Cage Transforming a Photograph In GIMP 2.8

June 6, 2012 Training
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Last week I made a beginners tutorial on the Cage Transform tool in Gimp 2.8. I got some acceptable results using Cage Transform on a clipart image but wasn’t happy with the blurriness using the tool created and really didn’t completely understand how to use it. After using it for awhile longer and viewing several other tutorials, I decided to try to use the Cage Transform tool on a photograph. The image clarity was better this time around and I also found how to fine tune the cage points after it’s already in place.

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Using The New GIMP Cage Transform Tool

May 30, 2012 Training
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Gimp 2.8 comes with several exciting features that have enhanced my work flow. Although my favorite feature is the single window mode I’ve also been using the new Cage Transform tool today and have found it quite impressive. The Gimp Transform tool is the result of the efforts of Michael Muré as part of his Google [...]

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TLWIR Special: Fedora 17 is a Winner!

May 28, 2012 TLWIR
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Summary: I put Fedora 17 Beta to an extreme stress test over the last several weeks. Now, on the eve of the official release of Fedora 17, perhaps the most anticipated Fedora release ever, I will reveal my test results. Recording the Fedora 17 Desktop I am generally the type of person that likes to [...]

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TLWIR 38: Google Trumps Oracle: What Does This Mean for Patent Litigation?

May 24, 2012 TLWIR
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Summary Oracle Corporation of America just suffered a massive defeat at the hands of Google in its patent infringement lawsuit. A California jury decided that Google did NOT infringe on Oracle’s Java patents with its ubiquitous Android operating system. This decision has a significant impact on the future on the of Free Software. After this [...]

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Book Review: The Artists Guide to GIMP, 2nd Edition

May 22, 2012 Book Reviews
The Artists Guide to GIMP, 2nd Edition Book Review

I recently got the chance to read and work through many of the tutorials in the book The Artist’s Guide to GIMP, 2nd Edition: creative techniques for photographers written by Michael J. Hammel. Having only a sloppy, self-taught understanding of GIMP going into this I wanted to accomplish two things. Learn the fundamentals and equip myself with a stack of GIMP techniques I will actually use day to day.

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TLWIR 37: Fedora 17 Takes Off

May 12, 2012 TLWIR
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                    Summary: The final version of Fedora 17 does not arrive until May 22nd, 2012. I have installed the final Beta version, and it is the best version of the Fedora operating system that I have ever used. In TLWIR 37, I will look under the [...]

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Book Review: FreeBSD Device Drivers by Joseph Kong (No Starch Press)

April 30, 2012 Book Reviews
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The Introduction says the goal of the book is “to help you improve your understanding of device drivers under FreeBSD”. OK, that is exactly what I wanted to do as I am currently working on several projects that use FreeBSD at deeper levels of understanding.

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TLWIR 36: Why Hollywood MUST Embrace Free Software Concepts To Survive

April 28, 2012 TLWIR
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Summary: Google’s ultra high speed Internet project aims to bring Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri Internet speeds 100 times the current U.S. average. This has Hollywood petrified. Will users with gigabit connections pirate enough movies to decimate the movie industry’s revenue? Will piracy crush Hollywood in the way that it crushed the music [...]

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Getting Help With Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin

April 23, 2012 Training
Getting Help With Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin

This coming Thursday marks the release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin. Many users will download Ubuntu, try it and give up because of some small technical problem. Here is a list of tutorials and resources for Ubuntu beginners that I have found useful.

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Nagios Network Monitoring: Free Training/Support

April 16, 2012 Nagios

We are providing several Free training sessions for those interested in Nagios Network Monitoring. These sessions will last about an hour and focus on specific topics but also provide a time for people to ask questions. The classes are currently limited to 15 so you will want to be sure to register for the class as only those registered will get the link to attend the class.

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LibreOffice Templates

April 9, 2012 Training
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Templates 1. Definition In LibreOffice, a template is a file that is created in a basic form for use in creating other similar documents. This reduces the amount of repetitive work that the LibreOffice user has to perform. For example, let us imagine a college student who must write and submit papers in the APA [...]

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Editing Documents and Files With LibreOffice

April 7, 2012 Training
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Editing 1. The Basics LibreOffice can be used to create and edit text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and databases. Editing is most often done in LibreOffice’s graphical mode, though some simple operations such as file conversions can be performed in LibreOffice’s non-graphical headless mode. Editing files is done in a similar way in all LibreOffice [...]

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The History of LibreOffice

April 7, 2012 Training
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History 1. August 1st 1968 Software developer and entrepreneur Marco Boerries is born in Germany. He would later go on to create StarOffice, the predecessor to OpenOffice.org. 2. 1984 Marco Boerries starts a software company called StarDivision in Lüneburg, Germany. The 16 year old starts coding an office suite known as StarOffice. StarOffice is released [...]

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TLWIR 35: Open Versus Closed Mobility – The Nokia N900 Versus The Nokia Lumia 900

April 6, 2012 TLWIR
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Summary: When Nokia’s N900 smart phone was released on November 11th, 2009, it was a revolutionary device. The N900 truly contained the power of a desktop computer in the form factor of a mobile phone. It ran the Maemo 5 Linux-based operating system, and its hardware specs made geeks around the world drool. So why [...]

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