it's got a good beat & you can dance to it...

[nishtya]

I'll give it a 10, Dick.

Not music but my first shots at graphics in linux. Over on KDE-look.org. Let me know what you think. Should I go back to Photoshop and Windows :?
http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=15796
http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=15782
http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=15774

[j.drake]

Wow! That's some beautiful work!!

jd

[nishtya]

awww, thanks. I am just getting used to the Gimp. Really miss my Photoshop and axicons. Have missed messing about with graphics all these linux months. I installed some svg programs and will try them out. Would really like to make a baghira theme but I lost baghira when I upgraded to KDE 3.3. Am waiting patiently for a new package :wink:

[champagnemojo]

Those are nice nish...me like. :D Especially the first one...it's mesmerizing. ;)

[Cuddles]

Really nice Nishtya, but I don't think I can part with my penguins -=- "penguin_1280_trans.png" - with a nice red transparent gradiant, set like a mars sun lit sky, behind it...

I have to agree with Champagnemojo, the first one IS mesmerizing...

I agree with you though Nishtya, Gimp is fun, but I always prefered M$ Photo Editor for photo-retouching, cropping, text removal, etc... I'm "just" getting used to "how to get around" in Gimp, and a lot of things are different...

Nice thing, when I was running Knoppix v3.3, Office never could open my M$ Word Docs right, I would get missing clip-art, frames, etc... With Knoppix v3.4, and loading OpenOffice.Org's Word, it now opens those .Doc files perfectly, clip-art, attachments, and all, even from a email attachment - Nice, really nice... Appears the "missing" stuff from Linux coming from Windows, gap, is getting smaller and smaller, every day :D

Ms. Cuddles

[nishtya]

Yeah, Cuddles - PhotoEditor is nice little app - I don't know why it isn't loaded by default with M$office, I always have to put it on work puters that have had just a standard build, if I can't have Photoshop. But I find Irfanview can do just about everything PhotoEditor can nowadays (take into account the loss of gif transparency because of the legal thingie).

The Gimp does fall a bit short of Adobe's Photoshop, though. I found the older Gimp (the one I got with my first Knoppix) easier to learn on. I know a lot of people have griped about how the menu system changed. And Gimp has some filters but nothing compared to what Photoshop has and I haven't looked into any actions yet. It took me years to get where I am with Photoshop (which aint far :wink: ) so starting all over with Gimp is not appealing. But I will do it. Still wish there was something like Illustrator for the Linuxers... Karbon isn't ready yet with eps and likely never will be. Am checking out Sketch and some other things like Sodipodi.

Oh, if you think my abstract is mesmerizing, check it out on my old home page (warning: not updated in ages and has crashed moz in linux once or twice) http://home.earthlink.net/~smqdash

I originally used it for my active desktop with a java applet

[j.drake]

So, have you posted the active one for download also?

jd

[nishtya]

The active one is something for active desktop (ye olde windows) eons ago. I really did run that on my old compaq with just itsy bitsy amount of ram. I loved to watch the water ripple :D really nothing to post for linux folks. I don't think there are any desktop environments that can do that (but I might be wrong, if so somebody let me know how to do it :? please) It is hard to believe winders can do something linux can't :shock: M$ added active desktop to IE and therefore Windows Explorer (gee, they aren't related, nopers LMAO) then took it out in 98SE and/or IE5 LOL (but there was a way to get it back in which I think I described on the page) then I think it came out again.

I loved it. Ripple ripple ripple. Soothing 8)

[j.drake]

No, I was asking about the Windows version.

