Slashdot Mirror

An anonymous reader writes "The GIMP developers released a new snapshot in the development series. Version 1.3.21 (aka the path to excellence release) features an improved path tool with superb path stroking and adds SVG support. You can now export your GIMP paths to SVG and the new SVG import plug-in not only renders Scalable Vector Graphics for you at the desired resolution, it also imports SVG paths as GIMP paths."

An anonymous reader writes "The GIMP developers released a new snapshot in the development series. Version 1.3.21 (aka the path to excellence release) features an improved path tool with superb path stroking and adds SVG support. You can now export your GIMP paths to SVG and the new SVG import plug-in not only renders Scalable Vector Graphics for you at the desired resolution, it also imports SVG paths as GIMP paths."

An anonymous reader writes "The GIMP developers released a new snapshot in the development series. Version 1.3.21 (aka the path to excellence release) features an improved path tool with superb path stroking and adds SVG support. You can now export your GIMP paths to SVG and the new SVG import plug-in not only renders Scalable Vector Graphics for you at the desired resolution, it also imports SVG paths as GIMP paths."

Arkaein asks: "I am planning on electronically self publishing a book that I want to write, typeset, and create diagrams for on my Linux PC. Most of the diagrams for the book will be generated through scripted custom software, and I want the final product to be as compact as possible. I would like some advice from Slashdot on what Free Software tools I should use, with an emphasis on scripting efficiency. I am planning on using hyperlinked PDF for the final book format. To date I have used LateX for writing basic papers and have created vector images using Xfig and raster images edited using The GIMP. I used dvipdfm to convert my results into PDF. What I haven't done is create a hyperlinked PDF document, or generated xfig, postscript or any other vector image format through software, or worked on any document project of this magnitude before. I have thought about using raster images, my current software used for web content similar to what will go into the book creates raster images which I convert to PNG, this works well because the images are fairly simple diagrams with few colors and compress very well. I estimate that the 200 or so images I need for my book would require about 10K each as high-res PNGs for a total of 2 MB. This sounds acceptable, but would probably be smaller with higher image quality in vector format. Are LaTeX, Xfig and dvipdfm the answers, or do I need to look in other directions?"

Futurepower(R) queries: "It has been 2 1/2 years since the previous Ask Slashdot about GUI Toolkits. There were many helpful comments then, such as this one. Since then, Slashdot has discussed wxWindows vs. MFC and considered the book, Creating Applications with Mozilla. The best comparison table is apparently still the GUI Toolkit, Framework Page. Which is the best cross-platform GUI toolkit that provides native look and feel? Which is the best overall? What IDEs and other tools do you use? What are the problems?" Slashdot also had a match-up between GTK+ and Qt, but some of you might have missed that one. How have recent changes in this ballpark changed your feelings on the issue?

Ivo asks: "I'm a webdeveloper working almost exclusively in Linux. But I currently still use Windows to use Adobe's ImageReady, to splice up the designs that we get from our webdesign partners. Usually, if someone asks 'can I do Adobe Photoshop stuff on Linux', the answer is of course, Gimp. Gimp rules. No doubt about that, and I use it all the time. But I miss the features that ImageReady has, like automatic generation of a lot of small images and buttons for a website, including mouseover and mouseoff variants. Doing that manually in Gimp or Photoshop takes hours. Is there a program for Linux, or even better a plugin for Gimp, that does what ImageReady does?" How difficult would something like this be to do using Script-Fu?

Linux won't ever be accepted as a truly mainstream OS by most vendors. The reason for this is quite simply the users. And I'm not talking about everyone, I'm talking about the 31337 h4x0r kids with the bad attitude. They're posting right here on this system, intermixed with others who often share the attitude, but also have a bit more civility. I saw this once again while learning about the Hewlett Packard 3300C flatbad scanner ... which has zippo Linux support from HP. And I don't see that changing. Keep reading and maybe I can explain why.

So I collect anime cels. I have a fairly nice collection now. Cels from Tenchi, Trigun, Ranma 1/2 among others. It's a fun hobby that I find gets me a little more involved with some of my favorite shows to have a little piece of them. Sometimes it can be horribly expensive, but often really nice cels for just a few bucks can be found.

But what do you do with these cels? Well, I framed several. Museum-quality glass ensures that they'll stick around for awhile. But I have dozens of cels, and I travel a lot ... so scanning them in and making nice wallpaper images for my desktop sure will make KDE look nice. So with that in mind I began hopping around looking for an inexpensive flatbed scanner. And I thought I had found it in the HP 3300C. At only $80, it seemed like a great deal: I didn't need 2400x2400 scans or anything, I just wanted to get 1280x1024 images off 8.5x11 cels. A quick glance through /etc/usbmgr/usbmgr.conf revealed a line for it, so I figured I was all set. OK, that was a major mistake on my part -- I should have looked a little harder, I just made the ill-fated assumption that a line in this file meant someone had made the 3300C work under Linux.

I was wrong. I've set up USB devices before. I've set up scanners before. And this one bugger wasn't about to work. So I figured I'd hop over to google and search around and see if I was missing something. After browsing around a few sites that provided me with no information whatsoever, I stumbled upon Linux-USB. Duh, the source, right? Probably should have looked there in the first place, but hey, I never claimed to be a genius. My heart sunk when I found the supported scanners list and found my cheapy HP 3300C, conveniently listed with an icon so obvious that even a moron could clearly see that his quest to scan in cels was going to be fruitless: The Red X of failure.

The site helpfully provides a little more info link with a discussion board that I figured I would read to see if perhaps work was underway. And this is where I made a shocking discovery. And if I was HP, I sure wouldn't be taking the abuse that so many people are dishing out. The discussion starts off fine. An email address to someone at HP to ask for specs. A comment about how HP should make their specs available since they are supposedly an Open Source company (even having gone so far as hiring Bruce Perens to do ... something. Well nobody is really sure what, but he does something for Linux at HP ;). The next comment was a user who returned his scanner. Another user glad that he found this page before he bought the scanner. Lucky bastard. I wish I had.

But this is where things turned sour. The messages turn from disappointed to just plain mean. HP employees are called bastards and assholes. Threats are made. They are referred to as lots of words that I would happily use in friendly conversation with a friend, but never post in a public forum read by strangers.

And thats where all of this is leading. Intermixed with this embarassing dialogue is legitimite stuff. One guy wants to write a driver. Others provide links to various support channels at HP where perhaps a request for the scanner specs might not come up empty.

But somehow I can't get the bad taste out of my mouth. I see it on Slashdot all the time, and I find it really disheartening. Its an attitude that many people have: The "You Owe Me" attitude. Certainly I'm not exempt from this attitude. If I pay for a device, dammit I want specs. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to call a company with thousands of employees "cockmasters" just because they don't want to support my operating system.

I've met a lot of people who've written a lot of open source code. Window Managers. Ethernet Drivers. X extensions. GUI Toolkits. And these people are almost always totally cool. Sure they have attitudes. They are pompous. They are proud of their work. And in most cases they deserve many more accolades then they get. But I think most of them wouldn't say something like "HP seems to be still smeeling Gates' asshole rather than coming out of it. Beware Hp, Linux is going strong and unless you recognize that and properly support your hardware under Linux, you are going to Piss in your pants one day." I'm embarassed to run the same OS as 'Casablanca' who provided Linux-USB with that choice quote. No doubt that Linux is going strong. But what does that have to do with the offensive statement that leads off? How does saying that advance anything?

