Transition to Linux


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Ok, here I am. Yet another Long-Time Windows user wanting to try Linux. Why? Well because I hear Linux doesn't crash, is faster and doesn't require tedious cleaning and defraging software (is all this true?). Plus it looks cool, and it something new for me to fiddle with. But I would prefer to be sure of what I'm getting myself into. First, here's what I have:

Zepto Znote 6625WD (Laptop)

2x 2.40GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

2GB RAM (Going to upgrade to 4)

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

These are the programs I use on my current computer with 32 bit Windows Vista Business:

Adobe CS3 After Effects / Photoshop / Premiere Pro / Soundbooth

Autodesk 3D Studio Max 2008

BitDefender Internet Security 2008 (These 3 first ones are fairly important to me. The first two are for school and the last one is of course for security, and already paid for it)

Crimson Editor

Daemon Tools Pro / MagicISO / MagicDisc (I'm thining there might be an alternative ISO loader available for Linux?)

IMVU (This one is a tough one)

VeohTV

Microsoft Office (Not all of hem, just a few, like Word and PowerPoint. And also some Microsoft software that aren't a part of Office, like Microsoft Expression)

Mozilla Firefox / Thunderbird

PSP Video 9 (For converting video files so that I can view them in my PSP)

Rainlendar 2 (Although I assume that there are maybe even better Calendar alternatives to Rainlendar available in Linux)

Skype

uTorrent

VLC Media player (And as many codecs as I can possibly get, coz I watch a lot of videos :p)

Winamp

Windows Live Messenger

Windows Media Player (Not absolutely necessary, but I preffer to have it for certain reasons. Such as media sharing, which is good to have with my Xbox 360)

WinPatrol / Autostart and Process Viewer (which I'm thinking I probably wont need in Linux?)

WinRAR

UltraMon (Which I use to handle my Plug and Play. I use an additional monitor to extend my current one)

Unlocker (Is it necessary in Linux?)

And of course, the cr?me de la cr?me, video computer games. MMORPG, shooters and other stuff. I hear a lot about Linux being a bad platfor for video games because of poor compatibility and support.

Ok, now off the top of my head, some of these simply will not work on Linux, right? I'm thinking the Windows specific ones, like Office (although I only really need Word and a way to view Power Point presentation). However I have heard of a nifty thing called Wine, which let's me run Windows programs. But how well functioning is it? Can it run ANY Windows programs? And how easy/hard is it to use? Complications are complicate:p:p.

I will most likely start the transition slowly, by installing on a partition and switching on boots. But what should install. The one I hear the most about is Ubuntu. But having seen a few screenshots I think I'll go for Kubuntu instead, since KDE looks more nifty and simpler than GNOME, but I have no real experience to go by. But if I'm gonna install kubuntu I need to make enough space on the patition, so how much space is needed to install the OS?

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Ok, here I am. Yet another Long-Time Windows user wanting to try Linux. Why? Well because I hear Linux doesn't crash, is faster and doesn't require tedious cleaning and defraging software (is all this true?). Plus it looks cool, and it something new for me to fiddle with. But I would prefer to be sure of what I'm getting myself into. First, here's what I have:

Zepto Znote 6625WD (Laptop)

2x 2.40GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

2GB RAM (Going to upgrade to 4)

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

These are the programs I use on my current computer with 32 bit Windows Vista Business:

Adobe CS3 After Effects / Photoshop / Premiere Pro / Soundbooth - don't think so

Autodesk 3D Studio Max 2008 - ?

BitDefender Internet Security 2008 (These 3 first ones are fairly important to me. The first two are for school and the last one is of course for security, and already paid for it) - no, you don't need it

Crimson Editor - ?

Daemon Tools Pro / MagicISO / MagicDisc (I'm thining there might be an alternative ISO loader available for Linux?) - there are alternatives for this.

IMVU (This one is a tough one) - ?

VeohTV - ?

Microsoft Office (Not all of hem, just a few, like Word and PowerPoint. And also some Microsoft software that aren't a part of Office, like Microsoft Expression) - open office will do .

Mozilla Firefox / Thunderbird - yes / yes

PSP Video 9 (For converting video files so that I can view them in my PSP) - there are alternatives.

Rainlendar 2 (Although I assume that there are maybe even better Calendar alternatives to Rainlendar available in Linux) - ?

Skype - i think so.

uTorrent - there are many alternatives.

VLC Media player (And as many codecs as I can possibly get, coz I watch a lot of videos :p) - yes

Winamp - again many alternatives.

Windows Live Messenger -no

Windows Media Player (Not absolutely necessary, but I preffer to have it for certain reasons. Such as media sharing, which is good to have with my Xbox 360) - no

WinPatrol / Autostart and Process Viewer (which I'm thinking I probably wont need in Linux?) - ?

WinRAR - there are alternatives

UltraMon (Which I use to handle my Plug and Play. I use an additional monitor to extend my current one) - ?

Unlocker (Is it necessary in Linux?) - ?????

And of course, the cr?me de la cr?me, video computer games. MMORPG, shooters and other stuff. I hear a lot about Linux being a bad platfor for video games because of poor compatibility and support. - not alot of good gaming support yet im afraid.

Ok, now off the top of my head, some of these simply will not work on Linux, right? I'm thinking the Windows specific ones, like Office (although I only really need Word and a way to view Power Point presentation). However I have heard of a nifty thing called Wine, which let's me run Windows programs. But how well functioning is it? Can it run ANY Windows programs? And how easy/hard is it to use? Complications are complicate:p:p.