Because I don't administer my workplace environment, because my family has no knowledge/enthusiasm/patience for linux, and because there are some apps I must run in Windows, I actually spend in excess of 90% of my time in Windows. So, I was wondering if your Windows version was posted for download, because I like it :D When I tried right-clicking the graphic in Windows, I just get sent to a link-seller.

jd

[nishtya]

jd, the guy that created the lake applet I guess a few years back he got out of the biz maybe and the link that was coded into the applet as default went to his old site. I haven't updated that page in ages though the newer applets on my others I did change the click default to one of my other pages. Also did semi-protect my html code with a right-click block (that is easily gotten around by going to view source in the Internet explorer menu - some protection, huh?) more because of the sprites than the applet. I would be happy to send you a zip or tar of that actual active desktop file or give you a link to download from my ftp space. Email me so I can email it to you. I am nishtya AT earthlink DOT net. I had made a bunch of nice lake applets for active desktop, animals, landscapes and whatnots but it was my abstract I kept around the longest 8)

PS - am so sorry you have to spend that much time in w*ndows. I am the opposite. 90% in linux and the 10% I am stuck with it because of the graphics and games. And I am similarly annoyed by how the searchscum and domainslumlords have taken over everything that isn't "taken".

[j.drake]

jd, the guy that created the lake applet I guess a few years back he got out of the biz maybe and the link that was coded into the applet as default went to his old site. I haven't updated that page in ages though the newer applets on my others I did change the click default to one of my other pages. Also did semi-protect my html code with a right-click block (that is easily gotten around by going to view source in the Internet explorer menu - some protection, huh?) more because of the sprites than the applet. I would be happy to send you a zip or tar of that actual active desktop file or give you a link to download from my ftp space. Email me so I can email it to you. I am nishtya AT earthlink DOT net. I had made a bunch of nice lake applets for active desktop, animals, landscapes and whatnots but it was my abstract I kept around the longest 8)

PS - am so sorry you have to spend that much time in w*ndows. I am the opposite. 90% in linux and the 10% I am stuck with it because of the graphics and games. And I am similarly annoyed by how the searchscum and domainslumlords have taken over everything that isn't "taken".

First of all, thanks, I appreciate it. I did glance at the source for the page, but didn't examine it in detail. Second, don't feel too sorry for me about Windows. I'm here to learn and use, and I just want to feel competent in both environments. I see advantages in both - truly, and there are some times when I would much prefer to be in Windows, and vice-versa. Right now, my competency and comfort levels are higher in Windows, and if I had the option of choosing one to the exclusion of the other, right now it woud be Windows . Over time, I'm confident that the balance will switch, and I want to be well-prepared for it before it does. Thanks again.

jd

[Cuddles]

........ and if I had the option of choosing one to the exclusion of the other, right now it woud be Windows . Over time, I'm confident that the balance will switch, and I want to be well-prepared for it before it does. ..........

O M G ! - a "windows" person in our midst :!: [giggle]

J.D., I think it is all about what you want to do, and how you want to do it... If its in Windows, thats fine, and if its in Linux, then fine too. I don't think any of this is about "what side of the wall" you align yourself to, or who's side are you on, kinda thing. It's about what you want.

Maybe, someday, Linux will be able to provide, even the "die-hard" Windows user, all that they ever wanted, and in a way, they can "comfortably" use it... But, that isn't the case currently. Windows users ( generally speaking ) are not accustomed to the CLI, and the cryptic commands, or the files they need to "tinker" with. With Windows, they don't have to. Something as simple as Sound, in Windows, just plug in the card, boot, and chances are, its working, right off... In Linux, if you want to use ALSA, it gets pretty complicated, far too much from the Windows Users perspective, to accomplish the kernel compile, configurations, and then if you want to make it 5.1, or 6.1, or even 7.1 speaker setups, then you need to "tinker" with a few files to get it working, not to mention the fact of saving volume settings, and restoring them on boot, or the fact that ALSA starts at default MUTE and volumes at OFF.

For me, "total emersion" was the only way I was going to learn this beast, and thats what I did, complete, and utter, emersion... But, that isn't the same for anyone else, probably...

