Gimp is for serious graphics users... F-Spot is for organizing and doing basic editing. I can see the logic here. Give the users the basics to start with, and let them add to it. That seems logical.
Personally I use Gimp and it's a great program. It's been around for a long time, and is extremely powerful. The issue is the learning curve for those that have used Photoshop and other proprietary programs. But, once you get over the learning curve hurdle, you will realize that Gimp can do what the proprietary programs can do.
http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
We've known about this for years. As others have posted, don't run Wine as root, only run it as your account. Only map drives in Wine that you absolutely need, and restrict them as much as possible. I would strongly suggest removing the default drive of Z: which points to / . As long as we need to use Wine, we'll always have the risk of viruses getting through, it's just the nature of the beast. Personally I only use Wine for running games and a few apps that I must have that I can't find Linux replacements for. But overall, it's worth using native GNU/Linux applications wherever possible. Find a replacement for all apps like Adobe, etc, and enjoy the freedom of open source at the same time.
The Linux support of nVidia is awesome. Even though the drivers are still proprietary, they are solid. It's amazing how well the nVidia cards work in Linux, when you compare to ATI which can be a nightmare. When you use an nVidia card in Linux system, it's set and forget usually. Everything just works out of the box.
This really isn't news, many companies, organizations, and even individual users are using Linux because of the slew of issues with Windows. Just look at the huge list of 34 issues that came out this month from Microsoft. Granted, there are many issues with Linux, too, but when you look at security issues with Windows/Linux, the number for Linux are far fewer. Personally, I use Linux for both my personal business and at home for everything I do. I only fire up my Windows XP VM in VirtualBox when I absolutely need to, which is hardly ever. I've found an open source program for each and every proprietary Windows program I used to use, and I couldn't be happier. Now, I can focus on using the computer instead of maintaining Windows and wasting time/money.
http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
Hopefully this is an example for other large organizations to move away from the expensive train of Microsoft. I own my own personal business that started in 2001, and I use Linux exclusively. It has kept me in business, and I have been able to keep costs way down because of this. Also, I can focus on the business rather than maintaining Windows servers.
http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
These companies need to give credit where credit is due. The whole thing about being "scared" to mention the word "Linux" is preposterous. My personal opinion is that when I hear that a device is run by Microsoft, I instantly think it will be unstable and riddled with bugs. When I hear Linux, I think of stability, reliability, and efficiency. It's just the conception of the users, and I think these companies should look past that and give credit to Linux. They obviously chose to use Linux for a reason, so let's give it credit.
http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
As there have already been tons of suggestions already, Rsync is a great utility for backing up files. It's extremely efficient, and makes synchronizing large files a breeze. However, it's command line based, so you would have to set up a script to run it.
Another alternative that I have found very useful is a product called Bacula. It's an enterprise grade application, complete with a server component, workstation component, and an administration console. It basically stands up to commercial enterprise products like Backup Exec. However, it is somewhat challenging to set up, as there are a LOT of options. And, its console is text based. There is a Gnome front-end, but it does not access all of the features that Bacula has. But the upside is that it can be configured to do pretty much whatever you want, can be administrated remotely, and is very powerful. It is even used for complete disaster recovery.
While the experience of the OP may be disconcerting, there are a lot of colleges and universities that ARE using Linux very heavily. I am a graduate of Michigan State University, which is very heavily vested in Unix/Linux. The labs include Windows/Mac/Unix-Linux. However, many of MSU's services are hosted by Linux servers. Linux on the desktop is another feat, and hopefully MSU and other schools will begin to pick up the slack in this area. They should be offering more courses for Linux though. Learning Linux is a VERY valuable skill, it's like learning a second language.
Unfortunately Microsoft has a grasp on many governments, schools, companies, and a long list. Hopefully these entities will open up and adopt more open source technologies. Many many foreign countries have already done this, and are way ahead of the U.S.
