No Linux CANNOT totally replace Windows...sadly!

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No Linux CANNOT totally replace Windows...sadly!

-640 points posted to Linux, Operating Systems by kdubber 05/01/07

I see from the most popular article of the moment.. one that supports multi-booting of linux distros and Windows ..that the belief is that Linux can totally replace Windows...
SAD but true is the fact that this is really NOT true.. I wish it could..but as I have written before here and in other places..Some professional apps just CANNOT be replaced or run under Linux.. Such programs as Adobe's PhotoShop and AutoDesk's AutoCAD .. just to name two that I know of... simply cannot be replaced by anything presently available under Linux ... correct me if I am wrong..but having used QCAD and the GIMP.. they are not yet ready for Prime Time in the professional Drafting, Engineering or Graphic Arts arenas..
Developing an Ubuntu based distro that will run these.. or a consortium of Adobe, AutoDesk Dell and others to whom this would be an advantage... developing said distro..or porting ability..
As well as getting the MASSIVE gaming community a Linux distro that will be game friendly.. and a FIRST choice option instead of emulation..
This will get Linux where it needs to be in order to become a true Windows replacement ...until Linux can run these professional and popular programs.. it wil remain sadly an also ran in the OS camps..truly a shame considering it's value as a rock solid platform under which to operate!
Kent

rotthund 05/01/07	PINE, Mozilla, or Evolution will be all that some poeple need. Adding Abiword covers many more people and still more if including OpenOffice.
misiu_mp 05/01/07	I disagree with the statement of the proposition. I use Linux alone since over a year. I do want to correct you because you are wrong. The GIMP IS "ready for prime time in the prefessional Drafting...". I never had the need to use any CAD software, so i cant comment on QCAD, but such an extensive and expensive application as AutoCAD can easly be ported to linux (by the developers). All there is needed is the demand from the users. Of course this is not optimal since it wouldnt be free software. I do use the also extensive and expensive applications MATLAB and MAPLE for mathematical computations and they had no problems making it for linux. Besides already in 2001 the whole hollywood industry have been using linux for rendering and editing their movies and special effects. There are dosens of high-end applications used for this purpose (most of them are an order of magnitude or two more expensive than AutoCAD). - see http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5472<
jdh30 05/01/07	Ever since a Windows virus corrupted my Linux installation, I've kept the two OSs on separate machines.
peyre 05/03/07	kdubber, you're right that Linux can't run some programs that are mission-critical in certain areas. I would add that a lot of people aren't ready for *nix either, since it's still much less user-friendly than Windows. Rock-solid, reliable, OMG free, and really virtuous in being completely open--but not so much the user friendliness. When I can browse to the CD, double-click on Setup.exe or its equivalent, answer some questions, then find the software neatly installed (without DLL hell) and find it in my Start menu, that will go a long way toward making Linux a full-fledged competitor for the hearts and minds of Windows users. Mind you, I look forward to that--getting away from Windows would be of benefit to everyone.
spm 05/05/07	This is why out of the box hardware assisted virtualisation built into Ubuntu (which is free) is so important. This way Ubuntu will run your old copy of Windows and all it's applications. Hence Ubuntu will do everything Windows can do and more.
thebittersea 05/15/07	@DUPLICATEOF 66873
jnorman39 05/22/07	Getting Linux on the desktop of the general population is exactly what needs to happen to motivate the Adobe's and Autodesk's of the world to make their software Linux compatible. What you're describing is a "chicken before the egg" problem.
mhagle 05/25/07	I completely prefer the Gimp to Photoshop, especially in educational settings. I am a teacher who uses Linux. It offers so much more than Windows.
jake_fehr 07/16/07	Why is everyone demoting this? He's saying Linux is great but needs more help getting the biggest name programs from Windows/OSX moved over to help it gain mass market appeal. Sounds reasonable enough, doesn't it?
peyre 07/17/07	Good question, Jake. I agree with you. I think what's happening is the people voting are all Linux partisans, and there's a certain amount of knee-jerking they do when someone suggests that Linux isn't necessarily a solution for everyone. I happen to think he's right, and it makes sense that we need to see more ports of popular software to Linux before it can offer a solid alternative to Windows in a lot of niches. It also needs more user-friendliness.
kdubber 07/28/07	Thanks for the postive comments.. and the negative..plenty of room for arguement that is for sure! I never intended to say Linux is not usable..BUT if you talk to professional printers or Engineers.. you HAVE to be able to use PhotoShop or AutoCAD or SolidWorks or other programs that just cannot be run on anything BUT Windows..this statement is SAD but TRUE.. I am hoping that eventually some of the main software suppliers..like AutoDesk and Adobe will write a Linux distro that is compatible with their software.. liklihood is that they have already.. and from recent developments it sounds like MS is starting to work WITH Novell and SUSE in some ways..so hope may well be on the horizon.. BIGGEST point I want to make?? Is that we have to be honest about what we CAN and CAN'T do in Linux.. otherwise we misrepresent the truth of the situation.. for MOST people MOST of the time..Linux has that they need! BUT..not for ALL of the people ALL of the time.. that is all I am saying... Kent
peyre 07/31/07	Good points Kent. Personally I'm delighted to see Linux maturing into something that ordinary users might want to consider running in place of Windows. Novell's new SLED10 looks especially promising as a potential replacement desktop for the enterprise. And the WINE project is doing great things. All that said, though, there's still a way to go, partly in user-friendliness (installations etc.) and partly in application porting (PhotoShop, Creative Suite, etc.).

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