iPhoto on Ubuntu?

[pmhauge]

So, up to this point, I've only been using Ubuntu as a novelty. I play with it occasionally, but I still do all my work under OS X. Lately, however, I've been thinking of making the full on switch to Ubuntu. The problem? iPhoto! Both my wife and I love iPhoto and thus far I personally feel that nothing compares to it IMHO.

What is the current state of affairs regarding getting iPhoto to work under ubuntu? Is it possible by way of any emulators? I'm not looking for iPhoto alternatives, but rather iPhoto itself. The same question remains for iTunes, but I feel that I can live without iTunes more easily than iPhoto.

Any input is much appreciated and highly valued. Thanks!

[star-affinity]

I'm a bit curious... May I ask why you want to do this switch from Mac OS X to Ubuntu?
What are the advantages in Ubuntu over Mac OS X that you see?

As for iPhoto in Ubuntu – I think that will be quite difficult. It's a ”pure” Mac OS X in all ways and I don't know of a good (if any) way to run Mac applications in Linux.

[cyberdork33]

there is no current state of affairs on running OS X applications in Ubuntu.

You might be able to run the windows version of iTunes in wine.

I know you didn't ask for alternatives, but Picasa 3 just came out recently, and it is pretty close to iPhoto.

[pmhauge]

Picasa 3 looks good, but still not what I'm looking for... Although, it might be as good as it's going to get for me.

As for why I'm wanting to move away from OS X, it's hard to explain, but I'll try.

1. I'm sick of paying thousands for Apple hardware. Hacking OS X is one way to go, but I'd rather work with an OS that is trying to work with me and my hardware, rather than against me. Who knows what kind of updates Apple might release that will hinder efforts to run OS X on hardware of my choice.

2. I think that the future lies with open source. Apple or Microsoft simply can't compete with the amount of people constantly improving Ubuntu.

3. I like the versatility Ubuntu provides when it comes to hardware choices. If I want to spend $300 on a netbook or a tower, I know that there will be a version of Ubuntu for me. You couldn't dream of spending that much on an Apple and hope to run a current version of the OS.

4. It sounds cheesy, but I strongly agree with Ubuntu's philosophy of providing a free operating system available to EVERYONE for free.

There is more, but I'll spare the details for another thread. Thanks for the input. I think it will be easier for me to give up on the iLife apps I love than it will be for my wife. I'm sure I'll always have an Apple system in my home running OS X, but it won't be long until my OS X machine is my hobby computer.

[arimannis]

You should definitly give Picasa another try, I like it better than iPhoto.

[golusweet]

For iTunes,Try Songbird.

[cyberdork33]

Picasa 3 looks good, but still not what I'm looking for... Although, it might be as good as it's going to get for me.

As for why I'm wanting to move away from OS X, it's hard to explain, but I'll try.

1. I'm sick of paying thousands for Apple hardware. Hacking OS X is one way to go, but I'd rather work with an OS that is trying to work with me and my hardware, rather than against me. Who knows what kind of updates Apple might release that will hinder efforts to run OS X on hardware of my choice.

2. I think that the future lies with open source. Apple or Microsoft simply can't compete with the amount of people constantly improving Ubuntu.

3. I like the versatility Ubuntu provides when it comes to hardware choices. If I want to spend $300 on a netbook or a tower, I know that there will be a version of Ubuntu for me. You couldn't dream of spending that much on an Apple and hope to run a current version of the OS.

4. It sounds cheesy, but I strongly agree with Ubuntu's philosophy of providing a free operating system available to EVERYONE for free.

There is more, but I'll spare the details for another thread. Thanks for the input. I think it will be easier for me to give up on the iLife apps I love than it will be for my wife. I'm sure I'll always have an Apple system in my home running OS X, but it won't be long until my OS X machine is my hobby computer.
From the sound of it, you should get new hardware too.

[pmhauge]

How do you figure? Any suggestions?

[ruru]

They're all different programmes - so it really depends what you want out of them, but I use banshee for music and digikam for photos. Neither have the slick level of integration you will be used to on the mac, but both do what it says on the tin.
I haven't used iPhoto for ages, so can't really remember what all its features are - digikam allows me to download, store, view, tag and basic edit my digital camera snaps. That's all I need so I'm happy.
I am not a fan of iTunes (which I do use with my iPod touch), but I also have some gripes with banshee (I have higher expectations from a music library organiser). I would like much better tagging and searching functions - but iTunes doesn't give me this either. Amarok is very popular as well - it is built for the KDE desktop (as is digikam) but runs just fine under Gnome (vanilla Ubuntu).

Also - please don't be apologetic for switching to Ubuntu. You are in the right!

