[Gimp-user] Wacom Tablet For Flower Photographer and Software Developer

[Robert L Cochran]

  I've been following the discussion of Wacom tablets with great 
interest. My wife has a birthday coming up. She has a collection of over 
125,000 flower photographs which she mostly likes to view on a Windows 
XP computer with two widescreen monitors. I am thinking of presenting 
her with a Wacom tablet since she loves photography so much. Would this 
make sense for her? Her drawing skills are better than mine but she has 
no formal graphics education.

Would a Wacom also be of use to someone like me, I'm just a software 
developer, but I was wondering if I could connect a Wacom to a TV and 
draw diagrams right on the Wacom which could then show on TV. Or am I 
off base there? I too have a small photo collection which I like to 
organize and edit heavily, mostly for practical how-to type wiki posts.

Bob Cochran
Maryland, USA

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Re: [Gimp-user] Fwd: Re: Completely off every imaginable topic;)

[Robert L Cochran]

I fix computers for a large number of people and a lot of these are 
interested in using Photoshop or lighter-weight versions of the same, 
but they want all the hard work of "fixing up" a photo to be done for 
them instantly in software and they do not want a learning curve with 
this. They want a magic solution. Let the computer and the software do 
the heavy lifting is their motto.

With some of these people -- the ones who are more willing to learn new 
stuff -- I suggest they use Gimp. I download the Windows version for 
them and install it and make sure that they have Gimp help, too. I also 
recommend they buy Akkana Peck's book. I think she wrote the book in a 
very helpful spirit using a format, and with examples, that are exactly 
right for many of my customers.

But I never suggest that these same customers join this mailing list. If 
I do, most or all of them will instantly be burned at stake for the 
crime of their posting styles. These are often older retired people who 
are very sensitive and innocent. And they will not be able to accept 
being lectured for their posting styles. The customer may then associate 
their treatment on this list with me as a service provider, and they 
might just think of me as showing poor manners. I do not want to take 
that risk, because I sell my services. I go to these people's homes, and 
often meet their family members, and they are just ordinary people on 
limited budgets who want to use their computers and a concept that a 
computer can think for them.

I notice that the commercial product forums don't have this issue very 
much -- other list users don't flame based on posting styles, and the 
list moderators try hard to get the question being asked answered. They 
really do welcome new users and beginners. They really want use of their 
product to expand. A user forum for a commercial, paid product is often 
a much more pleasant experience for the user for that reason.

This very thing is one of the biggest roadblocks I see with adoption of 
open source software. Given the choice of a user forum for a paid 
product that treats the customer with respect and courtesy, and a 
similar forum for open source software that often severely punishes 
participation if you don't conform to a set of stylistic conventions, 
where do you think the customer is going to head? That's right, the paid 
product and the courtesy and respect.

In the same way, suppose a customer is given the choice of a polite, 
respectful, smiling me as a technician and a different technician who 
makes often rude and biting remarks and requires conformity to a 
particular style. Which technician is likely to make more money? Me. The 
other tech can stay rude, and without business, too.

Increasing your product adoption is all about providing top service and 
support to go with it -- and with a smile.

Bob


On 01/18/2010 09:53 AM, Robert L Cochran wrote:
> I top post.
>
> I don't think it helps to beat on people for their posting styles. It
> helps simply to respond to the issue under discussion.
>
> Bob
>
>
> On 01/17/2010 11:13 PM, Patrick Horgan wrote:
>
>> Have you ever noticed that people's progress in using, supporting,
>> writing bug reports for, and sometimes even developing for, writing
>> documentation for, or translating for open source software is paralleled
>> by their progress from top-posting to bottom posting to interlinear
>> posting, to intelligent elision with interlinear posting?  I see it on
>> the gimp, and on other lists all the time.
>>
>> Beginners don't know what top posting is.  They don't understand that
>> there's no business to bitch too about open source software.  They don't
>> understand how few people keep open software going.  They're completely
>> ignorant about our culture.  They don't know how happy people will be if
>> they write intelligent bugs, or offer to make documentation better.
>> They don't understand that the people providing support for them are
>> potentially them.
>>
>> I guess the point is that it's easy to be annoyed by an ignorant
>> beginner, (definitely speaking from experience), and they make
>> themselves even more annoying by top posting when responding to
>> messages, not knowing that it looks like they are deliberately making it
>> harder to follow the conversation.  If we kindly educate them instead of
>> attacking them, (and when appropriate, privately, instead of
>> embarrassing them publicly on the list), we might over time convert some
>> of them to useful human beings.
>>
>> I really like the way Sven invites people to contribute.  For people not
>> used to open source it's startling, and sometimes his invitation to be
>> part 

[Gimp-user] Fwd: Re: Completely off every imaginable topic;)

[Robert L Cochran]

I top post.

I don't think it helps to beat on people for their posting styles. It 
helps simply to respond to the issue under discussion.

