[shadowake]

OK well I've been using (and getting gradually more sick of) Windows for years. I've always been a fan of the Linux open source movement but never got round to giving it a go.

I 'upgraded' to Vista Ultimate last August and since then have had no end of troubles, If I don't see the BSOD at least once in an evening I'm worried somethings wrong.

Anyway I was looking to set up a dual boot with Vista/XP, but whilst reading the guide I noticed a link to another guide for dual booting Vista/Ubuntu and also an article on a program called wine which I never knew existed! So now seems the perfect time to try and ween myself off Windows!

I have quite a new high spec PC and use it mostly for web design, game development and artwork. I know I could use wine to run windows programs where need be, but want to find some open source alternatives for photoshop and dreamweaver (they actually have quite a few annoying compatability issues with Vista ATM).

Any advice is very much welcome!

[techieMoe]

Anyway I was looking to set up a dual boot with Vista/XP, but whilst reading the guide I noticed a link to another guide for dual booting Vista/Ubuntu and also an article on a program called wine which I never knew existed! So now seems the perfect time to try and ween myself off Windows!

If you just want to play around with Linux there are a couple of non-destructive options to consider. One is to download a LiveCD (the default Ubuntu disc has this option) and just boot with it. The OS runs off the disc and doesn't touch your harddrive at all.

A new option in Ubuntu 8.04 is the option to install it inside Windows itself. Ubuntu will install itself on a large (several gigabyte) file inside your Windows file system. You can play with it, and if you don't like it, remove it using Add/Remove Software in Windows.

The performance of these two options won't be 100% up to speed with a dual-boot system, but it's a little safer if you screw something up while tinkering around. Just some things to consider.

I know I could use wine to run windows programs where need be, but want to find some open source alternatives for photoshop and dreamweaver (they actually have quite a few annoying compatability issues with Vista ATM).

Any advice is very much welcome!

I don't really use Dreamweaver much anymore because I'm a code junkie and the stuff Dreamweaver generates is not easily managed by hand. However there are quite a few HTML/CSS editors available for Linux (and Windows):

Screem
Kompozer (previously called Nvu)
Bluefish

The number one suggestion for Photoshop replacement will likely be the GNU Image Manipulation Program (the GIMP).

GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program