[KLUG Members] Windows user with interest in Linux.

[Rusty Yonkers]

Here is my take on your post and how to break the bonds of M$.  It can be done and will be a fun journey.

First, and this might raise the hackles of some of the Linux faithful but I need to be truthful here, for the video editing (and even a lot of photography work) I would not at this point recommend Linux at all (putting on asbestos suit now for flames)!  I have been doing a fair amount of video work for several years, even putting together a half hour dramatic show and a 45 minute training video.  I have worked on Linux, Windows, and Mac.  Do yourself a favor and get a Mac!!!!!! It is by far the best platform for video work.  I know that the big studios are using Linux, but that is on big server farms with software that they custom write for their stuff.  The only video editing software that is any good at all on Linux is Main Actor, and it costs like $400 if I remember right.  I have even found it a bit buggy.  That is a funny thing since the same company puts out some of the best Mpeg codecs for Windows to use with Adobe Premiere.  With Windows I am always fighting with
 the software and different issues.  The Mac is just awesome.  If you are doing really low end video (home movie stuff) then the iLife series is just perfect.  If you are doing more heavy duty stuff then Final Cut Express or Final Cut Pro is the greatest.  And Linux does not even have a single video editing program that comes close in the low end.  They are getting close with the photography stuff but have a ways to go in user interface and functionality.

As far as learning Linux, I would not start by putting it on a server.  Get a copy of something like OpenSuSE 10, or Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, or Kubuntu.  Install it as a secondary operating system on one of your desktops with dual boot.  You can start to spend a little bit of time in Linux to get used to it while going back to Windows when you need to get work done where you feel comfortable.  You will probably find that you will spend like 10% of your time in Linux to start.  It will only take a month or two before you are spending the majority of your time in Linux.  Within 6 months you might be able to make the jump completely to Linux and not look back.  There are some differences and you will need th safety net until you get familiar with the new OS.  After you get comfortable then look at putting in the server.  At that point, if you have a machine with a fairly decent processor and a lot of memory, I would install VMWare Server (you can download it
 free) and install one guest server in Windows as you have it now and the other in Linux.  Then you can start moving services over as you get a comfort level with each.  You may find that there are one or two things that you will not be able to convert over.  This will depend on your needs.  I am not by any means a Redmond lover (getting ready to get a shirt made with ABM$ for anything but Microsoft embroidered on it to wear to work), but there are times where you will need to run it.  

Well that is my two cents worth. 
 
Russell C. Yonkers Jr. 
CNE, MCSA, A+, CCNA, Linux+, Server+, Network+, Security+ certified
-----------------------------------------
Currently using SuSE 10, Mac OS X, Windows 2000, and WinXP 
And yes I run a network at home with Linux and Windows servers

----- Original Message ----
From: Jason R. Schroeder <Jason at schroedercreek.com>
To: members at kalamazoolinux.org
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 12:30:19 AM
Subject: [KLUG Members] Windows user with interest in Linux. 




 
 

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Hi, I am new to Linux for the most part, and have some
questions for you all to respond to. Hopefully with the feedback I receive I
can get a better understand of the capabilities of Linux, and if it will suit
my needs. 
 

  
 

I have been using windows for the past 16 years, so I am
attached to it the software just like bill wants us all to be. I use windows
for a lot of things. Video editing, homework (office), listening to music, and
games. I have meddled with Linux in the past, red hat and mandrake. Let me tell
you, it didn’t last long before I went back to windows. But over the
years my computer collection has grown, and my needs have changed. I am not
playing the quantity of games, but utilizing other aspects I have only been
able to find in windows. I’ll go through the machines I have, and what I
primarily use them for now. 
 

  
 

I have 3 computers that are running (handful of others for
parts, etc). 
 

  
 

I have a Pentium Celeron 2.8 GHz, 784mb ram, 200 GB hd space
that I am running Windows Server 2k3. I use this machine to host files, a web
server, and an exchange server for my mail (also utilizing the calendar to
share my schedule with the rest of my family). 
 

  
 

I have a desktop, AMD Athlon 64bit 3500+ processor, 2gb ram,
7800GT SLI ( 2 video card) setup, with 320gb of hd space. It is running Windows
XP 64bit version. I use this occasionally to play games, and use it to program
on it, Visual c++ and Visual C#, photo editing and video editing(my off-road
videos), and burning DVDs. 
 

  
 

And lastly I have a Dell XPS laptop, Celeron Centrino 2 GHz,
1 GB, NVIDIA 7800 GTX go video card. I use this machine for most of my work (mobility
is a great feeling). I play games, check mail, and program on it. This machine
is also used by my fiancé who is decently computer illiterate. 
 

  
 

Anyways, the big thing I am concern about would be my server
(computer #1). Is it possible to host an exchange server where outlook can
connect the same way it can now? As for programming, is there any way to have a
team collaborative programming project? I am always trying to find ways to
better utilize the server other than increase my power bill. I also use this
server for a shared printer connection for the other machines. As for the
desktop, I could switch it to Linux or dual boot it, but I like to retain the
same if not similar capabilities as before, plus also retain the ability to
play games( I didn’t drop this kind of $$$ into it for it to just sit
there). Heh
 

  
 

Well, that’s all I can think about for now. I will try
to attend your meeting next Tuesday; you guys are only 2 blocks from my house.
Please let me know if Linux might be able to serve my needs and yet free me
from the cost of having to upgrade windows every 4 or 5 years. 
 

  
 

Thanks ahead of time,
 

  
 

Jason Schroeder  
 




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