who here uses Linux (Ubuntu)?

I'm thinking of switching. I've got Ubuntu 10.04LTS on a usb drive and I've been exploring - I'm liking it a lot. A few problems I need to address, however:

I've got programs that I must take with me. Most have linux versions, but they need to be complied from the source code. Can anyone point me to a good tool/tutorial?

I'm hesitant to leave Corel. Inkscape seems to be a good candidate for vector graphics, and of course, there's Gimp for photos. (Anyone know of better alternatives?) Are there any good programs out there that handle animations (at least GIFs) or flash movies?

I already use OpenOffice. Gedit seems to be decent for coding (though it doesn't highlight opening/closing tags like notepad++, which is something I've found incredibly helpful).

I would really appreciate input - pros and cons. Thanks, all!

Hi there, I do use Ubuntu 10.04 on my netbook and the 9.10 versions for quite some time now :) But i still have Windows 7 installed on my desktop. I know there is a program called Gimp, which is a similar free alternative to Photoshop so that should be able to for gifs, i don't know whether it supports animating them. I'm not so sure wherther you would be able to compile any :/

but you can always dual boot ubuntu with another OS on your system. When installing ubuntu it will give you the question if you want to install ubutnu with your existing operating side by side or a percentage you can also wipe your hard drive and install just ubuntu if you wish.

thanks - I did make the switch. I really like it, and Inkscape is working out great. I still have Windows on my laptop (mostly for IE testing - wine + IEs4Linux isn't that helpful).

oh good :)

i really do linux and the community that has worked on it has really done well. I do really like the 'Ubuntu Software Centre'.

Well at least you can still have something to test it on, I use Adobe Browser Lab. But really all that it does is produce image screenshots so it's not very helpful to test the website pages, all that I use it for is checking whether al my content is aligned.

Linux is great! I haven't made the switch, however, because things aren't very compatible between distros, my favorite computer games don't have Lin versions, and hardware compatibility issues (of course, networking hardware is the worst!)

I do, however, love to run Ubuntu from a 4Gb USB flash drive. When my laptop stopped booting Windows for a while, Linux ran well.

Go TUX!

Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't run into more hardware compatibility issues - both my printers, as well as everything on my machine (card readers, drives, networking, graphics, accessories...), run great. In fact, the printers run faster, even though they were "designed for XP." The only problem I've run into is the ethernet card on my son's netbook - actually, I've found the driver, it just won't install properly ... for some reason.

And I'm not a gamer, so that doesn't stand in my way. :D

You are very lucky to not be a gamer... It's a great big can of worms to love Ubuntu and Age of Empires at the same time.

Another thing I love about Linux: It works on flash drives! My desktop (XP) isn't working right now, but I have functionality with Ubuntu on a flash drive.:cool: I still wish there was a Linux version of my favorite computer games, however. (most are Microsoft, such as Age of Empires, so there really isn't any hope for them.):eek:

Well the best alternative as suggested is GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an inbuilt application which is pre installed in Ubuntu. A powerful tool equivalent photo shop. :)But there is an application called Wine Layer which allows you to install mostly all windows applications on Ubuntu.

well, I've tried gimp, and I don't really like it. seems cumbersome, somehow. And Wine doesn't work seamlessly. but I've got inkscape, gimp when I *need* it, and a laptop running XP for my Corel suite. :p

Without seeing your Ethernet card, I wouldn't be able to know for certain, but it reeks of Win. This means that the card was programmed and designed to work on a Windows machine, and isn't compatible with Linux. If you are using a desktop, I would suggest finding a new card. Just make sure that it says "Linux Compatible" before you buy it... ;)