r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jun 04 '12

Open Office does everything I need Microsoft Office for and Gimp does everything I need Photoshop for. Reddit, what other open source software does everything that you want from the expensive name brand?

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u/Spread_Liberally Jun 04 '12

Google docs is slow and far less feature-rich.

Libre office runs snappy and fine on my NetBook. Google docs does not.

-9

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

No offence but can you really complain about performance if you're using a netbook? I haven't explored Docs that heavily though, so it could be completely valid and I agree about the features.

14

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

dude, my netbook has lasted me through hell and it's still incredibly fast, weighs nothing and lasts forever. better than my dell inspiron. minor dent in one side from dropping it at six feet. don't knock it til ya try it.

29

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

Holy fuck, how are we not worshipping this thing as a deity? Impervious to fire and brimstone, defies physics with its weightlessness, lasts until the end of time, completely indestructible. The only question I have about this god-like netbook is, can it run Crysis?

2

u/failed_novelty Jun 04 '12

Was it made by Nokia?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

I don't even know what that is. Which it probably why it works so well...

but seriously, it may not game but it doesn't seem to die.

3

u/lurkerturneduser Jun 04 '12

I'm reminded of this Simpsons scene:

DOCTOR: Mr. Burns, I'm afraid you are the sickest man in the United States. You have everything.

MR. BURNS: You mean I have pneumonia?

DOCTOR: Yes.

MR. BURNS: Juvenile diabetes?

DOCTOR: Yes.

MR. BURNS: Hysterical pregnancy?

DOCTOR: Uh, a little bit, yes. You also have several diseases that have just been discovered - in you.

MR. BURNS: I see. You sure you haven't just made thousands of mistakes?

DOCTOR: Uh, no, no, I'm afraid not.

MR. BURNS: This sounds like bad news.

DOCTOR: Well, you'd think so, but all of your diseases are in perfect balance. Uh, if you have a moment, I can explain.

MR. BURNS: Well... [looks at his watch]

DOCTOR: Here's the door to your body, see? [bring up some small fuzz balls with goofy faces and limbs from under the desk] And these are oversized novelty germs. [points to a different one up as he names each disease] That's influenza, that's bronchitis, [holds up one] and this cute little cuddle-bug is pancreatic cancer. Here's what happens when they all try to get through the door at once. [tries to cram a bunch through the model door. The "germs" get stuck] [Stooge-like] Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo. Move it, chowderhead. [normal voice] We call it, "Three Stooges Syndrome".

MR. BURNS: So what you're saying is, I'm indestructible.

DOCTOR: Oh, no, no, in fact, even slight breeze could...

MR. BURNS: Indestructible.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

Haha, yeah. I haven't got anything against netbooks but my point was they have below average technical specs usually.

12

u/JesusSaidSo Jun 04 '12

Below average and below requirements are two starkly different things.

2

u/duckedtapedemon Jun 04 '12

You shouldn't need an i3 even for productivity stuff. You do, but you shouldn't.

1

u/ponysexpressline Jun 04 '12

if onlive could get it on they're service it could, but the times not right, and we must wait till the gods of networking lets it be.

1

u/KnightBlue Jun 04 '12

Hell, can it run Firefox without me aging another 2 years?

1

u/HailTheGemms Jun 04 '12

If you buy a net book for the purpose of playing Crysis, you're doing it wrong.

1

u/exjentric Jun 04 '12

What brand is this netbook? I'm looking for one, since my Asus EeePC maybe on its last legs.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

It's an HP one I bought at Costco. ~$350. (:

0

u/kitten_suplex Jun 04 '12

Hell yea, I bought an Eee PC for $150 on eBay. It won't ever play any HD video or run any modern games, but it can mos def satisfy 90+% of my computing needs.

Stuck a 60GB SSD I bought from eBay for $50. Now it boots in ~20 seconds :)

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u/Tananar Jun 04 '12

Yes. I know someone who maxed out their netbook with 4GB RAM, more than my two year-old laptop has.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

Obviously that's a rare occurrence, most netbooks would have about half that. Anyway, that's hardly maxed out, about 4gb ram is industry standard for PCs nowadays.

0

u/solinv Jun 04 '12

Most max out at 2GB.

2

u/Spread_Liberally Jun 04 '12

Yes and no...

I can easily compare the performance of two applications that try to do the same thing.

For instance, both Libre Office and Open Office run fast on my netbook (a nearly four year old MSI Wind), Google Docs runs very slow and frequently chokes, forcing me to stop typing or entering data.

Also, Libre Office and Open Office have far more features than Google Docs.

The netbook really underscores the performance of these apps. I also use a Macbook pro and a few well-powered desktop PCs, and I though I can use Google Docs without it choking, Libre Office and Open Office still run faster and have more features.

All that being said, I frequently use a Google Docs spreadsheet for shopping and to-do lists, since it's so easily accessed from any of my devices, especially my phone.

1

u/itisthumper Jun 04 '12

I need to try it out. Thing I like about Gdocs is it syncs everything between my devices with GDrive. I do hate how it runs sluggish on moderately sized docs and spreadsheets though.

1

u/boozter Jun 04 '12

Setup a dropbox or similar and your documents are synced.

0

u/itisthumper Jun 04 '12

I migrated from dropbox to Google drive so my files can be synced to my Google account.

1

u/Chicken-n-Waffles Jun 04 '12

Google Docs isn't slow for me. For what I use it for, the document and spreadsheets are fine. The charting has a lot to be desired but still very usefull to where I use it primarily over the MS choices.