I posted this as a comment in another post but when I got done I realized it would probably just be better as its own post. I'm sure I could find the answers I need myself but frankly I trust the userbase here more than most online articles.
As my username hints at, I'm a lawyer. I'm considering starting my own firm as a solo practitioner. I need a computer and/or laptop for it, and as a new business my budget would be pretty tight. I've mostly only ever used windows, but I'm getting fed up with the bullshit, so I'm considering going with Linux.
I assume Linux is capable of doing everything I need, which is primarily handling word documents, viewing PDFs, watching evidence videos, and online research. But my concern is that some of the more commonly used video types might have trouble on Linux, or that some of the word document templates I use in Windows might have compatibility issues.
I'm also nervous about using an OS I'm not familiar with for business purposes right away.
So I guess I'm asking a few questions. What is a reliable yet affordable option to get started? Are my concerns based in reality or is Linux going to be able to handle everything windows does without issues? What else might I need to know to use Linux comfortably from the get go? Is it going to take a lot of time and effort to get Linux running how I need it to?
For reference, I do consider myself to be somewhat tech-savvy. I don't code or anything, but I've built my last two home computers myself and I'm not scared of general software management, I just don't make it myself.
So, yeah, sell me on Linux, please.
I've worked with lawyers a bit in an IT role so I'll put it bluntly. Don't bother.
Why? You have to ensure complete compatibility with Microsoft Office standards in your job and you may also need to access third-party systems especially document management systems on a regular basis. These things require Windows. It's a sad fact of life that your colleagues being able to read your documents and ensure consistent layout is more important than anything else.
Yes, you can try Libre Office and soforth. However, the moment the court staff, other lawyers or anybody else gets a jumbled mess you're going to cause yourself more problems than it's worth. Even you yourself need to be able to ensure compatibility when it comes to information storage and retrieval too.
Windows licences are essentially free with your devices anyway and the cost of Office is a couple of hundred bucks top. Money might be tight but losing information from your court cases could put you out of business.
Sorry Linux fanboys, but Windows is the superior option here as much as I wish it was not. It's simply the best tool for the job.
First: windows isn't the superior option. This is basically windows being VHS, Linux being betamax. Linux is vastly superior, but it's just that Microsoft marketing is too good at lying.
Second: Linux is very apt at running Microsoft programs, including office.
Third: fuck Microsoft office, use online office in a browser. Microsoft office 365 if you're dumb (because my god, it's cringy bad, or google docs if you want it easy (eats most Ms crap with little to no trouble) or if you want to go truely open source, setup nextcloud with only office.
Side comment: if governments or courts FOCRE you to pay money to a specific company to use services that can quite easily be done by open source alternatives then I say that smells like corruption and or incompetence.
You are right in everything except that it's absolutely not the superior option in OPs situation. A lawyer has to guarantee that a document is identical and recallable in its exact form even years from now and the only way to absolutely ensure this is using Office itself.
Furthermore, most law firms use and have to access other parties document management systems and the thick clients for these with all the features only run on Windows. Screwing around with WINE to get these maybe working isn't worth the hassle for a time-poor lawyer with cases to work on.
Computers are just another tool in the box when it comes to your business and you should use the best version of it to get the job done. It's simply only Windows in OPs case here that's the viable option. It might be corruption or vendor lock in or whatever but there's no point trying to fight it in this scenario.
About your side comment - It isn't necessarily that they're being forced to use Office. It's more that office is the standard that everyone else is using, and therefore the standard everyone expects to work with. If anything breaks or displays incorrectly, it becomes your fault for not using the standard.
To be clear, I hate Microsoft and their monopoly, and the blaming I just described as well. It definitely happens though. Same reason most of Gen Z uses iPhones: if you have an Android phone any problem with phones/chatting suddenly becomes your fault, even if the underlying reason is actually because of Apple.
But that's the point: it's NOT a standard and government or justice departments should require open standards so that EVERYONE can participate because everyone MUST participate. Now the government at least allows the defacto forced sponsoring of a single damn near monopoly. Want to use the government? Sorry, gotta pay your Microsoft taxes first. That is not okay, not acceptable. There are loads of open standards that can be and should be used and enforced
Like or not, it's a de facto standard. Good luck trying to convince your colleagues to change their workflow.
I love Linux, but I would never recommend using Microsoft Office on Linux especially if you work in a collaborative environment. Saying that Linux can run Microsoft office without any issue is a blatant lie. I run virtual machines basically so I can run Microsoft Office, but I don't think everyone wants to go though that much hassle.