Another Newbie ???

[pocketprotector]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the oppurtunity to post on this great forum! I'm thinking seriously of taking the Linux plung, but I have a question...

I am a photographer and to extensive work with Photoshop CS3. With that being said, is there any distribution that is better suited for photos than an other? Also, is Gimp as good/better than Photoshop? Lastly, being that I am graphically bias... Which distribution has the best "eye candy"?

Thanks for your time....

[i92guboj]

Hello and welcome,

I am a photographer and to extensive work with Photoshop CS3. With that being said, is there any distribution that is better suited for photos than an other?

I can't answer that since I am not an expert in the matter. However, you can use the same set of software -potentially- in any distro. So, that should not be a major factor to choose a distro over another.

There might be some distro that's more oriented to photo edition, but I don't really know about it.

Also, is Gimp as good/better than Photoshop?

Gimp is a very good program, I can't compare it to the latest versions of photoshop cause I have not tried it. However, the big problem of gimp is that the way to work with it is radically different from this on photoshop. That's a big problem for most people coming from photoshop, because you have to learn a new thing and forget what you already knew.

The good news is that you can probably continue using photoshop in linux (while you learn gimp ideally, but it could also be a permanent solution, or you can use both to complement each other). I don't know if CS3 works under wine, but I think that CS2 works without any major problem.

Lastly, being that I am graphically bias... Which distribution has the best "eye candy"?

That's in the eye of the beholder. Some people like sabayon, but again: you can install the same stuff on any distro. So, it's really a matter of taste. With a bit of time and dedication you can customize the look and feel of any distro to fit your preferences.

You might want to download and test a few livecds to see the distros in action before installing them. The problem is that most livecds do not allow 3d acceleration, because some 3d drivers are propietary and do not allow redistribution (hence they are not shipped in the cds). That means that on most livecds the fancy desktop effects are not enabled since they require a 3d accelerated driver.

[pocketprotector]

Thanks for the input...