Linux on Windows machine

Time to time I'm thinking about running some Linux distribution running on my PC.
Honestly, I'm too lazy to use just Linux as my only Operation System. I think after some time on Windows we all become "Win-depended".
So the best way for me is dual operation system. But some kind of dual-boot is not flexible enought.
I've picked VMware Player and Ubuntu Linux distribution. The whole OS should be running in the single windouw under MS Windows.
I haven't tested it yet but I'm wonder how much memory I need to run it.

Paint.NET - Free Image Editing Software

I heard good references about Paint.NET. I just downloaded  (1.5MB) it and I'm gonna test it soon.

What Do I Need from Picture Browser?

The basic functions like thumbnail view, copy, move, full screen view, slideshow, 90 degrees rotate, crop, and others are obvious.
And what I need additionally?
Histogram (all three channels) - it's very useful and powerful tool to study and evaluate a picture. I often use the logarithmic histogram instead of linear histogram in GIMP. Unfortunately I haven't find this option in any picture viewer. I appreciate highlights/shadows clipping.
I also need to be able to grade pictures (five star system) and assign metadata like keywords, etc. (see Which MetaData Fields I Fill Out to Describe My Photos? and Compatibility of Star Rating).

Is it time to change GIMP for some other photo editing Software?

I have been using GIMP for a long time. Since I have DSLR camera
(Canon Digital Rebel XT/EOS 350D) and I have been shooting to RAW format time to time I'm seriously thinking about more sophisticated picture editing software. The reason? Simple, 16bit support!
The only freeware alternative I found is CinePaint (AKA FilmGIMP) but I wasn't able to install it correctly and run yet. The other alternative I'm thinking about is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom . I tested the Beta version some time ago. It's very powerful tool. Only I didn't like was the speed and RAM memory consumption. If I choose the LightRoom I definitely need to upgrade my memory (I have to do that anyway...).
Finally I must say that GIMP is a great tool and I would use it probably forever if there is a 16bit support.

Which MetaData Fields I Fill Out to Describe My Photos?

MetaData is an information about the picture carried with the digital picture in the same file (e.g. picture.jpg). There are more standards of MetaData (XMP, IPCT, and others)
Unfortunately there are not the only one title for various fields used in MetaData. I write all I know separated by slash. 
So now what I really need and because of compatibility between different software I use: 

• Headline - just headline
  
• Object Name/Title - the same as above
  
• Caption/Description - one sentence or paragraph describing the picture
  
• Keywords/Tags - probably the most important part, later I can search through my pictures and catalog them
  
• Byline/Creators/Author - author of the picture
  
• Copyright - copyrights...
  
• Contact - multiple fields value, like e-mail, WWW, tel., etc.
  
• City and Country - where the picture were shoot
  

The others fields I'm leaving empty for now.
I use XnView or Photo Info to fill the MetaData out.

My Top 10 Movies (under construction...)

In alfabetical order:

Black Hawk Down (2001)  
Futurama (1999) TV show
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Six Feet Under (2001 - 2005) TV show
U Turn (1997)


and others...

21 Grams

Today I rented DVD 21 Grams (2003). I recomend to everybody to see it. The Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and all actors (Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro, and others) did a really good job! I vote 8.5 of 10 stars.

Compatibility of Star Rating

I have been testing compatibility between Windows Photo Gallery (Microsoft Windows Vista) "Star Rating" and the other software. 
Tested software:

• XnView
  
• IDimager Lite
  
• Photo Info (add-in for Microsoft Windows)
  

The only Photo Info rating shows up in Windows Photo Gallery. 
At least the Keywords (Tags) are compatible. 
If you edit any metadata in IDimager you won't be able to open/edit the picture in Photo Info ever.