I myself used Windows XP for a long time, simply because I couldn’t miss certain programs. I’ve been using Fireworks for years now and I cannot live without, I tried it. But I really, really need it. Photoshop just doesn’t do the trick for me. Neither do The Gimp, Paint.net or any other program.

And that was a problem when I decided to start using Linux fulltime. There’s Wine, but Fireworks still didn’t run properly there. Eventually I tried using Fireworks in VirtualBox and that rocks! It’s still a bit of a hassle to start it up. VirtualBox and Fireworks together want a lot of memory. But it works and that’s all that matters right now.

I’d use a Mac if I have the money to buy one. I will have one, someday. But right now this has got to do, and it does.

Well, considering that it’s illegal to use CSS decrypters in Linux–the simple answer is no, people can’t live on OSS only. That’s just the name of the game. At this point, however, I am able to do my daily activities on my Linux desktop (which I use exclusively at home) with higher efficiency than most Windows users. Of course, there a few things that I can’t manage on my PC without Windows:
-WYSIWIG w/ dreamweaver quality
-advanced photo plugins (like in photoshop)
-manipulating docs generated in Office 2007 (I can live w/o Office 2007 via converters…there are plenty of good alternatives to outlook and other office suites)
-song sequencer w/ usable interface

I can’t think of kinds of software that I just don’t have available on my Linux desktop. Now, there are some software in Linux that just aren’t up to par–like Adobe Flash 9 ( whos in cahoots w/ MS anyway).

These are all software problems, though. It used to be that the hangup w/ using Linux was hardware support and desktop features. So, my point is that the Linux desktop is a different world now. It’s amazing how much I do at my desktop at home for $0. When OSS platforms lack usable, reliable software alternatives, it is the fault of user demand. Since, until recently the users have almost been exclusively developers, the culture hasn’t demanded the software. If the user culture expanded into the everyday PC user, then the unified demand for free high-quality software would be abundant on platforms like Linux.

I am fully convinced that Linux will make a strong play for the desktop when the time is right. People will realize, “Hey, I don’t have to pay for crappy software (like Windows Vista) to use good software (like iTunes)! I’ll just pay $0 for pretty good software, and I’ll pay premium for the software I need!”

1) One cannot live by Open Source alone. Linux programs are often less sophisticated or non-existent. However, you can live *mostly* on Open Source, which is a good thing.
2) The phrase is: :case in point”.
3) You trust Microsoft?!? :-{
4) Have you *tried* Open Office? Beauty is only skin deep, you know. And that Office 2007 ribbon is wasteful and UUUUUGLY!

Ya I’m currently using ubuntu, I use almost all opensource software. Openoffice, swiftweasel, swiftdove, pidgin, xchat. I use VMware Server, and I don’t think its open source, but I tried VirtualBox and just could not get USB to work, using the same fix that should work for VB and VMware Server, USB devices still only work for me in VMware. I have XP installed on this VM but hardly ever use it any more (maybe once a week if that) and I used it for ruckus, since it uses MS DRM but now ruckus is not working (on 2 VMs even) so I have given up and gone back to torrents.
I actually think its a great feeling to know I don’t have to pirate software any more just use my computer. I no longer go looking for serial keys, keygens, etc. Its just so much simpler.
I really don’t see your problem with openoffice, or why you’re writing a blog post in an office suite at all for that matter.
I don’t use photoshop or any of the editing programs you mentioned above, though I do have scribus, the gimp,and some others installed, but I could not edit some PDFs made in illustrator or indesign with them. For me this isn’t a huge problem as I don’t do these things myself but I can definitely see the need for those who do to have a commercial OS which has great programs to handle these. My girlfriend used scribus once just to see how it compared to illustrator, and there’s one tool that you can use to make spirals, stars, and other shapes. She mentioned that illustrator has this tool too but its hidden away because its not very usefl, and I would agree. So why in linux is it right there on the toolbar? I think some of these things need to be thought of more, and compared to the mainstream programs if they want to have a chance of measuring up.

In March I made the switch from Windows to Mac from a hardware aspect. I run Leopard (obviously), Windows XP (in VMware Fusion), and Windows Vista (Boot Camp). The main reason behind the change, so I could run all of the major operating systems on the same hardware, not so I could give up on Microsoft. In my opinion, Linux and open source are a good alternatives but not for a power user that likes to help “regular Joes” with their computing problems.

I don’t think I could strictly open source software because in some cases the opensource options are just not that good…such as FTP…there are a few open source ftp clients but they are all lacking in one way or another so I use a commercial client instead. However, in some cases the open source option is much better…I guess it really depends on the subject. Overall, I use as much OpenSource as I can but I don’t think I will ever be at a point where it is all I use.

I’m really messed up. I can’t live without Linux because I do all my code on it yet I need photoshop on windows to doctge graphics. Though ive used gimp for 6mo fine I still miss photoshop. Still I am so attached to linux I would need two computers before I uninstalled linux for XP. I have considered dual boot but I need both OSes at the same time. Oh well eventually I will buy another computer and can install windows on it.

James: If you have a really decent machine: Intel Dual Core, 2-3 gigs of RAM, the good stuff - you can totally and smoothly run XP in Virtual Box - works really well with Photoshop, not crappy as with WINE.