Finally, after a long time, the GIMP is improving its … uh, eccentric UI, which should help make it more palatable to Photoshop refugees. For an example, see GIMP menus overhaul, which has a nice screenshot of what we can expect. I can't wait! (Check out all of my posts on GIMP.) ...

Everyone always says that the GIMP is like an open source Photoshop, but it's not, really. It's getting closer all the time, but Photoshop is still the cream of the crop. Nonetheless, for many people, the GIMP is good enough. In an effort to make the GIMP even easier to use, especially for Photoshop refugees, Scott Moscheller has created GIMPshop, a hacked version of GIMP that emulates Photoshop's menu structure and naming conventions. It currently runs only on Mac OS X, but I'm sure that we'll see a version for Linux and even Windows sometime soon. I can't wait! Hold the phone! There's a version available for Linux. RPMs only right now, with DEBs coming soon! ...

GIMP is cool, but it's interface is a little … different. And that's especially true for Photoshop refugees, for whom GIMP's UI may be well nigh impenetrable. The developers of GIMP are a bit, oh, resisitent to changing the UI, so a year or so ago, Scott Moschella took matters into his own hands &, using the power of open source, changed around the UI of the GIMP so that it pretty nicely duplicates the menu structure of the GIMP (that does NOT mean that the GIMP now looks exactly like Photoshop; it just means that the menus look the same). The new creation's name: GIMPshop. This is still great for users - all users, not just Photoshop users - since we can now follow Pshop tutorials step for step & have them work in the GIMP, which is just ducky. And since the GIMP works on Windows, Mac OS X, & Linux, then GIMPshop works on the same platforms. This is cool stuff, guys, so try this one out. If you want (a bit) more info, Wikipedia has an article, & here's a bonus for you K/Ubuntu ...

Peter Besenbruch on the Libranet list published this email recently, & he said that I could share it with you. If you're into digital graphics, enjoy! This is a plug for some software I tried and ended up purchasing. It's called Bibble (http://www.bibblelabs.com/), and it is used for image editing, particularly of raw image files from digital cameras. I purchased the "lite" version. I use a Canon 300D, called the Digital Rebel in the US. It uses a hacked Russian BIOS. The BIOS lets you do things like shoot at ISO 3200, adjust flash exposure and auto-focus points, and lock exposure. Lenses include an EF 17-85 IS, and a EF 70-300 IS DO. The lenses are fairly slow, but the image stabilizing easily lets you shoot hand held at 300 mm at 1/30 second. The shorter lens lets me shoot at 1/10 second, hand held. With the extra ISO speed and the use of slow shutter speeds, it is possible to shoot indoors using available light. Hindering that is Canon's less than stellar automatic color ...

The GIMP is a great program, no bout adout it (& more on it later), but it's not the be-all & end-all of all image editors on Linux. However, one nice thing in its favor is that it runs on Linux, Mac OS X, & Windows. In the Linux-only front, we have a new editor that's integrated as part of KOffice: Krita. It's only been out a little while, but it's already pretty full-featured, with support for 16 bit images (GIMP still doesn't like 16-bit TIFFs), CMYK, & even the ability to load & use GIMP brushes, pipe brushes, gradients & patterns. And hey, it's free, so why not give it a try? Want to learn more? There's a PDF manual, an FAQ, & even videos of the program in action (granted, an older version of the program, but still helpful). (Check out all of our posts on GIMP, KOffice, & Krita.) ...

So this guy at CNET gets a new laptop & decides to run only software on it that he doesn't have to pay for. He details it all in "Never pay for software again". Yes, a lot of that stuff is "free as in beer", not "free as in freedom", but many of the programs he ends up using on his machine are in fact open source. Here's what he chooses: Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, GIMP, Audacity, Skype, iPodder … & then he mentions Ubuntu, which is kind of weird, but whatever. All in all, though, it's a positive piece that I hope a lot of Windows folks will read & follow up on. Jump in the open source pool, Windows users! The water's fine! (Check out all of my posts on Windows, GIMP, Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, Audacity, & Ubuntu.) ...

