Recently i’ve decided that, if linux (in this case, Canonical’s Ubuntu) was good enough for alot of people out there, it might just be good enough for myself.
To be honest, I’m quite tired of windows XP, not because i don’t like the OS (because i do) - it’s ergonomical (something i really appreciate), logical, easy to use, no command lines are required, overall, offers me a great experience.
Up untill the moment when you need to re-install it.
Windows XP is fast, quite fast… when you first install it. Then, as the days go by, you install software, you remove software, anti-virus runs every day, updates for this, updates for that, and, before you know it, it’s becoming bloated, slow, choppy, useless!
Sure enough, you can get more software to clean the mess it does after himself, but that can bring you more harm than good.
Softwares like ccleaner and a thousand other apps you can use, can keep your system tidy and organized, but, during that process, it can also delete necessary files to keep your system bug-free. At least, this was what happened when I’ve ran these softwares myself - soon after cleaning my computer, software i had installed asked for missing .dll files, error windows came out of nowhere, etc,etc…
I could be doing something wrong. But, if i was, and i’m not an expert - just savvy enough - i reckon alot of people are as well.
Given the situation, i’ve decided to test drive the latest ubuntu release. I’ve always heard that it was one of the most user friendly linux distribution in the “market”, so, for a begginer, i though i would give it a go.
And, as soon as i’ve installed it, i’ve realised what the hype is all about. It’s good looking, ergonomical, fast, easy to use… brilliant! Absolutely brilliant. I got amazed at how easy it is to work with.
Remember that big “All Programs” list under the Start button on windows? Forget it. Ubuntu is organized, it keeps it’s apps under categories, e.g., OpenOffice Calc and Write under Office, games under Entertainment, etc..
It’s also ready to use, as soon as you install it. No need for any more apps, you have productivity apps (the mentioned OpenOffice), firefox, an email client, games, everything. Even comes with a handy installer, for you to download and install apps with one simple click.
One thing, though, that really amazed me, was the driver support the OS has. Wireless card, bluetooth dongle, USB mouse and keyboard, graphics card… ready to use, out of the shelf! Absolutely brilliant!
I must say, i was (and still am) amazed with this distribution. I mean, can you believe it is free?
But then, i had to benchmark it to see if it could really replace windows XP.
From a web designer point of view, my main concern was “Can i run Photoshop CS3 under ubuntu?”.
I knew that there where several windows apps running on windows, supported by wine. This application let’s you run and install windows software on your linux distribution.
So, after installing Ubuntu, i’ve made a list of “What do i work with to build webpages”:
- A text editor with highlighter (currently ConTEXT);
- A web browser;
- Photoshop;
(you must be asking if i don’t need dreamweaver or any other WYSIWYG editor, my answer is no. I don’t… I handwrite my code, believe it or not)
Ok, a notepad with highlighter is quite easy to find for ubuntu (notepad ++ for instance).
Ubuntu also features Firefox 3.0.1 out of the box, perfect!
Photoshop… erm… Houston, we have a problem!
I need photoshop CS3 or above installed. It’s a brilliant piece of software, ergonomic, powerfull, easy to use (for those who know it, that is).
So i went to install wine and give it a go with photoshop CS3. Theoretically, wine does support CS2, so i thought that, by some sort of miracle, CS3 would work. It didn’t. Didn’t even run the installer. Great.
So i went on to try CS2 then.
Success!! Installed and running. OK, it’s not my favourite photoshop, but hey, it’s linux, can’t be just like windows, now can it?
Right, test drive time, let’s try to build something to test features. Ctrl+N is usually used to create a new document. So, i’ve pushed Ctrl+N…. nothing… i thought to myself, i’ve made something wrong, let’s do it again. Ctrl+N…. still nothing. OK, my bad, let’s do it the old fashion way. File -> Open new… There, new document ready to use.
But the window was sized down. Let’s maximize it, i thought. Pressed the middle square at the top right of the window (just like windows here), and there, maximized. Oh, wait… It did maximize, but not on the app. It filled the whole screen. Bollocks. Ok, that doesn’t work either! I can live with that, i thought. I’ve scaled it down properly and off i went.
Let’s try to make some shapes. Press the square button, click and drag, there’s a square. It works. Now let’s free transform it (Ctrl+T). I’ve pressed Ctrl+T countless times. No luck. I had to navigate to the Edit menu and clicked on Free Transform. This was it for me.
Allow me to explain. I’m a laptop user. I tend to use keyboard shortcuts alot. For everything in every app. Being unable to do shortcuts in photoshop is pretty much the same as chopping my arm out. I can’t live without them.
And now you would yell at me: Use GIMP or Inkscape, they’re free and powerfull!!!
I would. Both are powerfull softwares indeed, and are native to linux. But, they aren’t photoshop, sorry to say. There’s a reason why Adobe’s product is the market leader. It’s because of it’s elegance, intuition, ease of use, ergonomy.
GIMP is the closest to it. Yet, lacks of certain productivity-wise features and organization. The look and feel is terrible, three windows to create a picture? Really? Where did that idea came from? Unbearable to me.
I havn’t tested Inkscape, altough i think it’s more of a Corel Draw clone than a photoshop one.
Bottom line: I loved ubuntu so much i’ve left it on my benchmark desktop to keep playing with it. I’m surelly going to find myself typing alot of command lines just for the fun of it.
But, from a web designer point of view, is it capable of replacing windows? No, not really. At least not for me. I sincerelly hate GIMP (sorry folks!), altough being a powerfull app. And, if Photoshop isn’t capable of performing at a decent level, then i can forget it.
I think that if Adobe and other software vendors started giving more attention to linux support, the OS market would tip off towards linux. I am indeed impressed. If i happen to be an office clerk and/or a boss of one, that would be my OS of choice.
Since i need Photoshop like i need food to live, i can’t use it. And that makes me sad! If i can’t replace my Windows XP for a linux, i can’t certainly replace it for a Mac (but i can only wish i could), mostly because mac’s aren’t cheap, at all.
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