Me and My OS

Okay, about once every 12-18 months I get this urge. It's an urge to ditch all things Microsoft. If I had $3500 laying around, I would get a Mac. Today, however, I don't. Linux is the next best option.

Linux has come a long way since I first installed it in high school. Back then a graphical installation was something rare. Today, there are so many flavors of Linux and pre-packaged installations that anyone can install it.

I have tried to "go Linux" many times before. The same things always stop me. I can't give up some of my applications. Photoshop, a good RAW converter, Poker, World of Warcraft, etc.. For the most part, there are Linux equivalents out there for almost anything you would want to do. This page has many great applications listed. But, there is no substitute for some applications.

Many people have these "must have" programs that they can't live without. There is still hope for those users. First, dual boot Linux and Windows. Just go into Windows for those rare things you need to do in a Windows app. Well, that's not ideal, because sometimes it's an application that is used everyday. WINE has come a long way since it first came about in 1993. However, 13 years later they are still not to a version 1.0 yet. Thelatest version is 0.9.24, released 2 days ago.

WINE can now allow Photoshop CS, World of Warcraft, Online Poker, and more to be run in Linux. It takes some tweaking, but blogs and forums across the net attest that it is possible.

So, is it worth it to spend all the time and energy trying to do in Linux what I already to on Windows? Absolutely. The viruses, spyware, Windows bugs, Explorer.exe crashing, blue screens, etc. all make me want to get away - far far away. The scripting possibilities and automating of everyday tasks attracts me too.

Well, I embark. Not on my "main" machine, but my secondary machine. If I can get everything running smoothly on it, I might finally escape the clutches of M$. Or, I spend 3 weeks trying to get it to work and then end up back on Windows for another 12-18 months. We'll see. Wish me luck or send me an e-mail with helpful links or software that I might not know about on Linux.