This is at its worst in public forums. Mailing lists are often much more civil. I'm not saying always because every mailing list with more then a few people explodes into flames every now and then. But at least then you're talking about a private forum. There's just something about a public web board that brings the worst out in some people. Its unfortunate that because you don't sign your name, some people interpret that as a license to be a jerk.

I'm not saying drop the attitude. Linux is a superior operating system to the one that HP usually supports. But that attitude is a double edged sword. If welded childishly, it will hurt us all. I don't care if 'Casablanca' chops off his own leg, but damn it sucks that his attitude might hurt the dozens of other posters on that forum who all paid cash money for their HP 3300C scanner and may never see it supported.

The reality is that HP sells scanners and printers almost entirely to users of that "Other" OS. Writing a driver probably won't make them much money: especially not for a scanner that is going for less then a hundred bucks. Of course, releasing their specs costs them next to nothing, and for a company that has been working hard to embrace Open Source and Linux, it certainly is something cool that they could do.

In conclusion, I had to boot up windows to use my scanner. The Diablo 2 Expansion is the only other software on the partition. I scanned in a half dozens cels, rebooted, and did the rest of my work in The GIMP. It took me much much longer to get things done then I would have liked and it definitely detracts from the usability of the scanner. The scans were fine, but the overhead it required forces me not to recommend the scanner to anyone. But if HP would release the specs to this thing, I know there would be a lot of happy people besides me. HP makes quality hardware and the price is definitely right on this one.

If they don't, I have a hard time blaming them. I know that the bitchers and moaners that are so loud in random forums throughout the net (and yes, even here on Slashdot. Maybe especially here) are actually a minority. The vast majority of Linux Developers and Users are sane and calm. Sure, we have that inner glow of satisfaction that comes from knowing we have uptimes of 200+ days and we only reboot to try out newer devel kernels. But we don't feel the need to call people names because we don't get our way. I admit that I've stepped over the line more times then I should, but I try to be cool about it. And I hope others do to.

Soapbox mode: off.

&& writes was the first to tell us that The Gimp has now reached v1.2.0. Congratulations to all the hackers that made it happen. I couldn't live without my gimp! (God I love saying that)

The Gimp, frankly, rocks. But like most pieces of complex software, it's a bit of a...problem to learn how to use. Enter chromatic's review of Carey Bunk's Grokking The Gimp. If you want to know more about image manipulation, check it out. Grokking the GIMP author Carey Bunks pages 342 publisher New Riders rating 8.2 reviewer chromatic ISBN 0-7357-0924-6 summary Principles of image manipulation explained in the context of the GIMP.

The Scoop One of the standout userland programs to come from Free Software development, the GIMP offers a powerful range of features for digital imagery. Unfortunately, not everyone's had the privilege of (or inclination for) sitting through 'Principles of Color' or similar classes. Not to fear, the author has - - and he's willing to share his knowledge.

Compounding the complexity challenge, the GIMP has its own way of doing things. Half of the work of editing an image seems to be making a good selection. Again, the author has theory to divulge and tips to present to improve your technique. Though only a few tools and methods are discussed, they are fundamental to all advanced operations. (Note that the book covers the as-yet unreleased 1.2 GIMP -- the 1.1.x betas have been quite usable for months.)

What's to Like? This attractive book is well-printed, with plenty of full-color images and good figures. It's also well-designed and the layout is excellent. The decision to add a few common problems and frequently asked questions at the end of most chapters is commendable. It's not designed as a reference book, but the index and table of contents are detailed enough to locate specific actions later.

Banks assumes little prior knowledge of the GIMP. Chapter one is a brief tutorial of the program's features and functions. More experienced users can skip this, though I found a couple of timesaving tidbits. The same may be said of chapter two, on layers, though the material quickly moves beyond what an average user might discover in an afternoon. The selections and masks chapters form the real foundation for most GIMP work -- how do you choose parts of your image to edit? A little theory, a few tools, and some examples later, you'll have multiple answers for that question.

The next two chapters pile on the theory. First, Bunks discusses the theory of color -- running the gamut (so to speak) from additive to subtractive, RGB, HSV, CMYK, and grayscale. There's plenty of math (more than one would need), and the explanations here are quite detailed. It's fundamental knowledge, and most readers can probably pick up just enough to get by. Don't skip ahead and miss the very useful touchup discussions in chapter 6. (The author considers them worth the price of the book -- given the results on some of my images, I'm inclined to agree.)

The final three chapters each cover different tasks one might wish to accomplish. Bunks explores various techniques while creating projects. Screenshots and commentary accompany step-by-step instructions. It's in these sections that the full power of the GIMP comes into play. Rounding things out are a handy keyboard shortcut guide and a detailed index.

What's to Consider? Things do get pretty heady in the theory section. Non-programmers (and people who haven't already worked with professional imaging) will have some slow going trying to absorb the math and colorspace information. It's not essential to use the GIMP, but knowing the differences between the modes and the limitations of each is necessary for most serious work.

Readers looking for a guide to the dozens of distributed plugins will be disappointed -- this book is more interested in the general techniques used in nearly every non-simple project. Finally, the book seems a little short. It's 342 pages, but the information is good enough that perhaps more subjects can be covered in a future edition. (That's a good thing.)

The Summary Nearly anyone will benefit from the deep magic behind the menu operations. Move past cheesy banners and poorly-executed lasso operations. Double the size and power of your toolbox, and get to know the GIMP. (If you're not convinced, browse the book online!)

Or buy it at ThinkGeek.

Table of Contents

1. GIMP Basics
2. Review of Layers
3. Selections
4. Masks
5. Colorspaces and Blending Modes
6. Touchup and Enhancement
7. Compositing
8. Rendering Techniques
9. Web-Centric GIMP

1. GIMP Resources
2. Keyboard Shortcuts

Another voiciferous Anonymous Coward asks: "Is there a such thing as a loss-less JPEG rotator? I want to rotate 90 degrees w/o the decompress recompress cycle which chews up jpegs. Supposedly there are some for windows, but I haven't found any for Linux. The GIMP opens and resaves and from what I can tell so does ImageMagik."

Spencer Kimball, best known for co-creating that little app known as The Gimp, wrote in to let us know what he's doing these days. He, along with four other XCF members have created OnlinePhotoLab.com. Using the Gimp as a backend, it provides 50 megs of storage, and the ability to perform many normal gimp functions on images. Also provides an easy facility for sharing your images. Most interesting is the hardware. Spencer says "We have ten Linux boxes, each a dual processor running four GIMP engines, for a total of 40 engines. We estimate we can process about a million image requests per day. The cost of hardware was less than $25k." Here's hoping it can withstand the Slashdot Effect: it worked great last night ;)

Carey Bunks wrote to tell us that last week, "a new GIMP site, Gimp-Savvy.com, has come online and is making available the complete text of the recently released book Grokking the GIMP . This new GIMP resource, written by me and published by New Riders, has been released under an Open Publication License. The goals of Gimp-Savvy.com are to provide high-level educational and practical resources for the GIMP, and to promote its skillful and knowledgeable use."

It's good to see high-quality books on open source software, and this one is well-organized, thorough and profusely illustrated. It happens to make a great online GIMP tutorial as well.

