Yes, I am a design professional. Although I use Affinity rather than Adobe wherever I can, since i own the licence in perpetuity; but that isn’t Linux compatible either. The only AI tool I use is content-aware selection for masking. I don’t use genAI at all.

Since design software can include metadata in exported files, it’s also wise to use legally registered software so that my clients aren’t exposed to legal issues.

I’ve been looking at Linux for several years now, and this is the sole reason why I can’t leave Windows behind yet, because as you say: random issues with compatibility and troubleshooting.

So it bothers me whenever I investigate this and people suggest clearly inadequate ‘alternatives’ like GIMP or tell me I should just switch anyway. Anybody that implies I could do my job with GIMP clearly isn’t informed enough to actually answer my question.

Thank you very much for the nuanced and good faith explanation.