For a section to do with my more reccent Linux
excursions:
GI Linux 2008
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A nice distribution based
upon the
'Knoppix' core is
released as a bootable 50mb Linux OS!
DSL stands for:
'Damn Small Linux'
...clic the above link to be taken to my DSL page.
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* This
section contains 'old
source'.
Though this content is out-dated, I felt it best remain for the
sake of conveying experience. Enjoy!
 
The Win' folks wanna ask the
question...
'Where do you want to go
today?'
Myself, I like the
idea of
Open-Source solutions.
Linux
whispers... 'What do
you want to do
today?
My 'other
drive' is a Linux
distribution. Though I can accomplish most every task under the
Win32 environment, I prefer my Linux drive to handle allot of my
'dev-duties'. It is, in part, due to the cost of setting up a dev
environment under Win32... as libraries and other necessary files
are cost considerations under Win32. The other reason is because of
the fact that allot of what I like to mess with has to do with
changing the actual configurations and interfaces of the operating
system 'itself' (which is an infringement of laws protecting such
duties under Windoze). Under Windows, I rely upon a third-party
'shell program' to handle customizations. (my favorite being
'LiteStep').
Under the Linux side of
things, the rules
are different... as development is encouraged, and the tools are
supplied with most of the major Linux distributions for you to
re-write the entire system, if you really wanted to, without having
to be concerned with breaking the law by changing a string of code
here, or there. KDE and Gnome are two fine examples of open-source
solutions for customizing the interface... and you are permitted to
re-write your own kernel, or version of, without having to be
concerned with your personal customizations jeopardizing your
freedom.
The Linux distributions have
come a long
way in these past few years. My first experience with Linux was
while I was going to school for I-Net+. Part of the course entailed
installing RedHat and setting it up as a server end OS and
configuring it as part of the 'classroom network'. I believe that
we had used RedHat6. Jeez! I can still recall the nightmare of an
install that was! My last use of RedHat was a RedHat9 distribution,
which was quite a bit nicer than 6 was.
As far as installs running
smoothly... I
have not had an install go any smoother than Mandrake10 had. No, my
first install was not my last. I actually went through installing
Mandrake10 about 6-7 times before I had gotten it installed in a
way that best suited my needs. After I had finally gotten the
distribution installed the way I wanted, I began messing with
grabbing and installing all of the software I was wanting to get
running under this new OS. Yes, I also began having to upgrade
runtimes and such to meet the demands of the new software. Now, I
am on my second Mandrake distribution. I have recently moved up to
Mandrake10.1 (and plan to, soon, upgrade to a newer version of KDE.
Mandrake10.1 comes with 2 KDE versions (3.2.3 and 3.3.0) The 3.3.0
is a buggy beta that I don't wish to mess with. Mandrake10.1 (with
updated runtimes and bugfixes) is running without problems...
KDE3.2.3 has proven to be well suited to/for my needs...
As far as
Linux distributions
go,
Mandrake had impressed me by becoming such an arrangement before it
was swallowed by the corporate software entity, to soon be spit out
as $hareware. My plans for Mandrake10.1, updated to final runtimes,
will be for personal use. I'll use the OS as my core for a system
rebuilt from the kernel out. With the 'Open-Source' selections in
Linux becoming scarce, it's time for me to learn how to build my
own. Guess it is time for me to check out the RedHat test-bed of
'Fedora'...
No, not 'everything' I get
into comes with
Mandrake's installation disks. I'm an Artist, so I had to get a
bunch of the cool additions (and newer versions) of / for the
GIMP. The version of the Gimp that I am currently using is
v2.2.3, built from sources, on my Mandrake10.1+ drive. I've always
been partial to using The GIMP over other available solutions, but
now I just have more reason to remain with The GIMP as my preferred
graphics rendering / manipulating program. If you haven't checked
out The GIMP in a while, you're in for a surprise. It's definitely
not a 1.2.* version! The app has come a long way.
Perl support is already under way
within The
GIMP2's Linux port... though not implemented as part of an install.
(there are rpm installers available, but they are usually set up to
install in the standard install dirs.) I just installed perl
support to the custom built GIMP's 2.2.3 version on my Linux drive.
( I intalled in dirs other other than the 2.04 dirs so that I could
keep the 2.04 version on my system to hack around on ;)
If you are running a version of the GIMP
2.2.3
that you built from sources and allowed it to install into it's
standard directories, it is installed in the /usr/local/
directories. Because of this, if you aquire an .rpm installer for
the gimp-perl functions you will have to do some re-directing of
your .rpm's install files. Myself, I just used an .rpm extractor (a
service menu item from KDE-Apps.org) and placed the files in their
appropriate directories myself. Wallah! Perl support for GIMP
2.2.3! You still must use the gimptool to install any new perl
plugins you need to install. (The gimptool is installed
/usr/local/bin/gimptool-2.0 for the new GIMP 2.2.3) ...or you can
copy the plugins to your home/*whoever*/.gimp2.*/plugins/ folder
and let the Gimp see the new plugins the next time the GIMP
is loaded ...at least within my Mandrake10.1 system.
