My tech cravings often lead me to explore the unexplored (for me). I know nothing about linux but been dying to give it a proper try. I have used it a bunch of times before but now I’ve deleted Windows 7 ultimate and now running ubuntu as the primary OS for my desktop. Figured I give my MacBook Pro a break till I upgrade the RAM and hard drive (it’s costing me around AUD $600 to upgrade to a 8GB RAM and a 1TB hard drive! My current situation of being an international student doesn’t exactly give me wiggle room for such ‘luxuries’). I am a bit concerned about shifting over to linux in regards to iTunes and Photoshop. I’ve been giving a few softwares, which were recommended to me on the ubuntu forums, a try let’s see how it goes. I have downloaded a software called ‘banshee’ as my iTunes alternative. Looks promising but haven’t, as yet, used it to sync my iPhone/iPod but they say it’s seamless and you don’t have to erase your entire idevice before syncing it like you have to when you shift computers using iTunes (the biggest inconvenience of using an idevice in my opinion).
And for my photo-editing needs, I have been recommended a software called Lightzone by a company called Lightcrafts for professional photo-editing. It has received a lot of praise by the ubuntu commutiny and they say it’s similar to Photoshop but not as heavy. Downloading it right now. Let’s see how it goes. Will post a sort of review once I manage to give it a work out.
Other than a bit of application limitation, I’m absolutely loving ubuntu. The UI is just amazing and it’s running like a charm on my desktop. I am having some issues with the wifi connectivity though (it didn’t manage to install the drivers for my wireless card successfully…I think) but it’s not something that can’t be resolved with a bit of tweaking.
I figure, linux is going to take quite a bit of getting used to, just like anything new. The best bit about linux is that almost all the applications are free and you can tweak and modify any aspect of it in almost anyway you like.
Anyway, I’ll get back to playing with linux for now.
Catch you guys soon!
UPDATE: Tried LightZone. It is an amazing software. Simple, easy to use but with all the functionality that you require. I downloaded a trial but it doesn’t have a hefty price tag (USD $99). In fact it’s excellent value for money. I also gave a try to another software that I was recommended after I had posted this post. It’s called Bibble. Haven’t got a chance to actually use it but the tutorial videos posted on their website show that it’s a considerably powerful photo ed tool (although the computer they used to record the demos wasn’t). Also, it seems like a more direct alternative to Photoshop.
Anyway, more when I get time to play with these softwares (time limitations due to work/uni commitments and whatnot).
hasan ibrahim | Photography 