Want To Go Full Mounty LINUX - Need Advice

JRWvol

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Greetings people. This is a hello and “I’m desperate. More like angry and want to jump to LINUX ASAP.” Horrible way to start a post. Kindly bear with me as I explain. I’m fed up with Microsoft after enduring installation and use of their Windows 10. Let’s leave it at that before I end up breaking forum rules, if I haven’t already.

OK, I have a brand new built for gaming 17.3” laptop due this Thursday. I don’t game but I do video editing and dabble in animation and some graphics work. I just wanted a machine that had abundant memory, a very good GPU so rendering especially would be quicker. Plus the fact I often jump between 2-3 programs all open at the same time. I’ve decided I’m fed up enough to make a feet first jump into a LINUX platform. Now, I only have marginal knowledge of Mist, uBuntu, and Fedora. And even marginal knowledge is pushing it as far as my understanding of them. But I think I know enough to at least suspect that Fedora is probably the best fit for me. However, I’d like the opinion of experienced folks in this forum before I leap into the unknown.

I know I’m going to get hit in the mouth with learning a completely new OS. I know I’m going to very likely lose the use of a host of Windows based software. Because I don’t want WINE or anything that contaminates my computer with any space dedicated to Windows, a Windows emulator or what have you. I want to go the full mounty. I’m just that fed up.

Finally, the primary Windows based stuff I use very regularly are as follows:

Acrobat – Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paintshop Pro X7, MS Word 2007, Powerpoint 2007, WordPerfect X7, iClone 5&6, CrazyTalk (all versions of them), Camtasia Studio 9, SnagIt 13, Hitfilm Pro 4 and sometimes Corel VideoStudio X9. Sure there’s more but these are what I use almost daily. Along with the browsers Firefox and Chrome.

I’m sure at least some of these can work with LINUX but if not, any advice to alternatives is believe me, WELCOME. I utterly want to de-Windows and never, ever, ever look back. And so I kneel in complete humility and, “Say help me, please.”
 


1) You do not need to go 100% Linux from day one. You can DUAL BOOT. That is, you can have both systems on your computer and you can choose which one to start. If you find that you later find that you want to use Linux to the exclusion of Microsoft Windows then you can remove that part.

2) For alternatives to Adobe check out something like https://itsfoss.com/adobe-alternatives-linux/

3) A good site for finding alternatives is https://alternativeto.net/

4) Do you use Word AND Wordperfect? What is Mist? Do you mean Linux Mint?
 
Need Advice

Beware, you'll get plenty from me :confused:

Hi @JRWvol and welcome to linux.org.

I only like arochester's points 1 - 4, lol.

Acrobat – Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paintshop Pro X7, MS Word 2007, Powerpoint 2007, WordPerfect X7, iClone 5&6, CrazyTalk (all versions of them), Camtasia Studio 9, SnagIt 13, Hitfilm Pro 4 and sometimes Corel VideoStudio X9. Sure there’s more but these are what I use almost daily. Along with the browsers Firefox and Chrome.

I started WP with Wordperfect 5.0 and 5.1 in an office environment, and its "Reveal Codes" capability has yet to be beaten over 20 years on.

After Corel took over from Novell in ownership, there was WP for Linux up until about version 9 and then they ditched it, but I can source it if you wish.

I have to scoot for the night, food calls, but if you take each and every one of your list above and Google up eg "alternative to crazy talk" you will find alternativeto.net options listed highly, just look for the Linux Penguin at the end (Tux) and you will see what I mean. Some of the Adobe options will correlate with the two links arochester posted.

Cheers

Wizard
 
Greetings people. This is a hello and “I’m desperate. More like angry and want to jump to LINUX ASAP.” Horrible way to start a post. Kindly bear with me as I explain. I’m fed up with Microsoft after enduring installation and use of their Windows 10. Let’s leave it at that before I end up breaking forum rules, if I haven’t already.

OK, I have a brand new built for gaming 17.3” laptop due this Thursday. I don’t game but I do video editing and dabble in animation and some graphics work. I just wanted a machine that had abundant memory, a very good GPU so rendering especially would be quicker. Plus the fact I often jump between 2-3 programs all open at the same time. I’ve decided I’m fed up enough to make a feet first jump into a LINUX platform. Now, I only have marginal knowledge of Mist, uBuntu, and Fedora. And even marginal knowledge is pushing it as far as my understanding of them. But I think I know enough to at least suspect that Fedora is probably the best fit for me. However, I’d like the opinion of experienced folks in this forum before I leap into the unknown.

I know I’m going to get hit in the mouth with learning a completely new OS. I know I’m going to very likely lose the use of a host of Windows based software. Because I don’t want WINE or anything that contaminates my computer with any space dedicated to Windows, a Windows emulator or what have you. I want to go the full mounty. I’m just that fed up.