Note: as you might expect, many of the Web pages that make up the book are image-heavy (as you might expect), so if you're on a slow connection, browse the detailed, outline-format table of contents carefully.

And if you do have the bandwidth, you can slurp down the entire book to browse later. When's the last time you read a book that came as an HTML tarball?

Quite a number of people have been writing to us about Dave Whitinger's column that ran on LinuxToday and was sent over here as well. Dave's contention is the browser compatibility is a crucial battle for the success of Linux - and things don't look so good. Click below to read the column, and contribute your thoughts.

By Dave Whitinger, dave@wmkt.com (Temporary E-Mail account)

Linux is quickly becoming the operating system of the future, thanks in part to the advanced type of development that we refer to as Free Software, or Open Source, as well as the rock-solid features that are present in Linux. It is the ultimate server platform.

Linux is also enjoying success as a desktop workstation. My wife, Trish, makes the perfect example of the typical desktop user.

When we became married in August of 1996, she was a complete computer illiterate, having never even used a Windows or Unix machine. I presented her with a choice:

1. I will give her a Windows computer, but will offer nothing in the way of technical support or training assistance.
2. I will give her a Linux box, and will give her complete technical support and training assistance.

A New Hope

Not knowing the difference anyway, she chose the latter, and found herself extremely happy with a rock-solid desktop.

She enjoys her Red Hat Linux 6.1 workstation. Coupled with the K Desktop Environment and various applications that I have installed for her, she's ready to go. She has her TkRat E-Mail program, Netscape Navigator, notepad text editor, licq, games, the Gimp, and a variety of other nice applications, all accessed via a friendly interface.

Finding friends in mailing lists and on-line web-based chat groups, she was happy as a clam. She would fire up her Netscape Navigator and hit any web site she wanted, and was constantly bragging to her friends about this great computer operating system that she had the privilege of using.

The Empire Strikes Back

...Until the day that Netscape Navigator, her web browser, her window to the outside world, the major purpose for using the computer, simply disappeared from her desktop while she was browsing.

Trish turned to me, confusion spread across her face, and opined, "Dave, my Netscape has simply vanished from my screen. Perhaps you have telneted in and did a kill -9 on it?"

Dave responds, "Absolutely not! Why would I do that? Let's examine the problem more closely, that the answer to this perplexing issue will reveal itself."

Upon further investigation, it turns out that Netscape apparantly did not "like" the Java code that was being incorporated into one of the websites that Trish frequents. My solution: Turn off Java.

A very important and critical issue is realized here. At this point, Trish's computer is not as powerful as all of her friends' Windows computers. If they can access certain Java-enabled pages that she cannot, she is being left out, all because she chose to use Linux.

Fade to 2 or 3 weeks later.

Trish: "Dave, this website is telling me that I cannot use their services."

Dave: "What's the URL?"

Examining the website, it turns out that it is using some special kind of plugin that is only available for Windows or Macintosh platforms. I explained to Trish that she simply will not be able to access the services on this website, until they decide to make this plugin available for Linux. A short and polite note to the webmaster later, there was nothing we could do, and the issue was closed, and Trish's computer became even less valuable to her.

Fade to 2 or 3 more weeks later.

Trish: "Dave, this website is telling me that I am using an unsupported web browser, and cannot view the pages within."

Dave: "Okay, this is starting to make me angry. The web was initially created as a completely open environment where multimedia can be viewed, regardless of your platform. It's a platform independant medium, yet here are people making platform dependant websites."

Trish: "That's great that you feel that way, but I just want to access this coupon website! All my friends say they are getting great deals, and I'm missing out! Oh, and now my netscape just froze again! Argh, (killall -9 netscape ; rm ~/.netscape/lock) again. I want a Windows computer like all my friends have."

I hung my head in shame, realizing that if she is going to be able to take full advantage of the web, she will need a Windows computer. Trish, who has used nothing but Linux for over 3 years, and is completely happy with her computer, now feels the need to switch to Windows so that she can get the same web-browsing features as her friends.

Does this sound like a big deal to you, gentle reader? If it does, than I have accomplished my mission. If it does not, read on:

In 1994, I hated Netscape Communications, Inc. The way they were embracing and extending the HTML standards was starting to become very disturbing for me. The more websites that I found that said that it uses Netscape Extensions, the more angry I became.

Then Netscape released Navigator for Linux, and everybody loved them again. They were our saviour, completing the picture of a perfect desktop for Linux users. We were all Linux users, browsing any site we wished, enjoying the satisfaction of having a great web browser for our desktop.

Then Microsoft created Internet Explorer. Then Microsoft won the "Browser War". Then webmasters began using some of the "advanced" features of Internet Explorer, shutting out Netscape users.

Problem yet? Still not convinced? Okay, let's fast forward 1 year:

Microsoft owns 99% of the web browser market share, and they control the HTTP protocol. They start adding a huge variety of features to their "Internet Information Server", their competitor to Apache, to offer advanced features to Internet Explorer clients. At this point, sites being served by Apache become useless. Then Linux becomes obsolete as a web server platform. Then Microsoft wins the war, and we're right back to square one, and proprietary technology wins again.

Return of the Jedi

On April 1st, 1998, Netscape Communications, Inc. made one final redeeming move. They released the source code to Netscape Navigator, freeing it to the Free Software community to do with as they chose.

1 and a half years later, this browser is still nowhere near completion. There is a band of rebels working feverishly on the code, trying to bring it to a usable state as quickly as possible. Plagued with problems and set-backs, Mozilla continues forward, currently at "Milestone 10". Will we see a completely usable web browser for Linux in time to save us from seeing a new monopoly for Microsoft be created?

Attention: This is the battle that could cost us the war. If we come together and push all of our might toward a Free Web Browser for Linux, we have a good chance of winning this battle. If we fail, we will lose the war. This is the issue that Microsoft wants us to overlook.

I am making a personal committment to get involved with the Mozilla project. It is the project with the most potential to become this Free Web Browser that we so desperately need. Netscape is NOT going to save us this time. Netscape has failed us, and it's time to take matters into our own hands.

If we fail, we will lose the war.

Add that to your .signature:

If we fail, we will lose the war.

And repeat it every morning to yourself:

If we fail, we will lose the war.

When you are looking over Mozilla, finding items that could use your contribution, remember:

If we fail, we will lose the war.

The truth of the matter, friends and esteemed members of the community:

If we fail, we will lose the war.

palpatine writes "Linux.com has an interview with Manish Singh (yosh), the chief maintainer of the Gimp project. " Yosh mentions that they are in a feature freeze now (and here is the list of frozen features) for Gimp v1.2. Tons of cool stuff to lust after.

In the last week I have read (literally) over 1000 online attacks aimed at an alleged attempt by Unisys to make everyone who uses GIFs on a Web site pay $5000 in royalties. A story posted here on Slashdot Sunday helped fan those flames. But nowhere, in any of the many "Unisys is evil" posts I read, here or elsewhere, did I see a single official statement from anyone at Unisys, so I decided to call Unisys and get their take on the matter. (More below)

The Real Unisys GIF Deal
According to Mark Starr, General Patent and Technology Counsel for Unisys, if the GIFs on your Web site were created with software that is licensed by Unisys, you are fine. Nobody at Unisys is going to try to get $5000 or even $0.50 out of you. Period.

