Talk to me about Linux...

[Scott --]

Ok, I've finally had my fill of the blue screen of death with XP. Heard nothing but bad about Vista. Have reinstalled two versions of XP to no avail. I'm done. I'm wanting to learn about Linux - anyone have it? Whatcha think? Any info about program compatibility between the platforms? Will my install of CS2 work?

Thanks for any opinions,
Scott

[Marko]

Why not Unix? Of OS X variety, anything Adobe will work by default, no problems with compatibility, no blue screens... The only programs I've had freeze on me were Microsoft (surprise!), but on OS X they simply die quietly, in their own little sandbox and don't bring the entire system with them.

[Bruce Watson]

Ok, I've finally had my fill of the blue screen of death with XP. Heard nothing but bad about Vista. Have reinstalled two versions of XP to no avail. I'm done. I'm wanting to learn about Linux - anyone have it? Whatcha think? Any info about program compatibility between the platforms? Will my install of CS2 work?

I've did sysadmin work for windoze and Linux for years. What's next on my list? Mac. Why? Can't stand windoze anymore, and Adobe won't make a native port of Photoshop to Linux. MacOSX is running on top of FreeBSD, so you get a real OS out of the deal. What's not to like? Oh, yeah, Apple's iron grip on the hardware. But... that's one of the reasons the MacOS runs so well, and why all the software integrates so well. Now if I can just scrape up enough money...

If you are sure you want Linux, consider the Ubuntu distribution. I hear that it's a fairly nice and straightforward installation. Hardly anything you've learned about an OS from windoze applies here, so do your homework and research. If you can scale the learning curves for LF, you can scale the learning curves for Linux.

As far as program compatibility is concerned, OpenOffice can read and write reliably from MSOffice. Thunderbird can import your email from whatever it is that Microsoft uses. Firefox can import your web browser bookmarks. There's a handful of ways you can share printers and files, most of which run software so that Linux can emulate a node on a Microsoft network. It's much easier to do that than to try to get 2000/XP/Vista to cooperate as you can imagine.

Good luck with it.

[Ole Tjugen]

I'm running two different versions of Vista on two different computers, and haven't had a single problem.

I have Ubuntu ready but not installed, as I haven't had problems with Vista. And I used to do sysadmin on SunOS 4.2.1, so UNIX/Linux doesn't scare me at all. It's just that Vista works...

[kmack]

Yes you can run Photoshop CS2 on Linux using the WINE windows emulator but I can not vouch for stability or usability.

You can use GIMP on Linux as a substitute for photoshop if you would be happy with 8 bit color support only. I use GIMP on a Mac because I can not justify the cost of Photoshop for my own simple needs.

Linux is rock solid on supported hardware. Lot of great eye candy available and some unique applications. If you wish to try a Linux distribution I would suggest Ubuntu as a good distro for most hardware configurations. Linux is a different type of user experience, some people like it some don't.

That being said, you would be better off with a Mac if you want to do a lot of image processing with a minimum of dealing with software configuration/issues.

[Alan Davenport]

Scott,
An up-to-date (patched) install of XP is usually extremely robust. I haven't seen a BSOD in years, EXCEPT when I've had a hardware problem. Before you give up on XP for that reason, check your hardware thoroughly or have it checked. A weak power supply or bad RAM are two things that immediately come to mind.

[Bruce Watson]

Scott,
An up-to-date (patched) install of XP is usually extremely robust. I haven't seen a BSOD in years, EXCEPT when I've had a hardware problem. Before you give up on XP for that reason, check your hardware thoroughly or have it checked. A weak power supply or bad RAM are two things that immediately come to mind.

Very true. Most PCs don't use ECC RAM, so a one bit glitch can slam the PC to the carpet. I've had that happen with mine -- didn't even make it to the BSOD, just dropped like a rock and started a hard reboot. Did this every couple of hours until I finally got around to replacing memory sticks one-by-one. Once the right stick was replaced that particular problem went away.

Macs, BTW, use ECC RAM. One reason they cost more, and work better. I'm just sayin'...

[Richard Wall]

I'm currently running two Linux distros on on two different laptops, Ubuntu (Feisty Fawn v7.04) and Linux Mandrake (Now Mandriva). Ubuntu is by far the easiest distro I have ever set-up. In fact you can run it off a live CD first then click the install button if you decide you like it. All of my hardware was recognized and configured properly.
Here is the bad news. If you have non standard, or really new hardware, installation can be a problem. Also if you get a new piece of hardware Linux may not have drivers for it yet. There are also many things that the PC and Mac world take for granted that are either not working or not available on Linux, like Quicktime or Flash (Adobe just released flash for Linux, but its buggy as hell and crashes a lot). There are a lot of really great apps for Linux, but not a lot of great commercial apps like the CS Suite, MS Office, Final Cut or Premier, In Design etc... I have tried running some of these in WINE, but some work and some don't. I have Sun's Open Office, but that doesn't open .docx files.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I still have my Mac (main) and PC (backup). I would love to use nothing but Linux, but it's just not there yet. At least for the desktop. It rocks as a server.
I also agree with what others here have said and would bet you are experiencing a hardware failure, instead of a true windows problem. My XP install has been purring along with hardly a hiccup since I installed it more than a year ago. And, I have seen memory go bad after several years of use. I have also had a similar experience as you once when my heatsink fan began to fail and my CPU would slowly heat up then unexpectedly shut down. It drove me crazy until I figured it out.

Richard

[tmastran]

Ok, I've finally had my fill of the blue screen of death with XP. Heard nothing but bad about Vista. Have reinstalled two versions of XP to no avail. I'm done. I'm wanting to learn about Linux - anyone have it? Whatcha think? Any info about program compatibility between the platforms? Will my install of CS2 work?

Thanks for any opinions,
Scott

Scott,

Your CS2 will run just fine. I'm a windows developer and have also worked with Unix for twenty years. I use Ubuntu at home, on two machines. I have an Epson scanner connected via FireWire (USB will work to) driven by VueScan for Linux. It works great. For graphics you can use The Gimp, but I prefer Photoshop CS2. It's robust and fast on Ubuntu.

So the question is why Ubuntu over XP or Vista? The answer is subjective and you'll probably have to run a Linux distro for a while to really make an educated decision. For me, it's not a matter of cost. As a developer I have access to every Microsoft product. I choose Ubuntu for it's robustness, performance, and flexibility, on average machines. If you're not technically inclined it may not be for you, that's why I recommend trying it. Ubuntuforums.org is a great place for help should you need it.

I'm not a Microsoft vs Linux fanatic. I really like the openness of Linux and the wealth of software available for it. If something doesn't work the way I like it, it's easy enough to get the code and change it.

Ted

[Daniel_Buck]

I use Linux at work, I run Maya and Nuke in Linux (Fedora). However, I don't like gimp (and it's only 8 bit), so I still do my photoshop work in Windows.