[cyberdork33]

How do you figure?
If you don't want OSX, then why have a Mac? Get a machine that is designed to be compatible with Ubuntu.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

http://system76.com/

[star-affinity]

Just tried out Picasa 3 in Ubuntu, and it seems to be the Windows version running via WINE... :(

What I like about Mac OS X is the relatively high amount of consistency and similarity between the applications that Apple and the majority of the developers (especially shareware developers) seem to follow. The fact that the preferences for an app almost always are found under the application menu (keyboard shortcut cmd ,) is one example.

While I do like the icons and appearance of Ubuntu, many apps seem to totally ignore this look, which is a bit sad I think. It's 2009 now and I think we deserve both good looking and well designed applications, and currently I feel Mac OS X is the platform that best achieves this.

pmhauge,I fully agree on your statements about Apple and their hardware, though. Especially since the last updates which requires you to buy the very expensive Mac Pro if you want to have a modern desktop with the ability to connect a screen of your choice.

Anyway, good luck on finding an iPhoto replacement!

[Chrisj303]

If you don't want OSX, then why have a Mac? Get a machine that is designed to be compatible with Ubuntu.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

http://system76.com/

TBH, the System76 and Ubuntu-Dell guys seems to have just as much issues running Ubuntu on their hardware as us!

I mean, its not very difficult getting Macs to run Ubuntu perfectly.

Certainly not diificult enough to make me even consider stop using Mac hardware..

[cyberdork33]

Just tried out Picasa 3 in Ubuntu, and it seems to be the Windows version running via WINE... :(Yes, that is correct.

What I like about Mac OS X is the relatively high amount of consistency and similarity between the applications that Apple and the majority of the developers (especially shareware developers) seem to follow. The fact that the preferences for an app almost always are found under the application menu (keyboard shortcut cmd ,) is one example.
This is true for Ubuntu. Options / Preferences are usually under edit. In Windows, they are usually under Tools.

TBH, the System76 and Ubuntu-Dell guys seems to have just as much issues running Ubuntu on their hardware as us!

I mean, its not very difficult getting Macs to run Ubuntu perfectly.

Certainly not diificult enough to make me even consider stop using Mac hardware..
Even when you don't even want to consider running OS X?

[pmhauge]

The way I see it, since I already have a Mac, I don't see much of a reason why I should go out and buy something new, especially if what I have isn't too bad. However, when it comes time for a new machine, a Mac will probably be last on my list if my Ubuntu switch goes well.

[mkvnmtr]

Like you I liked Iphoto and Itunes was ok. After installing Little Snitch and seeing how often those apps want to connect to Mac whenever I use them I did not have any trouble switching to F-spot. Little more work on my part but I don't want to tell someone every time I play a song or or uncompress a file. Like you my mac will have to die before I quit running Ubuntu on it even thouge we have other units.

[Nero147]

Iphoto is a native cocoa application so you're not going to be able to get it running under ubuntu, but what do you specifically like about it (functionality and features wise)? If we know that we might be able to make better recommendations on possible open source alternatives.

When I first made the switch I found that there were a couple of things that I missed, but in general you can find an open source alternative with almost any functionality that you could want. The only downside is that you have to learn a new interface.

[ruru]

Is anyone here using f-spot? I tried it a while back and was not impressed, but it seems to have had a makeover. Is it as good as digikam? I had a quick look recently and it seems to have pretty rich tagging features now which is something I need.

btw: Picasa doesn't run on PPC mac either (only Intel) - so my mac and linux machines are united in removing that as an option!

[chumni]

Picasa 3 looks good, but still not what I'm looking for... Although, it might be as good as it's going to get for me.

As for why I'm wanting to move away from OS X, it's hard to explain, but I'll try.

1. I'm sick of paying thousands for Apple hardware. Hacking OS X is one way to go, but I'd rather work with an OS that is trying to work with me and my hardware, rather than against me. Who knows what kind of updates Apple might release that will hinder efforts to run OS X on hardware of my choice.

2. I think that the future lies with open source. Apple or Microsoft simply can't compete with the amount of people constantly improving Ubuntu.

3. I like the versatility Ubuntu provides when it comes to hardware choices. If I want to spend $300 on a netbook or a tower, I know that there will be a version of Ubuntu for me. You couldn't dream of spending that much on an Apple and hope to run a current version of the OS.

4. It sounds cheesy, but I strongly agree with Ubuntu's philosophy of providing a free operating system available to EVERYONE for free.

There is more, but I'll spare the details for another thread. Thanks for the input. I think it will be easier for me to give up on the iLife apps I love than it will be for my wife. I'm sure I'll always have an Apple system in my home running OS X, but it won't be long until my OS X machine is my hobby computer.


I am going to have to agree with you 100% here.

