Windows?

There are truly only two programs for which I need some version of Windows: CorelDraw and PowerTracks. The latter is a DAW, a simple but useful and well-featured recording app from PG Music. In theory, I could find an acceptable alternate that works in Linux but I’ve yet to be taken with any I’ve tried. I do, of course, have the ubiquitous Audacity installed but it doesn’t do midi and I’m not enamored of the direction its owners are taking it (same with their MuseScore).

I would also need Windows for another PG Music program, the much better known Band in a Box. I admittedly rarely use it anymore (and an up to date version is somewhat pricey) so it’s not that important to me. I’d as soon bang on a cardboard box as use their canned accompaniments (even if they do sound pretty darn good).

But CorelDraw is likely to remain my go-to graphics program. Yes, I can accomplish much of what it does in free Linux apps. LibreOffice Draw, Inkscape, and Krita are all useful. GIMP is really better for working with raster images and I use it quite a bit, but it does not do vectors nor is it particularly good for layout work. I do all my book covers in Corel.

A different Corel program I like to have working is WordPerfect. Not essential by any means, but an alternative to the LibreOffice Writer in which I do most of my word processing. As a straight-forward office suite it has a lot going for it but it’s not really as good for my writing as an author. And, of course, I wouldn’t touch MS Word with a ten-foot keyboard.

I could also mention Notepad++. Although it works sort of okay on Linux under WINE, it’s always seemed a bit balky. I use a simpler plain text editor on Linux these days but do continue with NP++ on Windows. I use it for taking notes, rather than writing code, and I find it quite useful for that. But again, not essential.

Now if only they could get CorelDraw to work with WINE!