A little story

[golinux]

I had a visitor today who took some 'commemorative' pics with her Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL. A while back she had some work done on her computer running Windows 7. After that she had to go BUY a card reader in order to download photos from the camera. I suggested that she bring the cable just to see what Debian would do with it. As soon as she powered on, the photos popped up in Shotwell. Her jaw about dropped on the floor and I was so very proud of being able to show off just how good Debian is. Unfortunately she'll never cross the divide which is so, so sad . . .

[debil]

Yup. This has worked with pretty much any camera I've tested. Also, many printers (or all-in-one devices) have worked with minimal tweaks (CUPS via browser). Also, different mobile broadband dongles are quite fluently handled by NetworkManager nowadays.

[huggybear]

Let the masses buy card readers and fuck around with closed off software that requires them to give their bloodtype and sell their mother's dentures. I genuinely don't care anymore unless someone approaches me about Linux.

[debil]

Let the masses buy card readers and fuck around with closed off software that requires them to give their bloodtype and sell their mother's dentures. I genuinely don't care anymore unless someone approaches me about Linux.

Indeed. Usually, when asked why I use Linux (sic), I respond ambiguosly: "it's better" or "I like it more". If they ask for more details, I'm happy to fill out the gaps. But, I don't advocate the GNU/Linux use unless the person is genuinely interested.

[JohnDeere630]

Yup, Debian is one of the best kept secrets of the computing world. I gave up trying to convert people a long time ago. It seems folks prefer to pay good money for crappy software rather than use a superior product that is free. Heck, I even have little success getting people to even try Libreoffice, they just feel so much more secure with Office. Go figure.

[glaston]

The problem with imaging under Linux is not with camera support or the ability to load images from devices.
It's with color management and workflow.
This is one area where Linux is just not mature enough to be depended on in a production environment. Not that it isn't possible, it's just not practical yet.
Support for spectrophotometers and colorimeters is severely lacking. As it stands, the most practical workaround for that problem is to create monitor profiles using either MacOSX or Windows, and importing those profiles into Linux.

I'd like nothing more than to be able to use Debian for this purpose. If i could do that I would no longer have any use at all for consumer OS', such as OSX.
At this point in time OSX is far superior to all other OS' in this regard. It's "Core:Image" technology surpasses everything.
Another problem is that industry standard design apps have limited support under Linux. And where available are cost prohibitive.
Reason I'm bringing this up is that I also use a dSLR, mostly for a local architect firm I work with. I've introduced a few people there to the world of Linux, but getting them to use Linux throughout the office is just something that's not practical because of their specific requirements.
Which is the same for many people that use dSLR's for more than just personal use. Photography has specific workflow requirements that are much more difficult to support under Linux.

Not trying to be blasphemous, it's just too easy to dismiss the use of branded OS' as being for the lazy or ignorant. There are very legitimate reasons why people with specific needs would choose Windows or OSX over Linux. Such as support contracts on hardware and software, and the fact that many design professionals are trained on apps that only run on those OS'.
For the casual user GIMP is a viable replacement for Photoshop, but for a design professional this is just not the case.

[huggybear]

Not trying to be blasphemous, it's just too easy to dismiss the use of branded OS' as being for the lazy or ignorant. There are very legitimate reasons why people with specific needs would choose Windows or OSX over Linux.

My comment earlier has not been geared towards professionals who need software like Photoshop, it's meant to describe casual users who think that using Windows with Photoshop to rotate a picture is somehow superior to doing the same on Xfce with Gimp, simply because Windows and Photoshop are products that come in shiny boxes. But instead of flatout saying: "Yes, I am a sucker for advertising and think that things have to cost money to be decent.", they go on telling you bogus arguments about how they can't live without their bloated $50 ACDSee clone and how Gwenview or Shotwell can't replace it -- even though they have never used any of the two.

[golinux]

For the casual user GIMP is a viable replacement for Photoshop, but for a design professional this is just not the case.

In all the years I've used Linux, sadly I've never warmed to Gimp. I run PS 7 in Wine and it does everything I need.

[demosthenese]

The problem with imaging under Linux is not with camera support or the ability to load images from devices.
It's with color management and workflow.
This is one area where Linux is just not mature enough to be depended on in a production environment. Not that it isn't possible, it's just not practical yet.
Support for spectrophotometers and colorimeters is severely lacking. As it stands, the most practical workaround for that problem is to create monitor profiles using either MacOSX or Windows, and importing those profiles into Linux.

Colorhug?

[glaston]

I've heard rumors that Adobe actually creates a Linux version of Photoshop but I've never been able to find it. I'd be willing to pay a decent price for it, but the rumor is that it's terribly overpriced. Considerably more expensive than Photoshop already is for Mac/PC. I've never seen anywhere to buy it though.
I know that there used to be a version of Maya for Linux, but I don't know if they discontinued it after the Autodesk acquisition. I've seen some decent output done in Blender. But I've never been able to get used to the interface, and the features seem to be all over the place.
Which is a shame.
I also use Photoshop7 under wine for normal imaging tasks. And it does the job just fine for the most part. But when I'm working up a RAW file and I'm trying to get the best appearance possible for the image PS7 doesn't have the features i need most, namely adjustment layers and HDR compositing. So for that I use CS4 on OSX.
I have a laptop that runs Windows7. I tried running Debian on it but it's the family computer and I just don't have the time and/or patience to deal with the problems everyone else has with it. So I went back to Win7 and left it alone.

My comment earlier has not been geared towards professionals who need software like Photoshop, it's meant to describe casual users who think that using Windows with Photoshop to rotate a picture is somehow superior to doing the same on Xfce with Gimp, simply because Windows and Photoshop are products that come in shiny boxes. But instead of flatout saying: "Yes, I am a sucker for advertising and think that things have to cost money to be decent.", they go on telling you bogus arguments about how they can't live without their bloated $50 ACDSee clone and how Gwenview or Shotwell can't replace it -- even though they have never used any of the two.

I know. I'm not accusing anyone of saying anything. I just wanted to throw my comments out there to get some discussion on this. People are ridiculous in how they'd pay top dollar for something like Photoshop when they have no idea how to use it in the 1st place, and their needs in no way require it.
I've had people ask me many times to show them a little about how to use it, but when I do they don't retain any of the information I give them. People don't want to look stupid, so they won't ask questions and if you ask them if they understand they always say yes, even when they have no clue what you're talking about.
I've come to realize that as far as the average person is concerned, computers are powered by magic, and those who understand them are akin to wizards...

Colorhug?

Awesome!!!! And relatively cheap compared to the Spyder I got. I wonder how it stacks up? Do you have one? I'd buy one right now if someone could give a review.