And, Starr added, virtually all of the major, heavily-used, commercial graphics programs from what he calls "reputable companies" (e.g. Adobe, Corel, JASC, Macromedia, Microsoft, AOL/Netscape, etc.) are licensed by Unisys. He said that even the "included" software packaged with most scanners and digital cameras is licensed. Use it, create all the GIFs you want with it, post those GIFs to your heart's content, and relax. Unisys will not come after you.

But...
And it's a big but, too. If you use GIF graphics created with certain freeware programs, and your chosen program uses LZW compression to create GIFs without a license to use it, you may be violating a Unisys patent. How would Unisys know what software you used to create a particular GIF? Starr says they'll ask you, and, he says, "...assuming we made an inquiry, we would expect a Web site operator to tell us what he used." I did not ask, "What if someone creates a GIF using licensed software that came with a scanner, then modifies that image with the GIMP or another freeware program?" I really didn't want to know the answer to this question; all of my GIFs have passed through at least one Unisys-licensed program at some point, so if I am asked I can honestly say that they were created (at least partially) in accordance with the Unisys patent.

I specifically asked Starr about the GIMP. He had not heard of it, but said, "We give hundreds of licenses away to non-commercial, non-profit entities. We do not give our technology away to for-profit entities." The rub here is that if you use the GIMP - which was created by a non-profit group - to create GIF graphics for a non-commercial site, you're probably fine, but if you use it to create GIF graphics for a Web site that is intended to make a profit, Unisys wants a cut of the action. How much? E-mail them and ask. And if you want to write a program that incorporates LZW compression technology in its code base, you'd better ask, because you'll be in trouble if you don't - and you may be in trouble even if you do, according to these folks, but that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish we won't get into today.

Do not expect Unisys to release LZW technology under the GPL anytime soon. Unisys is not a free software booster. Starr said, "We do not use freeware in our own products as a matter of policy. It could violate someone's license, it could be trash. Anyone who uses freeware does so at their own risk."

Starr also said, "We have thought of a [GIF patent] giveway, but it's not in the best interests of our shareholders..." He does not believe the potential PR value involved in giving LZW technology away is worth much, either. He said, "We've [given free licenses to] hundreds of non-profit organizations, schools, and governments, but we haven't gotten much good publicity over it."

And, according to Starr, there are plenty of good reasons a company like Unisys should not allow its patented technology to be used for free, even in free software. He specifically described two common situations:

1) A company creates a $200,000 CAD package - then gives away a "free plug-in" that includes LZW. Should not Unisys charge a royalty under these circumstances? Isn't the freeness of the plug-in package that includes LZW somewhat of a sham, possibly made that way specifically to avoid paying royalties to Unisys?

2) A company that sells hardware of some sort (Starr mentioned "Japanese digital camera manufacturers" here) but includes accompanying software "free." Again, to Unisys this freeness is strictly bogus, and they want royalties on the "free" software that comes with the non-free hardware if that software uses LZW technology in any way.

That's Their Story and They're Sticking to It
The stack of e-mails Unisys has gotten this week from Slashdot readers and other free software boosters who disagree with the Unisys GIF patent policy hasn't done much to change Starr's mind. He and Unisys PR dude Oliver Picher both described the e-mail tirades with words like vile, vulgar, obscene, disgusting, and distasteful. Apparently, the dregs of the Open Source Community came out of the woodwork in full force, and, as usual, pissed off the people whose minds they might have had a chance to change if they had exercised a little courtesy.

Those of you who sent those e-mails don't need to apologize. I already did, profusely, on your behalf. And the person to whom I apologized most humbly was not Starr, but Cheryl, the low-paid secretary who had to read all the filth.

Cheryl does not set Unisys policy, and she does not own stock in the company, but she is the person whose job it is to read all the abusive e-mail sent to Unisys via the e-mail address on the relevant corporate Web page. All you do when you send her obscenities is make her - and by extension, her boss, Mark Starr - think that Open Source advocates are crackpots and idiots. But I am going to cut this potential tirade short, because Rob Malda has already given you a similar lecture, Eric S. Raymond has given it, Bruce Perens has given it, and Richard M. Stallman has given it so many times that he probably mumbles it in his sleep.

The Bottom Line
Unisys is unlikely to change its corporate position regarding free software in the near future (especially if they get attacked instead of asked politely) and they have the patent on LZW-compressed GIFs and you don't, so if you're going to use their technology you must play by their rules until or unless software patent laws in the U.S. get a radical makeover. Meanwhile, if you want to use LZW-compressed GIFs on your Intranet or public Web site, and you created them with a Unisys-licensed piece of software, no one from Unisys is going to come around and demand money from you.

And if you plan to create - or have already created - free image-processing software that uses Unisys-patented LZW technology, you might want to ask the company, very politely, for a giveaway license that would cover non-commercial use of your product. I suspect that Mr. Starr (who has final judgement in such matters) might just give you one if you approach him correctly and you manage to convince him that you aren't trying to burn Unisys with some sort of bogus giveaway deal that is really meant to make you or your program's users rich while denying Unisys shareholders the licensing fees that - like it or not - they are legally entitled to collect if you try to earn a profit from your use of their intellectual property.

The return of SEGV brings with it a review of Michael J. Hammel's The Artists' Guide to the GIMP. This is an interesting book for those artists and wanna-be artists using the GIMP, and wanting to learn more what you/they can do-click below for more information. The Artists' Guide to the GIMP author Michael J. Hammel pages 340 publisher S rating 8/10 reviewer SEGV ISBN summary A well-done user manual for the GIMP. Walks the reader through common GIMP tasks with practical advice and suggestions.

User Manual

The GIMP has been hailed as an open source alternative to such commercial image manipulation "killer apps" as Adobe Photoshop. However, there are obvious areas where the GIMP falls short. For example, it does not come with a commercial quality printed user manual.

Now GIMP aficionados have an option: Michael Hammel has written what amounts to a user manual for the GIMP. It is "meant to be a reference guide for non-technical users -- people who want to use the GIMP to do real work."

Topic Coverage

The book covers release 1.0 of the GNU Image Manipulation Program. The first half covers GIMP features and functionality. The second half contains many examples of filters and script-fu effects applied to images.

The book does not cover GIMP development, particularly plug-ins and scripting. However, the author does mention that these are potential topics for revised editions.

The introductory chapters cover such basics as graphics formats, colour models, resolution, and so forth. The author also briefly covers SANE, Ghostscript, the GFig plug-in, the gimprc file, and fonts.

Explanatory Style

The author adopts a relatively informal explanatory style which I found easy and enjoyable to read, while not detracting from the topic at hand. It is clear that the author understands what he is writing about, and also how to communicate with the casual reader.

He offers tips throughout the text, from effective settings for specific dialogs to how to scan three-dimensional objects. He's also at ease enough to criticize aspects of the application where deserved, such as inconsistent dialogs or awkward interfaces. This honesty reassures the reader that he's on her side.

The author points out where GIMP and Photoshop are alike and differ, which will be a boon to readers with experience with the latter.

Tutorial Approach

Many of the chapters conclude with a tutorial summarizing the material covered: 16 pages in all. They are easy enough to follow and serve to reinforce the concepts learned.

Frequently the author employs a "how-to" approach when describing a feature. For example, he uses an image of a skyline to demonstrate how guides can help select buildings. He enumerates the steps you might take to correct a scanned image.

Book and CD-ROM

The book is printed on glossy paper in full colour. This is important, as many of the images illustrate subtle graphic effects. For example, an image may be a slightly brightened or blurred version of another.