POV-Ray3.6 is really nice!
Under Win32,
you have a GUI for PovRay. Under Linux, you have better modeling
apps 'for PovRay', such as KDE's 'KPovModeler', and
'QTPovEditor'. 'QTPovEditor' is actually a text-based editor,
much like a different approach to the Win32 POV-Ray GUI.
'K3D' is a fine modeling environment, if you have the time and
space. 'K3D' has all the bells and whistles that one could hope for
in a precision modeling app. Input and Output formats are
plentiful... and 'K3D' integrates with most commonly used rendering
engines, such as 'Aqsis', 'BMRT', 'Yafray'... There are currently
'experimental' export projects for 'PovRay' export / integration.
'K3D' has a learning curve though.
Yeah, I mess with quite a few
apps...
The above screenshot is of 'KPovModeler' for Linux.
Below you will find a list of
apps that I
have really liked to dabble with these past few months. A couple of
them are well known by many... a few of them are not so well known,
but useful nonetheless. I've supplied links where I
could.
 K3D
...free-as-in-freedom
K3D
is a modeling, animation and
rendering system that has proven to be my most powerful 3D
environment under Linux. It's like a modeling program pumped up on
steroids. As for all the modeling functions and options that are
missing from most solutions out there, K3D comes
packed with the
needed
functionality... and then some. I have not done an install of this
app by any 'installer'... only the commands:
./configure
make
make
check
make install ...
...guess that's about as simple as a
Linux
install goes... 'Build It!'
I'm
running Mandrake10.1, with
quite a few updated runtimes and such. I had no complaints about
the install process... only the amount of time required for 'make'
to compile this monster. K3D
will work 'with' a selection
of popular rendering engines out there. You can model, then export
to some nice formats like .pov,.rib, .dxf, ...
Though the
menu-way of
navigating functions is labourous, you're glad you had that
function, you so often had to navigate past, when you need it. As
for 'control'... I believe that's what I was just referring to... a
menu that is cluttered with options in x, y, z. There is a great
tutorial app built into K3D
that goes through a nice
teaching of some of the basics... ( 'before' you find yourself lost
in an extensive set of documentation... ) There's online
community links available at the K3D
website, if you wish to
dabble in the available contributed efforts to / for K3D.
This app
isn't mentioned much
elsewhere in this site, reason being that I prefer the Linux usage
/ ports of this app. With my runnin' Win98se as my Win32 OS, I'm
better off exploiting K3D
under the stability (in comparison) of Mandrake10...at least for
this type of development.
I suppose
that the bottom line
is, if you don't have the bucks to invest in some of the commercial
apps for 3D modeling... K3D
is the best thing out there!
(This is my opinion...) Under Win32, I like the OpenFX
setup... but that's
under Windoze.
 Xscreensaver
XScreensaver
is one of
those
senseless anomalies which has been coded to allow us the decision
to waste our time, very creatively... I went to the official site
and grabbed up the sources for the 4.19 release... ended up
compiling the sources into a set of 4.19 mdk rpms... installin'
over Mandrake's 'official' 4.18 update / fix version (which still
gave me problems) ...and have been enjoyin' my hackings in the
screensaver world ever since... XScreensaver
is one of
those
dedicated entries included with most Linux distributions that is
taken for granted and not recognized for the project that it has
become... Always remember to disable all KDE Screensaver controls,
and control XScreensaver
by way of an
entry at command for 'xscreensaver-demo', as this brings up the
settings dialog for XScreensaver.
Krusader-1.50
While there are a
wide selection of
file managers out there, there are few that I have found to be
comfortable with. Under Win32, I still use 2xExplorer v1.3.1.12, as
the newer versions are now limited functionality free versions. The
duel-pane file managers have always proven to be handy to me,
though I have preferred those that have graphical display for
file-types. 'Krusader'
is like a
2xExplorer for Linux (at least that's 'my' opinion). Where
'FileRunner' is a duel-pane file manager, it lacks the graphical
display for file-types. FileRunner is also reminiscent of the
old-style Win3.1 type of file manager. 'Krusader'
has the
functionality, however, it also has a more up-to-date GUI.
Inkscape
Though the GIMP fulfills most
of my
graphics needs, it is not made for vector graphics. My choice for
SVG rendering apps... 'InkScape'
InkScape proves that there are still
other
quality alternatives for open-source vector apps that center
abilities around vector specialization, other than $hareware
alternatives such as Illustrator, or Corel Draw... Inkscape is a great
alternative.
Beings
that Inkscape is
an active
Open-Source project that has proven (to me, anyhow...) as a rather
stable and feature rich SVG editor, I've suitably decided to use it
as a fine addition to Scribus
, which is also a
stable Open-Source project...
Inkscape
comes in both Win32 and Linux ported versions.
