So you've installed your Home Studio and are starting to like Linux.
Now you want to explore Linux some more and maybe start using it as a All Day computer and not a Dedicated Studio.

Let me provide some assistance and transfer options.

You basically have 2 choices :
1 - use your "Studio" account and do your recording and surfing/office work/... with the same account
2 - You setup a new user account for your non-recording needs.

I would advise option 2 since we've setup the studio account to :
- Use a minimalistic Graphical User Interface (Openbox)
- Start the Jack server and the D.A.W. if your choice automatically after login (manual or autologin)
- Start ONLY the apps needed to record with your D.A.W. to limit resources loss by other processes.

A downside to option 2 is that it takes a more work (disable autologin if enabled so you can choose the user account to login to for example).

But if you prefer option 1 that's fine by me (you might want to edit your autostart file and remove qjackctl so the D.A.W. is not automatically started every time you start your computer).

Now let me give you a list of software that's available for Linux and can be a replacement for your windows software.

Windows Explorer (not internet explorer) is replaced by nautilus (if you use the default Gnome desktop environment)
- there are also "Total Commander" or "Norton Commander) like file manager like :
-- mc (Midnight Commander, this is a CLI tool that looks like the good old Norton Commander for DOS)
-- Krusager (a 2-Pane file manager for KDE)
-- Gnome Commander
-- XFE
-- ...
Internet Explorer is replaced by Iceweasel but you also have the following options :
- Google Chrome
- Opera
- Firefox (if you use Debian you will NOT find Firefox, this is due to the licensing on the name "Firefox" and it's logo. On debian Firefox is installed by default BUT it's re-branded (renamed) into Iceweasel (other name and logo)
-- A LOT more but let's stick with the most popular ones and those that also have a Windows Version.
NOTE : There is also a browser called "Chromium" this is the browser that Google Chrome is build on, it's similar to Chrome but lacks some features that are in chrome.

Microsoft Outlook is replaced by Evolution
Thunderbird
exists for Linux so you don't need a replacement for it. But like Firefox it has another name (Icedove) and logo on Debian.
- Icedove/Thunderbird us not installed by default since Evolution is the default email application in Gnome.

Microsoft Office is replaced by OpenOffice.org or
- LibreOffice
- SoftMaker Office (This is a Commercial Application so not available for Gratis).
-- The default on Debian is LibreOffice and should be pre-installed

Dropbox has a Linux version so you don't need to convert to another program/service

Instant Messaging can be done with pidgin

Skype also has a Linux version

iTunes can be replaced by :
- Amarok
- Banshee
- Rhythmbox
- ...

Adobe Photoshop can be replaced by The Gimp

Adobe Dreamweaver
can be replaced by :
- Blue Griffon
- NVU (Discontinued)
- Komodo IDE
- BlueFish

NLE (Non Linear Editors) for linux are :
- KDENLive
- LightWorks (this is a commercial application)

FTP Client : FileZilla

and here are a few other (commercial) apps that have Windows and Linux versions.
- AfterShot Pro version 2 (By Corel) (there is also a Linux Version of AfterShot Pro version 1 but that doesn't install on Debian testing)
- LightZone : this used to be a commercial photo tool (like AfterShot and Adobe Lightroom) but it's free now
- Password Safe (Free unless you want the windows portable version). This Password Manager is compatible with the YubiKey whick makes it super easy but safe to lock/unlock your password database. And the YubiKey works with Linux). There is an option to get a "bundle" which is 2 YubyKeys especially setup for Password Safe so when these arrive at your door you are ready to go and you do not need to configure the Yubikey first (if you just buy a YubiKey you will need to set it up).
- UltraEdit (note that the UEStudio or whatever it's called has NO linux version only UltraEdit does)
- UltraCompare (the only tools for Linux at this moment are UltraEdit and UltraCompare)

... there are a lot more
if you are looking for a specific tool/program you can do a google search like : "dreamweaver alternative for linux" and it should give you some alternatives.

When you find a program that you think is what you want you can see if it's available in the Debian repositories :

open a terminal window and type : gksu synaptic (you can also look for synaptic in the menu and start it from there).
In synaptic search for what you want and see if the program is available, then just click the checkbox and choose install, if the file needs more programs (dependencies) it will automatically add those to your list.

If it's not in the debian repository you don't need it
Well there is an old saying "If you cannot APT-GET it, it isn't useful or doesn't exist" This is based on the fact that Debian has the largest database of software you can download through apt-get or Synaptic.

but seriously if it's not in Apt/synaptic you'll need to look for a download on the developers website.

When looking for a download search for a Debian (.deb) package first. If there is no Debian package look for one for Ubuntu (these are also .deb but might not always work on Debian).
And if there is no .deb you'll need to get the "tarball" (like name.tar.gz or name.tar.bz2 and there are a few more) if you are in luck it's a pre-compiled "binary" and only needs to be extracted and ran or installed but if not it can be sourcecode which is a bit harder to get installed.

Happy Hacking !