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by bebna 4116 days ago
As someone who uses sc[1][2] (basic desc: spreadsheets in console with vi-like controls), I don't understand why someone would use switch to windows (as in reboot), just for Excel. Don't gnumeric and libreoffice fill all your typical spreadsheet needs?

[1] http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/10699

[2] https://github.com/dkastner/sc

4 comments

I can't speak for everyone obviously, but I have plenty of lecturers that insist on .doc/.docx handups and after an incident where a basic document (as in headings, page breaks and paragraphs as the only formatting) written in Libreoffice ended up in a 5 column layout on Word for no explicable reason, I'd rather just write them in an application that I know will show the same when the lecturer opens the file as when I open it.
If your workflow is push-only, exporting to PDF fixes this. I have Office loaded on my iPad only for extreme situations. Also, I have Office 365 through my institution that I've been known to use once in a blue moon. Most of my document creation these days is org-mode -> PDF though.
That's not quite the situation, but thanks for the sc tip. It looks great, but again it's not really Excel that's keeping me on Windows. Phone has been Linux for 5+ years, at least (n900).

I have ended up running Win7 with a few 'Linuxes' in VMs. One main one, really though. #! for those who care... sadly recently discontinued.

The main reason I stick with Win7 is a) legacy reasons of my own, I suppose we could call them, and b) translation software. The FOSS alternatives aren't quite there yet (for heavy use), although I'd love to sit down for a few months/years and try to create one. A vi-like CAT tool that produced translation memories and lightning quick concordance... that's the dream.

Similar to Macha's POV, sometimes you just need to work with people who have no concept of free computing.

What's your translation software?
MemoQ, for the most part!

It's .Net software so it should run in theory under Linux. Certainly under a VM, potentially with Mono. I haven't tried either.

Thanks, I have only used Virtaal, and white it works, it feels too basic.
Even MS Excel runs just fine on Linux.
WPS Office is the solution here.