photoshop on linux

One of the biggest pains about Linux is not being able to use Adobe Photoshop.  The reason is, Linux and Windows are two completely different systems.  They have different file extensions and speak different languages.  Apples and oranges. 

That said, I still consider Linux as four levels above any os Microsoft can put out and accept Gimp, Linux's version of Photoshop, as a cheap knock-off with a difficult learning curve, and a somewhat equal trade off to keep Windows filth off of my computer.  But godam, do I hate using Gimp.  It truly fits it's namesake.  Photoshop is the industry standard that you can do anything with.  Gimp compares more to Paint in a foreign language and just as lame.

This morning I was going through some old Microsoft files that Linux doesn't recognize because they were Windows exe files.  Something Linux doesn't recognize.  Now, Linux has a program called Wine that's a comparability layer for running Windows applications on Linux.  I gave it a shot and it worked.  Cool.  I wondered what else Wine can do.

I put in my Photoshop disk and opened up the installer with Wine.  A few seconds later I had Photoshop in my program files.  So what, I thought.  It won't work. 

Guess what?  I got a working version of Photoshop on my Linux machine and it works like a charm!  I brought up a pic from my files, put a layer on it, and saved it for the web in something like 30 seconds.  It would've taken me twenty minutes and a few headaches with Gimp. 

So this is just a pic with one minor adjustment.  The point is, if I can run a complex program like Photoshop on a Linux machine, which isn't supposed to run on Linux, there's no reason I can't run any other program exclusive to Windows.  That includes gaming, movie editing, and any other software Microsoft considers Microsoft only.

I think I turned a corner on this and I can say with all sincerity, I am truly impressed!