Today is SUSE day on the Open Source Weblog, and to finish it all up I'm pointing you some ISOs so you can try the latest 'n greatest out yourself. SUSE 9.3 is out, and it's getting good reviews. There's a lot of cool stuff in 9.3, including Firefox 1.0, OpenOffice.org 2.0 (it's still beta, so expect some roughness), GIMP 2.2, Beagle (the search tool I've discussed before), Xen (kinda like built-in open source VMWare), and a VoIP client. Now you can download a Live DVD of SUSE 9.3 - here's a direct link, but remember, this is a 1.5 GB file! What you really oughta do is view the mirrors page and pick something close to you. And if you wanna know more, view the README first (one ultra-cool thing: it's available for i386 AND AMD64!) (Check out all my postings on SUSE, Firefox, GIMP, Beagle, OpenOffice.org, Xen.) ...

Under the rather innocuous title of "Pepping Up Windows", Tom's Hardware has produced an excellent, detailed (over 20 screens!) examination of the best open source software for Windows. Programs covered include GIMP, Firefox, Tinn, Virtuawin, & many more. Best of all, the article tells you how to get rid of the Windows app so you can use the open source alternative. Excellent, Smithers, excellent. So, use Windows? Disgusted with the utter craptitude of most of the default apps that come with the OS? Then read this article & get to downloading! (Check out all of my posts on Windows.) ...

Just today I was installing 9.2 on one of my machines, thinking, "my goodness, for an RPM-based distro, SUSE sure is nice", and thinking to myself that 9.3 should be out soon & will be probably be pretty darn good. Well imagine my surprise to find out that Novell has published a SUSE LINUX 9.3 Professional Review that gives an overview of new stuff in 9.3, and includes screenshots. If you're interested in finding out what's comin' 'round the mountain real soon now, then check this one out. It looks really nice: KDE 3.4, GNOME 2.10, Mozilla Firefox 1.0, Evolution 2.1.5, Xen, auto recognition of Bluetooth, OpenOffice.org 2.0, Beagle (which means really awesome machine-wide searching), GIMP 2.2.3, & 2.6.11 kernel. You can already pre-order it! ...

There's a new Knoppix in town, & this is the best one yet! Knoppix 3.8.1 dropped a few days ago, and you can download the 700 MB ISO from a variety of places (PLEASE use BitTorrent!). New stuff includes: kernel 2.6.11 (no more 2.4), write support for all virtual directories using UNIONFS so you can install software even without writable file systems (!), support for Centrino2 wireless (awesome!), the ability to create a permanent /home on a hard drive (even if it's formatted as NTFS), KDE 3.3.2, Gimp 2.2.4, & OpenOffice 1.1.4. That's quite an upgrade! I've been using it for over a week, & it's really nice. A nice review of the new Knoppix can be found at O'Reilly. Kyle Rankin's "Knoppix 3.8 and UnionFS. Wow. Just Wow." focuses on, uh, UNIONFS. It's a good piece. Read it. (Check out all my previous posts on Knoppix.) ...

This one is for my buddy Robert, who's always looking for Linuxen he can run on his Mac PowerBook. Mandriva - the new combo of Mandrake & Connectiva - has released 3 ISO images of its 2005 Limited Edition. Whaddya get? The Linux kernel 2.6.11, GNOME 2.8,3, KDE 3.3.2, X.Org 6.8.2, GCC 3.4.3, GIMP 2.2, OpenOffice.org 1.1.4, Firefox 1.0.2, and more ... nothing's bleeding edge, but you can always update. Read the announcement, if yer interested. Fer goshsakes, read the release notes! Download from one of the mirror sites. Wanna learn more? Read the NewsForge review, "Review: Mandriva Limited Edition 2005". They like it quite a bit. There ya go, Robert. Now will ya shut up? :) (Check out all my postings on Mandrake & Mandriva.) ...