Scribus
/ Linux Layout - DTP
(DeskTopPublishing)
A
deccent layout app, with PDF output, is sometimes a difficult piece
of software to find... unless you are willing to deal with
limited PDF output (graphic inabilities, and such...), or you have
the expense to spare for a good $hareware app... until now!
Scribus
falls into it's
own catagory. The 'only' downfall concerning the PDF output of
Scribus is it's filesize. The idendical file, compiled by Adobe
Acrobat, is smaller in file size. As far as everything else is
concerned, you can import various graphics types, as well as vector
graphics (svg format), along with the built-in ability to exploit
some of the nicer features of the PDF format.
Scribus
is free /
Open-Source software. The version I am presently running
(1.2*) is considered a 'stable' release. The Scribus
project is
updated daily, so it is advisable to check up on currently
available sources.
Mozilla's
/ Navigator-
Composer
Whether you are looking for a good
alternative
for the Internet Explorer browser, or if you are looking for a good
WYSIWYG website editor, Mozilla is a fine choice! Mozilla is a
'free' / 'open-source' project with sources available upon request
from the Mozilla.org website. There are versions available for most
operating systems, including most Linux distributions, as well as
Win32 platforms.
Highly configurable, the
Navigator browser
of Mozilla is very fast and reliable. As for the included Composer
WYSIWYG html editor... I don't believe that there is anything like
it (other than it's $hareware counterparts such as Macromedia's
Dreamweaver). The site that you are now on was built using
Composer. I am currently using Mozilla's available distribution
(mozilla-win32-1.7.5-installer.exe).
(For us Mandrake10.* users -
mozilla-i686-pc-linux-gnu-1.7.5-installer.tar.gz)
Mozilla is up to v1.8.* now.
Guess I
better get updated...
You can find all to do with
Mozilla and
it's available plugins, extensions and such at:
Mozilla.org
Last, but not least...
'3D'...
Though
I've been able to
figure out how to achieve great results from 2D graphics software,
I am only just learning how to manipulate output in 3D. There is
far more to being able to render in 3D than can be imagined, if you
have never dealt with creation and arrangement in 3 directions (x,y
and z).
As with
everything else that I
have done on this PC of mine, I have sought the freeware /
Open-Source solution to my software needs. Within the 'APPS'
section of this site, I have gone over a few of my finds within
this search. There's still some downloads available for the 2.6
version of BMRT (Blue Moon Rendering Tools). I won't supply links
to such, although you can easily drop 'BMRT' as a search query in
Google...
If you have never gotten
into 3D Modeling/Rendering, you are in for a surprise! There are
many modeling programs, as well as rendering engines, to choose
from. My best advise is to pick the best setup to match your level
of learning abilities, as some are very complex to grasp for a
newcomer. Don't worry, as with everything else out there... There's
plenty of ReadMe's and Doc-files to acquire to aide in your quest
for the how to's...
ArtOfIllusion is one of
those apps that
come as a big surprise when you find out all that it has to offer.
When I had downloaded my first copy of it I thought it was just a
very nice modeler. When I began actually digging into what all the
application had to offer I found that ArtOfIllusion also was a
suite of applications. Within the bundled java files was a very
nice procedural texture/material editor, as well as a decent
rendering engine. Since then, I have found that I no longer was
just exporting built objects to be rendered under a third- party
rendering engine, but was beginning to use ArtOfIllusion for
'everything', from modeling... to rendering. I'm still learning the
AOI ways of doing things, but not without consistently being
impressed with the results of this impressive java application.
Being a java based
application, it
is cross-platform compatible on any platform running the java
runtimes (...in theory). Though I have been using AOI within the
Win32 platform only, I plan to soon go through the ArtOfIllusion
coding to see what is resulting in error when I try to load AOI
under Linux. (Probably something as simple as a 'case sensitive'
issue in a call, or something along those lines.) If I can
offer my endorsement of an application that can 'do it all'... this
endorsement would have to be for this bundle of java called 'Art Of
Illusion'. Don't underestimate it!
My 'personal'
project entails
incorporating / linking the 'jrMan' (java-Renderman) rendering
engine into the ArtOfIllusion application. I am really not certain
of the origin of the rendering engine that is already incorporated
into/with ArtOfIllusion, however, I do feel that the 'jrMan' engine
would be a choice that would render higher quality images. Gotta
love Open-Source!
For more info about
ArtOfIllusion... www.artofillusion.org
A GIGrafx Disclaimer:
This site contains information
pertaining to
applications that are of 'beta' status. Though the applications run
fine on my system, does not mean that you will have the same
abilities, as systems vary in configuration. 'Before' you install /
use any of the software here, it is highly recommended that you
read the 'ReadMe and Documentations' when available. This step
alone can save you allot of bad experiences with improper setups,
etc...
I, Gary Ingram, accept 'no'
responsibility for
what 'you' do with your system, nor will I accept any
responsibility for information you may lose as a result of your
mis-use of said applications.There's some really great free and
open-source solutions out there... you just have to use a little
common sense.
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