I'm not sure how well the book would stand up to everyday use. My copy developed a cracked spine, so it's possible to lose a page or two if the reader is not careful.

The CD-ROM contains the software, although I'm sure most will acquire later versions from the net. It also includes the book's tutorials, images, and more images from the author's collection, as well as documentation, resources, and links.

There are plenty of tables of shortcuts and modifiers, but strangely no quick reference card (an obvious added value).

Drawbacks

The book as one or two minor drawbacks. Generally, there are a couple of places where the text could have been improved.

Some extended explanations (e.g., crop tool) are very confusing. The reader is hard put to make progress without the application running in front of her. Admittedly, part of the blame for this lies with the application itself.

The author references some Linux Journal covers, yet does not provide their images for illustration.

Summary

I've seen industry award-winning commercial user manuals, and this book is in that league. If you're looking for a simple user manual for the GIMP, this is it.

If you're looking for a more advanced manual or reference, you might be a little bit disappointed. There are still stones left un-turned.

If you're looking for an art book, again you might be disappointed. It isn't a text on graphic design, although there are tips throughout.

It's a user manual for the GIMP.

You can pick it up at Amazon.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface
1. Introduction
2. GIMP Basics
3. GIMP Windows
4. The Toolbox
5. Selections
6. Layers and Channels
7. Colors and Text
8. Drawing and Painting
9. Using Transforms
10. Gradients
11. Scanning, Printing, and Print Media
Part 2: Filters and Script-Fu Effects
12. Artistic
13. Blur
14. Colors
15. Distorts
16. Edge-Detect and Combine
17. Enhance
18. Glass Effects
19. Light Effects
20. Map and Miscellaneous
21. Noise
22. Render
23. Script-Fu
Glossary
Appendix A: The gimprc File
Appendix B: Keyboard Shortcuts
Appendix C: Adding Fonts to Your System
Index
About the CD-ROM

weink writes "Debian is in the process of getting their logo in order. The vote will take place in about a week. After the logo contest at GIMP, here are the options. " I am so happy that I have my Debian box running again. apt is so good for lazy sysadmins. Oh, and I vote for Raul's design. Super smooth.

Eric Harlow, author of Developing Linux Applications with GTK+ and GDK has written a book well worth reading. A good first round of things, click below to find out how to write more of applications/widgets/whatever. Thanks to A.M. Kuchling for the review. Developing Linux Applications with GTK+ and GDK author Eric Harlow pages publisher New Riders rating 6 reviewer A.M. Kuchling ISBN summary A reasonably good first book on GTK+, though it's not likely to become the definitive one unless the second edition makes some minor improvements. REVIEW: Developing Linux Applications with GTK+ and GDK Eric Harlow New Riders

Nutshell
Review: A reasonably good first book on GTK+, though it's not likely to become the definitive one unless the second edition makes some minor improvements.
Rating: 6/10 A.M. Kuchling The Scenario-->

The GTK+ GUI toolkit was developed for the GIMP, and was subsequently adopted by both the current Mozilla codebase and the GNOME project. I believe this is the first formally published documentation for the GTK+ toolkit. (It is not a generic guide to application development under Linux, even though the spine of the book reads only "Developing Linux Applications".)

The book provides good coverage of the fundamentals that you need to know: the basic data structures provided by GLIB; the overviews of buttons, menus, dialog boxes, and all the other major widgets; and four sample applications -- a calculator, text editor, Minesweeper game, molecule viewer, and a simple Defender game. Harlow's development of each topic is understandable and helpful, making the book a vast improvement over struggling through the toolkit's source code, and well worth purchasing if you want to program with GTK+.

My one major problem with the book is, surprisingly, wishing there were more screenshots in it. The opposite is true of most computer books, because a screenshot and a paragraph of text can be made to fill a whole page, and helps immensely in padding out a book to make it look bulky and comprehensive. This book goes to the opposite extreme; there's no screenshot of the calculator application at all, and only one or two screenshots for each of the other sample programs.

Another flaw is that the book seems to contain every single line of code for the sample applications. As a general rule, in any given C program, 90% of the code is uninteresting; only 10% contains the heart of the program, and the rest is all scaffolding. I would have preferred to see a dissection of the central portions of each program in pseudocode and small chunks of C code, relying on the Web to get the complete distribution, instead of having to flip past page after monospaced page of program listings. So What's In It For Me?-->

This book rates 6 out of 10 points, because it covers GTK+ quite well, and provides you with the basic information you'll need to hack with it. It would get 7 out of 10 points if there were fewer pages of code and more illustrative screenshots.

Purchase this book over at Computer Literacy.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to GTK+
2. GLIB
3. Developing GUI Applications
4. Basic Widgets
5. Menus, Toolbars, and Tooltips
6. More Widgets: Frames, Text, Dialog Boxes, File Selection Dialog Box, Progress Bar
7. Writing a Calculator Application
8. Developing a Simple Word Processor
9. Minesweeper
10. Graphics Drawing Kit
11. Styles, Colors, Fonts, Cursors, and Referencing
12. Molecule Viewer Using GDK
13. Sprites and Animation
14. Trees, Clists, and Tabs
15. Creating Your Own Widgets

President John F. Kennedy wrote in to say that Propaganda 5 is out. Another outstanding series of background images. RPoet wrote in to say that The Gimp had a 1.1.3 developer release come out. Bill the Cat sent us another strange eBay Auction Item. Les VanBrunt sent me a picture from LWCE that should be destroyed. netweasel sent us a link to Jesus Action Figures! Collect All 12 Apostles! Jesus! With Super Healing Grip! I bet Boba Fett would win. Bowie J. Poag wrote in to say that CopyLeft now has Themes.org shirts for sale. unitron sent us a link to Phone Spell which converts ph#s to words. I found some cute ones for mine- wish my area code didn't have a 1 in it. Lastly, another reminder to go to the User Account page and edit your preferences. Slashdot article filtering should be working. More coming tomorrow, assuming this stuff works as advertised.

Joy of joys! Debian is going to try to get a new logo. They are doing this in conjunction with the latest Gimp Contest. My cheesy entry is on my gimp page *grin*. Anyway, there are more details on the pages linked above- and the winner gets a Debian CDs for their platform of choice (no fair asking for for something that runs on your C64)

Couple of web sites worth mentioning: gman wrote in to plug LinuxHardware.net, a new "driverbase" that aims to make it easily to find drivers. Gman says it already has over 250 submissions. Need more help? Sure we all do, well Patrick wrote in to plug his new site, dotfiles.com. Guess what it's for? The first 2 tries don't count. And Some fun bits to keep you entertained for the evening, Evelyn Mitchell sent us a link where you can read the tummy.com 2.2 pool results and find how who predicted when 2.2 would be released. A similiar pool is upcoming for 2.4 CaseyB sent us an entertaining rumor from BeDope that Be will reincarnate the BeBox- building it out of Legos. Don't I wish. And finally, Hans sent us another funny one ls.themes.org where you can theme ls. I can't decide if its a parody or not- but it made my day.

Sven Neumann writes "A first release of the developers-series 1.1.x has appeared on ftp.gimp.org and should soon be available on a mirror near you. What a nice xmas present. " Just a reminder that the Gimp has adopted a version naming convention similiar to the Linux Kernel, so since this is an odd numbered release, it is for developers and risk takers, and not graphic designers with deadlines. And FWIW I'm not planning on announcing devel gimp releases unless they have significant changes in them in the future. There are other sites that already do a fantastic job announcing software.

