Greetings,

My name is Julien. I've been looking into the Linux and Open Source phenom for a few weeks now and am really excited about the prospects. I have yet to install a distribution am still trying to figure out which way to go. But first, a little bit about where I want to go from here:

I'm graduating from Architecture school this summer. Needless to say, CAD software and graphic software such as the Adobe suite are ingrained into the industry fabric. For the next 3 to 5 years, I hope to work in an office that runs a variety of Autodesk products (most do...).

However, in a few years, I'd like to run my own Architecture and Rendering office. Unfortunately, at this point in time, there isn't much for 3D rendering that can match the performance of 3Dsmax for Architectural applications (and that I'm proficient using for that matter - took a while to learn the software).

I know many advocate learning all new open software. However, I feel that this option is not very realistic for most who have invested years in learning software and have become proficient using it. This is the case with 3DSmax (VIZ) and myself...not to mention the book library I've built up around the software and the EXPENSIVE license I purchased last year.

So for now, in my spare time, I want to run Linux at home as a separate partition and learn a bit about the OS and some software, perhaps some CAD software. If I can open 3D models done in Open Source programs using my 3Dsmax in Windows, I would be happy for now. I'll also look into Gimp, but feel that it is inferior to Adobe because of its lack of Vector software (Illustrator)...or am I being misled here? I would happily switch to Gimp if it had an Illustrator equivalent. I've been using Open Office for a year now and prefer it over Microsoft Office.

I'm also torn between Ubuntu and Fedora. Any thoughts? If any of you have experience with open source CAD software I would love to hear your thoughts.

A closing thought:

Most high end software users are in the Graphic and/or CAD related industries. Because of the resource intensity of a lot of that work, stability issues resulting from poor MS OS, have plagued the design industry - prompting many offices to switch to Mac. Advancements in Graphic and CAD software would go a long way for the Linux 'project', and I hope to discover them in the next few years.

Cheers,

Julien

Your idea of dual-booting sounds like a good plan. If you're looking for a vector graphics package, Inkscape might meet your needs. As for the choice between Ubuntu and Fedora, both are popular. I've been using Ubuntu for several years and would recommend it, but Fedora 10 has also had excellent reviews.

I can't really comment on CAD / 3D rendering software, though there is some available. However, a few years back Industrial Light and Magic moved their render farms to Linux, which must be a fair endorsement.

About CAD, I have absolutely no idea. I know that there are some small projects, but I have no idea about how complete they are, and I have no idea if there's something comparable to AutoCAD.

About 3DS, I am no expert, but Blender3D seems to be of a remarkable quality. I can't compare with 3DS myself so you will have to wait for more input of better, look in an specialized forum where the technical aspects actually counts more than the Linux zealotry

A bit misled indeed. To compare gimp to illustrator is like to compare photoshop or paint shop pro to illustrator. Gimp, like photoshop and paint shop pro, is an application that's oriented to photo editing and raster images, in Gimp you use pixels, and not vectors.

An good vector drawing application for linux is inkscape, as someone around suggested. How gimp and inkscape compares to their windows conterparts, that's another story that you will have to write yourself, since there are varied opinions about that. I can only say that if you want to use Gimp you are going to have to learn. Never assume anything because all your previous experience with photoshop is only going to get in your way. Gimp does the things in a very different way.