Bob Proulx wrote:
Cadman wrote:
I need help determining whether Debian OS is the right OS for my needs.
You are asking on a Debian user list. Any answer other than yes here
would lead me to seriously question the responses. Meanwhile I would
expect that a Fedora list would respond for Fedora for example and the
same for every other distribution's user lists. We are all here
because this is where we want to be.
I'd actually think just the opposite. It's reasonable to expect that
Debian users can comment on the negatives of Debian as its positives,
and it would be irresponsible to advocate Debian (or anything else) as
the ultimate solution to any and all problems. Sometimes, the
appropriate answer is "you probably should look elsewhere." (Speaking
as someone who has both a Mac and a Windows laptop on my desk, and
Debian on our production servers, at one time or another run Solaris and
redhat in production, and used and experimented with lots of other
distros and O/Ss over the years).
As to the question at hand...
I am a Draftsman working from home due to physical handicaps. I use graphic
and RAM memory intensive 3D CAD software in Windows 7. My W7 OS is
operating poorly and is expensive to replace.
Right off the bat, "My W7 OS is operating poorly and is expensive to
replace" seems like a poor reason to switch operating systems.
Switching environments has a steep learning curve - which can easily eat
into billable hours. Guaranteed that a couple of hundred bucks for a new
Windows license will look cheap in hindsight.
First off, you're talking software that you're using for professional
purposes - your primary goal should be to make sure you can get your
work done, and that your software and formats are compatible with your
customers' requirements. Since you're currently using Windows based
software, your first question should be what you're going to replace it
with, if you move to Linux. I'd also verify that there are drivers
available for your graphics board.
Personally, I'd start by doing a full backup of your system, and then a
clean re-install of Win7 and your CAD package. If that doesn't solve
your performance problems, I'd also run some hardware diagnostics - just
to make sure that your problems don't stem from, say, a failing disk
drive or battery pack (if a laptop).
Moving on to Linux, and Debian:
If Linux is right for me; I need to replace it with a 1. Very stable, 2.
With least amount of configuring and 3. User Friendly Linux OS.
Debian is usually stable, but.... a new major version is about to be
released, and one that has some significant differences in how it gets
configured. If you move to Debian, I'd recommend starting with the
"Wheezy" release (the current stable release, about to become
"old-stable"). Wait until the new release ("Jessie") is out for a while
before migrating.
It might also be worth noting that Debian, traditionally, has been for
more knowledgeable users - it's not clear that it's the most "user
friendly" and "easy to configure" breed of Linux. Ubuntu might be a
better choice for a newbie to Linux (but that's based on heresay, not
personal experience).
A friend suggested that I replace Windows 7 with Ubuntu Trusty 14.04, which
I did. It worked fine until I installed my 3D CAD software within Virtual
Box. Since then Ubuntu and the software crashes often. It even reboots
instead of turning the screen black when the 10 minute screen saver feature
operates.
This raises a whole different question: Why are you running your CAD
software inside Virtual Box?
From a performance standpoint, running resource-intensive software
inside a VM is a bad idea.
From an interface standpoint, you're more likely to run into
compatibility problems with the drivers for your graphics board, if
you're running inside a VM. (I wouldn't be surprised if your crashes are
caused by driver problems.)
And the money question: If you're running inside a VM in order to run
Windows, then what's the point? You're still going to need a Windows
license. All you're doing is adding is adding a couple of layers of
processing overhead.
More generally, running resource-intensive graphics software, along with
the drivers for your graphics board, inside a VM, seems like a recipe
for disaster.
To summarize:
1. Try to clean up your current system first (and make sure you
understand what your problem really is).
2. If you're going to move to Linux, make sure you've identified the
application software you're going to run first (including stuff beyond
your CAD package), and that all the drivers you need are available,
3. You might well be better off biting the bullet for software (and
maybe hardware) upgrades, particularly if your current problems and/or
the time involved in making changes is going to eat into billable hours.
Miles Fidelman
--
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra
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