Sven Neumann writes "A first release of the developers-series 1.1.x has appeared on ftp.gimp.org and should soon be available on a mirror near you. What a nice xmas present. " Just a reminder that the Gimp has adopted a version naming convention similiar to the Linux Kernel, so since this is an odd numbered release, it is for developers and risk takers, and not graphic designers with deadlines. And FWIW I'm not planning on announcing devel gimp releases unless they have significant changes in them in the future. There are other sites that already do a fantastic job announcing software.

Toast writes "According to CNET, Linux (and some other alternative OSes) are the #1 trend for 1998. They cite the Gimp and StarOffice as two reasons why alternative OSes are gaining popularity. According to CNET, 'Alternative OS-makers no longer need rely on their "Microsoft sucks, and we're not Microsoft" appeal. This year, the sentiment is "Our OSes stand on their own merits." And this year, they can back it up.' " Ya know, a year ago nobody in the media mentioned Linux. Sure, Slashdot was easier to run because there were fewer articles to pick from, but now, Linux is recognized everywhere. Very cool.

The almighty Yosh asked me to announce the return of the monthly GIMP contest. The site returns under the management of tc, and the new topic is a photo collage. Go forth and GIMP!

The almighty Yosh asked me to announce the return of the monthly GIMP contest. The site returns under the management of tc, and the new topic is a photo collage. Go forth and GIMP!

The almighty Yosh asked me to announce the return of the monthly GIMP contest. The site returns under the management of tc, and the new topic is a photo collage. Go forth and GIMP!

The release of The GIMP v1.0.1 has recently occured. Updated plugins, bug fixes, some new odds and ends. And as if that isn't enough software to clutter up the poor modem to my house, we also have Linux 2.1.123 available as well. Download. Compile. Reboot. Repeat.

Patrick Aland sent this story from MSNBC about Linux. The story itself is a well-written one, talking about some of things we already know: about how wonderful Linux is and how all it needs is one great application and nothing will stop it. I dunno, I think that the Gimp does a good job, but what do I know?

Shawn T. Amundson has sent us a feature on Solaris and the Desktop. Most of his arguments are cut and paste translatable to Unix as a whole, but in Sun's case, he's quite right. If they want to grow, they need a new desktop. Anyway, hit the link below to see what he has to say about making that happen. The following is a feature written by Slashdot Reader Shawn T. Amundson

Solaris and the Desktop by Shawn T. Amundson

Commercially, Sun has been successful at providing a large portion of high-end UNIX servers. They have also done will in workstation market until the recent bombardment by Microsoft. Solaris is an excellent operating system, manageable, and scalable.

It is easy to determine that what is used as a workstation can and will be used as a server. Microsoft knows this very well, and so they don't need to compete even with Sun's servers. They take away the perception that UNIX is the best solution by providing a "better" desktop solution. Windows NT users will think for themselves that NT is also a good server, even if it is not. People like to use what they know, what they can visualize.

If you don't know UNIX, it is hard to visualize that it is better. Visualizing a command prompt makes UNIX seems like it is old, stale, and outdated. We all know all these things are a perception problem, but managers do not necessarily have our insight.

Therefore, it is important that Solaris and the other UNIX vendors fight back in the workstation and very low-priced market or they risk being squeezed off as Windows NT becomes more capable to do previously UNIX tasks. NT doesn't need to do it better, or even do it good - if it can do it, there is competition. Managers have a tendancy to get technical things incorrect, and so the real best solution tends to fade into invisibility.

Without direct competition from Sun, it's market will eventually shrivel up to only the top most servers. And Compaq and Dell are not just going to sit around there either. Of course they rely on Intel coming out with a more scalable processor, but that is under way.

Java is a good step toward this defense against Windows. Java's purpose is clearly to get more applications to run on Sun Workstations, and to bombard Microsoft by a new technique: trivialize the OS. But this doesn't go far enough.

When users log into an NT workstation, the company has usually bought up extras like office and outlook. The user has a feeling thus that these are standard, even if they are not. Sun needs to get competative products *shipped with the OS and already on the desktop*. This is key to success against Microsoft.

CDE is not a good desktop to compete with Microsoft. To compete you have to be better, a lot better. MacOS better. A merger between Sun and Apple would destroy Microsoft. That's not likely to happen, but the reasons why it would are important.

Sun needs a revolutionary desktop with a lot of application shipped with the operating system. Revolutionary doesn't mean difficult to come up with. Any good desktop with the stability of UNIX is near a revolution. Add to that UNIX and X-Window's ability to have multiple people use the machine and that *is* revolutionary, at least to most people. The missing component is a good desktop.

Projects like KDE or GNOME should be mentioned now, because they don't fit the need of what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about has to be fresh (KDE and GNOME are a mish mash of other things like Windows and CDE, at least so far). It has to be designed not from the bottom, but from the top with the consistancy of the MacOS or Windows. That might mean coming up with a new GUI toolkit or morphing an existing one to be unique but good.

Sun's logo: "The Network is the Computer". Think about that. That logo is everything UNIX, and describes how we use UNIX. How about the thought that "The Desktop shows the Network". That's the next step, and one that Microsoft knows about - thus the integration of IE with Windows. It isn't entirely to snuff out Netscape.

Keep in mind that what benefits a UNIX vendor can very directly benefit Linux, and the opposite is true as well. With that in mind, I think Sun should develop the next thing in desktops (or buy it), and work with the free software community to get it on Linux and installed in everyones homes. (Release it under a BSD license, or something similar.) Sun needs to use Linux as a marketing tool; Linux can penetrate the home almost as easy as Windows. All it takes is a lot of advocates, something Linux has in quantity.

Shawn T. Amundson has sent us a feature on Solaris and the Desktop. Most of his arguments are cut and paste translatable to Unix as a whole, but in Sun's case, he's quite right. If they want to grow, they need a new desktop. Anyway, hit the link below to see what he has to say about making that happen. The following is a feature written by Slashdot Reader Shawn T. Amundson

Solaris and the Desktop by Shawn T. Amundson

Commercially, Sun has been successful at providing a large portion of high-end UNIX servers. They have also done will in workstation market until the recent bombardment by Microsoft. Solaris is an excellent operating system, manageable, and scalable.

It is easy to determine that what is used as a workstation can and will be used as a server. Microsoft knows this very well, and so they don't need to compete even with Sun's servers. They take away the perception that UNIX is the best solution by providing a "better" desktop solution. Windows NT users will think for themselves that NT is also a good server, even if it is not. People like to use what they know, what they can visualize.

If you don't know UNIX, it is hard to visualize that it is better. Visualizing a command prompt makes UNIX seems like it is old, stale, and outdated. We all know all these things are a perception problem, but managers do not necessarily have our insight.

Therefore, it is important that Solaris and the other UNIX vendors fight back in the workstation and very low-priced market or they risk being squeezed off as Windows NT becomes more capable to do previously UNIX tasks. NT doesn't need to do it better, or even do it good - if it can do it, there is competition. Managers have a tendancy to get technical things incorrect, and so the real best solution tends to fade into invisibility.

Without direct competition from Sun, it's market will eventually shrivel up to only the top most servers. And Compaq and Dell are not just going to sit around there either. Of course they rely on Intel coming out with a more scalable processor, but that is under way.

