Bibble Labs posted on their forums that the release of v5, originally scheduled to be released by the end of this month, isn't going to make it by their deadline. (See original post here.) They have stated that they will have a "public preview version" available no later than the end of January, 2009. (Is that the same as a 'beta' version? hmmmm.....)
While obviously disappointing, especially to us linux users (who have limited commercial options anyway!) it does have a silver lining - unlike some other software companies, Eric and his team at Bibble are commited to delivering top quality software - not just meeting an arbitrary release date.
The timing is interesting too - WPPI is scheduled for the week of Feburary 14, just 2 weeks after their planned public preview. Definitely good timing, get a buzz going right before one of the largest conventions of their target market!
For now, I hope they are taking a well deserved break for the holidays, and ready to rock it after the first of the year. I've chatted with Eric, Jeff, Colleen, and others there at Bibble labs, and I support their efforts 100%. My v4 still works great, and hopefully we'll be talking with them before the WPPI convention.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Shan
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Codeweavers offers Crossover Software for FREE!
Hey guys -
If you use a mac or linux, Codeweavers is giving away free copies of their software today only.
Apparently it had some political motives (if Bush could get gas prices down below a certain level), and it happened (although that's not WHY it happened!), so they're following through. Awesome to see a company follow through on a deal, even though it didn't happen exactly as they specified.
Codeweavers is a great program to let you run many windows programs on your mac or linux, it's a custom version of WINE. Check it out!
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/10/27/codeweavers-says-cheap-gas-free-software-tomorrow/
Shan
If you use a mac or linux, Codeweavers is giving away free copies of their software today only.
Apparently it had some political motives (if Bush could get gas prices down below a certain level), and it happened (although that's not WHY it happened!), so they're following through. Awesome to see a company follow through on a deal, even though it didn't happen exactly as they specified.
Codeweavers is a great program to let you run many windows programs on your mac or linux, it's a custom version of WINE. Check it out!
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/10/27/codeweavers-says-cheap-gas-free-software-tomorrow/
Shan
Monday, September 15, 2008
Bibble 5.0 announced Sept 23 - LR Killer
For all you lightroom lovers, Bibble is releasing v5. It has a more friendly interface than the older versions (4.10 and older) but still with the things lightroom lacks, such as PerfectlyClear processing and Noise Ninja noise removal. Plus, you're not stuck waiting for images to import, REASONABLE Digital Asset Management (you're not locked into their system, you can choose to use it or not), and a company that actually talks to their users in their forums. (Anyone ever had adobe respond to a question on a forum? LOL)
Oh, and it's up to 88x faster with conversions.
Did I mention it's only $150? (Buy the current version now, and they'll upgrade you for free).
Oh yeah, works on PC, Mac, and Linux.
Life just keeps getting better for linux users.
Check it out:
http://www.bibblelabs.com/press/pr20080915.html
Shan
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Starting from scratch
A few days ago I ordered a new computer to replace an older one we had in our office. To go along with this project, I decided to see how it would be to install ubuntu from scratch on a brand new computer.
Here's the specs:
Intel Pentium Quad Core 6700
ASUS Motherboard
4 GB Ram
NVidia GeForce 6400 video card
an old 200GB hard drive I had lying around, as well as a DVD burner, a multi-card reader, and a 19" display from the computer I was replacing.
I built this from the ground up (yes, I know - I'm a geek). On my laptop, I downloaded a fresh copy of ubuntu 8.04, and burned it at the slowest speed it could.
After assembling the hardware, I plugged it in, and put in the Install CD.
Immediately, it came up, and asked if I wanted to run from the disk (live CD) or install.
Since I was planning on a full install anyway, I opted for install.
A few clicks (what language, timezone, keyboard, how I wanted to use the existing drive) it started to format the drive and copy the files.
Everything went pretty smooth, but after a few minutes, it seemed to hang on copying the files (30% done). I stepped out for a little bit, and returned to see an error message. It seems that it recognized there was a problem, and asked what I wanted to do.
Ok, so I'll restart, and see if my disk didn't burn properly. I opted this time for the "Try Ubuntu". No problems, booted right up. Everything worked - sound card, video card, networking.
When you do the live cd, it has a link on the desktop to install. I double clicked, and away we went. This time, no problems.
After about 10 minutesit told me I could reboot at any time. I could continue to work, but it wouldn't save anything (since I was running from the CD). A quick restart, and we're off.
First thing, it always checks for updates. All told there were about 170 updates available. Simple to do, click on the update notification, hit "Install updates". About 10 minutes later, it's all installed.
