Linux or Windows?

[Chester]

Hi all.

I’m planning to buy a new laptop. Can’t afford Mac so options are:

1: Laptop with Genuine Windows 7.

2: Laptop with free OS – planning to install Ubuntu or Mint.

It would just be for web design/development, programming(java) and the usual daily computer works(internet, office).

What do you think?

And also, if ever I’ll go with Linux, can I install Photoshop/Illustrator? coz’ I think there’s no native Adobe products for Linux.

Thank you guys.

[__]

You can run Photoshop/Illustrator using [Wine](http://www.winehq.org/), but it’s not always the best experience. There are similar (not all the same features/capabilities) programs available natively under linux, mainly [gimp](http://gimp.org/) and [inkscape](http://inkscape.org).

If you have the option, I would recommend having Windows available anyway – dual-booting is not difficult.

I use windows mainly for IE testing, but there are a few programs that I can’t run under linux. You won’t have any problems when it comes to office and programming work (unless you’re talking about .NET), and most websites run under a LAMP stack anyway.

(Also, linux runs *circles* around Windows on the same box.)

[Schwarttzy]

If you have to ask about whether to go Ubuntu or Windows, you should go with windows every time. Ubuntu or Linux is very fast, powerful, and secure but has the major trade off that everything becomes a pain unless you know what your doing because it is for power users, and not your average Windows user.

I would love to see everyone go Linux, but it just to difficult for a lot of people.

[__]

I’d disagree that Ubuntu (Ubuntu in particular, among Linux flavors) is for “power users” – it’s very, very user-friendly. For day-to-day tasks, there is basically no learning curve beyond the desktop menus.

Yes, some things are different, and you can delve much deeper into controlling the OS if you want to, but I would definitely describe Ubuntu as “entry level.” If you have even a passing interest in Linux, try it. As I said above, Ubuntu makes dual-booting easy, and you don’t even have to *install* it to try it out – it’s risk-free.

[tanotify]

I really do not understand the reasons of using linux for designers. In my opinion if windows (for new laptops eighth version of it :) will be included in a price – keep windows on a laptop. Possible just one case to choose linux it is cheeper software, but i think that is possible to buy at once what you need for working.

[__]

> I really do not understand the reasons of using linux for designers.

As I alluded to earlier, I agree that Win/Mac are better platforms for graphic design – simply because they’re supported by more graphics software. But it’s nothing you can’t work around, whether you dual-boot, create a VM, or run Wine.

However, in terms of *web* design/development, linux has significant advantages, not the least of which being that (if you host your sites on a LAMP stack, as many are) you can create a development environment that matches your production environment very closely.

Personally, I find web dev on linux to be much, much easier than it ever was on Windows.

Of course, if your definition of “web designer” is “a graphic designer that works on websites,” I agree that you won’t really see the advantage.

> In my opinion if windows … will be included in a price – keep windows on a laptop.

Absolutely. I don’t recommend *deleting* Windows in favor of linux. If you have Windows, keep it. It’s not useless. It’s not “all or nothing.”

> just one case to choose linux it is cheeper software…

Cost is not linux’s only advantage. It’s not even the *main* advantage.

Security is the big one, IMO – my son runs ubuntu because it doesn’t catch viruses.

Free+Open-Source has other advantages besides saving money, too: you’re free to try stuff out. If you don’t like a particular program, try another one – you’re not stuck using that lousy, $600 code editor out of principle.

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