I will most likely start the transition slowly, by installing on a partition and switching on boots. But what should install. The one I hear the most about is Ubuntu. But having seen a few screenshots I think I'll go for Kubuntu instead, since KDE looks more nifty and simpler than GNOME, but I have no real experience to go by. But if I'm gonna install kubuntu I need to make enough space on the patition, so how much space is needed to install the OS?

i tried to answer your questions the best i could. check around online for alternatives before you make up your mind. ubuntu is a good distro imo.

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Linux can crash. Sorry, but it is not immune to faulty hardware, or possible bugs.

It can be faster, and customizing which apps you install and use can make a big difference in system performance. Since everything is modular, you can completely replace your window manager (desktop environment) for one that suits your needs best.

It doesn't require defragging, but really NTFS isn't very bad, either. File fragmentation seems to affect Linux a lot less, in my opinion - I don't have facts or benchmarks to back that up, though.

I think that one of the big advantages for me is the package manager. It is much better than the Windows way of every app needing to use their own installer/remover. I don't like how those apps fill the registry with crud that they don't often remove (not really Microsoft's fault, but it is a characteristic of a Windows OS). Keeping your entire Linux system updated is a breeze. It is nearly effortless.

For Linux, try Ubuntu as a LiveCD first. Open some of your existing Word, Excel and Powerpoint files and see if they work. I would recommend native Linux apps over using wine. Native Linux apps will be automatically updated. Apps installed with wine will not.

Gaming? I bought the UT2k4 CD because it came with a Linux installer on the CD - plus it is a fun game:P. I have Doom3 Demo installed, but the game isn't good enough for me to buy. I'm not a gamer, so this isn't an issue for me. Some fair amount of Windows games can be played with Cedega (if it is still called that), but my recommendation is to keep a dual boot of XP for gaming.

Hope this is a good quick first bit of advice for you.

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Good News Your Crimson Editor is supported through Wine.

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?...on&iId=3740

GOLD rating.

IMVU-- There is one database for it--- But is only Platinum level and was tested with the beta and a few wine releases back.

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?...on&iId=2697

Skype-- is listed in the Wine DB but has some issues...

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?...n&iId=11052

Though there is a beta for SKYPE for linux..

http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/...-on-asus-eee-pc

Developer Zone.

https://developer.skype.com/LinuxSkype

Though I have never ran Skype...

As far as your Adobe-- Gimp as far as I am concerned does the basic job....Though there are far better alternatives out there (it does what I need)...

As far as online gaming--- I don't play games...(sorry can't help you there).

Autodesk-- not sure which one but this should be the link to WineDB for listings for Autodesk

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?...bAscending=true

Windows Live Messenger--Pidgin Connects some people like Kopete... I talk with my MSN friends just fine...

Correction on the SKYPE -- there is a relesed .deb for Ubuntu 7.04- Unsure if tested in 8.04 release....

but here is a page that tells you how to install in 8.04.

http://beginlinux.com/desktop_training/ubu...e-on-ubuntu-804

Edited by redvamp128
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Adobe CS3 After Effects / Photoshop / Premiere Pro / Soundbooth Cinelerra have most of premiere/after effects feature. Other apps, like cinepaint can complete the task. But for basic DV editing kino is easier. About photoshop, I don't like the gimp, but it can do the job. Krita 2.0 is also good, but is in beta. About sound program, there is some (rosegarser, lmms, wired, hydrogen) and they are compatible with cuebase instrument (but they don't offer some by default, just copy and paste them from windows)

Autodesk 3D Studio Max 2008 Blender, I used both a lot, and personally, I prefer blender over 3ds, the keys are better and it pack 95% of features in few megabyte, it also load a lot faster.

BitDefender Internet Security 2008 (These 3 first ones are fairly important to me. The first two are for school and the last one is of course for security, and already paid for it) No need for Linux, you will not get any virus or spyware, almost none exist (and none are currently active). And for firewall, every linux distribution come with one (iptable)

Daemon Tools Pro / MagicISO / MagicDisc (I'm thining there might be an alternative ISO loader available for Linux?) No need for a special apps, every linux distribution can by default (sometime it is hidden very deep, but is present)

Microsoft Office OpenOffice (come by default), gnome office (abiword, gnumeric, keyjnote) or KOffice (2.0 in beta)

Mozilla Firefox / Thunderbird Both are available

PSP Video 9 (For converting video files so that I can view them in my PSP) I used thin liquid film for my iPod, many frontend exsit, but the best way is using the terminal. You just have to write something like ffmpeg inputfile.avi -s 320x240 -o outputfile.m4v and press enter. No need for a million click in an useless interface.

Skype Exist for linux

uTorrent Transmission (by default in Ubuntu)

VLC Media player (And as many codecs as I can possibly get, coz I watch a lot of videos tongue.gif) Availible for linux. You have to install the 3 codecs pack (the good, the bad and the ugly) and then you will be able to play everything. Mplayer is also a good video player.

Winamp Audacious or XMMS (very old, but very fast (it is a winamp clone, the interface is the same as the old winamp))

Windows Live Messenger Pidgin (comming by default with Ubuntu)

Windows Media Player (Not absolutely necessary, but I preffer to have it for certain reasons. Such as media sharing, which is good to have with my Xbox 360) Useless, use totem, vlc or mplayer. You can't use it in Linux, like most of the apps above. Linux is not made to run windows apps.

WinPatrol / Autostart and Process Viewer (which I'm thinking I probably wont need in Linux?) You can't have more powerfull than those comming with linux (most of them are command line)

WinRAR If you want .rar, just install unrar from the package manager, then the default archive manager will open them.

UltraMon (Which I use to handle my Plug and Play. I use an additional monitor to extend my current one) It is windows only.

Unlocker (Is it necessary in Linux?) The linux terminal is the best tool you can have and yes, permissions are present in Linux too, in fact, you will have to deal with a lot more of them, it is one of the reason why Linux is so much secure.

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