It shows a little card icon, saying that there are restricted drivers that can be used with my graphics card. No problem, they're available, just click "enable restricted drivers". What this means is that ubuntu doesn't create them, the manufacturer does. Not a big deal, but if there's a problem, some manufacturers can drag their feet with fixing it. Usually (as in this case!) there are no problems.
Now, I want to put some of my more commonly used tools on here.
Bibble Pro is my conversion software of choice, as it runs natively on linux, so I head to their website. http://www.bibblelabs.com
A note for those new to ubuntu - you'll want to look for .deb installers. Ubuntu is a derivative of debian linux, so that is the native installation program.
A few clicks, and I have the trial version of Bibble Pro downloaded and installed. Sweet.
Next, I really like picasa for some of my more basic editing. A quick google search of "picasa linux" brings me to the right page. Again, I download the .deb file, and I'm off and running.
Next, I have some fonts that I use quite a bit. From experience, I know that "Font Python" is a great program for handling all my true-type fonts (TTF), and that's in the repositories (the ubuntu warehouse of software). Hit "Applications->Add/Remove..." and in the search box, type "Font Python". Found it, add a checkbox.
While I'm in there, I'm going to search for Scribus - an open source version of Adobe InDesign. Type in Scribus in the search box, add another check, and voila.
Finally, I use "GLabels" for my cd label creation. Again, just search for "GLabels", click the box, and I'm done.
A few other ones I installed:
DeVeDe - a great little DVD (video) burning program
UFRaw - a raw plugin for many different programs
Now I hit "Apply Changes", and the program automatically downloads and installs the programs I selected.
Ok, so that's about everything.
Sort of.
Since I'm not exactly a newbie, I know there are a few things that are available, but not exactly obvious. It really makes everything much nicer though.
Here's how to get to some of the goodies:
Software Sources:
Pretty straight forward here. Hit "System->Administration->Software Sources".
You'll get a window like this:
You'll see that I have everything checked. Make sure yours is too. This enables the "multiverse" and "restricted" sources, that have much more in them.
Next, I hit the terminal. If you've ever seen a dos prompt, this is exactly the same thing.
Don't freak out, it's really easy.
Really.
To get to a terminal, hit "Applications->Accessories->Terminal"
You'll see a window that looks like this:
Nothing scary. Of course, it will be your name, rather than mine. :-)
Ok, so before we more forward, a note of caution (of course, right after I tell you it's not scary! LOL) The terminal has lots of power, and you have to read things. It's not going to give you pretty stop signs if you're about to screw everything up. If something pops up on the terminal screen, read it!
Ok, now we're back. a quick lesson in terminal speak:
sudo means to "run this next command as the root user". Root user can change pretty much anything, including system stuff. It also lets you install programs.
apt-get is the command line installation program. It always has to be run as root, so usually you see it typed like this: "sudo apt-get"
It looks for some commands (what to do). For now, we'll just stick with two:
install ____________ (install the program named ____________ )
remove _____________ (remove the program named ____________)
Pretty easy, huh?
Ok, I shoot in raw, so I want to be able to see the thumbnails when I open up a folder. To do this, there's a nice little program called "gnome-raw-thumbnailer".
So, to install it, we type:
sudo apt-get install gnome-raw-thumbnailer
Now something will happen. Don't freak out, it's supposed to. Here's what I got:
Yours may look different. It may say something to the effect of "This will take an additional __MB of space....do you want to continue (Y/n)?"
if so, the capital "Y" means if you just hit enter, it will assume you mean "Yes". Y, Yes, or just enter are all accepted as yes. Mine looks different because I removed it, and re-installed it just for the screenshot.
Now it won't actually show thumbnails until you restart. It doesn't say that (it should!) and it drove me nuts for a few minutes before I figured it out. Go ahead and restart, and you'll be able to view your raw images like they were jpgs.
Cool huh? (Vista doesn't even do that yet! LOL)
Anyway, more later. I just wanted to share getting started.
Shan
Here's the specs:
Intel Pentium Quad Core 6700
ASUS Motherboard
4 GB Ram
NVidia GeForce 6400 video card
an old 200GB hard drive I had lying around, as well as a DVD burner, a multi-card reader, and a 19" display from the computer I was replacing.
I built this from the ground up (yes, I know - I'm a geek). On my laptop, I downloaded a fresh copy of ubuntu 8.04, and burned it at the slowest speed it could.
After assembling the hardware, I plugged it in, and put in the Install CD.
Immediately, it came up, and asked if I wanted to run from the disk (live CD) or install.
Since I was planning on a full install anyway, I opted for install.
