Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Ad-Free GIMPShop dot Net
I just wanted to let you know that after looking at GIMPShop dot Net with my ad-blockers off for a while - and after the problems, (although they were solved) the ads were causing Opera users - I decided to remove them entirely. You shouldn't see any more ads on GIMPShop dot Net. I'll stick with just informing you about GIMPShop and other open source projects like OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, Nvu, and Firefox.I'm also in the process of making a new entry page, and possibly a redesign of the whole site. Be on the lookout for that.
If you have any suggestions - please let me know.
Thanks!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Website Tweaked for Opera Users
I have recently received a few notes from Opera users telling me that they'd love to view the site - but the stinking ads cover half the page. At first I thought they might just be complaining about the ads existing in general. Then I opened up the site in Opera, and it literally was floating over half the site. See the screenshot.*note: This isn't my screenshot - this was sent in to me. I changed it before I thought to take a screenshot.
It seems that Opera isn't too Blogger friendly. I tried to do this post in Opera on Mac, and it wouldn't load the picture properly, and most of my buttons were missing. Or maybe it's just me. But I've got it working now - or so it seems. Please let me know if there are any other problems. I try to check the site whenever I change the layout. I have several browsers on 3 OSes that I use - but sometimes I miss something.
I considered removing the ads entirely. I haven't made any money off of them (although I have $11 in the Yahoo ones - that I can't get until I reach $100. At this rate, it will be several years before I see a penny). I basically just wanted to get my money back for registering the domain name. That doesn't look like it's going to happen. I did remove the old "lost money" add. That one wasn't as gaudy - but it did look lame on top of every page. I don't blame you for not filling it out.
If you'd like me to remove the ads - please let me know. I tried to put them out of the way (obviously failing at that for Opera users, until now). But that kind of defeats the purpose of the ads. If you'd like to support the site - just visit a few of the Yahoo links. (The Amazon ads don't pay unless you buy something.) Or you could always send me a donation via PayPal.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
OpenOffice.org 2.0.2
I promise I won't be posting everytime a program goes through a micro-release, but this one seemed worthy of note. OpenOffice.org has a couple of announcements today. First, version 2.0.2 has been released. From the announcement.
OpenOffice.org 2.0.2 is available today. It is ready now in English; check with the Native Language projects for other languages. The release is recommended for everyone. It contains some nifty new features, fixes many small bugs and resolves numerous issues. For instance, spellcheck dictionaries are now directly integrated into OpenOffice.org and are immediately available after installation; there is no need for extra downloads. The community have also added import filters for Quattro Pro 6 and Microsoft Word 2. As well, other import filters have been improved, so that documents created by other applications can be edited in OpenOffice.org more seamlessly. Continuing with the the push to enhance OpenOffice.org's business functionality, it is now easier to use mail merge. As well, integration with the KDE address book is now possible.Improved GUI, improved filters, improved overall - I like it. If you are still using OOo 1.x - now is the time to upgrade. (Sorry Mac users - no news from NeoOffice just yet.)
The appearance of the application has also been enhanced, and for Linux users, there are new icon sets for KDE and GNOME. The result of this and the other improvements is not just a prettier OpenOffice.org but a friendlier and more capable suite.
And it's free.
The other announcement is OpenOffice.org® has been been awarded the right of the registered trademark status. (That's what the little ® means.) What does this mean to end users? Not much - but it helps OOo have better control over their branding and image, which is a good thing.
You can download the latest version of OpenOffice.org here.
GIMPShop promoted as choice for graphic artists
From an article entitled "How to wean someone off of propriatary software" which basically highlights the applications on TheOpenCD (which is a great collection of apps, and can be downloaded from their website, or, if you are on dialup can be purchased online)For the graphic artists out there, we have three mature FOSS available. First is GIMP ( http://www.gimp.org ) or GNU Image Manipulation Program. The interface is definitely no Photoshop but the functionality may be more than sufficient for your use. A version of GIMP called Gimpshop ( http://www.gimpshop.net ) uses the same GIMP engine with its interface customized to look like Photoshop. Ah, the beauty of open source, huh? If you don't want the way it looks, hack it!Most of the programs mentioned on our site are contained on TheOpenCD - except GIMPShop, they stick with the GIMP.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Scott Got a Computer
Thanks to the generous donations of GIMPShop users - Scott Moschella, creator of GIMPShop - has the funds needed to buy a new Intel-based Mac. Now he can start work on the Universal Binary version of GIMPShop (so it will run natively on the MacTels).This is big news, as that means GIMPShop will beat Photoshop to the Universal Binary market by months, probably more than a year!
Congrats, Scott, and thank you donators!
The GIMP to guest star on Extreme Home Make-Over?
Okay, this is a little weird. I'm subscribed to a number of GIMP related mailing lists - and I got this email suggesting that GIMP may be mentioned on an upcoming episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition.... Here's the body of the email.I can't say much about this, but in the interest of GIMP, I'd like toIf this is just some weird way of ABC driving up ratings by spreading false rumors - it's a very weird place and way to do it, so there's probably some validity to it.
encourage folks to watch the April 6th show. I don't know that GIMP
will be mentioned, but it was definetly one of the tools-of-choice,
along with Photoshop, and PSP, used for this episode.
Bear in mind the date may change, but, but it will still be in April.
I don't want GIMPShop dot Net to become a rumor mill - and since there are very few rumors related to GIMPShop or the GIMP, there's little chance of that happening. But I had to let you all know about this one. That's just a little weird. I'll be watching, of course, I like EMHE anyway.