There is one point to Xubuntu that is a pro and a con at the same time: it comes with a complete software package - word processor, PDF viewer, web browser, e-mail, photo editor ... the list could go on. Everything is chosen to be reliable and light weight, since most users, like me, choose it for that reason.
However, not all of the apps turn out to be 100% reliable. The following are the apps I changed, for anyone that cares.
Less than Perfect Word Processor - Abiword
Abiword is the word processor included. It is most certainly light weight, and super fast with just about any function you could want. Here's someone else's screen shot that I found on the web:
I believe for most users who are just creating their own new documents, it would be fine. However, I had problems saving documents in other formats. For example, the work I had saved from before was in docx (Word) files. Within 2 days, it had corrupted 3 files. Fortunately, the last two had been backed up (by Abiword, which is a point in favour), but I just wasn't going to take any more chances. It was also messing up formatting, which was a minor point.
I tried "downgrading" to the last stable version (8.7, I think - it came with 9.2) but this didn't help.
An Old Favorite - LibreOffice
To replace Abiword, I installed LibreOffice, which is actually a package including pretty much the same stuff as MS Office. Here's the start screen:
This is the word processor:
(This is my own customized toolbar, which I prefer to have very trimmed down. The default toolbar has plenty of functions right at your fingertip. It also has large zoom to make up for the mini netbook screen.)
Back when I had my last laptop (the one I revived 2 days ago) it hadn't come with MS Office Starter as this computer did (which, by the way, is also really annoying for a low-memory computer, since it eats up memory with constantly changing ads.)
So, when I first discovered Ubuntu in a local computer shop (in Playa del Carmen) I decided to give OpenOffice a try even though I wasn't ready to make the leap to Ubuntu; I had seen it listed on the back of the installation disk as one of the included software. I had been quite happy with it, but when my computer supposedly got "fried" and no longer worked, I stopped using it.
When looking for a replacement for Abiword I discovered LibreOffice which is a branch from OpenOffice. (It essentially the same thing, but based entirely on open source. OpenOffice, in the last days I was using it had been acquired by Oracle, who had a dispute with the open source developers. The developers just decided to continue the project on their own. So, both exist parallel now.)
Advantages of LibreOffice
Of course, LibreOffice is entirely free. It's also available for Windows if anyone needs a good, free office suite. It is rich in functions, so it loads a little slower than Abiword, but it's a question of about 3 seconds. It opens and saves Word files flawlessly, maintaining the format. It also converts them really easily.
I've read that there are good, reliable word processors for Linux which are lighter than LibreOffice. But, LibreOffice is very much like Word and it's easy to get used to. So, since I'm very new to the whole Linux thing, I can live with the 3-5 extra seconds of loading time. Most importantly, it works very well for all my needs.
Even the "heavy" programs are doing just fine within Xubuntu.
Spreadsheet
I had also been making heavy use of XL. Xubuntu came with a spreadsheet called Gnumeric:
This worked better than Abiword, but it took a long time to load XL files (xlsx.) Converting was also a pain, requiring a command line feature, which seemed to have glitches, or copying and pasting the content into a Gnumeric file one page at a time. It didn't corrupt any files, but it was becoming time consuming which defeats the purpose of having a light-weight program.
The spreadsheet in LibreOffice (Calc) also works very well, loading and opening files in a matter of seconds and reading and saving other formats without any problems. (The default format is the open document format, ODT, ODS, which are fairly universal in the world of open source programs, or so I've read.)
Here's a screen shot of LibreOffice Calc, again with my customized, trimmed down toolbar:
Finding, Downloading and Removing Software
The easiest way to find and download software or even plug-ins in Xubuntu is the Ubuntu Software Center which is included:
However, I found that it didn't do such a good job of removing software, leaving files and packages behind. This is a normal problem with Linux. It is also a problem with Windows. (Most people wouldn't even notice this.) For me, it wasn't really a problem since my computer is working with a minimal number of programs and only 8% of my hard drive is full. But I like to keep things clean from the beginning.
The program is also slowed down by rotating, internet-fed ads as you can see in the picture above (like MS Office Starter.) Since I use it infrequently, this isn't a huge problem, but together with the messy uninstallation, it's enough to find an alternative.
So, I installed Synaptic Package Manager, which not only installs and un-installs programs, but also identifies and removes orphaned packages to ensure the uninstallations are clean:
I'm still using the Software Center to install since I think it's easier for this, but Synaptic seems to be better overall. Once I a more seasoned user, I will change completely to Synaptic.
Actually, either one of these alone is better than Windows; Windows has no single program or web page which lists out program options an offers easy installation - especially not FREE ones!
I also installed BleachBit which is a Linux version of CCleaner, to clean up unnecessary files left by internet programs (web browsers and e-mail.)
Ready to Rock and Roll
Other than some minor adjustments I made to individual programs (mostly just little, unimportant preferences), that's about it. I think Xubuntu is completely ready for me to use just as it is now.
If anyone needs to know how to make any of the changes I listed above, I can share the links where others describe the steps in pretty easy terms.
For now, I just have one more post about Xubuntu coming up, which will be the story of my old laptop, abandoned for dead, now brought back to life.
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