Note: I got this email in from Moondust, but thought it was well worth posting here.
This compares interfaces from Ubuntu, Mac and Windows – it’s great how far Linux has come: it looks way better than Mac and Windoze…
So, check out these videos and tell me which interface you’d rather use.
1. Windows with a little more polish (still fugly)
2. A shiny but tame UI for hardware you don’t have, or
3. The Cube From Beyond (mine has 5 sides)
http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/2915/linux_xglcompiz_graphics
No really, check out these videos.
[salesmode]
And in case you were wondering, linux has *excellent* support for Wacom
kit. (Using a Graphire4 here).
Photoshop-wise there’s GIMPShop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMPshop
Vector-wise there’s Inkscape
http://www.inkscape.org/screenshots/index.php
You can even run IE6 natively for testing webapps,
http://www.von-thadden.de/Joachim/WineTools/
That funky live-desktop-search stuff?
http://beagle-project.org/Main_Page
Need WoW?
http://wiki.kaspersandberg.com/doku.php?id=howtos:wine:worldofwarcraft
Skype, Google Earth, Adobe, etc all have native Linux builds.
It’s gotta tell you something when these guys consider linux a market.
You want chat?
http://gaim.sf.net/
It’s nicer and multi-protocol! I log into two work accounts, icq and
gtalk (and sometimes msn) all the time!
Manage your photos?
http://f-spot.org/Main_Page
Do some DTP?
http://scribus.sourceforge.net/gallery/
But, but – it’s linux, so all this is hard to install? Hell no, get up
and running with a single cd in under an hour!
But, but, linux doesn’t support most hardware! The hell it does, if it’s
been on the market for over 6 months I don’t even bother to check the
compatibility lists for most things!
Developing Java? Ha! Eclipse, JBuilder, NetBeans and friends are all
linux native! Developing PHP? apt-get install and let every developer
run their own database and webserver with mod_php for testing!
Need media? Your camera, ipod, scanner, usb drives, etc all work out of
the box! Need to burn stuff? Why bother with the linux native version of
Nero when you have gnomebaker and k3b?
Need playback, media centers and whatnot? We have it all!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythTV
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
http://xinehq.de/index.php/releases
http://www.mplayerhq.hu/
Audio playback?
http://www.gnome.org/projects/rhythmbox/screenshots.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarok_(audio)
http://www.lynucs.org/?xmms
Sync your phone?
http://www.multisync.org/
Browsers? You use t3h web and still run IE? Pfah! Take your pick from
Firefox, Flock, Opera or Konqueror! Or do you think that IE7 will fix
everything for you? (If you do, I have some profitable swampland in
Florida for sale.. it’s a bargain!)
Email?
http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/
Oh, you really like Outlook? (Why?)
http://www.gnome.org/projects/evolution/
Collaboration and calendaring?
http://www.hula-project.org/Hula_Project
Come on, who are you kidding? Install Ubuntu today, it’s not like I’m
asking you to touch the command line..
And the coolest part? You won’t have to go through the hassle of
installing Vista for your own personal use sometime next decade.
[/salesmode]
-Michiel.
PS – What virus scanner, product code, online registration, malware
shields, etc? None of the above! And the Cube has an “inside” toggle, so
when you flip it you are no longer outside the Cube, intstead it rotates
around you. Muchos cool.
—
Move ‘zig’ for Great Justice.
Robin