Bob


On 01/17/2010 11:13 PM, Patrick Horgan wrote:
> Have you ever noticed that people's progress in using, supporting,
> writing bug reports for, and sometimes even developing for, writing
> documentation for, or translating for open source software is paralleled
> by their progress from top-posting to bottom posting to interlinear
> posting, to intelligent elision with interlinear posting?  I see it on
> the gimp, and on other lists all the time.
>
> Beginners don't know what top posting is.  They don't understand that
> there's no business to bitch too about open source software.  They don't
> understand how few people keep open software going.  They're completely
> ignorant about our culture.  They don't know how happy people will be if
> they write intelligent bugs, or offer to make documentation better.
> They don't understand that the people providing support for them are
> potentially them.
>
> I guess the point is that it's easy to be annoyed by an ignorant
> beginner, (definitely speaking from experience), and they make
> themselves even more annoying by top posting when responding to
> messages, not knowing that it looks like they are deliberately making it
> harder to follow the conversation.  If we kindly educate them instead of
> attacking them, (and when appropriate, privately, instead of
> embarrassing them publicly on the list), we might over time convert some
> of them to useful human beings.
>
> I really like the way Sven invites people to contribute.  For people not
> used to open source it's startling, and sometimes his invitation to be
> part of the solution is mistaken for an unwillingness to help.  They've
> got this strange sense of learned helplessness.  Even though few of
> those invited will ever contribute, some do, and some of those who don't
> contribute right away, have been started thinking about it by Sven and
> eventually will contribute.  On the lilypond list, it's Graham the
> curmudgeon that keeps inviting people.  It works.
>
> If instead we attack them, we make of ourselves boors, and drive away
> people that might have been of great help eventually.  Some of those
> driven away are lurkers not even involved in the communication.  I know
> that some have more patience than others, but if you can't stand
> beginners acting like beginners, it's only necessary to ignore them.
> One of my favorite proverbs is, "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace,
> is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of
> understanding", or the more modern proverb "Better to be thought a fool
> than to open your mouth and remove all doubt";)
>
> People that are going to insist on being idiots go away pretty quickly
> if ignored.  I know people that have been around for years already know
> all this, but there might be one or two on this list who need a gentle
> reminder.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Patrick
>
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>
>
>
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[Gimp-user] Fwd: Re: GIMP vs Photoshop

[Robert L Cochran]

My suggestion is to use Gimp for what you need, and work with a higher 
end camera that produces raw format images. Get Akkana Peck's book and 
start with that. Post emails to this list when you need some help. It 
also doesn't hurt to have a website where you can post your photos to.

I take technical photos (as a not very good amateur!) and edit them in 
the Gimp. I feel no need for Photoshop. The choice of either software 
title is really a personal preference.

I myself have not seen a photographer using film in quite some time. 
They all seem to be digital now. For example, the photographer for my 
daughter's wedding is a professional and he used a Nikon digital.

I fix computers for many different people, but don't have a professional 
photographer among them. Many of my users are interested in working with 
digital photos and they want "light" versions of Photoshop. But here is 
what they are really looking for: they want software that acts as a 
"magic bullet" that modifies a photo with little or no effort on their 
parts, and yields a pleasing look. I have yet to see anyone with an 
instructional book on image manipulation software of any kind. My 
customers are allergic to learning curves and will give up very quickly 
if presented with a task that requires them to learn anything. They want 
the software and computer to do it all for them with no hands.

Given limits on your available time, and so on, the 30 day "free" 
Photoshop trial may not be enough to evaluate it properly. I know from 
watching others play with different software titles that they can take 3 
months to decide something is or is not doing what they want.

As another person said, if you are interested in having a specific 
feature implemented in Gimp why not offer feedback to the developers and 
request it? That will give you a better product and it is still free.

Bob



On 01/12/2010 11:51 AM, Nuno Miguel dos Santos Baeta wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I don't understand anything about digital image manipulation but I've
> got to learn as, last year, I finally bought a digital camera, after
> making photos with film for many years, mainly B&W which I developed
> and printed myself.  To learn digital image manipulation I need a
> program such as GIMP and Photoshop.
>
> Another important piece of information about me: I've been using Un*x
> since 1986.  These days I use OpenBSD (server) and
> Debian/Ubuntu/gNewSense (desktop/laptop) and I don't want to change OS
> - if I have to, I'll be changing to Mac OS X, no Microsoft Windows.
>
> According to my 'research', Photoshop is the 'de facto' standard for
> image manipulation, quite expensive and exists for Mac OS X or
> Microsoft Windows.  GIMP is free, its license is GPL, and exists for
> GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows.
>
> My 'research' included asking on a mailing list about photography
> (photos made with a specific brand of cameras) about technical
> differences between these two programs.  The answers I got can be
> summarized to:
>
> * Photoshop: Must be used for 'serious' work.
>
> * GIMP: May be used for 'serious' work if that means showing a photo
> on a web page.  Otherwise forget it because:
>
>** Is has no color management (I don't know what this is);
>** Just 8 bit/channel;
>** No CMYK.
>
> Even though answers on this list may be biased, I have to ear them.
> So, are this statements true?
>
> TIA!
>
> PS - I have also been advised to use a program such as Aperture (Mac
> OS X only) or Lightroom (Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows), as that is
> what a photographer really needs.  Because of this advise, I guess
> I'll be asking some questions on the digiKam and F-Spot mailing lists,
> as presume these make the same job as Aperture or Lightroom.
>
>
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Re: [Gimp-user] Modifying an image...

