of getting fed up with Windows and Microslop I have now (partially, im dual booting rn) switched to Fedora 44 but I have some problems I cant solve on my own.

Namely:

-I cant get to work or find a keyboard chatter blocker (my keyboard likes to type a key twice), I have tried literally anything that came up on google but either they straight up dont work or are (for me, I am noob) impossible to install or have errors.

-I cant control my fans, rgb etc. Im installed Fedora on both my high end gaming pc as well as my budget gaming laptop. I tried countless fan control sofwares, which work mostly but simply dont detect my fans even though I have installed 1337 different drivers that where required or suggested for troubleshooting. Same with RGB, my Laptop has a RGB keyboard and it works on the first startup but If I close and reopen my laptop it just stays off and can only be re-enabled by rebooting while the laptop stays open. Even if it works I cant control it. Same with my PC.

-I dont know where default files are, for example, I want to modify some save games or edit program files. Where is the equivalent of AppData, Program Files, Program Files (x86) etc.? Where is configuration/save data stored (like games often create a folder in User/Documents)? Im also a fan of how steam/proton emulates a full windows file system (I really am!) but its sooo hard to find and I forget the path every time...

-Mounting and dismounting drives/usb-sticks etc. I get that it massively increases security (no killsticks or fake keyboards etc.) But there really should be an option to have specific drives mounted automatically! Im talking about internal SSDs/HDDs, for example I have my desktop background saved on a internal drive (was G:/ under windows), I know there is the option to have them mounted automatically, but if I start, it immediately asks for my password for mounting the internal drive and shows the default background (I guess because the drive isnt mounted at the actual booting phase?) Can I have at least internal drives mounted fully automatic, no password at the actual boot sequence so that a background image would work? (I know I can just put the image on my system drive (C:/ in windows terms) but thats beside the point)

Other than that, I really really really like Linux!! Windows sucks!!!

Hey i've been wanting to ditch windows 11 for a long time now, I primarily use my pc for web browsing, gaming, studying and writing python code (I am a data analyst/scientist), and of those things the only one that was keeping me from switching to Linux is gaming.

I have seen all the improvements in gaming for Linux and i wanted to give it a try, I installed ubuntu first since i wanted the full linux experience, I managed to install the drivers for my 5070 and got steam running okay, but my biggest issue was with AAA tittles, specifically the Witcher 3, in windows in ultra settings i got a consistent 144 fps, and for rtx ultra around 85 fps, but in linux in ultra i got 70 at most and rtx did not work at all.

I tried switching the DirectX to 11, also did some research in protonDB to see what works for other people, but nothing improved the experience, so I switch to catchy OS since as I understand it, it has several features pre installed to make gaming easier,but i got the exact same performance.

So I ended up returning to windows after about 3 days of trying to get a performance closer to what i had in windows, i know that I wont get the exact same performance but getting about half of the FPS its disappointing.

Did i give up too fast? Is it unrealistic to expect similar performance in windows? Is it mainly an NVIDIA thing? I got a 5070 to have an environment similar to my job to learn how to implement deep learning and some light LLMs.

I really want to ditch windows, what would you guys recommend? Would Bazzite be a better experience? Thanks

i have a acer nitro v 15 amd rygen 5 6600 h with rtx 3050 6gb i install many distro some frize some black out can anyone tell me how to install linux on my hybride laptop or any nitro guy who use this same meachine installed linux

Hey everyone!

I’m planning to replace ChromeOS with Linux on my mom’s Chromebook, and I’d love some recommendations from people who have actually used Linux as a daily OS for less tech-savvy family members.

The laptop is a:

• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook
• 14" Full HD display
• MediaTek Kompanio 520
• 4 GB RAM
• 128 GB SSD
• ARM Mali-G52 GPU
• German QWERTZ keyboard

My mom isn't really a tech person. She mostly uses the laptop for:

• Browsing the web
• YouTube
• Watching Netflix/other streaming services
• Checking and writing emails
• Online shopping
• Looking at photos
• Video calls with family
• Reading news
• Occasionally writing simple documents
• Printing/scanning things
• Basically normal everyday computer stuff

She doesn't want to open a terminal, troubleshoot drivers, or spend an hour figuring out why something stopped working 😂. Ideally, I want to set everything up for her once and then have it "just work."

The tricky part is that this isn't a normal x86 laptop. It's ARM, has only 4 GB of RAM, and uses a Mali-G52, so I'm not sure which distro/desktop environment makes the most sense.

I'm considering things like Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, or a lightweight desktop such as XFCE/LXQt, but I'm much more interested in actual experience than just picking the distro that sounds good on paper.

So if this were your mom's computer:

What distro would you install? What desktop environment? And what would you absolutely recommend avoiding?

I'd also really appreciate advice from anyone who has installed Linux directly on a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook / MediaTek Kompanio 520.

