Right this moment, I’m installing Debian in a virtual machine on my Mac Pro. Earlier today I installed Kubuntu, and managed to crash everything while installing Ubuntu, which was probably due to VMware Fusion (reviewed here) not getting a response from me, rather than an issue with Ubuntu itself. These are open source Linux distributions, free to use, and usually a lot more secure than the other operating systems. That would be Windows and OS X.

As I said, I’m playing around on my Mac Pro, so you’ve probably guessed I’m not entirely happy with OS X, Apple’s own OS. I used to run Windows, so I know what I’m comparing with.

So why am I spending (wasting?) time with these things? Well, it is quite simple: The whole idea of going 100% open source appeals to me. No more expensive software updates, total freedom. Granted, it’ll probably be a bumpy ride at times, but the Linux community overall is strong and participating, and some distributions have diehard people helping out in a way that neither Microsoft nor Apple could even dream of doing.

My ideal desktop isn’t a Mac or a Windows PC, it is a computer running a stable Linux distribution

Then there’s that small issue with speed and workflow. A Linux system is highly customizable, but even if you install Ubuntu without tweaking it a bit, you’ll find it being a lot more responsive than its competitors. That swift responsiveness is something I sorely miss in OS X, and I’m using a Mac Pro with 4 GB RAM, so why am I seeing balloon balls every now and then, when I’m not even pushing it?

My ideal desktop isn’t a Mac or a Windows PC, it is a computer running a stable Linux distribution, with a shell that looks and feels great. Had I been an OS X interface fanatic I would’ve had no difficulties recreating the same look and feel in any of the mentioned distributions, but I would rather tweak and play with it until I find something that totally fits me, rather than copying something else. Which I might end up doing anyway, mind you, but that’s beside the point.

So now I’m trying to find a good enough open source alternative to Photosho

The only thing that have kept me from taken the plunge is the lack of Photoshop, that industry standard graphics program from Adobe. I use it in my everyday work, but most of that work can be done in other applications. The real issue is mocking up designs for clients (I’m a designer, remember?), since Photoshop is unsurpassed in that area. Sure, I could run a virtual machine inside a Linux system, something I actually did for some time, but it isn’t really optimal, and while I’d be OK with it for occasional work with PSD files, it isn’t something I want to do all the time.

So now I’m trying to find a good enough open source alternative to Photoshop, for my mockups that is. Photo editing and stuff like that isn’t a problem, it is the design mockups for clients in particular that I’m worried about, everything else is solveable. Here’s hoping I’ll get back to you with positive status reports on systems people like me might want to consider, should they want to go open source all the way.

And if not, well, you gotta love some tinkering!