new user needing advice

[Kevin Fries]

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Gyles Parry wrote:

| I am new to Linux and have installed Fedora from a dvd on Linux
| Format on a 20Gb partition as a secondary OS to WinXP Pro while I
| get used to it.
|
| I need to learn a bit about the Linux enviroment, and to be able to
| fully move across from Microsoft, I need to be able to use the
| programs that I use primarily on my degree: Photoshop, Illustrator,
| Dreamweaver, Director, Flash, Microsoft Visual Basic. Is there a way
| that I can use these programs within Linux and produce cross
| platform output files.
|
| If the answer to the above is yes, are there any really good books
| that anyone could recommend that give a good overall explanation of
| Linux in general.

It really depends on if you need to use those programs exactly, or
just need the functionality of these programs.

For example, many people find GIMP (www.gimp.org) an excellent
replacement for Photoshop.  However, GIMP is not Photoshop, and
Photoshop is not GIMP.  Depending on what you are doing, you may find
either of the programs easier to use.  Generally speaking, GIMP is
about as good as you can find.

Likewise, Visual Basic is a programing language designed by Microsoft
to make transition to non-Microsoft platforms difficult.  It's license
is held very tightly so that scripts will not work if you have the
audacity to expect your business bottom line to matter more than
Microsoft's.  Microsoft makes products for the Mac, then makes the
scripting incompatible so that users will get fed up and switch
back... that is balls.  That being said, Novell has a program called
MONO (http://www.mono-project.com/),  However, MONO is actually more
geared to C# and .NET, but VB is the predecessor to both of those
projects.

So the answer to you question really lies on what level of
interoperability you are looking for.

Sorry I could not be more help

Kevin Fries
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