Windows graphics program under Linux-Wine

[MichaelChang]

<p>I have a couple of older computers currently running XP Pro quite happily, but XP support will end in 4 months so I thought it'd be a perfect opportunity to try Linux, finally settling on Mint after considerable confusion with all the available Linux flavors. </p>

<p>I haven't made the change yet, mostly because I wasn't sure about how well Wine works under Linux to run Windows programs. I'd be happy if it can run Paintshop Pro or equivalent. </p>

<p>The alternative is to buy a couple of Windows 7 licences which will be quite expensive, but probably a preferred solution. </p>

<p>My question is, how well does Wine work as a compatibility platform to run Windows programs? Thanks for any feedback. </p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Michael, probably you already found it, but <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=category&iId=19&sAction=view&sTitle=Browse+Applications">here </a>is a pretty nice list of experiences with various programs under Wine. For what it's worth, I've installed Fedora Core (currently version 20, with KDE as desktop) on a notebook some time ago to give Linux a fresh look again. It's not winning me over as I really prefer Win8.1, but there are some nice surprises: Darktable looks really quite nice, RAWTherapee has come long ways. GIMP 2.8 solves the worst bits of its user interface, though it remains a program that makes me feel like going back to Windows 3.1 and 95... So, it may be worth looking into such programs again as well.<br>

As an alternative, using one of the XP licenses to keep it in a Virtual Machine (VirtualBox) on a linux system?</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Thanks, Wouter, you're always helpful with computer questions! </p>

<p>The old hardware won't run Windows 8 or I would have upgraded long ago; too bad because I have 3 machines on Win-8 and like it. </p>

<p>My experience with VirtualBox is that it's considerably slower than a native OS installation. This is probably expected, and useful for testing purposes or other non-intensive utilities which I use it for, although a stripped version of XP (through XPLite) might work reasonably well. </p>

<p>Separate question, Wouter: Did you have trouble upgrading to Win 8.1? I've been holding back until I feel more comfortable with the idea, and hope to get the download should I ever need to do a clean install in the future. </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I presume you have a reason for not considering GIMP for Linux (e.g., <a href="http://download.cnet.com/Gimp-for-Linux/3000-2192_4-75184538.html">link</a>)? I'd be curious to hear why since I may be facing a slightly analogous situation as my hardware and OS change.</p>

<p>I'm sticking with my older Photoshop for as long as Adobe+Mac lets me, but I'm certainly thinking about GIMP for Mac OSX as a backup plan not involving any clouds or other murky atmospheres.</p>

<p>Also, is "support" for the OS so critical that you can't just stay with the old OS and use the programs you already have? The director of our graphics/design help office here simply used the OS each machine came with until the computer was discarded, as a matter of policy and all worked fine.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>JDM, there's no reason I can't use GIMP, but I know PSP like my right hand and able to produce results quickly, hence the preference. I last used GIMP almost 8 years ago and just couldn't adapt to the UI. I do have modern computers for graphics programs so it's really not a deal breaker. </p>

<p>I can certainly stay with XP past its support, but for security reasons I'd have to disconnect from the Internet which will not be an attractive option. I'd rather dual-boot and use XP as a secondary OS for those oddball applications not supported by newer OS. </p>

<p>Here's an article on the problem for XP users on old hardware for those in a similar situation:<br>

<a href="http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/securing-xp-pcs-after-microsoft-drops-support/">http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/securing-xp-pcs-after-microsoft-drops-support/</a></p>

 

[richsimmons]

<p>I like Linux myself. I use a combo of Ubuntu with a Cinnamon desktop, but Linux Mint is very stable, very friendly and very compatible. Wine has come a long way and the utility interfaces for it have as well. Installing a Windows program is a breeze. Drivers are really good and you can find just about anything these days that's compatible. I think you'll find the machine will run more efficiently as well.</p>

[geoff_portas]

<p>I use Linux Mint 15 Cinnamon and Photoshop CS2 runs fine under Wine.<br>

On my set-up there is a minor issue with the tool bar staying on top if you open another application while Photoshop is still open, but it's not really a problem.</p>

 

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Michael, my experiences with virtual OSes was quite the same, until the hardware virtualisation became available - given a system with full support for it, and sufficient RAM, a virtual XP installation can be quite quick. But if no virtualisation support is available, it is indeed too slow for any serious work.</p>

<p>The upgrade to Win8.1: for me, it went smooth as can be, with a few expected niggles (my Win8 installation is Italian, with English as default language, so after the upgrade, I was back to Italian and had to download the updated language pack for English). To me, the upgrade is very worth it: sharing the background between the startscreen and the desktop gives a less schizophrenic feel, and boot to desktop is nice as I use the startscreen really only as a program-launchpad. I also appreciate it was possible to disable the "hot" top corners, which show the charms bar and the app bar. Indeed the downside is not having Win8.1 installation discs now, but given how easy the update was, it's not bothering me too much.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Thanks, Rich, Geoff. I'll be giving Mint a whirl, dual boot with XP for now.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info., Wouter. The net points to a number of ways to download the Win 8.1 ISO file which is apparently legal. I haven't done it yet and it'll be handy to have it around, but I think I'll do the upgrade via Microsoft's download. </p>

 

[J.W. Wall]

<p>A side question: is there any reason not to continue to use XP, if the computer is not connected to the internet? (I have a couple of old financial programs that need XP, running on an iMac under Parallels. Don't want to upgrade for various reasons.)</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>J.W., I can't see any reason not to continue to use XP if the machine is offline, just be careful about importing a potentially infected file to it. </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Michael, thanks for your reply.<br>

I was curious, as I said, because Photoshop 5.5 Extended seems to be acting a little, well, "funny" the longer I use and update Mavericks. <br>

I can see that the on-line problems are the catch here to continuing with the older OS. We're by no means immune to that on the other side of the divide, but there's not so much that will infect an old PowerPC chip based machine, etc.</p>