If anything J.D, I commend you, for sticking to your principles, to what you know, and learning "on the side", and not following the heard, or pack -=- as a lot of Windows Users have become, or become. You have an open mind, and follow it, to its decisions. I have talked to many "windows" users, and a lot, flat out reject anything that isn't "approved", or "released" from the Mighty Gates. They won't even "think" of looking at anything that doesn't have "windows" attached to it. When, if, the "shift" happens, these people are going to be the ones that line the streets, begging for someone to help them with the "new technology", because they always thought Mr. Gates was going to be beside them all there lives... Right now, he is, but that might not be the way it is in the future, who knows, but, closed minds don't go anywhere.

You got the right idea J.D, the battle lines haven't been drawn yet, both sides are open, and the individual user doesn't "need" to side, yet... But, learning both sides, can't hurt... and when the future comes, what ever it becomes, you can be sure to be ready for it, hopefully...

Heck, way back, I sided with OS/2 - look where that went ( ? ) - that, and DeskView X, hey, at least the "X" is still the same... Oh well, sometimes I wish I didn't just "ditch" my Win98, but then, I like Linux, and still don't feel that I made the wrong decision, for me, that is... Hopefully, my siding with Linux, won't end up leading to the same outcome of OS/2 and DeskView. ( ? )

My two cents,
Ms. Cuddles

[nishtya]

well, j drake, the offer still stands. Will send you a zip of the active desktop - the code differs a little from a regular webpage but if you played with html at all you should be fine. Grab the applet and the pic, and there is a newer version of the applet out there where you can change parameters for things like ripple speed :)

cuddles, I wish I could just get windows off my computers here as frankly I mostly use it as extra storage for my linux stuff now. It bothers me how I have let so much expensive software go to waste and I never play my games any more. It's funny, I really don't have anything AGAINST windows. I just couldn't go any further than 98SE and figured I would soon be up against an inability to get drivers or games for it. I didn't like how XP was being forced down my throat and how much trouble it was going to be for me with swapping hardware among boxes all the time. Oddly, I really don't hate windows it just isn't any good for me any more. I hope linux gets better for me. Would be nice to NOT have to fight after every KDE upgrade (ALSA, strangely, hasn't been a problem for me but bleeding edge KDE definitely has) for a stable system :P There's a contradiction. Would be nice to have some games like I had back in windows and just a few more professional quality graphics apps. Heck, I would pay for them...it all doesn't have to be free like beer for me :wink:

[j.drake]

I just fired off an e-mail. Thank you so much.

jd

[nishtya]

it's on the way, jd....have fun :)

[Ptarmigan]

Greetings all,

nishtya wrote :
"I really don't have anything AGAINST windows. I just couldn't go any further than 98SE and figured I would soon be up against an inability to get drivers or games for it. I didn't like how XP was being forced down my throat and how much trouble it was going to be for me with swapping hardware among boxes all the time."

Well said nishtya, I am here looking into Linux options/possibilities for exactly that hardware reason. I used to enjoy poking about in microprocessors ( hex, assembly, and C. Even DOS as well ! ) but then, a long time ago, I was given a 386 with Win3.11 already installed and so began my journey towards the Siren calls of You-Know-Who :-)
I don't hold it against him, it was all my fault !
Later I was given a WinME (already installed!) machine :-( ,,, what a performance to even get back to DOS on it !
But I persevered with a bit of programing in consol apps ( DevC++) and a tad of Windows with BorlandBuilder but I didn't really get to grips with all that Windows gobbldegook ! ( maybe it was just old age or mayby my brain cell needed a de-frag !)
I came to realise that Windows was getting in the way of my computing hobby.

Then I read about WinXP and all that re-registering m'larky if one wished to fiddle/experiment/reconstruct onesown machine, have to ask permission for major rebuilds ? I dont think so ! No thanks. Last straw ! I think that WinME will be the last of my Windows operating systems. All the new stuff out of the Microsoft camp is way beyond my modest requirements anyway :-) ( like, I do all my HTML in Notepad anyhow ! )

So, if I ever get this Knoppix thing downloaded I might need my hand holding in a nursery somewhere while I take my first steps, heheee, cos I'm thinking I may have forgotton much that I once knew, addled by windows :-)

regards,
Malcolm.

