Complete Migration From Windows To Linux Issued/Problems involved in migration from windows to linux

[manish-mohania 0]

Hi all,For past few days I am trying to migrate completely from windows to linux. I have chosen debian for this purpose, since I found it more stable than the other popular distribution like fedora (I have used no other distribution except for fedora ). Uptil now I am very impressed with this distribution. I got sick of virus attacks in windows. Earlier I used to dual boot fedora/windows, but I didn't use fedora much. This time I have given whole share of my drive to debian and have not installed windows at all.As it had to happen , I ran in to trouble, mainly due to my lack of preperation for this migration. I should have discussed the pros and cons of migration from windows to linux here.I want to use my machine for web development :1. I do not know how do I test my site for Internet Explorer2. Is there exists an application like Dreamweaver for linux ? basically I want an IDE which should allow me to code and preview changes like Dreamweaver.I am using GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) for editing images and as a replacement for Photoshop CS2. I would not need more than it, since I am not a graphics designer kind of a person. However, I would like to know how close it is to Photoshop CS2.There are some other things that I want to know but first things first

[Baniboy 3]

If you're using it for web-development, there is nothing to worry about.
You can get IE on linux (not from microsoft site but... you get the idea. Google is your friend.
I'm not very familiar with WYSIWYG editors on linux but there are some. If you're just going to use it to preview your pages, then why not just install a normal code editor like bluefish and just save and refresh the page in a browser, that's what I do, has worked for me.

I'm not very experienced user when it comes to photoshop, but from the 30 day trial of it which I used like 9 days, it seems to me GIMP can do almost everything PS can, but maybe it takes a little longer. I'm obviously talking about the things you might have to do with it regarding web-dev.(not the fancy things that you don't ever need like a 3D shapes with an image wrapped around them, besides, I remember making orbs in GIMP like that, so yeah, pretty much everything).
To me it seems that you have small problems, many people have driver problems and stuff like that.

Here are some html editors you might want to try out(I don't know if you get these from repositories with your distribution, but you can always compile from source):

-Kompozer http://www.kompozer.net/-Bluefish http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/index.html
-Aptana http://www.aptana.com/
-Sea-Monkey http://www.seamonkey-project.org/
-Quatana http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Another option is to use WINE to run dreamweaver on Linux, which I don't recommend because you might not get it to work with WINE and waste your money.

[manish-mohania 0]

If you're using it for web-development, there is nothing to worry about.You can get IE on linux (not from microsoft site but... you get the idea. Google is your friend.
I'm not very familiar with WYSIWYG editors on linux but there are some. If you're just going to use it to preview your pages, then why not just install a normal code editor like bluefish and just save and refresh the page in a browser, that's what I do, has worked for me.

I'm not very experienced user when it comes to photoshop, but from the 30 day trial of it which I used like 9 days, it seems to me GIMP can do almost everything PS can, but maybe it takes a little longer. I'm obviously talking about the things you might have to do with it regarding web-dev.(not the fancy things that you don't ever need like a 3D shapes with an image wrapped around them, besides, I remember making orbs in GIMP like that, so yeah, pretty much everything).
To me it seems that you have small problems, many people have driver problems and stuff like that.

Here are some html editors you might want to try out(I don't know if you get these from repositories with your distribution, but you can always compile from source):


Another option is to use WINE to run dreamweaver on Linux, which I don't recommend because you might not get it to work with WINE and waste your money.

Thank you for the references and advice. I will look in to these IDE's and see which suits me best.

I am lucky to have a pretty common hardware, so I didn't get any hardware driver problem

I have found ies4linux on net, which uses wine to run ie6, ie5 on linux. I think I should give it a try and see if it works for me. ies4linux is free but ie itself require license. I think I would never be able to set up completely free/open source system.

Thanks again !!!

[mahesh2k 0]

I want to use my machine for web development :1. I do not know how do I test my site for Internet Explorer

You can use browsershots or browsercam for this purpose. These sites not only check your site with different browsers but also for different operating system. And similar sites like this also test it for resolution as well. You can google for more such variety of sites.

2. Is there exists an application like Dreamweaver for linux ? basically I want an IDE which should allow me to code and preview changes like Dreamweaver.

There are plenty of such editors. Don't know which one will suit you. Cause they don't look like dreamweaver. But they do have functionality equal & in competence with dreamweaver. Some names you can google : NVU, Aptana, Bluefish, Amaya. I guess that will be enough for you. Also you can use windows products from within linux. You've to use Winehq, Crossover,codeweavers etc product line on linux. (These crossover products can help you run flash,dreamweaver,photoshop as well).

[The Simpleton 2]

First off, let me congratulate on your decision to switch to Linux. As much as I like your decision to "completely" migrate to Linux, I would still advice you that you keep Windows on dual boot because you never know when you're going to need some software that you can't readily find on Linux. Also, if you're interested in gaming, you can always turn to Windows to play the latest titles. It's just a suggestion, but you can do almost everything that's done on windows in Linux without much trouble. All the best for your migration

[manish-mohania 0]

@mahesh2k

You can use browsershots or browsercam for this purpose.

yes, I visited these sites. browsershots provides so screenshots for so many browsers and OSes. Thank you for providing me this reference. I wonder how these people do it.

@Baniboy, @mahesh2k
I have yet to see the IDE's, choice is overwhelming . I guess most of them would be provided by my distribution, if not then I know I can directly download them from their site and look for help on installing here. By the way which one you use and which one is your favourite ?

@The Simpleton

First off, let me congratulate on your decision to switch to Linux. As much as I like your decision to "completely" migrate to Linux, I would still advice you that you keep Windows on dual boot because you never know when you're going to need some software that you can't readily find on Linux.

Thank you !!!

yeah, you are right !!! When I first installed linux, even I was missing windows but from initial experiences and the support I am getting for linux, I think I would keep it on single boot for now. Let's see what lies in future .

Also, if you're interested in gaming, you can always turn to Windows to play the latest titles. It's just a suggestion, but you can do almost everything that's done on windows in Linux without much trouble. All the best for your migration

yup, for those who are die hard fan of computer games, it is a real trouble but not for me . I love to play table-tennis instead.

[mahesh2k 0]

@Baniboy, @mahesh2kI have yet to see the IDE's, choice is overwhelming tongue.gif . I guess most of them would be provided by my distribution, if not then I know I can directly download them from their site and look for help on installing here. By the way which one you use and which one is your favourite ?

I use aptana. Though you can use eclipse and netbeans for web development. Eclipse and netbeans are available for both windows and linux. But some people find it heavy programs for system. So you can choose from NVU , bluefish or amaya.

[The Simpleton 2]

yeah, you are right !!! When I first installed linux, even I was missing windows but from initial experiences and the support I am getting for linux, I think I would keep it on single boot for now. Let's see what lies in future smile.gif

If you feel that you need to use Windows for some application that you're not finding in Linux, and yet you don't want to use dual boot, then you can always use virtualization software to install a version of Windows within Linux itself. This technique is used by many users and they find it very convenient indeed. Since you're not an avid gamer, you need not worry about applications not working on virtual machines, because as far as I know only games cause problems in virtual machines. Other than that there's no trouble with them. You could try software like Virtualbox, VMWare, etc.