Finally, the primary Windows based stuff I use very regularly are as follows:

Acrobat – Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paintshop Pro X7, MS Word 2007, Powerpoint 2007, WordPerfect X7, iClone 5&6, CrazyTalk (all versions of them), Camtasia Studio 9, SnagIt 13, Hitfilm Pro 4 and sometimes Corel VideoStudio X9. Sure there’s more but these are what I use almost daily. Along with the browsers Firefox and Chrome.

I’m sure at least some of these can work with LINUX but if not, any advice to alternatives is believe me, WELCOME. I utterly want to de-Windows and never, ever, ever look back. And so I kneel in complete humility and, “Say help me, please.”

Hi @JRWvol, and welcome! Frustration with Microsoft and Windows drives a lot of people to jump on the Linux bandwagon. We've been there too, and we will help you as best as we can. But you will surely find some frustrations with Linux along the way too... its new to you, and there are a number of differences (from Windows) that you will encounter along the way.

One of the first, as you already recognize, is that Linux will not easily run Windows software. I did not do a thorough search on all the programs you named, but my guess it is very unlikely that any will have a Linux version. You don't want to use WINE, but probably none of those will work without it, and truthfully, many will not run in WINE either. There are many excellent programs that do run in Linux, but you will encounter the frustration of needing to learn some new tools. Just to get you started, take a look at this list of 8 video editing programs available for Linux, all for free (usually). There are some programs that are not free, but you should always check the free alternatives first. This is a very different world than with Microsoft!

When your new computer comes, I would recommend that you immediately make a "System Recovery Disk" (USB or DVD's). Most name-brand computers have a tool for this, and it saves your original Windows system in case you want or need to restore it later. Even if you go Linux-only, maybe you'll sell this computer later and you'll be able to put Windows back to make it easier to sell. But also, if you choose to set up a dual boot with Windows/Linux, as @arochester suggests, you can sometimes run into problems and need the ability to reinstall Windows. Keeping a usable Windows for those favorite programs is not a bad idea by any means.

The above assumes that you are buying a name-brand computer and that Windows will be preinstalled. If that is the case, another way for you to get your feet wet with Linux is to install a free program called VirtualBox that will allow you to install and run Linux in a "virtual machine" inside of Windows. This still keeps Windows as the "host" system so it is running all the time, but it could also serve as a good starting point before you jump into Linux totally, and give you the chance to check out some of the Linux programs that you will need to learn.

If you truly decide to blow away Windows completely... I can promise you that we are all very good at that! :D

Cheers, and good luck!
 
Hi there, mate, and welcome to the group. If you wish to blow away Windows, let me fire the first salvo. Check out Distrowatch, to get an idea of which version (flavor) of Linux is best for you. In the center there are announcements for new releases of different versions. On the right side, you will see a listing of the 100 versions with the most web page hits. Check them out, and if any look interesting, click on them to go to a description page. Each description page has the links to the web page for that version. You can go to the pages for any that interest you, and download ISO images in 32 bit or 64 bit. These images, in most cases, can be installed onto a USB thumb drive or burned to a DVD and run without installing on your hard drive. This is called a "Live Cd"(or DVD). You can install from this media, or just test run, with no impact on your current system. Actually, you could run from this media with no hard drive installed. It will run slower than from a hard drive, but it is perfectly usable. No commitment until you are ready! It's a win-win situation. I've heard it described as an "all you can eat buffet, with no weight gain or bloating":p:p!!

Happy Trails
Paul
 
One caution. Once you have an ISO image file downloaded, don't just copy it to a dvd. It will not boot unless you write it as a bootable image. If you just copy it, it will make a dandy coaster for your cold beverage, or a backup of the image file, but it will not boot. Never mind how I figured that out, but I have a bunch of coasters here that look STRANGELY like Cds and DVDs.:p:p If you are using Windows:eek:, you need to use something like Poweriso to make it bootable. Some of the guys that run Windows can tell you what programs to use for this. Once you have any version of Linux up and running, it is much easier. Just look in the menus for the option to make a bootable dvd or usb thumb drive. Easy peasy!:cool:

Happy Trails,
Paul
 
Good morning all, from Downunder.

@JRWvol - should you choose to use a USB stick, make alternativeto.net your friend, as @arochester suggested above.

FYI Rufus is a popular burning solution for Windows users, and if I type in Google "alternative to rufus", my first result leads me here - https://alternativeto.net/software/rufus/# .

Since I searched on Rufus, it is at the top, Windows only. But with the rest of their lists, look for the icons that say Windows &/or Windows & Linux.

