[Brad]

Originally Posted by Ryan Ashbrook

Brad, did you look into Wine? It's in the repo's and from what I've seen works wonders.

I have yet to test it with IDE's though.

WINE works for somethings yes...

My goal when converting was to use native linux software or good ports when and where ever possible. For most common things I did find good linux software: My e-mail client, IRC client, Bittorrent client, Web browser, IM client, IDE...all had good linux versions.

But I also edit video and in that area linux has a long way to go. Most of the software I use for that stuff is Windows only or if you're lucky there is a half-working port to linux. The stuff that will run under WINE is so god-awful slow when compared to running on the same machine under XP that it wasn't worth it.

This is the main issue I have with linux as a desktop OS. All the everyday software someone needs is there but once you move into tasks like editing video, photos, and audio you start running out of opinions. Even the "everyday" software has quirks that you'll spend hours trying to fix sometimes.

Don't get me wrong I love linux and the ubuntu community which are a very helpful bunch. Linux just ain't there yet for me when it comes to the desktop..but I'm certainly willing to give it another shot. The tools I use are supposed to get a proper linux port in the future so I'll give it another try once I hear some reports that they are stable.