It's SUSE review day on the Open Source Weblog, & this is review #6. Six. Six Flags, Six Sigma, Six Degrees of Separation. Six. SUSE 9.2 vs. 9.3: A 64-Bit Comparison This guy at LinuxPlanet has a 64-bit AMD Athlon 64 notebook, & he wants to know which is better: 9.2 or 9.3. There are a few problems with his hardware (video drivers, natch), but he gets those resolved. Sound's a PITA too, but that's taken care of. Lots of stuff has been fixed to work better in 9.3, which is always a plus. On the whole, this is a great look at these 2 distro versions, from a 64-bit perspective. "I'd say that if you want a very stable version of Linux on a 64-bit notebook, like my HP 5460, you might want to stick with SUSE 9.2. ... Otherwise, SUSE 9.3 would save you some time, if you want the latest version of OpenOffice.org, The Gimp, and other normal Linux applications." (Check out all of my posts on SUSE.) ...

Want to review all the awesome Linux distros that came out over the last year, distros like Gentoo Linux 2004.0, Mandrakelinux 10.0, SUSE Linux 9.1 Professional, OpenBSD 3.5, KNOPPIX 3.4, Fedora Core 2, Slackware 10.0, Conectiva Linux 10, Ubuntu 4.10, SUSE Linux Professional 9.2, Xandros Desktop 3? How about all the cool Linux software that made its appearance in 2004, software such as KDE 3.2, GIMP 2.0, GNOME 2.6, X.Org X11R6.7, GCC 3.4, Mozilla 1.7, Mono 1.0, PHP 5.0, GNOME 2.8, SpamAssassin 3.0, Firefox 1.0, Python 2.4, Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0? The highs - the aforementioned software, the excellent work done by volunteers all over the world to make Linux & open source even better all the time, the sight of cities like Munich and businesses like Circuit City switching over to Linux - and the lows - the idiots at SCO, MSFT's continuing FUD, Xfree86's shooting itself in the foot, the fact that Debian Sarge never got out the door? Want to cover everything that happened in the Linux ...

Today we're looking at Red Hat on the Open Source Weblog. We've already talked about Fedora Core 3, so now let's look into the future, at Fedora Core 4 beta. Fedora Core 4 Test 2 Screenshots OSDir.com has a wonderful collection of 98 - count 'em, 98! - slides showing all aspects of FC4T2. Wanna know what's coming? Take a look at this! Impressions of Fedora Core 4 Test 2 A short piece comparing & contrasting FC3 & FC4 in the areas of Installation, First boot, Desktop environment, New Applications, Media, Package Manager, & Overall. He likes it, finding it more stable and faster. A quick look at Fedora's progress toward Core 4 An excellent overview, with descriptions, screenshots, links, & lots of good info. Here's a look at the software that's coming: Linux kernel 2.6.11-1, GCC 4.0, GNOME 2.10, KDE 3.4.0-6, OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta (1.9.100), Novell Evolution 2.2.2, Native Eclipse 3.1M5, GIMP 2.2.6. That's a quite nice (& ...

I'm on this listserv for web developers, & someone asked what version of Linux he should install on an 8GB partition on his hard drive. He's a newbie, so he needs an easy-to-use Linux. Someone suggested Ubuntu, so I wrote the following: Except that there's no KDE for Ubuntu at all, which means you're missing out on an enormous amount of great software. Ubuntu is GNOME-only, which severely limits it in my book. I'd look at SUSE 9.2 Professional, which you can get from free from anyone who has the software, or Xandros 3, which will cost you $$$ but is probably the easiest to use of any Linux distro I've seen. Then, eventually, you'll move on to Libranet & Debian. :) One person responded by agreeing that I'd made a good point, since it's a good idea to have both KDE & GNOME on a machine. The original recommender of Ubuntu pointed out that it IS in fact possible to install KDE on Ubuntu by enabling the "universe" package repository, but that the reason Ubuntu doesn't ...