I use Linux because Microsoft and Windows suck big time. I have Kubuntu running on my laptop and my school computer because that’s what my old lab-mate Steve recommended to me. A virus on my old Windows laptop was the last straw, so I said “screw Windows” and switched to Linux completely. Also linux runs stuff like LaTeX natively, so it works even better than in Windows. It also doesn’t hurt that Linux and all the software that I use on it are completely free.
Useful Software:
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Ipe is a simple graphics editor that’s great for making diagrams or figures for technical papers. It saves as .eps or .pdf for easy inclusion into LaTeX documents. It’s in the Ubuntu repositories, so just type “apt-get install ipe” to get it on your system. |
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JabRef stores all your references in BibTex format. You can organize and write comments about papers you’ve read and easily reference one of them from a LaTeX document. |
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Octave is basically a free version of Matlab. It will run all your old Matlab code with just a few minor tweaks in the way you call plotting functions. Never pay for Matlab again! (unless you really need some specific obscure toolbox). I run it from a terminal in the Kate text editor so it looks kind of like the old Matlab GUI. |
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Kile is a graphical LaTeX editor that comes standard with Kubuntu. I use it all the time. |