PixInsight World,
In an earlier post I asked whether it was worth it to convert to Linux and had some very helpful reponses. Based on those and for a reason I will describe shortly, I have decided to take the plunge and totally convert my processing laptop to Linux. Since the experience may be helpful to others, I thought I would share my adventure with everyone. First off, as I mentioned in my other post, I have a perfect set up for a conversion to Linux since I use two separate PCs, one dedicated to processing and one that I use in the field for image capture and equipment control. Given that many field critical software packages don't work under Linux (I know I could dual boot, but for that machine it wouldn't make sense) I will keep that one working under Wimdows 7.
The processing one, however, is perfect, especially since as a recent high end machine, it came bundled with Windows 8, which I hate. But there is also a philisophical issue involved around how I am processing my images. I have said in other posts about how much better PixInsight is for processing than the other (unmentionable) programs out there that we have all used in the past. PixInsight is better, but not easier (and this is a very good thing), since it actually makes you think about the physics of your images, not just stack layers and paint pretty pictures.
But there's the rub. Its easiest to see this with an analogy. As my picture shows, I could stand to lose a few pounds. And like everybody else, I know I should exercise and eat better. But whenever there are goodies in the frig or cupboard, I am always snacking on things I know are only giving me a short term lift but are hurting me long term and not making my picture any better. The same is true for image processing. PixInsight is like a healthy, well balance diet thats really really good for you and your images. But sometimes its hard and the temptation to go open one of those old go to snack programs to get a quick fix is just overwhelming. So you go and snack on those empty calories and feel good for a few minutes because you got the immediate sugar rush of a prettier picture. Then later you feel guilty since you "cheated" and on top of it, didn't do your image or the embedded data any favors.
So what's the best way to stay on your diet? Obviously you need to get rid of all those temptations! Go to the kitchen and just start throwing out all the junk food. But to really be effective, you need to do more. After all, you could always just go to the store and buy more when your resolve is weak. No, if you really want to go cold turkey, you not only need to throw out the junk food, you need to burn down the junk food store.
So that's what I am going to do, burn down the junk food store by converting to Linux where none of the junk food programs will work. Power to the People!!!
Now, that said, I still need to make it happen so where do I stand? Well, after one night, the score is Computer 1 - Jim 0
The first thing I did was go to download Linux Mint, but then discovered I needed a DVD-R disc to burn the program to and of course, I didn't have any of those laying around. So off to the mall. Unfortunately they seem to have never heard of DVD-R's here in Dubai. I tried 4 different electronics' stores with no luck. But in the end, the French superstore, Carrefour, had them so I headed back home (with a bag of chips and a candy bar as a treat (hey, only one diet at a time please)).
Then I started to run into roadblocks. I have not tried to do a disk boot in years and in the meantime Mircosoft and the PC manufacturers have gotten together to make it a hell of a lot harder than it used to be. I ended up have to change like 4 different boot settings just to get to the point where the machine would even let me try a disc boot, but I got there. Unfortunately, every time I got to the screen offering me the choice of running Linux or Windows 8 (which I had to hit in 8 seconds or less or it defaulted to Windows 8 - Damn you Microsoft!) the system crashed, telling me some required code was missing from the Linux disk. By that time it was 11pm and frustration set in so round 1 goes to the computer.
But I shall persevere and let you know how it all turns out.
Jim
