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> you can also run a stock Ubuntu install which will be a great working & gaming workhorse that doesn't add hassle to your life. Sure, if your job is writing

> you can also run a stock Ubuntu install which will be a great working & gaming workhorse that doesn't add hassle to your life. Sure, if your job is writing backend server code. Many of us need other apps though. Things like [this](https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/90453 https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/90453) are showstopping enough for people who rely on Houdini. By the way, SideFX support told me Linux is their choice of OS and I should switch from Windows if I can.

d3Xt3r 18d ago
Houdini is a very specialist app that, considering the overall PC userbase, could be considered a niche app. So I'm sorry, but that's a pretty poor example. Especially considering that I, who grew up using MSDOS, never even heard of it until you mentioned it. Majority of the PC users these days use their PCs for boring stuff like filing taxes, document editing, file management and backups etc. Gaming is also pretty big and popular in the PC world. And Linux can handle these tasks very well these days - so much so that companies like Valve are investing heavily into Linux, attracting a lot of non-technical newbies, who in turn end up liking Linux. So no, you don't need to be a "backend server code" writer to use Linux.
- raincole 17d ago
  I use this niche app as an example because if you only consider mainstream apps (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop) then Linux is completely off the table. Bringing Houdini, an app whose main user base has Linux-based rendering clusters, to the discussion is unfairly favoring Linux side. I shouldn't have done that.
  - d3Xt3r 17d ago
    > mainstream apps (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop) then Linux is completely off the table Not at all. First of all, the vast majority of people who use the Office suite use only basic features, for whom, LibreOffice or OnlyOffice are more than capable replacements. Second, classic versioned releases of MS Office (eg Office 2016, 2019 etc) also mostly work fine under stock Wine. Third, now even M365 versions of Office also have started to work via Bottles[1], so advanced users who need it can still install it on Linux if none of the alternatives suit them. As for Photoshop, it's a similar situation to the above. Vast majority of the users don't even use all the fancy features of Photoshop, so GIMP (with optionally, the PhotoGIMP[2] mod), Krita and Photopea can already satisfy most needs. Advanced users can use alternatives like Affinity, which actually works really well under Linux[3]. Also keep in mind that Affinity is also becoming an increasingly de-facto option for even people on other platforms, as people are fed up with Adobe's shenanigans and are leaving in droves. Finally, if for some reason you still really need Photoshop, you can either run the classic versions just fine under stock Wine (up to CS6-ish, maybe newer) or even the latest CC versions via thirdparty script[4]. [1] https://itsfoss.com/news/bottles-microsoft-365-early-look/ https://itsfoss.com/news/bottles-microsoft-365-early-look/ [2] https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP [3] https://github.com/ryzendew/Linux-Affinity-Installer https://github.com/ryzendew/Linux-Affinity-Installer [4] https://github.com/bpawnzZ/photoshopCClinux-lightroom https://github.com/bpawnzZ/photoshopCClinux-lightroom
    - raincole 17d ago
      If you think GIMP and Krita (especially Krita) can replace Photoshop in workplace I'm 100% sure you don't know what professionals pay Photoshop for and perhaps you should observe some people's working environments before criticizing Adobe's "shenanigans." Sorry for being this blunt. I do agree that Affinity seems to get some traction, but they're practically funded by an AI company so you can expect more shenanigans, whatever it means, from them than Adobe.

d3Xt3r 18d ago

Houdini is a very specialist app that, considering the overall PC userbase, could be considered a niche app. So I'm sorry, but that's a pretty poor example. Especially considering that I, who grew up using MSDOS, never even heard of it until you mentioned it. Majority of the PC users these days use their PCs for boring stuff like filing taxes, document editing, file management and backups etc. Gaming is also pretty big and popular in the PC world. And Linux can handle these tasks very well these days - so much so that companies like Valve are investing heavily into Linux, attracting a lot of non-technical newbies, who in turn end up liking Linux. So no, you don't need to be a "backend server code" writer to use Linux.

raincole 17d ago
I use this niche app as an example because if you only consider mainstream apps (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop) then Linux is completely off the table. Bringing Houdini, an app whose main user base has Linux-based rendering clusters, to the discussion is unfairly favoring Linux side. I shouldn't have done that.
- d3Xt3r 17d ago
  > mainstream apps (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop) then Linux is completely off the table Not at all. First of all, the vast majority of people who use the Office suite use only basic features, for whom, LibreOffice or OnlyOffice are more than capable replacements. Second, classic versioned releases of MS Office (eg Office 2016, 2019 etc) also mostly work fine under stock Wine. Third, now even M365 versions of Office also have started to work via Bottles[1], so advanced users who need it can still install it on Linux if none of the alternatives suit them. As for Photoshop, it's a similar situation to the above. Vast majority of the users don't even use all the fancy features of Photoshop, so GIMP (with optionally, the PhotoGIMP[2] mod), Krita and Photopea can already satisfy most needs. Advanced users can use alternatives like Affinity, which actually works really well under Linux[3]. Also keep in mind that Affinity is also becoming an increasingly de-facto option for even people on other platforms, as people are fed up with Adobe's shenanigans and are leaving in droves. Finally, if for some reason you still really need Photoshop, you can either run the classic versions just fine under stock Wine (up to CS6-ish, maybe newer) or even the latest CC versions via thirdparty script[4]. [1] https://itsfoss.com/news/bottles-microsoft-365-early-look/ https://itsfoss.com/news/bottles-microsoft-365-early-look/ [2] https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP [3] https://github.com/ryzendew/Linux-Affinity-Installer https://github.com/ryzendew/Linux-Affinity-Installer [4] https://github.com/bpawnzZ/photoshopCClinux-lightroom https://github.com/bpawnzZ/photoshopCClinux-lightroom
  - raincole 17d ago
    If you think GIMP and Krita (especially Krita) can replace Photoshop in workplace I'm 100% sure you don't know what professionals pay Photoshop for and perhaps you should observe some people's working environments before criticizing Adobe's "shenanigans." Sorry for being this blunt. I do agree that Affinity seems to get some traction, but they're practically funded by an AI company so you can expect more shenanigans, whatever it means, from them than Adobe.