abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I am considering switching from Windows to Linux. I am most concerned with how Lightroom, Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat and Premiere Pro run on it. What have others experienced and recommend?

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

They don't run on it. You would have to install something like Wine. Personally haven't tried it but I've heard of problems and would be very suspicious of apps like Adobe which require installation of their "security monitoring" software.

Joe

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

And just how many sales would be created by porting the product to linux? Rhetoriical.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

If you have to keep Adobe products after switching to Linux, the best option (if you have a decent computer):
1. Retain your license for Windows
2. Install VirtualBox on Linux
3. Create a Windows virtual machine in Virtualbox and install all the programs you need.


Another option is to download versions of the following on Windows and try them out, they are all native on Linux:
RAW Editors - DarkTable or RawTherapee
Graphics Editor - GIMP

BebuLamar

Switch to Linux and buy a Mac just for the Adobe software. I really don't know about the Mac but these are my thoughts.
1. Adobe wrote programs for the Mac first before Windows.
2. You can't get away without paying for the software like Linux.
3. I haven't heard people with the 5K Mac display complaining the text too small but heard a lot from people using 4K display on Windows with small menus in Photoshop.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

Why would someone switch to a free and open-source operating system just to sink a large amount of money in a second proprietary system? That is pretty counter-intuitive.

If someone already owns legal copies of Windows and Adobe products they aren't getting away with anything. VirtualBox is free and it pretty much as simple as installing Windows on a physical computer. The only requirement is a computer that has a capable CPU and enough RAM to run a base operating system plus a virtual machine.

User ID

None ... if you are running a Unix OS you
use GIMP, which is free. Comments that
point out certain features of Adobe which
are missing from GIMP are meaningless
in this context. GIMP has everything you
need ... "want" is NOT synonymous with
"need" ... and GIMP is native to Unix.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

You can partition your drive to run both windows and linux. Or take the leap and use darktable instead of LR and Gimp instead of PS.

You can try various 'flavours' of 'different' Linux. You download onto a USB drive or burn to a CD. Everything will work so that you can explore the version to see if you like it. Some have a simple printer installation and some do not. You should also get an option to install 'in a partition' if you wish.

Arch Linux is the depository of all programs available, however not all 'play nice' on all different versions. Most flavors come with a repository of tested programmes which will be bug free!

Look for 'Long Term Support' versions. I use Manjaro for example, Otherwise you will need to reinstall later versions. This can be as little as 2 years.

Depending on what 'historic' software you still have a use for (Like Outlook or 3rd party software) you may be lucky to find 'similar' in Linux, but that also is an issue for re-installed Windows too.

Gimp has recently changed its looks and become more photographic centred..you can be up and running very quickly. Darktable is a joy to use. (I had an earlier version of LR) For Raw you have several options of programs - and they are getting better at listing newer cameras quickly.

For a few pounds - try buying a cd if you are not good with PC's and explore!!!

have fun

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

The VM (Virtual Machine) with Windows running in it is far preferable to WINE in my reasonably well informed opinion. Some reasons include:
1. Your copy of Windows is running as it was intended and that's not true for WINE. YMMV.
2. The VM can be configured to allow bi-directional copy/cut/pasted between the host OS and the child which in this case is Windows.
3. The child process inside the VM can use network resources, shared drives, shared peripherals.
4. In my experience (Win8 under MacOS) the performance "hit" is negligible so long as there is sufficient RAM (I was using 16 GB with room to spare).
4. No need to partition the HDD or SSD and no need for a separate "boot". The VM is just another app. It can actually support other OS's as well. In my case I was running Windows 8 and a version of Linux at the same time as separate instances of the free Oracle VM.
5. There are other VM's available but they are not free.
6. When you shut down the child process in the VM you can save its "state" and it will start up right where you left off.

I am not knocking the Linux-able software, just offering additional information about running Windows in a Virtual Machine.

https://www.virtualbox.org takes you the software (VirtualBox) that I am describing here.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

Ubuntu and Mint are probably the most stable distributions for users that are not as computer savvy. Most printers and hardware drivers have some or full support, and have Live OS like mentioned above where you can try it before installing. Both have extensive repositories for additional software and have a fairly intuitive installation GUI if one is not comfortable in command line environments.

Keep in mind, that Linux does not support all the creature comforts that Microsoft and Apple have built into the user experience. Gaming and commercial programs are still not fully supported for top shelf software, but that is sort of the point for open source environments.

I would never try to sway anyone away from their comfort zone unless they fully intend to move from Windows or MacOS. I didn't choose Linux for photography, it's sort of been my choice in OS for over a decade, and it fits my other purposes just fine.

Dual-boot (partitioning) is always an option, but I've never had 100% success when mixing Linux with say, Windows 10. The boot loader for linux, which by default is GRUB, will load anything you point it to, but Windows doesn't play well in mixed environments and will eventually try to overwrite a system with it's own boot loader, forcing the user to spend time on keyboard fixing the issue, or keeping the GRUB bootloader on disk or USB drive for easy starts. Again, that has been my experience with it, mileage may vary for other users.


I do love DarkTable, and the more I learn, the easier it is to produce results I am looking for. It's very powerful, and underrated mostly because users don't give it a proper amount of time investment, which is fine. But, if someone is comfortable with Adobe, or another software company, I probably wouldn't try to convert anyone, it's just not worth the "my stuff is better than your stuff" discussions. All modern software is very capable.

alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas

Ruherek

I have a 4K monitor and my Adobe menues are very small.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I would like to thank all for responding. The advice from those of you with hands-on experience with Linux was especially useful. Although I know I could learn another operating system, I expect compatibility issues and needing time to learn Linux to the extent that I know Windows. Another consideration is conflicting advice on which version of Linux and the Windows emulator needed. In the end, I would rather use my time to computer than to reinvent the wheel.

Therefore, I will stick with Windows and plop down the $100 for the new, legal copy of the Home version. Once again, I appreciate all the input.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

Recommend the pro version instead. A bit more robust without all the home stuff.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Interesting point. I compared the two on Microsoft.com and do not need the extras in my single-pc environment. I hate the rinky-dink amateur "conveniences" of home and wish they offered a more appropriate interface for intermediate or advanced users. Otherwise, I presume both versions are the same "under the hood". Let me know if I am wrong. Would you buy from Microsoft directly or a discounted version on Amazon?