Java is a good step toward this defense against Windows. Java's purpose is clearly to get more applications to run on Sun Workstations, and to bombard Microsoft by a new technique: trivialize the OS. But this doesn't go far enough.

When users log into an NT workstation, the company has usually bought up extras like office and outlook. The user has a feeling thus that these are standard, even if they are not. Sun needs to get competative products *shipped with the OS and already on the desktop*. This is key to success against Microsoft.

CDE is not a good desktop to compete with Microsoft. To compete you have to be better, a lot better. MacOS better. A merger between Sun and Apple would destroy Microsoft. That's not likely to happen, but the reasons why it would are important.

Sun needs a revolutionary desktop with a lot of application shipped with the operating system. Revolutionary doesn't mean difficult to come up with. Any good desktop with the stability of UNIX is near a revolution. Add to that UNIX and X-Window's ability to have multiple people use the machine and that *is* revolutionary, at least to most people. The missing component is a good desktop.

Projects like KDE or GNOME should be mentioned now, because they don't fit the need of what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about has to be fresh (KDE and GNOME are a mish mash of other things like Windows and CDE, at least so far). It has to be designed not from the bottom, but from the top with the consistancy of the MacOS or Windows. That might mean coming up with a new GUI toolkit or morphing an existing one to be unique but good.

Sun's logo: "The Network is the Computer". Think about that. That logo is everything UNIX, and describes how we use UNIX. How about the thought that "The Desktop shows the Network". That's the next step, and one that Microsoft knows about - thus the integration of IE with Windows. It isn't entirely to snuff out Netscape.

Keep in mind that what benefits a UNIX vendor can very directly benefit Linux, and the opposite is true as well. With that in mind, I think Sun should develop the next thing in desktops (or buy it), and work with the free software community to get it on Linux and installed in everyones homes. (Release it under a BSD license, or something similar.) Sun needs to use Linux as a marketing tool; Linux can penetrate the home almost as easy as Windows. All it takes is a lot of advocates, something Linux has in quantity.

Shawn T. Amundson has sent us a feature on Solaris and the Desktop. Most of his arguments are cut and paste translatable to Unix as a whole, but in Sun's case, he's quite right. If they want to grow, they need a new desktop. Anyway, hit the link below to see what he has to say about making that happen. The following is a feature written by Slashdot Reader Shawn T. Amundson

Solaris and the Desktop by Shawn T. Amundson

Commercially, Sun has been successful at providing a large portion of high-end UNIX servers. They have also done will in workstation market until the recent bombardment by Microsoft. Solaris is an excellent operating system, manageable, and scalable.

It is easy to determine that what is used as a workstation can and will be used as a server. Microsoft knows this very well, and so they don't need to compete even with Sun's servers. They take away the perception that UNIX is the best solution by providing a "better" desktop solution. Windows NT users will think for themselves that NT is also a good server, even if it is not. People like to use what they know, what they can visualize.

If you don't know UNIX, it is hard to visualize that it is better. Visualizing a command prompt makes UNIX seems like it is old, stale, and outdated. We all know all these things are a perception problem, but managers do not necessarily have our insight.

Therefore, it is important that Solaris and the other UNIX vendors fight back in the workstation and very low-priced market or they risk being squeezed off as Windows NT becomes more capable to do previously UNIX tasks. NT doesn't need to do it better, or even do it good - if it can do it, there is competition. Managers have a tendancy to get technical things incorrect, and so the real best solution tends to fade into invisibility.

Without direct competition from Sun, it's market will eventually shrivel up to only the top most servers. And Compaq and Dell are not just going to sit around there either. Of course they rely on Intel coming out with a more scalable processor, but that is under way.

Java is a good step toward this defense against Windows. Java's purpose is clearly to get more applications to run on Sun Workstations, and to bombard Microsoft by a new technique: trivialize the OS. But this doesn't go far enough.

When users log into an NT workstation, the company has usually bought up extras like office and outlook. The user has a feeling thus that these are standard, even if they are not. Sun needs to get competative products *shipped with the OS and already on the desktop*. This is key to success against Microsoft.

CDE is not a good desktop to compete with Microsoft. To compete you have to be better, a lot better. MacOS better. A merger between Sun and Apple would destroy Microsoft. That's not likely to happen, but the reasons why it would are important.

Sun needs a revolutionary desktop with a lot of application shipped with the operating system. Revolutionary doesn't mean difficult to come up with. Any good desktop with the stability of UNIX is near a revolution. Add to that UNIX and X-Window's ability to have multiple people use the machine and that *is* revolutionary, at least to most people. The missing component is a good desktop.

Projects like KDE or GNOME should be mentioned now, because they don't fit the need of what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about has to be fresh (KDE and GNOME are a mish mash of other things like Windows and CDE, at least so far). It has to be designed not from the bottom, but from the top with the consistancy of the MacOS or Windows. That might mean coming up with a new GUI toolkit or morphing an existing one to be unique but good.

Sun's logo: "The Network is the Computer". Think about that. That logo is everything UNIX, and describes how we use UNIX. How about the thought that "The Desktop shows the Network". That's the next step, and one that Microsoft knows about - thus the integration of IE with Windows. It isn't entirely to snuff out Netscape.

Keep in mind that what benefits a UNIX vendor can very directly benefit Linux, and the opposite is true as well. With that in mind, I think Sun should develop the next thing in desktops (or buy it), and work with the free software community to get it on Linux and installed in everyones homes. (Release it under a BSD license, or something similar.) Sun needs to use Linux as a marketing tool; Linux can penetrate the home almost as easy as Windows. All it takes is a lot of advocates, something Linux has in quantity.

David Ishee has written a piece on the Fear of X.0 where he talks about (surprise!) release versions of software. It's worth a gander... The following is a feature written by Slashdot Reader David Ishee

I'd like to offer an observation of the software industry and the often stated fears of a new version of software.

The idea jumped at me after reading the Linux Weekly News site and seeing a reference to an Info World article called: "Analysts at GigaWorld say skip NT 5.0"

To quote from the article:

"Analysts here at GigaWorld IT Forum '98 advised attendees to forgo Windows NT 5.0 and wait for a later release.

With 30 million lines of code, 85 percent of which is new, Windows NT 5.0 is likely to be buggy, said Rob Enderle, director of desktop and mobile technology at Giga Information Group, last week.

"It's too complex and too new," Enderle said. "Even inside Microsoft, there's a realization that the product won't ramp to volume until NT 6.0 because of the fear of initial releases."

Enderle advised waiting until service pack 3, or NT 5.5, which could be out a year or so after NT 5.0."

I have seen this type of attitude expressed in the press and by people on the net before about various software projects.

One project that stands out in glaring contrast is the GIMP. The GIMP just went 1.0 and if I'm correct, many people were eagerly awaiting the release and confident of its stability and usefulness.

Why is that?

The main difference in the development of Windows NT and the development of GIMP is the open source philosophy of "release early, release often" as expressed in the Cathedral and Bazaar paper that has gotten so much attention recently.

I've used GIMP 0.54, and various 0.99.X releases (even submitted a couple of bug reports) and I could see and follow the development, the improvements, and the increases in stability as many others probably did as well. When version 1.0 hit the net, there was no fear of the X.0 release. I knew it was going to be great because I had participated in the development by trying it out at the various stages. How many times was a new release posted to Slashdot with the hope that "this was the last version before 1.0?" Why did these last few releases occur? Obviously there was a few things found that had to be ironed out before it was declared ready for prime time.