Of that list the following have had good reports from Windows users I have helped:

  • YUMI
  • UUI (Universal USB Installer)
  • LiLi (Linux Live)
  • Easy2Boot and
  • Live USB Install
Of the ones that are cross-platform (eg Windows and Linux), I have used, favourably

  • Unetbootin
  • Etcher and
  • MultiBootUSB
With a little advance planning, and bearing in mind you wish to go "The Full Monty":

Should you wish to try a few Linux before committing to a full install, you may wish to consider adding Persistence to a USB stick, https://www.pendrivelinux.com/what-is-persistent-linux/ .

Unetbootin, I think LiLi, and some of the others allow for Persistence to be installed with the burning of the Linux .iso - a maximum of 4GB is allowed (a limitation of MSDOS/fat32, not Linux), but 1GB is usually heaps.

Food for thought

Cheers

Wizard

BTW - just for clarification, the 4GB referred to above is for the Persistence file, that's additional to whatever size Distro .iso downloaded

Edited added BTW, thanks for the like, Paul :D
 
Last edited:
Welcome @JRWvol. Converted myself to GNU/Linux many years ago and, although my usage is less demanding, still think it was the best (computer-related) choice I could have ever made.

The good part is that you already seem to have the mood and the spirit for the change. The bad part, IMO, is to try to grasp too many things at the same time (O.S. + learn to use each program). So I would consider @atanere advice to avoid some of the frustrations that could arise along the GNU/Linux journey.

As you found out there is an overwhelming number of GNU/Linux distributions. Choosing one over another is more of a personal preference, as most of them are very capable.

There are distros using deb packages (Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint...), rpm packages (Fedora, OpenSUSE...), arch-based distros (Manjaro, Antergos...), etc.

Distributions (distros) can be classified also by its release cycle model. That explains why some distros always have the latest programs' versions (an how many updates they get) while others take a conservative approach in pursuit of stability.

The easiest and safer way to install programs is using the software repositories of each distribution; this can be done through a package manager or software center.
If some program is not available in the default repositories, additional ones can be added, or the packaged program can be downloaded manually and installed (from trusted sources).

Another choice to make is the Desktop Environment (GNOME, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce...) Some are "prettier", modern or classic, more customisable, or lighter than others. You could research and see some video reviews, but at the end the best approach is to try them by yourself too see which one you feel more comfortable with.

There are distros oriented to specific needs, like Ubuntu Studio, Fedora Design Suite... (most of their programs can be installed in other distros), and they are good sources to discover new programs.

As @arochester, I recommend alternativeto.net website.
Some programs: Krita, Inkscape, Gimp, Blender, Synfig Studio, MakeHuman, OBS Studio, LibreOffice, WPS Office (not free-software, not opensource)... as well as the ones previously linked by folks.
 
Welcome @JRWvol. Converted myself to GNU/Linux many years ago and, although my usage is less demanding, still think it was the best (computer-related) choice I could have ever made.

The good part is that you already seem to have the mood and the spirit for the change. The bad part, IMO, is to try to grasp too many things at the same time (O.S. + learn to use each program). So I would consider @atanere advice to avoid some of the frustrations that could arise along the GNU/Linux journey.

As you found out there is an overwhelming number of GNU/Linux distributions. Choosing one over another is more of a personal preference, as most of them are very capable.

There are distros using deb packages (Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint...), rpm packages (Fedora, OpenSUSE...), arch-based distros (Manjaro, Antergos...), etc.

Distributions (distros) can be classified also by its release cycle model. That explains why some distros always have the latest programs' versions (an how many updates they get) while others take a conservative approach in pursuit of stability.

The easiest and safer way to install programs is using the software repositories of each distribution; this can be done through a package manager or software center.
If some program is not available in the default repositories, additional ones can be added, or the packaged program can be downloaded manually and installed (from trusted sources).

Another choice to make is the Desktop Environment (GNOME, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce...) Some are "prettier", modern or classic, more customisable, or lighter than others. You could research and see some video reviews, but at the end the best approach is to try them by yourself too see which one you feel more comfortable with.

There are distros oriented to specific needs, like Ubuntu Studio, Fedora Design Suite... (most of their programs can be installed in other distros), and they are good sources to discover new programs.

As @arochester, I recommend alternativeto.net website.
Some programs: Krita, Inkscape, Gimp, Blender, Synfig Studio, MakeHuman, OBS Studio, LibreOffice, WPS Office (not free-software, not opensource)... as well as the ones previously linked by folks.
Nicely said, mate!:)
 
Indeed so, Paul. It is a pleasure to drink my Sunday morning coffee whilst reading such a succinct but comprehensive Post :)

nuna and I have "known" each other for some time from elsewhere, and it was my pleasure yesterday to renew the acquaintanceship.

