Well, for the past few weeks, I've been working on a little personal project: Running Linux as my main OS.

Why Linux? Don't most people use Windows or Mac?

Well, to answer the second question, that's a definite maybe. Since most linux distributions are free to download and use, it's hard to get a firm number of the actual users out there. The fact is linux is an extremely stable, low overhead powerhouse of an operating system that has been gaining in popularity over the past few years. Google recently released a linux version of their great picasa software, Disney/Pixar is using linux for all their work, and just about every website you visit is run on linux. Dell has recently started offering computers pre-loaded with linux as well - a big player in the linux corner.

So why doesn't everyone use linux?

Linux's strength is also it's biggest weakness. Based on "open source" (meaning the source code is free to download, modify, and basically do whatever you'd like!), this results in several "flavors" of linux. Kind of like Windows 98, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, except that software for one "flavor" usually won't work directly with another. Since nobody actually "owns" linux (this point can be argued), there isn't a huge marketing campaign to sell it. Novell came up with a few great ads:

I've been playing with Xandros (a commercial version) as well as ubuntu/kubuntu (a free version). So far, it looks like kubuntu is my personal favorite - a natural feeling desktop, lots of easy to install software, and a very large user base. http://www.kubuntu.org/

So what have I been trying to accomplish?

A streamlined, fast workflow.

Here's what I WANT from my system:

1. Download the images from my cards
2. back them up to DVD
3. easily sort, adjust, and crop the keepers
4. retouch as needed
5. convert from raw OR create a customer JPG disk and prepare images for upload
6. back up finished images to DVD and put on the network storage
7. design an album to put online

So far, here's what I've come up with:

Digikam - handles #1, #2, most of #3, some of #4, and #5. Adjusting and cropping with digikam is done individually, rather than in batches, so it is rather slow. I'd prefer a DPP or lightroom style interface where the adjustments are stored separately from the original file.

Picasa - handles #1, #2, and #3, and #5. Missing #4, but it does offer the option to add in another program to edit. I like the fact that the adjustments are kept separate from the original files (and if you save the changes, it backs up the originals). It is missing some major features like curves, but does an extremely good job with their "fill light" tool.

Lightzone - great concept, too slow for real use.

I'm kind of stuck on #7. While my lab offers album design with their ROES software (which runs no problem), I've always found that method to be slow and cumbersome. On my PC, I really like Fotoslate and FotoFusion - and nothing really comes close. I've tried scribus, OpenOffice presenter, etc. Sorry, still not close to fotofusion.

As far as #4 goes, I keep hearing the same things: GIMP (ugh), Pixel (not bad, still buggy), and Krita (close, but seems to run way slow!). The GIMP is the closest thing to photoshop, but the interface isn't user friendly from a photoshop users POV, the "gimpshop" alternative isn't much better (and usually a few releases behind GIMP). I'm going to play with running PS with wine (a windows emulator) and hopefully that will solve that problem. The good news is Google is putting money into making photoshop work with linux. They really seem to be working on the open source front. Kudos to Google!

Another great program that I would love to see native for linux is faststone (faststone.org). It works good under wine (faster than some of the native linux apps), but honestly they're both on the same team, and it would be another great ally for linux.

Some miscellaneous things - Color calibration - argyllCMS works great (much more in depth than any other calibration software I've seen!) but it desperately needs a GUI. Running console commands, while plenty powerful, really are a stumbling block for people new to linux. Anyone up for writing a simple front end?

Email, word processing, spreadsheets - I love Thunderbird (use it on all my computers!) and Open Office (I haven't touched MS Office in 3 years!). Kubuntu comes with Open Office, but you have to add Thunderbird (while you're at it, download and install Firefox as well - much better than the Konqueror that comes with Kubuntu).

GNUCash seems fine for accounting (quickbooks replacement). Not much else I can think of needing.

So, any programmers out there want to create the missing album design software? Here's some thoughts:

Pages should be stored as XML documents, with links to the original images, rather than layers.
Some design as 2 page spreads, others as single pages. Double page spreads may need to watch a gutter - so having a "safe" margin is a good idea.€
Some common book sizes: 8x10, 10x10, 11x14 (all in both landscape and portrait orientation).
Things photographers need / use: Cropping, opacity, borders, masks, gradients, drop shadows, bevels, text. Export to JPG or TIFF.
Tilt the image / tilt the frame should be separate (straightening an image, having a frame off axis, or both!)
Adjust how to crop an image inside the frame.
Some simple operations, such as B&W or Sepia, sharpen / blur would be nice.
Export and share templates!
See which images have been used.
Find images again if they are moved (like a jump drive that gets mounted differently each time)

Image Magick has all of this functionality already for rendering the final images (pages). Someone would just need to create a graphical "front end" that has a nice interface, and that can quickly and easily be operated.

For now, I'm still using my Vista computer - but I have kubuntu on every computer that can take it. If you're looking for a super stable, virus free environment to do your daily work, give it a look!

(Told you I was a geek!)

Lots more later - we're getting ready to head to Las Vegas for WPPI - and I have lots of stories about the huge snowstorm we just got. I just wanted to share my personal project!

Shan