New netbook/windows xp user

[jorf]

I've only ever done any photo stuff on my mac. Just got a netbook that I'm trying out with windows before I decide if I want to hack it to mac. So...

I'm using PSE8/ACR/Bridge on my macbook. Finally getting a little bit of the hang of it. But, obviously, need to use something different on the mini. I've always heard GIMP is the best so I think I'll go with that. I may also consider the software that came with my Nikon - oh, except that it's on disc....

Does GIMP have a RAW converter? (I'm thinking it must but....) If not, what do you use?

But here's the "I don't know a thing about windows" question.... Does GIMP have a photo downloader integrated in it or does windows xp itself have a photo downloader.

Any other suggestions re photo processing on a netbook willingly accepted!

[inkista]

Don't think the Gimp does RAW directly, but there are plugins or other packages that can do RAW processing with the Gimp.

The thing is, if you're going to use GIMP, you may actually be better off loading up a flavor of linux like Ubuntu instead of using Gimp on top of Windows.

If you have a Dell Mini 10 (aka 1012), be aware that the graphics card that's in there isn't 100% compatible with most of the OSX hacks. Most of the hackery that's around is for the now-discontinued 10v (1011). The 10v was built specifically to be a testing box for multiple OSes, and the folks at Dell took great pride in loading Android onto it, along with a gazillion other Linux builds. Which is why it's so amenable to being hackintoshed.

May be more than a Mini with its tiny Atom processor can take, but for a media artist, Ubuntu Studio rocks. Gimp & Hugin are default installs.

[jorf]

It is a 10v. If I'm going to change the OS I would do X since I know it.

I had you up until the last paragraph. What do you mean "Gimp & Hugin are default installs." You mean with Ubuntu or that Hugin (whatever that is, I'll look it up) comes with GIMP?

Thanks

[inkista]

Originally Posted by jorf

It is a 10v. If I'm going to change the OS I would do X since I know it.

Good catch! I think the only ones you can still find these days are those Nickelodeon green-slimed ones. Well, I'm an OSX MacBook user, but when I got my Mini 10v, I loaded it up to triple-boot into XP, Snow Leopard, and Ubuntu (+Netbook Remix and Sugar Remix). But I'm weird. Still, it doesn't have to be "or"; it can be "and". mydellmini.com's forums have tons of information on setting up a multiboot system and ubuntumini.com will help you out with any Ubuntu on the Mini questions you might have.

The only real hitch with installing Ubuntu on a 10v right now is the wi-fi driver installation bug--you will need to have a working ethernet connection to set up the driver to get wireless.

I had you up until the last paragraph. What do you mean "Gimp & Hugin are default installs." You mean with Ubuntu or that Hugin (whatever that is, I'll look it up) comes with GIMP?

With Ubuntu Studio, yes. Once you've installed the OS, you'll also have Gimp and Hugin installed. But neither one is included in a regular Ubuntu install.

Ubuntu Studio is a separate "fork" of Ubuntu--it's based on the regular Ubuntu, but it's been tweaked specifically for someone who's a video/music/graphic artist. So, all the default applications are different than for a regular Ubuntu install. That's why its installation package is so damn big (>1GB). It comes with video editors, a subtitle editor, audio packages up the yin-yang, a desktop publishing package, font designer, and Hugin and the Gimp (both of which are packages I tend to install right away whenever I set up a Ubuntu system). The Gimp is typically not a default installation on a lot of Linux packages in the same way Photoshop isn't on most OSes--it's a big package that not everybody needs. F-Spot (which is like iPhoto or Picasa) tends to be the more common default.

When it comes to Linux, a lot of folks like to package up specific graphic interfaces, and application packages to suit their own tastes, which is why there are so many flavors of Linux out there, and so many Ubuntu variants.

With the regular Ubuntu, the install is small enough to fit on a single CD or a 1GB USB thumb drive, and they only included applications they felt were appropriate for all users.

However, from the regular Ubuntu install, you can easily install Hugin (which is a panorama stitcher) or the Gimp, simply by opening up the Software Center. The reason I recommend Ubuntu over Windows to run the Gimp is because Linux is the "home" OS for most open source software. The Windows and OSX versions are usually "ports" of the code--rejiggered and recompiled for another OS. Because most of the Gimp development happens on Linux, the Gimp just tends to work better there.

I would say that Ubuntu still isn't quite ready for a non-UNIX savvy user, though. You are still going to have to hit that command line at some point (although it's gotten a lot better than in the early years of Ubuntu), and if you're not comfortable using the terminal window in OSX, then Ubuntu may not be a solution for you.

[jorf]

wow you know your stuff! I'm starting to like the idea of a dble boot with OSX. Just have the windows there just in case so I'm not completely in trouble if something happens. The person who can help me do the OSX hasn't done a double boot yet. Maybe my slimy 10v can be her guinea pig. Thanks for all the info!