MESSAGE
| DATE | 2001-12-12 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [hangout] Committee or Good Project
|
There were a number of issues to discuss at the last meeting which I
failed to get to. One was the Desktop initiatitve, and I think this would
nicely fit under that that since graphic artists work and multi-media are
huge desktop applications which are not being agressively serviced at this
point in free software. The absolute first step in this is to pluch your
$40 dollars down on an NYLXS membership, by mailing a check wither to me
of to our Treasurer, Joe Maffia, Rosenswseig and Maffia, 845 3rd Ave,
NYC. Make the check out to NYLXS.
And then we can create the Desktop Committee, and the Artists Committee
under it, lead by you and Joe, so you can begin to rack up hours for this
work. We would need to get together and brain storm ways of getting
Linuxes artist tools more profile outside of the current Linux mindset,
and we can also address the need for programs with cvapabilities similar
to Illustrater and Quark Express.
Don't underestimate some of the real complaints artists have about the
GIMP et al. There is no doubt in my mind that the GIMP is FAR MORE
powerful than Photoshop, but that the lack of a CMKB filter is crippling
for printing businesses. And I doubt there is anythng liek Quark Express,
Pagemaker or Illustrator. So what we can't directly code, we can be an
interface to the Free Software developement people and try to perfect the
features available and the implimentations.
A real Mac Mouse jock with Photoshop is something extrodenary to witness.
We might be good to try to incobate a company which specializes in
Artwork and printing done with Free Software and compete with lower
pricing to develop the market.
>
> I would love to participate in the development of a series of
> lecture/demonstrations/live tutorials for the end user of creative
> products already available under Linux. I would hope these
> could be instrumental in promoting the present sexyness of Linux(1) and
> in getting more people excited about using free software.
>
> Of course most people using linux have had to fight through hours
> of installation and information gathering on their own, but the whole
> point would be to get more people excited and involved (turned on ? :)).
> Before even coming to an installfest someone could get an image of what
> they can expect and ultimately why they would want Linux at home or in
> their company. Each demo would also introduce people to the issues
> surrounding opensource (gif, video codecs, hardware coompatibility, etc.)
>
> Possible sexy subjects could include:
>
> --Perl + Gimp is a very powerful tool no matter on which side
> of the computing world you reside. Couldn't a demo on creating animated
> gifs in the gimp turn someone on to using Linux in the first place? and
> a little script-fu or perl scipting seal the deal?
>
> --I have some experience with 3d modeling, rendering and motion graphics
> under Linux,(using a mixture of free and open source tools). Blender
> (not open-source but free as in you don't have to pay) is reason enough
> for some one to want to install linux at home. I can frankly say anyone
> even contimplating spending the money on one of the commercial 3d
> applications is crazy not to at least check out what is availble for
> free under linux. There are an amazing number of strong tools.
>
> --The list of audio applications and tools is also incredible, just name
> what you want to do. The computer music world has been developing under
> unix for years (something about the mathematicians liking bach and going
> to composition school and learning to program). I could come up with
> some cool demos
>
> --Often a creative project using free software has to use multiple
> tools. Graphics or multimedia people are trained in art school to use
> macromedia's, digidesign's or adobe's killer apps. They get turned off
> by what seems to be the confusion of multiple small tools.(3) I think it
> would be crutial in these demos to walk a project from begining to end.
> It is possible to make pdfs using linux right now. The chain of
> small tools necessary can be daunting, but easily demonstratable by a
> knowledgeable person. There is a debate to be had on what subjects
> deserve live presentation, and which are best demostrated on a webpage.
>
>
> Two important links I assume many of you already know:
> http://www.linuxartist.org and
> http://www.bright.net/~dlphilp/linuxsound/ .
>
> Looking forward to your thoughts,
>
>
> Marco
>
> PS I footnoted some stuff cause this was getting really long, sorry if I
> ramble.
>
> (1) Sexyness is crutially important in driving people's desires.
> Sexiness in computers is power and ease (or as the commercial OS
> and software vendors have known for years, the illusion of power and
> ease). There is little wonder why the largest computer graphics houses
> are using Linux render farms on the back end to create the graphics for
> the biggest Hollywood movies. What most people don't realize is that
> you can have a largely indentical set of front end tools at home also
> for free.
>
> (2) Another problem for professionals with the gimp is the color space
> issue. It seems totally insane, but as I understand it, the gamma
> values for the individual colors in say Adobe RGB are treated as
> industry secrets. You can already change these values for an image in
> the gimp, thus you have the ability to match any colorspace, but you
> just can't know exactly what values Adobe uses. By staying in sRGB (s
> for standard?), on my macs, I feel I have resolved most problems.
> Another case of companies convincing the end user that certain things
> are incredibly complicated when in reality they are just hiding
> standards. > projected etc. here>
>
>
> (3) I think many people using macs unfortunately think of free software
> as tiny little apps that don't do much but risk creating dreaded
> extention conflicts with their several hundred dollar adobe or macro
> media packages in the ever precarious system folder (lets not even talk
> about the horrible response OSX's interface has gotten from the creative
> mac user community).
>
> Linux on Mac also borrows some of that platform's sex appeal. I used
> to live in DC. Very active in the LUGs there is a man named Billy Ball
> who wrote some of the Linux Unleashed books and who would bring macs
> loaded with linux to every public appearance of the dc area LUGS. There
> was no greater head turner than his cube or his imac running free
> software. I brought my titanium running yellow dog to Ruben's last
> installfest but didn't get to show it off ;)
>
>
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