[j.drake]

So, if I ever get this Knoppix thing downloaded I might need my hand holding in a nursery somewhere while I take my first steps, heheee, cos I'm thinking I may have forgotton much that I once knew, addled by windows :-)

No kidding. Fortunately, much can be done now in KDE, and the console commands are not all that terribly different from working with DOS. I'm hoping that my old DOS batch file and macro experience will serve me well when and if I decide to take on scripts. At least many of the old DOS commands still work if preceded by the letter "m".

The main differences I see are the whole "root" concept, the drive naming conventions, the strange, strange names sometimes used in linux commands, and the absence of the Windows registry (good riddance!!!).

As to that last point, the Windows registry and all the other "stuff" created to protect the copyrights of proprietary software has instilled me with a sense of numbed helplessness over the years. Sometimes I still can't get used to the idea that if I don't like the way that a program (or OS!!) works, I can just, well, change it (OMG!! - can I really DO THAT?? Isn't that, "hacking" or "pirating", or something else equally naughty that could send me to Federal Prison for like a billion years if I don't pay my life savings, retirement, mortgage and future income of my children in a "settlement" to a huge multinational conglomerate???? Isn't it a criminal act to do something creative with your computer software - other than running lemmingware?? Ssshhh- please don't tell anyone I even had these thoughts- I feel so GUILTY!!). That programs generally won't blow up merely because I put them somewhere else. That installing a program means simply copying it to a location of my choosing, and not being slave to an installation program that removes these choices and makes secret coded entries into a mysterious "registry". That uninstalling a program means erasing it from my chosen location, without worrying that my computer will get hosed because I didn't blindly use an uninstaller, or because the uninstaller crapped. That I don't have to defrag, clean registries - that there's no such thing as Norton for linux.

You're absolutely right Ptarmigan!! I've been turned into a helpless, whimpering lap dog by modern software. It's MY COMPUTER, DAMMIT!! I'LL DO WHAT I FLIPPIN' WANT WITH IT !!!

[/rant]

OK, I feel much better now.

[Nurse's voice] It's time for another dose of your narcotic, sir. Please click the Start button and follow the instructions by clicking to accept the EULA on your screen [/Nurse's voice]



Okay. Bye everyone.

jd

[Ptarmigan]

much can be done now in KDE,That is what I hope to discover in the fullness of time, 215Mb downloaded, 2nd attempt ! :)
and the console commands are not all that terribly different from working with DOS.Yes, true, some like mkdir are pretty obvious but some of what I have been reading are distinctly unmemorizable :( I will need a pointer to a site that lists some real-meanings or mnemonics for a lot of them


The main differences I see are the whole "root" concept,yep, some strange nuances therein. I am familiar, of course, with root directory ie. root of a tree structure, but all this permissions and paswords and admin rights is going to cause me some troubles I think ( I feel it in my bones !), I dont need to ask myself for permission to use bits of my machine.


As to that last point, the Windows registry and all the other "stuff" created to protect the copyrights of proprietary software has instilled me with a sense of numbed helplessness over the years.Yes, me too. I have been using TheGimp(for Windows) for some years and went 'looking round' sites, imagine my surprise, even horror, when I found a Gimp plugins registry !argh! but it soon became clear that it was quite different :)



- can I really DO THAT?? Isn't that, "hacking" or "pirating", or something else equally naughtydont get me going on that topic ! In my day 'hacking' was poking into software to see how it was done, to learn. Now even that word has been hijacked by big business to mean pirating and criminal and etc ! grrrr.

[/rant]
OK, I feel much better now.
[color=green][Nurse's voice]
So, that's one resident in the padded cell, one in the nursery room and the rest of'em still in the lounge, will someone be along to serve breakfast soon ? :-)

Malcolm.