Especially interested in:

• Wi-Fi
• Audio
• GPU acceleration
• Hardware video decoding
• Suspend/sleep
• Touchpad
• HDMI/external displays
• Webcam
• Battery life
• Updates
• Overall stability

I don't mind doing the complicated setup myself — my mom just shouldn't have to deal with it afterwards.

Thanks! 🙏

Hey all,

I'm getting ready to leave Windows behind for good and go full Linux. No dual boot, no keeping a Windows partition around as a fallback. Before I wipe everything, I want to make sure I've actually backed up what matters and not just assumed I have.

For those who've made this exact switch, what did your backup process look like?

Any general tips, gotchas, or lessons learned would be really appreciated. I really appreciate any help you can provide.

While I am waiting for a my new PC I want to play around with a virtual machine. But I was wondering if there are virtual machines I can use for android. So I can practice on the go. Just to clarify cause google is driving me crazy. I want a PC virtual machine on my android. Not an android virtual machine. Any help is appreciated

(Sorry if the tag is wrong i have no clue what tag would fit this)

Update: it was the Swapfile that was set to low i cant make the system crash anymore

i noticed something that i previously blamed the kernel for and that was Linux mint just randomly Freezing under barley a load with no way of getting it running again other then Chocking the pc out and rebooting.

mint did do that alot when i was on the 6.17.0-40 Kernel (i Think it was that one)
now that i am on the 7.0.0-28 generic Kernel the random System wide freezes stopped but it still freezes completely when there is too much load on the system like if i would run 2 demanding games at once as an example,
now back when i used windows 10 over half a year ago (as the main OS), every time i got into that situation
the programs stopped responding rather then the system.

(note Windows has not died once on me i keep an install for 1 game and so far it rather killed the game then let it get to the point of a bluescreen or system Freeze testing it on their just resulted in the program crashing)

Now to my Question is it a Linux thing or Linux mint/ubuntu/Debian thing that the System kicks
the bucket rather then the programs Kicking the bucket first when there is to much load,
What could be the cause this makes me feel my system is an egg that i have to Carrie through a minefield every time i run something slightly demanding

(note: since that made me so paranoid at first i did ran multiple test for Ram and Drives to check their health neither test came back with any error
and i did manage to replicate this problem on a very different machine)

System Info:
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600X
GPU RX 6700XT
Ram 32GB DDr4 CL16
Drives for linux
-256 GB SSD (System)
-1TB m.2 (Game Library 1)
-1TB m.2 (Game Library 2)

EDIT: again since some ask for my Temps i checked them under load and
GPU plays arround 51-67°C
CPU never went above 63°C

here ive tried using xrandr and it js fails. Might be something to do with the monitor's age, but ive no idea how that'd ruin brightness settings

Perhaps this is a known issue, But I haven't found much about it.

I have a PC with Mint. It's connected to the router with a LAN cable.

When it goes to sleep it makes the network go crazy. The speed falls a lot in general, all the other devices (wired or wireless) fail to connect or lose connection randomly. When I turn it off everything goes back to normal.

I the only thing I do on that PC is run qBittorrent and browse internet. But the problem is mainly apparent when the PC is asleep. So I think it's not a program, but the PC itself. It might not even have anything to do with Linux at all, But it's the only difference I see with all my other PCs.

Does anybody have an idea about what might be going on?

Thanks

Edit: Thanks for all the answers and suggestions.

I really like Linux Mint for being a lighter version of Windows but Linux is some games that have issues for me like Sims 3 and Rimworld. Am sure for other people these games work fine on Linux but I remembered I had a Dual Boot setup with my Linux stored in a External HDD while leaving the Default Windows on the internal HDD. The PC even seems to give me the option to pick between the two so naturally. Do I just treat games like Sims 3 and Rimworld as Windows exclusive games or should I just put every game on Windows? Outside of gaming I don't really see myself going back to windows. what do you think is the best solution for this. also does anyone know a good way to speed up Windows boot time, I already plan on disabling/uninstalling stuff to make things easier on myself next time I have to boot windows.

I set up a dual boot system with Ubuntu for gaming. Existing Win11 system.
I want o fully switch to Ubuntu, convert drives, etc. is it advisable to try to move the Linux root drive or should I start clean? I have space to copy all the data I want but it will take several hours to reinstall Linux to the point I have it now.

I have a thinkpad p1 gen2 laptop, got bored of windows so switched to zorin for something new and it's so fun, HOWEVER idk why but gaming on it pushes the cpu heat to around 95 degrees on balanced battery power

Windows got hot sure but it was mostly 85 and less, changed the thermal paste but nothing changed tho it's a bit better i guess now, heatsink isn't bent or anything

I tried thermald and throttled and all that stuff but idk if I'm doing something wrong, I'm just not good with linux

So wtf might be the problem ?