So I moved to Linux

[maflynn]

No thanks

Yep, I find Mint has more downsides then upsides

 

[Luftkopf]

I hardly recognise any distros any more. Mint, Arch, CachyOS, Bazzite? Ubuntu and Debian I remember, but none of the others. I think the last one i used was Fedora maybe?

 

[lowendlinux]

wow! what an amazing site! i wish i knew about it before burning all those usb's with iso to check out different linux distro/DE . One important feature for me is when minimizing a window it becomes a thumbnail in the dock not a clickable bar like on windows. I believe Cosmic has that.

Just use Gnome if the rest don't work

 

[jsavvy]

I thought you might be using NextCloud. I took a look at their website again and I see the option to sign up with a 3rd party provider but under the self hosting option that leads to NextCloud Enterprise that is self hosted by NextCloud. Is that what you are doing?

Nope, the website has certainly become more confusing than it needs to be.

You can select either the community project or download server archive to get the true self-hosted option.

 

[jsavvy]

AutoCAD would be a good start.

Ah, you are in the elite group. Very few people use that as opposed to corporations. I was actually an engineer at a chemical plant and never used it. What's the license cost now? $2000 a year? Not a home use application.

For me the killer Windows app was the PI system and its ability to pull DCS data straight into Excel. I don't need that at home either.

Yes, your use case is unique. I know there are CAD options for Linux but nothing as full featured as AutoCAD. There are 2D CAD programs for Linux but I'm not sure if they're any good.

 

[jsavvy]

99% of commercial software (both big and small) aren't available on Linux, such as Adobe. I also use Capture One. About 99% of the apps I use on my Mac aren't on Linux and don't have anything even remotely comparable.

Many of those commercial apps do have alternatives so one doesn't need to purchase the commercial apps - which is the point for many on Linux. If you only want to use name brand commercial software, then Linux is not the OS for you. For instance, I don't need Microsoft's Office Suite to work with Microsoft files and send them to others who use Office in my company. But I use Microsoft's VS Code natively on Linux every day.

I don't do much in the creative sphere these days, but that might be the biggest obstacle to move from Mac to Linux. (I'm not sure most people should switch to Linux from Mac -macOS uses many of the same open source software packages anyway.) I do know that Darktable is considered by many a good alternative to lightroom. The view of GIMP being able to replace photoshop is debatable, but I've never used it so I cannot say. Da Vinci Resolve is a great tool on Linux and so is Blender. I also think that Inkscape is a good alternative to Illustrator. All of these alternatives, however, will require a new way of doing things - that is a hurdle that most don't have the time or desire to overcome.

 

[Skwoodge]

Many of those commercial apps do have alternatives

No, they really don't. This is coming from someone that has tried to switch to Linux many times over the last 20 years.

so one doesn't need to purchase the commercial apps - which is the point for many on Linux.

No, the point is that many can't switch because there aren't any comparable apps to paid commercial software. And yes, I get that one of the points of Linux is to pay less money for things ... but when there aren't any free alternatives ... free is irrelevant.

If you only want to use name brand commercial software, then Linux is not the OS for you.

Or any comparable software, which there isn't, then Linux isn't for you. Linux would be great if anyone supported it. There are all kinds of free software on Linux. Most of it is terrible.

For instance, I don't need Microsoft's Office Suite to work with Microsoft files and send them to others who use Office in my company. But I use Microsoft's VS Code natively on Linux every day.

You can use Microsoft Office online, so it's cross platform. There's also things like Libre Office and WPS Office for Linux. They're just okay.

I don't do much in the creative sphere these days

We can tell ... because you use Linux.

I do know that Darktable is considered by many a good alternative to lightroom.

Darktable is okay ... but it's buggy and the UI is trash.

The view of GIMP being able to replace photoshop is debatable, but I've never used it so I cannot say. Da Vinci Resolve is a great tool on Linux and so is Blender. I also think that Inkscape is a good alternative to Illustrator. All of these alternatives, however, will require a new way of doing things - that is a hurdle that most don't have the time or desire to overcome.

GIMP is the worst app I have ever used. Inkscape is okay. It isn't just the hurdle of learning something new. It's that most of these apps simply don't do things that the commercial apps can do.

Also ... Photoshop + Lightroom costs 10 dollars a month ... so it's not exactly a bank-breaking set of apps.

There is also free Affinity apps: https://www.affinity.studio/ (but this isn't available for Linux)

 

[Steve Adams]

No, they really don't. This is coming from someone that has tried to switch to Linux many times over the last 20 years.


No, the point is that many can't switch because there aren't any comparable apps to paid commercial software. And yes, I get that one of the points of Linux is to pay less money for things ... but when there aren't any free alternatives ... free is irrelevant.


Or any comparable software, which there isn't, then Linux isn't for you. Linux would be great if anyone supported it. There are all kinds of free software on Linux. Most of it is terrible.


You can use Microsoft Office online, so it's cross platform. There's also things like Libre Office and WPS Office for Linux. They're just okay.


We can tell ... because you use Linux.


Darktable is okay ... but it's buggy and the UI is trash.


GIMP is the worst app I have ever used. Inkscape is okay. It isn't just the hurdle of learning something new. It's that most of these apps simply don't do things that the commercial apps can do.

