Quote:...and it is running smooth as it does in xp, maybe better.
I hope you enjoy using Unix. I come from the "Unix World" and really like to see the occasional convert. The Linux version of Sesame (which is 99.98% based on the same code as the Windows version) runs most engine operations between 30% and 300% faster. I move back and forth from Windows and Linux arbitrary as I work on Sesame - working for a week or two on one OS and then switching for a while. I try to make sure the development never leans too far one way or the other.
A lot of Win/DOS users get intimidated by Unix. It used to be that the install programs were something of a black art. But with each new version of Suse, Red Hat, and Mandrake that I see, the install, desktop, and general feel, is getting friendlier and friendlier. A lot of the Linux distributions now have "boot from CD" versions, that allow you to try Linux without installing anything onto your harddrive. They create a "ram disk" in place of your harddrive - so you can create and write files. You can even install and run Sesame on these CD versions. Great for internet and web surfing (which really is a Unix oriented environment).
Linux is slowly growing in popularity and in actual size. The number of programs (both professional and freeware) available for Linux is actually becoming quite extraordinary. Much of it is original to Linux and evokes a lot of the pride in craftsmanship that was the hallmark of early computing.
So if you miss the days when computers and software were involved in a sense of community, where end-user and developer were not so distant from one another (often interchangeable), where software was not merely a way to make money, and where (every once in a while) you got your hands dirty and acted as your own mechanic - Linux may well be a great choice.