New noob with many questions

[benbob1]

As per title, I am a new noob to this forum and Linux as a whole. Tried Linux before, but never really sunk my teeth into it as there were two reasons for sticking with XP. I run Photoshop, for which there is no Linux version, and do webdesign aimed at the mass market/lowest common denominator.
As the dreadful Windows crashed ( again ), I have finally decided to dedicate some of my rare, spare time, and learn what I need to know about Linux to run it in an optimal way for what I do.

First question: is there a Linux "version" that is demonstrably better than others? I'm looking to buy an "original" version on a ready made cd, and am wondering if I should simply get the easiest available version, or that it is worth making an effort to get a specific release e.g. Ubuntu, Red Hat or whatever.

Many thanks in advance.

[elija]

Welcome to the forums.

Linux Mint is reckoned to be one of the most beginner friendly linux distro's out there so it's as good a starting point as any. I would suggest that you try the Cinnamon or Mate desktop versions of it. Linux Format Magazine in the UK say that Simply Mepis is a good choice for users coming from Windows also.

If you have a reasonably fast connection and a decent bandwidth allowance, it may be worth downloading a few and seeing which suits.

This is our 2012 poll for beginner friendly distros

[jayd512]

Hello and Welcome!

As mentioned by elija, Mint or MEPIS make for good starting choices, but a broader view of opinions can be found in the link to the poll.

As far as PhotoShop, you have a few options. There are a number of Linux native apps that might suit your needs:
GIMP
CinePaint
Krita
There are probably more.
You could also try running PhotoShop in Wine. Or, if your hardware is capable enough, install Windows in a Virtual Machine for the purpose of using PS.

[atreyu]

Hello and welcome!

I agree w/elija about trying before you buy - it is hands down the best way to decide what distro is right for you. So if you can, d/l those ISO installation media files and start burning, it is a fairly straight-forward process.

I use Fedora myself b/c I love the wealth of software packages available (Ubuntu has this also), as well as its close ties to Red Hat (which I use, along with CentOS @work), and its use of RPMS and yum for software package management, which I prefer over .deb/apt (the Debian/Ubuntu/Mint way). Also, as far as system initialization stuff goes, I prefer System V Init and systemd (used by Fedora/RH, etc.) over upstart (Ubuntu), but a user new to Linux won't have to deal with this so it is not really something you need to worry about.

IMHO, the most important things to consider are amount of pre-compiled software packages available (again Fedora/Ubuntu/Debian are strong here) and ease of use in terms of graphical tools (where Fedora and Ubuntu are strong). Also is the issue of codecs for multimedia which are fairly easily done post-install for Fedora and Ubuntu, but are pretty much out of the box on Mint. There are myriad other things to consider of course, but those things leap to mind.

Also worth mentioning is Zorin OS, another good distro for people coming from Windows.

Here's some download links:

• Ubuntu
• Fedora
• Linux Mint
• Zorin OS

As to Photoshop, have you heard of Gimp? It is not exactly a drop-in replacement for Photoshop, but it is damn, damn good (and wildly popular, and free). There is a Windows port of it, as well as Linux, so you can try it out now, and get it for Linux whenever you go that route, too.

[benbob1]

Hi folks and thanks for the replies. What would the answers be if you were to disregard the fact that I am new to Linux? I'd much rather start off straight away with what gives the "best results", than faffing about with what is easiest and then later changing to something more powerful, more options or whatever other reason.

[benbob1]

...As to Photoshop, have you heard of Gimp ...

Yes, tried it and didn't like it. Much as I dislike the arrogant and unhelpful attitude of Adobe, Photoshop is unrivaled; nothing comes even close for in-depth editing.
For simple and/or quick adjustments I use Iview, which is unrivaled for that purpose.

[benbob1]

...
You could also try running PhotoShop in Wine. Or, if your hardware is capable enough, install Windows in a Virtual Machine for the purpose of using PS.

Hardware is good enough to set up dual boot system, which I need any way for testing website display under various platforms.

[elija]

Hi folks and thanks for the replies. What would the answers be if you were to disregard the fact that I am new to Linux? I'd much rather start off straight away with what gives the "best results", than faffing about with what is easiest and then later changing to something more powerful, more options or whatever other reason.

The beginner friendly distros can do anything any other distro can do. The main difference is how much initial setting up you may need to do and in some cases, how many specialist GUI configuration tools are provided. If you want a distro that provides a near vanilla experience then consider Slackware or if you want complete control over what is installed, try a Debian base install from which you will get a kernel, command line with utilities, package management and internet access. The rest will be up to you!

[MASONTX]

Welcome to the forum. You can read about and download distro's from Distrowatch.com. It may take a while to get your head wrapped around the concept, but linux has no best distro. Each distro is based on the linux kernal, and then customizes the desktop look and feel, and adds what its developers think are a good beginning batch of aps. You can always add more aps, different aps, etc from the repository of your distro. To me, the main difference is the repositories, and debian and ubuntu have repositories that have more of what I'm looking for, others think RedHat and it's derivatives have better aps, or (pick a distro) advocates swear by their distro of choice. In linux, one size does not fit all, you pick the one that suits you best.

[benbob1]

It seems to bizarre to be true, but the phrasing used is quite unambiguous; do I understand it correctly that a Linux ap from Ubuntu may not work under Linux OS from Fedora?