glabels: Ready For Prime Time

Joe Barr writes "NewsForge is running a review of glabels. It's still in beta status, but it's ready for prime time now. It knows hundreds of predefined label formats and allows you to design your own templates for custom work. Barcodes, images, just about anything but MP3 tracks can be printed on them. glabels is destined to become one of the most popular native apps for Linux." If you need harder-core barcode support, the excellent kbarcode would probably make a good complement. (NewsForge and Slashdot are both part of OSDN.)

Comments

Linux_Rulzorz.lbl

[Psymunn]

Yeah, i can proclaim my OS suppiriority by... printing up a label.
And, what's more, the label can mention just how unfeasable it would have been to have it's self created had it's creator not been using everyones favorite GTK based desktop
Or... you know... maybe the whole linux labeling community is a dead idea before it starts...

"beta" or "ready"?

[mi]

It's still in beta status, but it's ready for prime time

Sorry, you can't have it both ways. Nope.

Re:Destined to be the most popular native app?

[underpar]

You've never had a mindlessly boring desk job have you? It may not be cool, but it may be very popular with those assigned the most tedious tasks in the office. That's normally a girl, by the way. Anyway, it is a dull story. It still makes me happy, though.

Very useful to the right people

[strider3700]

I see lots of jokes about barcodes software and how ground breaking it is being made here. It's obvious that the people making those jokes don't work in retail software.
I write Point of sale and inventory management software and good easy handling of barcodes is a huge thing with customers, even if it is relatively boring software wise. Programs like this may seem like nothing but they will go a long way towards linux acceptance in key non server locations.

RFID may be the new hotness but barcodes still rule the retail world.

What I need is a *reader*

[no_such_user]

Printing labels is the easy part. Reading them is another story. In a perfect world, I'd be able to use a run-of-the-mill webcam to read barcodes put in front of it in any direction. While there are a few commercial apps which do this, they're expensive and (after playing with a couple demos) not all that accurate.

If anyone has any leads on a good OSS (or even just cheap -- this is for personal use) solution, please post!

Re:Wimps...

[name773]

links is a bit different from lynx
i, for one, was quite glad to find out about the former, it's a good browser

Re:Sorry, I'm still working on those labels

[ShortSpecialBus]

Your homepage hits probably jumped up by a factor of 1000 of everybody clicking it hoping for pictures of you...

You don't get it.

[iantri]

For those who are saying "Bah! What good is this? Just use OpenOffice," you don't get it.

OpenOffice (nor Corel Wordperfect or MS Word) are acceptable substitues for a real label making program -- have many Slashdotters ever bothered to try and print out CD labels or covers/trays to pre-scored stock (like the Avery media available)? Futzing around with templates in Word Processors sucks -- they are designed for linear text. Publishing apps are a little better, but there is nothing like the right tool for the job.

A program like Avery DesignPro or Surething CD Labeller for Windows makes producing such things very quick and painless.. it is good that this sort of thing is now available under Linux.

The reason (well, one of them at least), that Linux lacks as a desktop is BECAUSE of the lack of useful tools like this; answers like "You don't really need a (label-making program, greeting card maker, etc.), just use OOo" or "You don't need a WYSIWYG HTML editor, just use vi" completely miss the point.

BTW, I, for one, could really use a good greeting card program, like Sierra Print Artist. Does any such thing exist?

non-hacker speaks! Was:Underpromise, Overdeliver

[thomasj]

That made me wonder about the maturity of linux as a desktop platform, even more than before.

I'd just assume there would be a way to print envelopes/labels from linux. Even if it was an OO.o template, or some such. It's a fairly simple task.

Sad. Wake me when they come up with the calculator or cardfile clones.

I always wonder what this kind of people wants with Linux. Linux is what we, the hackers, makes it; what is in Linux is what comes from programming nice things.

So, what you say is: "Please make Linux nice as I like it! I will go to sleep and you do the hacking. Once in a while I will wake up, whine and curse, and then go back to sleep!"

Linux is not free as in "comes out of a tap". Some people make these things. You don't pay them money, but you should pay some homage and respect; or please go away!

(As a child I was a cap scout. When we went on field camps we made all sorts of cool things out of wood and stones and some rope. We were all thrilled by the things we could do ourselves. But there was this guy who basically missed his TV and his comfort zone. He didn't help and he critized everything. I guess he didn't get why all the jokes were on him. He should never have been a scout anyway...)