A few clicks (what language, timezone, keyboard, how I wanted to use the existing drive) it started to format the drive and copy the files.
Everything went pretty smooth, but after a few minutes, it seemed to hang on copying the files (30% done). I stepped out for a little bit, and returned to see an error message. It seems that it recognized there was a problem, and asked what I wanted to do.
Ok, so I'll restart, and see if my disk didn't burn properly. I opted this time for the "Try Ubuntu". No problems, booted right up. Everything worked - sound card, video card, networking.
When you do the live cd, it has a link on the desktop to install. I double clicked, and away we went. This time, no problems.
After about 10 minutesit told me I could reboot at any time. I could continue to work, but it wouldn't save anything (since I was running from the CD). A quick restart, and we're off.
First thing, it always checks for updates. All told there were about 170 updates available. Simple to do, click on the update notification, hit "Install updates". About 10 minutes later, it's all installed.
It shows a little card icon, saying that there are restricted drivers that can be used with my graphics card. No problem, they're available, just click "enable restricted drivers". What this means is that ubuntu doesn't create them, the manufacturer does. Not a big deal, but if there's a problem, some manufacturers can drag their feet with fixing it. Usually (as in this case!) there are no problems.
Now, I want to put some of my more commonly used tools on here.
Bibble Pro is my conversion software of choice, as it runs natively on linux, so I head to their website. http://www.bibblelabs.com
A note for those new to ubuntu - you'll want to look for .deb installers. Ubuntu is a derivative of debian linux, so that is the native installation program.
A few clicks, and I have the trial version of Bibble Pro downloaded and installed. Sweet.
Next, I really like picasa for some of my more basic editing. A quick google search of "picasa linux" brings me to the right page. Again, I download the .deb file, and I'm off and running.
Next, I have some fonts that I use quite a bit. From experience, I know that "Font Python" is a great program for handling all my true-type fonts (TTF), and that's in the repositories (the ubuntu warehouse of software). Hit "Applications->Add/Remove..." and in the search box, type "Font Python". Found it, add a checkbox.
While I'm in there, I'm going to search for Scribus - an open source version of Adobe InDesign. Type in Scribus in the search box, add another check, and voila.
Finally, I use "GLabels" for my cd label creation. Again, just search for "GLabels", click the box, and I'm done.
A few other ones I installed:
DeVeDe - a great little DVD (video) burning program
UFRaw - a raw plugin for many different programs
Now I hit "Apply Changes", and the program automatically downloads and installs the programs I selected.
Ok, so that's about everything.
Sort of.
Since I'm not exactly a newbie, I know there are a few things that are available, but not exactly obvious. It really makes everything much nicer though.
Here's how to get to some of the goodies:
Software Sources:
Pretty straight forward here. Hit "System->Administration->Software Sources".You'll get a window like this:
You'll see that I have everything checked. Make sure yours is too. This enables the "multiverse" and "restricted" sources, that have much more in them.Next, I hit the terminal. If you've ever seen a dos prompt, this is exactly the same thing.
Don't freak out, it's really easy.
Really.
To get to a terminal, hit "Applications->Accessories->Terminal"
You'll see a window that looks like this:
Nothing scary. Of course, it will be your name, rather than mine. :-)Ok, so before we more forward, a note of caution (of course, right after I tell you it's not scary! LOL) The terminal has lots of power, and you have to read things. It's not going to give you pretty stop signs if you're about to screw everything up. If something pops up on the terminal screen, read it!
Ok, now we're back. a quick lesson in terminal speak:
sudo means to "run this next command as the root user". Root user can change pretty much anything, including system stuff. It also lets you install programs.
apt-get is the command line installation program. It always has to be run as root, so usually you see it typed like this: "sudo apt-get"
It looks for some commands (what to do). For now, we'll just stick with two:
install ____________ (install the program named ____________ )
remove _____________ (remove the program named ____________)
Pretty easy, huh?
Ok, I shoot in raw, so I want to be able to see the thumbnails when I open up a folder. To do this, there's a nice little program called "gnome-raw-thumbnailer".
So, to install it, we type:
sudo apt-get install gnome-raw-thumbnailer
Now something will happen. Don't freak out, it's supposed to. Here's what I got:
Yours may look different. It may say something to the effect of "This will take an additional __MB of space....do you want to continue (Y/n)?"
if so, the capital "Y" means if you just hit enter, it will assume you mean "Yes". Y, Yes, or just enter are all accepted as yes. Mine looks different because I removed it, and re-installed it just for the screenshot.
Now it won't actually show thumbnails until you restart. It doesn't say that (it should!) and it drove me nuts for a few minutes before I figured it out. Go ahead and restart, and you'll be able to view your raw images like they were jpgs.
