Hi!
Welcome to Linux. This is only like my second post on these particular forums, but I've been using Linux since 2008, and it's been nothing but great.

I will say, though, there is some learning that you have to be willing to do. Personally, I found the learning fun, and enlightnening, and I've learned more now about how computers actually work in the last two and a half years than I have over the entire span of using them everyday.

There are some things I will say, though. I, personally, have never dual booted with Windows. I've dual booted with many other things, but not with Windows. I've never had Windows as something I could fall back on if something went horribly wrong, and I am the type of person who enjoyed the learning and discovery of figuring out how to get things to work, rather than just have them work for me (possibly in a manner I don't prefer, which is why I left Windows). But that's just me, and I understand that not everyone is doing things for the same reasons I do things.

What I'm getting at here is the same thing that someone told me when I was deciding to make the switch. Linux is Not Windows. I wasn't given this to read in a condescending or discouraging manner, and those aren't my intentions here. But it's something that should be understood (it also avoids the comments like "why can't this just be like Windows" or "why do I have to be almost a computer programmer to get this to work").

It's really not that bad. Linux is the most enjoyable system I've ever used. It's great, but just be prepared to learn a lot, but enjoy yourself, and have fun.

Once again, welcome.

2 members found this post helpful.

Searching via GOOGLE. Luck? Only later did I find that Ubuntu claims Debian as 'parent' and that latter flavor was the one chosen by Neal Stephenson who wrote "In the Beginning was the Command Line". ['reading-Neal-Stephenson' is my current obsession]

Thanks for the link to "Linux is not Windows". It's scary thinking I'd have to consider the mechanics of converting mp3 files to an audio CD. I'll leave myself a trapdoor back to windows while I learn. At worst, I'll re-install Vista [which I've done before].

After joining and posting my very general question I looked at the generally much more technical posts on the newbie forum and wondered if I was just wasting others' bandwidth.

NOT SO! and thank you and all the other responders for your encouragement and helpful suggestions.

Maybe not so bad; VirtualBox recommended not using hardware virtualization extensions with the early (say 1.6) versions and they performed at least adequately.

Hi,

Well if Corel Graphics Suite 9 is the main issue go <a hrfe="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4589">here</a> it is not free but it is made for Linux.

Linux has lots of graphics packages and you might just try the distro of your choice and use gimp amongst others. I have a MAC and paid big bucks for Photoshop, but Gimp just does it better and it's free.

David

Somehow my reponse end up in another question.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4589

Corel for Linux. US$199.00 the OS is free so your cost is low relative to windows or MAC. Linux has some great graphics software - free.

I got fed up with batteling a particularly nasty Windos virus (Win 7 Security), I seemed to spend all my time doing a system restore. I posted lumbuntu on my laptop as a dual boot about a monhago and hve had no problems. About the only time I use windows now is when I needto use one of my windos apps. And Linux is so clean and fast!