Distro Advice
 

I am a linux nub who thinks thats its really cool and I want to learn more about it. I have a Macbook Pro with 8gb of ram and a 750gb hard drive. I am an architecture major so I have to run programs like photoshop, illustrator, rhino, auto cad and 3ds Max. Any suggestions, on what distro would be best and if any of the above programs would be greatly appreciated or any other info you can give me. Ive looked around and done some google searching and can't find any info about any distro that would get the above done. TIA

I can't speak to which Linux for Mac hardware, but I can say that Windows/Mac only proprietary programs, such as Photoshop, which are not supported by the publishers for Linux, will not run directly in Linux, though many Windows programs can be run using Wine.

For some of the ones you list, you can find native Linux equivalents (GIMP for Photoshop, LibreOffice for MS Office, for example), but do not expect them to work exactly the same way. They generally will accomplish most or all of the same results, but the menus and procedures will likely be different. Some of the others you list I am unfamiliar with, but googling "[program name] linux" should help.

My opinion is that it is generally better to find a native Linux program than to use Wine, because it is one less layer of complexity.

Hope this helps a bit.

Thanks. I think I might have to dual boot to be able to pass my architecture classes. Ive read a lot about linux allowing users to build your system from the ground up and stuff like that. Ive never built a computer or anything like that. What exactly does that mean?

A distinction needs to be made here between building a computer, physically, and building the system from the ground up.

What you have read is most likely referring to building the operating system, from the ground up. Exactly how you want it.
Distro's such as Linux From Scratch, ArchLinux and Gentoo are examples.
In the case of Arch, after install you get a super stripped distribution, with very little in the way of packages, and you install what you need, and set it up how you need it.
In the case of LFS, you build the kernel yourself, from source (you dont code it yourself, per say), and go from there.

Although, these aren't the best to cut your teeth on.. Although very well documented, I would recommend starting with a simpler desktop type distro first.

Then what does linux let you do? The ability to use open source programs, customize your settings and have more control with the command line?
Ive downloaded ubuntu for my netbook last year and all I did was use the GUI and I want to get more out of Linux but I am not sure exactly what I can do.


Thanks for answering my questions btw

The question isn't what can you do, but rather, what do you want to do?

Control the world? I don't really know lol

Yes.

And more control with the GUI also, because you can choose the GUI that works for you (I'm a Fluxbox fanboy myself--I run Flux on all my machines, regardless of the underlying Linux OS).

There is a learning curve. Linux is not difficult, but it is different.

Once you turn that curve, you get your day-to-day computing done with a lot less hassle, lots less dollars, much more flexibility, and much more control.

I just youtubed fluxbox it looks like it just controls all your applications and such... is that correct?

I think I've read that since I have 8gb of ram I need to run a 64 bit version of whatever distro I choose. Is that correct?

If I dual boot will I be able to access the music/pictures thats on my mac right now on the linux side. probably not I'm guessing.

Linux has support for the hfsplus file system (although it may not be enabled by default), so it shouldn't be too complicated to get going.
Google is your friend.

Thanks and the point of a forum is to discuss a topic, which I prefer.

My opinion: When you need Windows/Mac program for your work (means that you must be able to rely on the function of those programs) use them in their native environment. If you want to try Linux you can do that either in a dual boot environment or in a virtual machine like Virtualbox.
If you use the dual boot approach you should definitely go with a 64 bit distribution. But the choice of distribution comes down to two things:
1. What do you want to achieve with Linux?
2. Your personal preference.

If you want for example only a working system that enables you to do (almost) all the things you have done in Windows then Debian, Mint, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS or openSuse should be a good choice (and no, I will not recommend Ubuntu).
But if you really want to learn Linux in and out you would go much better with Slackware, Arch or Gentoo, since they force you to learn about Linux.
Then there is your personal preference: Some of us like KDE, some Gnome, some go with a window manager like Fluxbox or Openbox, some prefer the tiling WMs and a few go CLI only. Some prefer the dependency resolving packet managers, some not. Some want the DEB package format, some RPM, some stick to .tar.gz.
It is totally up to you, you can only find out with trying a few distros, go to Distrowatch and try the first ten or 15 from the list.

Why don't you like Ubuntu?