[nishtya]

well jd, I kind of like the registry <ducking>. I mean, take for instance an annoyance I have in my old install. I once mistyped the command kdesu konqueror as kdeus Now the dialog always brings that up when I type the k. And I have to backspace and force the right command down its throast or use the dropdown (yes, I know I can turn off autocomplete but I want it). Now in windows I would find myself the registry key where I could wipe out the mistype. In Linux, no clue. I collected vast chapters of registry hacks and such and actually didn't mind it. Now scary are the UIDs, yeppers those are scary :shock: The beast is bloated and unwieldly but the UIDs are evil :evil: But regedit.com (now winguides) those were the days :wink:

BTW - how did it go with the active desktop?

[nishtya]

oh and ptar, hang in there on the download. Been there done that on dialup. After leaving the job where I had dsl and burner at my disposal I found myself wanting kanotix's latest at the time. I spent 4th July weekend downloading on a modem. At least once a night the connection got hosed and it actually took me 3 nights and 4 days. But much to my surpise the dl was good (thanks to dlexpert in windows actually) and the checksum OK. However before I had a chance to install it there was a new version out :cry:

[j.drake]

Yes, now that your thread has been thoroughly hijacked, largely as a result of my own actions, I'm afraid, I should get back to your original point and tell you that the lake deal is very cool. I found a stock photo of Yosemite - can't remember where I found it - came with some software, but it happens to have a brook in the foreground, so I have this lake rippling out at the foot of El Capitan. Pretty cool for just a few minutes work.

One thing I did work with for a while is the link that appears when you click it. At first, it would just open in my browser, but without any navigation buttons, so I was just kind of stuck there. Then I tried the loopback you suggested, but it required two clicks - the first would freeze it, then the second would reload. Next, I tried creating my own html image from a photo, and inserting it as the link, but it didn't work that way. I've already overcome a number of obstacles on my own. Several times I was tempted to e-mail you for help, but I figured it out in most cases.

thanks

jd

[nishtya]

Yes, I have seen that the rippling will stop with one click when the link is to a local file. I think it's a feature not a bug :wink: the rippling can be distracting and I would avail myself of that now and then. Glad you're having fun, that's the point of eye candy. And the other reason I got into Linux :lol: odd I can't have my deskie but with the resource drain KDE is, probably just as well.

[j.drake]

I meant to ask you - do you have links to good basic tutorials on the GIMP? I've seen lots of episodes of Screen Savers where Bert Monroy showed how to use Photoshop, but despite numerous requests, they still don't show how to use the GIMP.

For me, I open it, and I have an array of "stuff" spread before me, with no clue on Earth what it is or how to use it. Right now, if I can't do it in MS Paint or MS Photo Editor, I just can't do it at all.

jd

[nishtya]

jd, I think I had a link around somewhere and will look for it when I get home tonight. I am sure you could find something with a googling too of course. Now I do remember seeing something in kpackage as a pretty hefty doc for the gimp. One thing you want to keep in mind when you find a tutorial is that it is for the version you have. There are a few different distributed versions and the earlier one had a signficantly different (and IMHO better) layout. Also gif transparency is removed from official version of gimp due to the legal issue with gif.

And actually if you looked into some Photoshop tutorials it would help you with the Gimp. It is very similar kind of graphic app supporting layers, filters and the way the tools are laid out. That's the heart of these higher end graphics applications, they support layers and you have multiple tools, brushes, filters - learning to work with them is sort of universal as you work your way up the graphics ladder.

[Ptarmigan]

links to good basic tutorials on the GIMPHi jd, have you visited the Gimp User Group,
http://gug.sunsite.dk/
and the tutorials section of that site ?
It isnt a comprehensive 'good basic tutorial' that you ask for ( I never found one !) but it does give a lot of good hints and examples of how to use various diverse bits of the Gimp.

hth,
I'm off for the weekend, be good, CUall later,
Malcolm,
PS., and dont go making a new version of Knoppix whilst I'm away :-) ,, 490Mb and counting,,,