Also ... Photoshop + Lightroom costs 10 dollars a month ... so it's not exactly a bank-breaking set of apps.

There is also free Affinity apps: https://www.affinity.studio/ (but this isn't available for Linux)

I use affinity for our graphics and it's not stable on Linux. Then there are some software programs I have to special inspection tools I have. Windows only. I am stuck on it. Sucks but it is what it is. I agree, there are no alternatives that are really able to replace windows software.

 

[Skwoodge]

I use affinity for our graphics and it's not stable on Linux. Then there are some software programs I have to special inspection tools I have. Windows only. I am stuck on it. Sucks but it is what it is. I agree, there are no alternatives that are really able to replace windows software.

Well it's not stable on Linux because it's not designed for Linux. Most things running via Wine on Linux are unstable. It's great that Wine exists, I guess, but nothing will ever compare to native applications. I suppose you could always dual boot if you want to make Linux your main OS. I used to dual boot, but it's too much of a hassle.

 

[boswald]

I can't speak to professional or otherwise commercial software for my use case, but for the sake of general computing and occasional gaming, Linux has come a long way from the 90s. I install Cachy, download a few packages from the Terminal (or Shelly, whichever I'm in the mood for), and go. Minimal configuration compared to years ago. It's not totally pain-free, but like I said, it's miles better than what it was. I nuked Windows for it and use my Mac for everything else. The only machine in my house that isn't Linux or a Mac is my girlfriend's Lenovo laptop (which she doesn't even use!).

 

[Skwoodge]

I can't speak to professional or otherwise commercial software for my use case, but for the sake of general computing and occasional gaming, Linux has come a long way from the 90s. I install Cachy, download a few packages from the Terminal (or Shelly, whichever I'm in the mood for), and go. Minimal configuration compared to years ago. It's not totally pain-free, but like I said, it's miles better than what it was. I nuked Windows for it and use my Mac for everything else. The only machine in my house that isn't Linux or a Mac is my girlfriend's Lenovo laptop (which she doesn't even use!).

A lot of the gaming progress can be attributed to Steam. It's made gaming on Linux leaps and bounds better than it used to be.

 

[capamac]

Yeah gaming is a "foot in the door" for linux.

As goes gaming, so goes a lot of things. B^)

First games, then Adobe apps ... etc. etc. Linux is already #1 for mobile (Android).

Microsoft already has their Windows Subsystem for Linux (WLS) in Windows.

I don't have a high opinion of Adobe's software. It phones home a lot. Adobe isn't a great company and makes it difficult for customers to terminate their subscriptions. They used to be great, like in the 90s. But they've become corporatized kinda like Apple is now.

 

[Janichsan]

I use affinity for our graphics and it's not stable on Linux.…

Well it's not stable on Linux because it's not designed for Linux. …

Affinity (3.x) is currently not even particularly stable under Windows. We were trying to use it for our illustrations at work, but it keeps crashing. We eventually went back to the Affinity 2.x suite.

Most things running via Wine on Linux are unstable.

That's an overgeneralisation. Wine has made tremendous progress in the last couple of years, and a lot of things work as good and as stable as under Windows.

 

[lowendlinux]

Are we really arguing that its impossible to use Linux professionally because there is software a specific poster needs that doesn't exist?

Are we really trying to argue that running professional software in a translation layer is good for a production machine?

If you need one specific program that's not available on Linux you can run it in a virtual machine, if you need many of those programs just run Windows or MacOS.

 

[Skwoodge]

Affinity (3.x) is currently not even particularly stable under Windows. We were trying to use it for our illustrations at work, but it keeps crashing. We eventually went back to the Affinity 2.x suite.

That's because Canva bought them out and it hasn't been the same since.

 

[Luftkopf]

Are we really arguing that its impossible to use Linux professionally because there is software a specific poster needs that doesn't exist?

Are we really trying to argue that running professional software in a translation layer is good for a production machine?

If you need one specific program that's not available on Linux you can run it in a virtual machine, if you need many of those programs just run Windows or MacOS.

I think the argument is pretty simple: If you are interested in Linux, and you have a reasonable basis of IT knowledge, give it a shot. You might find that software you want doesn’t have a reasonable equivalent, or that you aren’t interested in the tinkering required to get a setup you’re happy with, in which case macOS and Windows are still there.

 

[Marty80]

For myself I might convert my macbook pro m1 max to linux when os support ends in 2028, and in between buy another macbook pro.

That way i have the best of both worlds. I can never go back to windows, since using vista it felt very unfinished.

 

[Luftkopf]

That's because Canva bought them out and it hasn't been the same since.

I’m giving them the benefit of my doubt for now. I don’t use Affinity heavily, and I only use it on macOS, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m still waiting for the iPad version.

 

[Skwoodge]

I’m giving them the benefit of my doubt for now. I don’t use Affinity heavily, and I only use it on macOS, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m still waiting for the iPad version.

I gave them the benefit of the doubt as well. I purchased and owned version 2. Version 3 has been a joke.

 

[Luftkopf]

I gave them the benefit of the doubt as well. I purchased and owned version 2. Version 3 has been a joke.

I have V2 and 3 as well. I haven't noticed any instability yet, but as I said I don't use it heavily.