I myself have completely made the switch from Mac OS X to Ubuntu. I have just converted my wife to the Ubuntu philosophy, so I am currently looking for alternatives for her to replace those apple apps. I used to be be a heavy Apple Koolaid drinker, but given the overall quality degradation of Apple hardware these days while the price remains the same... well, I am done with the folks at Cupertino.

I also believe that Open Source has a huge future in computing... Given the economic climate, people are going to start looking for better alternatives to hefty price tags. Microsoft always releases their software in alpha/beta releases and expects their user base to fix all of their problems. And Apple dictates how I use anything I purchase from them at such a hefty price. One point in example The music I purchase from the iTunes store is only being leased to me?

I actually parted down my wifes imac last night which I will be scrapping on ebay. Long story there.... email me and I will tell you the whole story if you are interested...:lolflag:

I think I will try out digkam, or resign myself to Picasa... I do like Picasa better than iphoto...

I also learned that there is a photoshop alternative that i will be checking out... it is called pixel... I think the link is here : http://www.kanzelsberger.com/pixel/?page_id=12

Good Luck!

[carlf]

I like digikam and showfoto. I've used them both on Fedora from Fedora 7-10. I'm trying ubuntu Jaunty now and Intrepid.

[Thorney]

If you don't want OSX, then why have a Mac? Get a machine that is designed to be compatible with Ubuntu.


Surely you don't mean that? Macs are awesome laptops, even the ppc ones run ubuntu really well.

And somehow I doubt the PC's engineers were designing them to be compatible with Ubuntu... I think you would find thats the other way! Ubuntu was designed to be compatible with the PC (as well as with macs)

[cyberdork33]

Surely you don't mean that? Macs are awesome laptops, even the ppc ones run ubuntu really well.
I absolutely mean that.

And somehow I doubt the PC's engineers were designing them to be compatible with Ubuntu... I think you would find thats the other way! Ubuntu was designed to be compatible with the PC (as well as with macs)
There are companies that build machines specifically with hardware that is known to be very compatible with Linux (i.e ship with a version of linux installed).

[lethrj]

btw: Picasa doesn't run on PPC mac either (only Intel) - so my mac and linux machines are united in removing that as an option!

Is this true? No Picasa on PPC?
That's no good.

[cyberdork33]

Is this true? No Picasa on PPC?
That's no good.
afraid so:
http://picasa.google.com/mac/

[arglborps]

I absolutely mean that.


There are companies that build machines specifically with hardware that is known to be very compatible with Linux (i.e ship with a version of linux installed).

Hmmm, I'd rather say they provide GNU/Linux drivers for their hardware. I don't really think they build hardware especially for running Linux.

Even with DELL who are offering Ubuntu Laptops it still looks like an afterthought. Just without knowing where to look try to find Ubuntu laptops from DELL browsing their website.

So I really think the Apple laptops are fine hardware and if you want any other machine with exactly the same specs you'll have a hard time finding a much cheaper one (built in my garage doesn't count). Of course you can always get less specs for less money elswhere if that is what you prefer.

I personally just am surprised who people can say they believe in free software and that people should have the right to run a free OS on any hardware - "the Ubuntu spirit" - and in the same sentence tell people to install some proprietary software such as Picasa. You may call it pragmatism, but if it's not OK for OSes to be prorietary then why should it be for applications or hardware drivers? Just my 2 cents.

Making a long story short
So if F-Spot isn't good enough, then why not talk to the developers on how to make it better?
Why don't you try it out and then give the developers some feedback on e.g. what iPhoto features you'd really like to have?

[cyberdork33]

Hmmm, I'd rather say they provide GNU/Linux drivers for their hardware. I don't really think they build hardware especially for running Linux.
system76 only builds Linux machines... maybe "assemble" hardware is a better way to say it.

So I really think the Apple laptops are fine hardware and if you want any other machine with exactly the same specs you'll have a hard time finding a much cheaper one (built in my garage doesn't count). Of course you can always get less specs for less money elswhere if that is what you prefer.
I agree, but let's not start yet another discussion on Apple's pricing.

I personally just am surprised who people can say they believe in free software and that people should have the right to run a free OS on any hardware - "the Ubuntu spirit" - and in the same sentence tell people to install some proprietary software such as Picasa. You may call it pragmatism, but if it's not OK for OSes to be prorietary then why should it be for applications or hardware drivers? Just my 2 cents.
That includes the freedom to run any software I choose.... including those that are not open source. I think that picasa is fine software, it runs on most major operating systems, and it is free.

Making a long story short
So if F-Spot isn't good enough, then why not talk to the developers on how to make it better?
Why don't you try it out and then give the developers some feedback on e.g. what iPhoto features you'd really like to have?
This is certainly what you should do with any free software.