Well, computer setup help

[Niode]

Personally, I'm leaning towards Linux, and more specifically Ubuntu for students looking for a thrifty experience with their computers. It's light and fast, almost all the software is free for it, and you don't have to worry about viruses quite so much. Software is trivial to find, you just go the software browser and find what you want to add to your system from the repository and tick the check box. It does the rest for you. Even Windows isn't this simple. If the software you want isn't there, you can always add software repositories, or use wget.

However, Linux isn't for everyone, but I think you should try it, especially since you have a new computer, you can give it a try and then choose to adopt later should you prefer it. You can download it and burn it to disc, then you can boot from the live disc to try it out, you don't have to make any changes to your computer you can try the full operating system right from disc (this is highly recommended to check for driver incompatibilities). You can even 'install' Ubuntu onto your windows partition and run it like a native windows program.

For a list of open source alternatives to paid software you can consult OSAlt.

As for an open source video editing program, Cinelerra (linux only) is very good. If I used Linux as my operating system it's what I would be using for my video editing.

[CDink]

I heard there was some Avid freeware...and I dont want to run another OS it seems hard.

[Xonticus]

This is a pretty solid set of programs http://lifehacker.com/5548767/lifehacke ... -downloads. You really don't need all of them so give it a read through before installing everything.
You can get office, but chances are you really don't need it. Google docs, ms office live, and open office can do pretty much everything commonly needed..

Yeah, was just about to recommend this : http://ninite.com/lifehacker

a great start to any new pc owner.

[hardrrocker]

Get trend micro security it's reallly good anti virus software.

[CDink]

I'm mainly worried about video editing at the moment..with virus software as a second

[Niode]

I heard there was some Avid freeware...and I dont want to run another OS it seems hard.

Regarding freeware video editors, the vast majority are junk. That's the problem with windows, much like the app store on iPhone/iTouch. The market is saturated with hundreds of lack lustre products. Nobody is willing to work together to make a true competitor, instead they all serve next to no purpose or are very niche in their usage. Which is a stark comparison to Linux, where most of the big/popular software is worked on by everybody. It's surprising how good these open source tools have gotten lately. LMMS is very cool, and amazing considering the price ($0.00).

Regarding Avid Freeware, I'm not aware of any, most Avid stuff requires hardware, so a lot of their software is just given away, since you're forced to have the hardware to run the software. Pro Tools LE for example requires at least an Mbox micro (roughly £100) and that only allows you to listen to your mix in stereo. Nothing else, AKA pointless, unless you need to do some editing on the move in 48k (you can't use aggregate audio devices with it either, just another reason to add to a long list of reasons not to use Pro Tools, yes I teach it, it pays, but I don't agree with Avid's - formally Digidesign, ethics). You could try and find Avid Xpress, I'm not even sure that it's available any more.

tl;dr Good luck finding some freeware video editing software on Windows - You'll need it.

[CDink]

Well, what are cheap video editing options then?



that seems like a cheap option..i'm not sure.

[t0yrobo]

Linux is absolutely worth a shot. You can use Wubi to install it as a program in windows. That way if you don't like it it's easy to get rid of, and if you do you can do a full install to get better performance.

[Hobie-wan]

Linux is absolutely worth a shot. You can use Wubi to install it as a program in windows. That way if you don't like it it's easy to get rid of, and if you do you can do a full install to get better performance.

You're assuming the PC came with normal Windows install discs instead of BS restore ones that load all the crapware if he decides to switch back. This might not be the case.

[Niode]

Well, what are cheap video editing options then?



that seems like a cheap option..i'm not sure.

That's exactly what I'm talking about, most of the cheap options are limited in some way. If you want fully fledged video editing (I assume you're going to want to use the tool creatively rather than just allowing it to auto-stitch your family videos together to make a 'movie') then you're going to have to pony up for something like Vegas or Premiere. The only thing I can suggest is seeing if you can find a trial for the software, and if you like it and it does what you need, then buying it. Just blindly buying software purely because it's cheap will disappoint you.

This is where Apple makes their killer blow regarding the creative-hobbyist market. They give you pretty decent versions of this type of software - for free. iMovie HD can be used to make some pretty professional videos right out of the box, best of all; it's child's play to use.

This is exactly why we told you to factor in the cost of the software in your purchase. You've got the computer, now skimping on the software is like buying a brand new car and then proceeding to run the engine on cooking oil. It's up to you though, we can't stop you from pirating software. With that brings an entire set of problems (can't trust the source, illegality, inconvenience of nag-screens/semi-functioning cracks). It's whether you're willing to risk that to get free software.

I definitely think you should try Wubi though. If you don't like it, you can remove it. Besides, if you still want to keep windows, that's possible too, you can dual-boot, then use Virtual Box to have virtual Windows system inside Linux. Best of both worlds. I've recommended Linux to so many of my students (I teach music technology) and the vast majority are surprised at the amount of software available and the high quality of it. There's an alternative for almost everything on Linux now, and it's always improving. If you don't like it that's fair enough, but I think you should at least give Wubi a go, it doesn't cost anything, and doesn't change anything on your system, it uninstalls just like any other program on Windows would.