--apexwm
http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
I think Microsoft has been feeling the heat from open source for a while now. But, since their failure with Windows Vista, users are finally seeing the light that there are better alternatives out there. Considering Linux is still less than 2% of the desktop share, it can be set up by any moderately technical user and maintained. Which, hardly requires any maintenance. I am a sys admin for over 12 years running Windows and Linux side by side. I choose to use Linux because it doesn't fail, is always FREE and has no licensing woes, and just works better and is simpler to run.
http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
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Gimp is for serious graphics users... F-Spot is for organizing and doing basic editing. I can see the logic here. Give the users the basics to start with, and let them add to it. That seems logical. Personally I use Gimp and it's a great program. It's been around for a long time, and is extremely powerful. The issue is the learning curve for those that have used Photoshop and other proprietary programs. But, once you get over the learning curve hurdle, you will realize that Gimp can do what the proprietary programs can do. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
We've known about this for years. As others have posted, don't run Wine as root, only run it as your account. Only map drives in Wine that you absolutely need, and restrict them as much as possible. I would strongly suggest removing the default drive of Z: which points to / . As long as we need to use Wine, we'll always have the risk of viruses getting through, it's just the nature of the beast. Personally I only use Wine for running games and a few apps that I must have that I can't find Linux replacements for. But overall, it's worth using native GNU/Linux applications wherever possible. Find a replacement for all apps like Adobe, etc, and enjoy the freedom of open source at the same time.
The Linux support of nVidia is awesome. Even though the drivers are still proprietary, they are solid. It's amazing how well the nVidia cards work in Linux, when you compare to ATI which can be a nightmare. When you use an nVidia card in Linux system, it's set and forget usually. Everything just works out of the box.
This really isn't news, many companies, organizations, and even individual users are using Linux because of the slew of issues with Windows. Just look at the huge list of 34 issues that came out this month from Microsoft. Granted, there are many issues with Linux, too, but when you look at security issues with Windows/Linux, the number for Linux are far fewer. Personally, I use Linux for both my personal business and at home for everything I do. I only fire up my Windows XP VM in VirtualBox when I absolutely need to, which is hardly ever. I've found an open source program for each and every proprietary Windows program I used to use, and I couldn't be happier. Now, I can focus on using the computer instead of maintaining Windows and wasting time/money. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
Hopefully this is an example for other large organizations to move away from the expensive train of Microsoft. I own my own personal business that started in 2001, and I use Linux exclusively. It has kept me in business, and I have been able to keep costs way down because of this. Also, I can focus on the business rather than maintaining Windows servers. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
These companies need to give credit where credit is due. The whole thing about being "scared" to mention the word "Linux" is preposterous. My personal opinion is that when I hear that a device is run by Microsoft, I instantly think it will be unstable and riddled with bugs. When I hear Linux, I think of stability, reliability, and efficiency. It's just the conception of the users, and I think these companies should look past that and give credit to Linux. They obviously chose to use Linux for a reason, so let's give it credit. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
As there have already been tons of suggestions already, Rsync is a great utility for backing up files. It's extremely efficient, and makes synchronizing large files a breeze. However, it's command line based, so you would have to set up a script to run it. Another alternative that I have found very useful is a product called Bacula. It's an enterprise grade application, complete with a server component, workstation component, and an administration console. It basically stands up to commercial enterprise products like Backup Exec. However, it is somewhat challenging to set up, as there are a LOT of options. And, its console is text based. There is a Gnome front-end, but it does not access all of the features that Bacula has. But the upside is that it can be configured to do pretty much whatever you want, can be administrated remotely, and is very powerful. It is even used for complete disaster recovery.
While the experience of the OP may be disconcerting, there are a lot of colleges and universities that ARE using Linux very heavily. I am a graduate of Michigan State University, which is very heavily vested in Unix/Linux. The labs include Windows/Mac/Unix-Linux. However, many of MSU's services are hosted by Linux servers. Linux on the desktop is another feat, and hopefully MSU and other schools will begin to pick up the slack in this area. They should be offering more courses for Linux though. Learning Linux is a VERY valuable skill, it's like learning a second language. Unfortunately Microsoft has a grasp on many governments, schools, companies, and a long list. Hopefully these entities will open up and adopt more open source technologies. Many many foreign countries have already done this, and are way ahead of the U.S. --apexwm http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux
I think Microsoft has been feeling the heat from open source for a while now. But, since their failure with Windows Vista, users are finally seeing the light that there are better alternatives out there. Considering Linux is still less than 2% of the desktop share, it can be set up by any moderately technical user and maintained. Which, hardly requires any maintenance. I am a sys admin for over 12 years running Windows and Linux side by side. I choose to use Linux because it doesn't fail, is always FREE and has no licensing woes, and just works better and is simpler to run. http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux