Figuring Out What to Keep and What to Change

Laptop

The good news is that the basics are already sorted. Email, browsing, office work, wifi, bluetooth, and lots of small applications all have solid Linux equivalents, so day-to-day computing isn't a problem. The more interesting challenge is figuring out what to do with the more specialised creative software.

The office computer, the one that died its unfortunate death-by-upgrade, had been the focus for most of the heavy graphics work. It was well set up for it. Dual screens, a BenQ eye-care monitor (low contrast by design but genuinely helpful reducing glare for my eye problem), and enough USB ports to keep all my external photo backpack drives plugged in at once. Replacing that setup takes a bit of planning.

Here's where the graphics and photo software currently stands:

Program	Temp Destination	Linux Alternative	Cost
ON1 Photo RAW	Laptop	Darktable	Free
Luminar Neo	Laptop	Darktable	Free
Corel Draw	Studio	Inkscape	Free
Corel Painter	Studio	Krita	Free
Corel VideoStudio Pro	Studio	Kdenlive	Free
Corel AfterShot Pro	Laptop	RawTherapee	Free?
Paint.NET	Both	Pinta or GIMP	Free
XnView MP	Both	XnView MP	Free (user supported)

The encouraging news is that ON1, Corel, and XnView all offer Linux versions of their software, which opens up some options. The outstanding question is how to transfer licences from the dead office machine without having to buy everything again, particularly if switching to Linux versions. That's a puzzle still to be worked through.

Studio

The way I work has always been a bit like following a thread wherever it leads. An idea turns up when it feels like it, on whichever computer is in reach, so sketches, notes, half-finished drafts, and collected images end up scattered naturally across all three machines (office, laptop, and studio). The office computer was nominally where it all came together, but that's never really been the point. The point is being free to pick up and run with something the moment it sparks, without being tied to one desk, one device, or worse, someone else's server.

That last bit matters quite a lot, actually. The whole appeal of building and managing things locally is that the work stays mine, on my machine, without a monthly subscription, quietly making itself essential to getting anything done. There's something genuinely satisfying about owning your tools outright.

Which brings up the trickiest part of the whole picture. My website has been built using Incomedia's Website X5, which fits that local, hands-on approach perfectly. I can build and preview everything on my machine, tweak the code directly where needed, then upload it live via an old-fashioned FTP (FileZilla) when it's ready. Simple, direct, and nobody else involved. The snag is that Website X5 is Windows-only, with no Linux equivalent on the horizon.

Program	Destination	Linux Alternative
Website X5	Studio	No direct equivalent
FileZilla	Both	FileZilla (Linux version available)

Most things have been recovered and pieced back together, but a few Website X5 gaps makes this a natural moment to stop and ask whether it's time to find a different approach that keeps that same local, independent spirit intact.

Not Building on Rented Land

Putting all your eggs in one basket that is controlled by one of the big social media suppliers may be very cheap but it is a very risky strategy. 

I am getting so frustrated by all the “little” changes in anything social media or “free” internet services (are you listening Facebook & Google, ah didn’t think you were). Failed updates to the operating systems (are you listening Microsoft) don’t help. Things like changes to passwords or enhanced “security” (aka for the service not us), buttons and functions that once worked having disappeared or just hanging.  Trying to build a coherent structure across any of these services is at risk of instant and unannounced disruption and disappearance. It is going to frustrate your loyal viewers trying to find you, as much as you.

It is the uploading and sharing of photos/images that most annoys me (and blogger/google photos is not without blame here). The quality of the actual displays on most services is not good, Compression down to the lower resolution screens at the display time is generally not great (presumably to reduce bandwidth and lag time). Flickr may be an exception here. Also it is not uncommon for images to get “lost” in the flood. Algorithmic selection on these services favours the “celebrity” and more of the same, not the original and quality and especially not the creative. So even your friends may be lucky to see your posts if you haven’t made the algorithms target views or likes in the first short time period.

Is there a solution? Maybe, we can stop using social media and the “free” services, as the place we base our net presence, because we are not in control of what they choose to show and do. However, if we want to use the Internet to reach a wider audience we can still participate but we need to build a few things on the net but on our own “properties”. They should be at least an email account (not a social media controlled undercover agent or their chat features that seem not be always listening in), probably also our own website (there are many companies that offer reasonable cost options) and domain name. These are stable places you can bring people to with confidence. Somr free or inexpensive services like email newsletters, portfolios and blogs can then be interfaced to spaces that you own and control, not total control by them (read the TOS terms of service). Once these are established you can use suitable social media to bring friends and interested folk back to your presence, with suitable links back to your own places.  

So make sure you are not building on borrowed time or rented ground. Stop chasing traffic, the distracted rabble chasing fame or celebrity on social media, they are just glimpsing works anyway as they scroll past.

Watch this space for my attempts to put this common sense logic into practice.