I was going to add a little qualification on what constitutes "...or lighter than others." on the Desktop Environments (DEs). But rather than reinvent the wheel, I have found an excellent article here

https://renewablepcs.wordpress.com/about-linux/kde-gnome-or-xfce/

... which I have now bookmarked, it is from December last year so quite current. My Google search keywords were simply "GNOME KDE Cinnamon MATE Xfce".

Enjoy, all

Wizard
 
Nice reference, Wiz. Thanks for the info.:D I have added a bookmark for it.
 
Hi @JRWvol, and welcome! Frustration with Microsoft and Windows drives a lot of people to jump on the Linux bandwagon. We've been there too, and we will help you as best as we can. But you will surely find some frustrations with Linux along the way too... its new to you, and there are a number of differences (from Windows) that you will encounter along the way.

One of the first, as you already recognize, is that Linux will not easily run Windows software. I did not do a thorough search on all the programs you named, but my guess it is very unlikely that any will have a Linux version. You don't want to use WINE, but probably none of those will work without it, and truthfully, many will not run in WINE either. There are many excellent programs that do run in Linux, but you will encounter the frustration of needing to learn some new tools. Just to get you started, take a look at this list of 8 video editing programs available for Linux, all for free (usually). There are some programs that are not free, but you should always check the free alternatives first. This is a very different world than with Microsoft!

When your new computer comes, I would recommend that you immediately make a "System Recovery Disk" (USB or DVD's). Most name-brand computers have a tool for this, and it saves your original Windows system in case you want or need to restore it later. Even if you go Linux-only, maybe you'll sell this computer later and you'll be able to put Windows back to make it easier to sell. But also, if you choose to set up a dual boot with Windows/Linux, as @arochester suggests, you can sometimes run into problems and need the ability to reinstall Windows. Keeping a usable Windows for those favorite programs is not a bad idea by any means.

The above assumes that you are buying a name-brand computer and that Windows will be preinstalled. If that is the case, another way for you to get your feet wet with Linux is to install a free program called VirtualBox that will allow you to install and run Linux in a "virtual machine" inside of Windows. This still keeps Windows as the "host" system so it is running all the time, but it could also serve as a good starting point before you jump into Linux totally, and give you the chance to check out some of the Linux programs that you will need to learn.

If you truly decide to blow away Windows completely... I can promise you that we are all very good at that! :D

Cheers, and good luck!
 
Paul !! IT is so nice to meet you! You know one of the first things that comes to mind, is the VAST difference in user communities in regard to the "competition" between Windows and Linux? Linux users tend to go out of there way to welcome new Linux users. Windows users on the other hand stuck mainly to themselves, and were content to let you dangle.The other question in my mind would be : Why did'nt i get started in Linux eons ago? That alone would have put me out ahead of the curve. Oh well, live and learn! Enjoy your day!!
 
I'm about to sign off for my Australian evening, but I had to come back here to briefly hijack the OP's (original poster's) Thread to say the following:

Don (@Donald (Don) West ... is how we "ping" people)

We (the Linux Community, which you are joining) accept that people will want to dualboot with Windows. That's cool.

Typically, we don't see any competition between us and Windows, Linux speaks for itself.

YES, there are some software apps that we can't cater to yet, but that is reducing all the time.

YES, there are occasions where you might have to use the CLI (Command Line Interface, aka Terminal) to achieve things, although many can be achieved through GUI (Graphical User Interface, ie point and click) on the Desktop.

And there are more YESes.

If I were to make an anagram of YES, though , it would be

Yabba-dabba-doo

Exceptional

System

:D:D

Linux, to my mind, and to the mind of many here (exceptional growth last 20 months of people aged 55 - 80), is that Linux, or something very similar, is the way of the future.

The fact that, in the past, we may have used The Windozer for 25 years, only makes us more appreciative of what a wonderful concept it is.

Hoping you come to find that, and we have your back if you need.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Paul !! IT is so nice to meet you! You know one of the first things that comes to mind, is the VAST difference in user communities in regard to the "competition" between Windows and Linux? Linux users tend to go out of there way to welcome new Linux users. Windows users on the other hand stuck mainly to themselves, and were content to let you dangle.The other question in my mind would be : Why did'nt i get started in Linux eons ago? That alone would have put me out ahead of the curve. Oh well, live and learn! Enjoy your day!!
Don,
Welcome to the group, mate. Have you made an introductory posting? If not, please feel free to do so. The more we know about you, the better we can help with any stumbling blocks. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Just remember, we all started as newbies, and have not forgotten how it feels:D:D.
Happy Trails,
Paul
 

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