[tlug] Dictionary problem

[Thomas Blasejewicz <nyuwa@example.com>]

Good morning
I have been contemplating the following "question" for a long time, 
since every time I dare asking something like that, I am stoned to death 
or burnt at the stake within 7 seconds of posting.
In a recent response to my (apparently stupid) question about HDD 
problems, Mr. Turnbull used the term "technopeasant" (a new term?).
That is exactly what I am.
And according to the person who wrote the article cited also by Mr. 
Turnbull http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/crybaby.html#allowed
*I SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED to use a computer .. at all!*. I should be 
using pencil (I prefer fountain pen!) and paper.

With this in mind, my little problem.
I am working as an acupuncturist - fortunately I do not need a computer 
for that - and as a translator.
As a translator I DO(!) need a (at least 2) computer AND .. here comes 
the problem .. a lot of dictionaries.
About 8 years ago I came across something called "Linux for translators" 
and was happy of finally having found something NOT Microsoft!
Since then I have spent hundreds (maybe thousands of hours) trying to 
figure out how to make Linux work,
used multiple computers (even bought one for practice purpose) and the 
stack of Live-CDs of the various flavors and versions reaches to the moon.
Unfortunately, I have not had much success so far. (Another proof of my 
stupidity?)

By now I can install the OS, use LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird etc. 
under Linux .. so far so good.
Dictionaries???
I have been trying to find dictionaries for Linux. Very little luck.
And what there is, is mostly not acceptable, like "gjiten", "gwaei" etc. 
I would NEVER walk into a bookstore and spend money on those, if they 
were printed on paper.
Stardict, you say. I have had a look at those too. There you may get 
(for example) in an English-French dictionary "house" -> "maison" = ONE 
word + plus a vast white desert on the screen. THAT is not acceptable 
either.
Or dictionaries used under Stardict (or the "successor" GoldenDict) like 
"Meikyo" (a standard Japanese monolingual dictionary) or THE standard 
German dictionary "Duden"* appear as VERY cheap and largely incomplete 
(therefore useless) copies of the real things.
(* By chance I found, that on one of my disks with my various Duden 
dictionaries there IS a Linux version! Hallejuja)
Well, as far as I know "Stardict" was a Chinese product. Apparently a 
pirated product. And the Russians (GoldenDict) are not much better.
If you want to use Britannica etc. under Linux, then you have to be real 
computer wizard to do the required compiling and sudo wizardry with 
hundred of commands. Obviously well beyond the capabilities of a 
technopeasant (me).
And there is a very long list of other "dictionaries" I tried. None of 
them is "up to the job" for professional (translation) purposes.

Well, try running Windows dictionaries under Linux. I have been spending 
years on this little tasks.
VirtualBox? I was not able to make that work.
Wine? Does not work at all. I tried for years. Trying Crossover 
(commercial!) did not help either. The technical support there told me: 
"If it does not work, just forget about it." The advice of the 
professionals.
VMPlayer. That is the one I am currently "using". I managed to install 
Windowx XP (Windowx 7 failed (naturally?), because of those nasty 
licence tricks of Microsoft.
However, running my (some commercial, some free) Windows dictionaries in 
VMPlayer is very far from being a comfortable working environment.
KVM? I stumbled over that idea in my desparate attemps at finding 
solutions to my "problem".
Unfortunately, currently my machines are technically not advanced enough.
(I am afraid I do not have the money to buy me a high-spec supercomputer 
for that purpose.)

So, after all this rambling and complaining ...
ARE there any "acceptable" dictionaries for Linux.
With acceptable I mean: I would walk into a bookstore and NOT hesitate 
to spend money on buying a printed copy.
(Note: before the internet age I bought + collected MANY (printed) 
dictionaries. I have literally hundreds of them at home ...)

Or if not. Is there any other way of using my Windows dictionary 
software under Linux then the ones listed above?
Or should I "just forget about using Linux" (like the advice from the 
Crossover team) when it comes to translation, because it is "not up to 
the job"?

Over the last 8 years, in ALL communities, mailing lists I have joined 
over the years, hinting at THAT possibilty always meant death sentence.
The Linux community does not speak to technopeasants. The rustics should 
not be allowed to use computers,
waste the time of real computer users and go back to using pen and paper.
(If all the people working in the public sector (gas, electricity, 
banks, government, etc.) would do that ... none of the enlighted Linux 
users would be able to live=survive.)

*BUT .. I DO NOT WANT TO START A HOLY WAR*. The pros and cons of 
Linux/Windows/Mac etc.
I AM(!!) planing to replace the Windows XP machine in my clinic with a 
Linux Mint machine.
All I want to know is whether this plan is a big mistake or not. (again, 
probably a very stupid question).
If Linux really has nothing useful to offer for my "dictionary problem", 
I maybe be forced to use Windows after all.
Something I would really like to avoid ...

Bracing for impact
Thomas