[Robert L Cochran]

The book "Beginning GIMP" by Akkana Peck is really good and always close 
by me when I'm using Gimp...which is pretty often these days. Akkana 
shows a lot of examples in her book and explains them in a way that is 
easy to understand. You can quickly be using the same techniques and 
will feel like a pro. For example I wanted to show someone the 
measurements of a large mug I was using to lather my shaving soap in. I 
photographed the mug and added lines and text layers by the lines to 
show approximate diameter and a few other measurements. It took about 10 
minutes and the result was an instantly usable photo for a potter. I 
learned how to do it by checking Akkana's book. It has a reasonably good 
index and you can quickly find the subject of interest.

Bob

Sent on a rainy, humid, Maryland morning. I'm located on roughly the 
middle of the U. S. east coast. Our main export seems to be politics.



On 08/27/2009 09:28 PM, zed wrote:
> I am very new to The Gimp and, at the moment, floundering :-(
>
> I want to have some CDs printed with the LinuxMINT logo but the person
> printing the CDs for me wants the image modified to remove the 'hole' in the
> centre.
>
> I've copied part of the image in an ellipse to cover the 'hole' but am left
> with the edge of the circle, and have no idea how to blend this with the
> rest of the image.
>
> Any tips would be very welcome but not "too" technical, please.
>
> Zed
>
>
>
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Re: [Gimp-user] Help again, same old story.

[Robert L Cochran]

Cropping an image is a really simple operation. In her recent book 
"Beginning GIMP From Novice to Professional Second Edition", Akkana Peck 
discusses how to do it on pp 35-38. I highly recommend you get the book, 
it is worth every penny.

If you prefer to scale an image, look on pp 21.

Bob



On 05/03/2009 10:44 PM, Gene Heskett wrote:
> Greetings;
>
> Latest gimp-2.6 from fedora installed, and once again I am attempting to crop
> an image and cannot.  Why is it so difficult to select a rectangular area of
> the image, like the whole top 1/3 or the whole bottom 1/3, and just plain crop
> it just as if I'd taken the paper cutters to the print.  But while I can make
> the 'canvas' white, I cannot actually cut that part of the canvas and toss it
> in /dev/null, which should be indicated by the checkerboard pattern replacing
> it.
>
> Really guys, I fail to see why such an operation requires I post to the list
> each and every time I want to do it.  So how DO it go about getting rid of,
> totally and forever if I haven't saved a backup copy, those parts of an image
> that should never ever see the light of day, or worse yet, waste bandwidth
> when it has to be uploaded at a hair over 50k/sec on my adsl circuit.  Just
> turning it white doesn't cut it, I want it gone.
>
> This, most simple of a photo manipulation has been hidden behind portable menu
> mumbo jumbo for a decade now, is it not possible to fix it for almost main
> menu access, just by drawing a box around what you want, invert the selection
> and anything outside the box is gone forever, or at least till its undone.
>
> Thanks guys, but please fix this most simple of photo editing function there
> is.
>
> You can see my problem at
> 
>
> Just as soon as I reboot to a kernel with working networking that is.
>
>
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Re: [Gimp-user] Before I file a bug report

[Robert L Cochran]

I think the issue is closely related to what language locale your system 
is set to and what font you are using at that moment. I tried the


[turn on the num lock key]
[hold down the right-side Alt key]
type the key code I'm interested in on the right side numeric keypad, 
with the zero first

[release the Alt key]

And this often gives me the special character I'm interested in, such as 
Alt+0163 for the British pound sterling symbol:


£

I also tried to get this symbol on Windows XP Professional quickly:

é

But I used the wrong keycode of Alt+0133 which in Windows gives me three 
periods (...) and on Fedora 11 Beta, apparently a nonprinting character:




So, I might get unexpected characters or no characters if there is no 
equivalent to the 'U. S. English' locale I'm using on Windows XP 
Professional. And I might not get the characters I want if the font I'm 
using doesn't have them.


I think it would be extremely useful to research the Microsoft 
Knowledgebase to learn more details about how the locale currently in 
use affects insertion of special characters, and how to temporarily 
switch locales, or how to grab a character that belongs to a locale not 
being used.


And no, I'm not at all an expert on language or locales. I'm simply 
suggesting that researching more in the topic will give helpful answers.


There is also a unicode character reference somewhere out there on the 
web that I've used now and then.


Bob




On 04/27/2009 11:06 AM, DJ wrote:?

Hi,

NS> Jernej Simonc(ic( wrote:

GTK+ has it's own method of inputting Unicode codepoints - press
Ctrl+Shift+U, then type the hex code. It would be nice if it 
supported the

system way of Unicode hex input, too though.



It appears to be a limitation/non-feature of GTK and Windows. I doubt
they are preventing it, they just aren't passing the key sequence onto
the application/Gimp.

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=537643

snippet:
"GTK+ uses Ctrl-Alt-Shirt-u for Unicode hex insert. Windows users are 
used to

Alt decimal insert. GTK+ (at least on Windows) should support both."






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