Cool huh? (Vista doesn't even do that yet! LOL)
Anyway, more later. I just wanted to share getting started.
Shan
Friday, August 29, 2008
Shan Smith - Introduction
Without making this sound like a 12 step meeting, we're all going to be introducing ourselves, so you know what kind of background we all have.
My name (of course) is Shannon Smith. I'm a professional photographer, and own 831 Photography (along with my wife and our partner).
I'm an artistic geek by heart. I went to school on a dual scholarship of music performance and computer science. I've been working with computers since 1982. With my music background, I used mac quite a bit in college, and with my computer science background, I've used dos, windows, and linux. I'd say I'm quite well rounded when it comes to computers.
Basically, I need this t-shirt:
(BTW, if you want a shirt like this, or plenty of other fun geek stuff, go to http://www.thinkgeek.com )
The reason I originally wanted to use ubuntu was simple: I wanted something different. My laptop had Vista, and while I had no problems at all with it, I kept seeing more and more information about linux, and specifically, ubuntu. So I figured I'd see just how far along it has come from my college days. Just to be safe, I purchased a new hard drive, downloaded the installation disk, and fired it up.
Boy, was I impressed! Not only did it seem easy enough for the average user, it had some serious power behind it. I was really surprised to see how much support for raw processing it had built right in. I mean, it shows thumbnails for raw files - new cameras too! I still don't think vista does that.
I had already been using open source software - firefox (web browser), thunderbird (email), open office (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database, etc). It was an easy transition, as all these programs looked exactly the same.
It's been 9 months now, and rarely do I have to use another computer (some of my photo labs have windows only software for speciality product ordering - I'm still working on them :-) ). I organized this group to see what their impressions were, and if they thought it was truely ready for prime time.
I'll be posting helpful hints (since I'm one of the more experienced ubuntu users) as well as keeping everything flowing in a quasi-organized fashion. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
See you soon!
Shan
My name (of course) is Shannon Smith. I'm a professional photographer, and own 831 Photography (along with my wife and our partner).
I'm an artistic geek by heart. I went to school on a dual scholarship of music performance and computer science. I've been working with computers since 1982. With my music background, I used mac quite a bit in college, and with my computer science background, I've used dos, windows, and linux. I'd say I'm quite well rounded when it comes to computers.
Basically, I need this t-shirt:
(BTW, if you want a shirt like this, or plenty of other fun geek stuff, go to http://www.thinkgeek.com )The reason I originally wanted to use ubuntu was simple: I wanted something different. My laptop had Vista, and while I had no problems at all with it, I kept seeing more and more information about linux, and specifically, ubuntu. So I figured I'd see just how far along it has come from my college days. Just to be safe, I purchased a new hard drive, downloaded the installation disk, and fired it up.
Boy, was I impressed! Not only did it seem easy enough for the average user, it had some serious power behind it. I was really surprised to see how much support for raw processing it had built right in. I mean, it shows thumbnails for raw files - new cameras too! I still don't think vista does that.
I had already been using open source software - firefox (web browser), thunderbird (email), open office (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database, etc). It was an easy transition, as all these programs looked exactly the same.
It's been 9 months now, and rarely do I have to use another computer (some of my photo labs have windows only software for speciality product ordering - I'm still working on them :-) ). I organized this group to see what their impressions were, and if they thought it was truely ready for prime time.
I'll be posting helpful hints (since I'm one of the more experienced ubuntu users) as well as keeping everything flowing in a quasi-organized fashion. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
See you soon!
Shan
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Linux: Ready for Prime Time?
Some of you know that I've been using linux (specifically, Ubuntu Studio) lately. I've been trying just about every program out there, and I can say for certain that ubuntu IS ready for digital photographers - professional or not.
I'm doing do an experiment with several professional and amateur photographers, ranging from seasoned computer geeks (namely me!) to people who have never seen an installation disk. I think if commercial software vendors see that real professionals (and serious amateurs!) are really ready to switch from windows (or mac - linux works on ANY system!), they'll open up to linux and start producing software.
What's in it for us? Lots. Right now, for the most part, people assume photographers use either windows or mac. Opening up to linux brings another competitor to the table, and a very serious one. Linux offers the speed, power, and ease of use that mac users (rightfully!) brag about - with the hardware pricing of pcs. This means if it takes off, macs will have to compete with the lower pricing of pcs, windows will have to really work on producing sound, solid code, and best of all, linux (and the open source community) gets more users, more focus, and more reasons to produce amazing software.