Contrast this approach with new releases of Windows, or any proprietary software. You don't get to participate in the same manner. Sure, there are beta releases that come out (like with the Win95 pre-releases), but they are spaced much wider apart compared to GIMP releases, and not nearly as many releases occur. More importantly, you never get to test out the last version before X.0 where the software is released once more to make sure it can be declared done. You may see a few betas, but the changes to the last beta and version X.0 is likely to be significant.

There are probably many reasons that I'm not aware of about why people like Microsoft only push a few betas out the door (such as the pressure from marketing to get it out in time for the Christmas shopping season, or whatever).

The effect achieved by Microsoft (and probably others too) is that version X.0 is really just another beta release that we have to pay for and hope the next version (or service pack) gets the bugs fixed while not introducing others (I remember keeping up with the service packs for OS/2 before my Linux conversion).

The confidence the user gets from the "release early, release often" method is powerful. It makes me more confident in the 2.2 kernel knowing that we are past version 2.1.100+ in the development branch even though I haven't tried any development kernels.

The "release early" part of the equation can easily be used by proprietary vendors, but can "release often" as experienced in the open source world be duplicated also? I'm not sure. The common experience seems to support the theory that the large complex software systems being built today like desktop environments, operating systems, and the like are so hard to test thoroughly by a finite number of developers in one company that the additional help from potential users on the net and around the world are needed to test every permutation of the software's functionality and fix the bugs to be able to "release often".

So far, it appears that only the open source world has embraced the "release early, release often" philosophy (or created it?) and been able to implement it well enough to capitalize on the confidence to be gained in version X.0 by active participation by the prospective users.

We have all heard the skepticism that companies can't make money (or at least LOTS of money) from open source methods. User confidence in the quality of your software provides you with a powerful marketing tool. One tried and true way of getting that confidence is to use open source software. Everything seems to add up to the conclusion that open source software is an advantage, not a disadvantage. Then again, maybe I'm just a nutcase and these two examples are not representative. While no methodology is likely to be a "once size fits all", maybe open source is at least a "this size fits better". You decide.

Luis Casillas wrote in to tell us that there is a manual now available for The Gimp at the official FTP site. Good software needs good docs. I'm glad to see it.

frank drewett wrote in to warn us that A new GIMP has hit the wire. Download, compile, and pray 1.0 is coming soon *grin*.

Whizard was the first to inform us that Gimp 0.99.29 is at the usual places. Push that onto the stack of things to download this afternoon while I'm still at the office. I'm itchin' for 1.0- Can we have 'Merge Down' and usable paths please? *grin*.

Adrian Likins sent us a link to an article where artists complain about "geek" culture. It's an interesting piece about about the geek "free" mentality. My favorite quote is "Geeks wanting creative property for free ... they are embarrassingly out of line and uneducated in the creative arts. Who are these cultural illiterates kidding?"

I always thought Artists were the idealistic ones, but now we see geeks are. Any web site worth visiting probably has images worth stealing. Many people take my stuff without asking (at least as many ask permission) and all I ask is a link back. Its not all that different from an Art Gallary (they show a bunch of paintings with the artists name next to them on a tiny card) If an artist aims to communicate, then this certainly is advancing their goal. If an artist aims for fame and fortune, well, they probably should think about a different career.

Scott Millen (my coworker, and sparring partner in the OS war :) sent me a link to Mac OS Rumors, which is posting a Press Release from Al Guerra Enterprises, Inc, which apparently is stepping up to the plate to support MkLinux. They sell a service plan for $99 and up. This is a really interesting idea: the new Mac hardware is impressive, and a lot of MacOS users may be interested in giving Linux a shot. Apps like The Gimp certainly are a good incentive to try out a new OS.

Ed Boraas writes "The GNOME Logo Contest being held by the kind folks at gimp.org is now open again, and ready for voting. Go there and check out the great submissions and cast your vote for the best!" This contest showed a notable improvement from the previous ones. The results have reached a point where they look created by an artist, and not by the Gimp. Thats really hard to do right. I know which logo I'm voting for.

Ed Boraas writes "The GNOME Logo Contest being held by the kind folks at gimp.org is now open again, and ready for voting. Go there and check out the great submissions and cast your vote for the best!" This contest showed a notable improvement from the previous ones. The results have reached a point where they look created by an artist, and not by the Gimp. Thats really hard to do right. I know which logo I'm voting for.

Vincent Janelle wrote in to warn everyone that Gimp 0.99.25 has hit the net. 12 hours after I downloaded and compiled 0.99.24. Ever have one of those days? With GTK teetering perilously on One Point Oh, Gimp is going to hit 1.0 soon too, so find and patch those bugs people! Update half hour later and 26 hit the wire. Hope nobody bothered with 25.

Vincent Janelle wrote in to warn everyone that Gimp 0.99.25 has hit the net. 12 hours after I downloaded and compiled 0.99.24. Ever have one of those days? With GTK teetering perilously on One Point Oh, Gimp is going to hit 1.0 soon too, so find and patch those bugs people! Update half hour later and 26 hit the wire. Hope nobody bothered with 25.

Vincent Janelle wrote in to tell us that GTK 0.99.10 out, and about the same time we discover that Gimp 0.99.24 is out as well. One point oh is just around the corner now, I can sense it. After the feature freeze is over can I have paths please? *grin*

Get ready to rumble as the tidal wave continues. First off, Andrew Mobbs sent us an important list of must-read RFCs. RFC2321, RFC2322, RFC2323, RFC2324, RFC2325. He also reminds everyone that ds.internic.net is no longer the canonical RFC archive. Luis Villa sent us Important news on the Java API. Gernot asked us to check This directory on ftp.gimp.org. Lastly, james sent us this one and Raj Dutt sent us this one.

Mishari Muqbil wrote in to tell us that we now have version 0.99.23 of The Gimp to deal with. Cross your fingers and hope that this is the last break before 1.0. Download it, and hammer the heck out of it and stomp those last bugs guys!

tile wrote in to tell us that GTK 0.99.8 is up, and when I went to check it out, I found that Gimp 0.99.22 is out as well. Both programs are balancing perlilously on the edge of falling into the chasm of One Point Oh. Let's download these buggers, and find every last bug and make sure that 1.01 is a long ways off.

Not only is GTK.org up and running, but GTK 0.99.7 is out as well- apparently this one compiles again *grin*. On the bad side, this is all happening instead of 1.0. Hopefully this won't delay The Gimp's 1.0 release that we're all anxiously counting down for. Thanks to tile for taking a minute to let us know.

I haven't been keeping up on Gimp news lately apparently because Garrett wrote in to tell us that Gimp News is running a caption that says 10 Days Until 1.0! Very cool. Also worth noting is WilberWorks has some content on their web page now.

Aspirin The Fox writes "As of July '98 a major training company, Learning Tree International, will be offering a course entitled 'Introduction to Linux'. Another cool sign of Linux's increasing mainstreamness. " You can read more here.

Stefan Ottosson wrote in to tell us that the latest Gimp Contest is over and we have a winner, viktor-0 is the new gzilla spinner, and dietmar-3 was the runner up. Voting should start soon for the gnome logo- there are some really sharp ones in there.