Who else uses linux? How about these names:
Disney/Pixar
Google
IBM
Most hollywood studios (seriously!)
Just about every web hosting company out there
me (not that I'm up there with those guys! LOL)
You don't need to be a "nerd" to do this either - in fact, we have some "basic" users. We're all going to post about our experiences, both good and bad. If you've been bemoaning the problems with Vista, or are just tired of seeing your computer slowing down because of all the excess baggage that is included (or gets installed), this may just be your ticket to unlocking the true power of your computer.
Another goal is to get more software companies to support the linux platform. There are several right now, including:
Bibble Labs - www.bibblelabs.com
These guys produce a great cross platform image processing program (similar to lightroom). If you haven't heard of it, you should really give it a try. It's super fast, has lots of built in features (like PerfectImage and Noise Ninja) and supports some amazing plugins. They have announced that they will be releasing their new version before the end of the year, and that anyone who purchases a license from this point forward will receive the next version at NO CHARGE.
LightCrafts - www.lightcrafts.com
Another image processing program, and it uses a very unique "Zone" system. It's very intuative for complex curve adjustments, and I have been able to quickly produce images and effects that I have yet to duplicate with any other program. Their program is called LightZone, and is another example of cross platform programming.
Google Picasa - picasa.google.com
Google has been a great supporter of linux. While this program is technically a windows program with a custom WINE wrapper (WINE is a windows wrapper for linux), they still took the lead, and provided lots of updates to the WINE community. Of course, this program is free!
If you use any windows or mac specific programs, we need to show the software makers that linux has a valid user base who are willing to purchase programs for this OS. Make your voice heard! Email their customer service, ask for linux versions. Post on forums that you use linux. Help your friends try linux.
As seen on a hilarious Mac vs PC (vs Linux) spoof on YouTube - "Tap into the unlimited power of community!"
Keep an eye here. We'll all be posting quite a bit about our experience. Hope you join us!
Shan
I'm doing do an experiment with several professional and amateur photographers, ranging from seasoned computer geeks (namely me!) to people who have never seen an installation disk. I think if commercial software vendors see that real professionals (and serious amateurs!) are really ready to switch from windows (or mac - linux works on ANY system!), they'll open up to linux and start producing software.
What's in it for us? Lots. Right now, for the most part, people assume photographers use either windows or mac. Opening up to linux brings another competitor to the table, and a very serious one. Linux offers the speed, power, and ease of use that mac users (rightfully!) brag about - with the hardware pricing of pcs. This means if it takes off, macs will have to compete with the lower pricing of pcs, windows will have to really work on producing sound, solid code, and best of all, linux (and the open source community) gets more users, more focus, and more reasons to produce amazing software.
Who else uses linux? How about these names:
Disney/Pixar
IBM
Most hollywood studios (seriously!)
Just about every web hosting company out there
me (not that I'm up there with those guys! LOL)
You don't need to be a "nerd" to do this either - in fact, we have some "basic" users. We're all going to post about our experiences, both good and bad. If you've been bemoaning the problems with Vista, or are just tired of seeing your computer slowing down because of all the excess baggage that is included (or gets installed), this may just be your ticket to unlocking the true power of your computer.
Another goal is to get more software companies to support the linux platform. There are several right now, including:
Bibble Labs - www.bibblelabs.com
These guys produce a great cross platform image processing program (similar to lightroom). If you haven't heard of it, you should really give it a try. It's super fast, has lots of built in features (like PerfectImage and Noise Ninja) and supports some amazing plugins. They have announced that they will be releasing their new version before the end of the year, and that anyone who purchases a license from this point forward will receive the next version at NO CHARGE.
LightCrafts - www.lightcrafts.com
Another image processing program, and it uses a very unique "Zone" system. It's very intuative for complex curve adjustments, and I have been able to quickly produce images and effects that I have yet to duplicate with any other program. Their program is called LightZone, and is another example of cross platform programming.
Google Picasa - picasa.google.com
Google has been a great supporter of linux. While this program is technically a windows program with a custom WINE wrapper (WINE is a windows wrapper for linux), they still took the lead, and provided lots of updates to the WINE community. Of course, this program is free!
If you use any windows or mac specific programs, we need to show the software makers that linux has a valid user base who are willing to purchase programs for this OS. Make your voice heard! Email their customer service, ask for linux versions. Post on forums that you use linux. Help your friends try linux.
As seen on a hilarious Mac vs PC (vs Linux) spoof on YouTube - "Tap into the unlimited power of community!"
Keep an eye here. We'll all be posting quite a bit about our experience. Hope you join us!
Shan
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