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Software Boxes
2008-01-05 01:31:00
Here's that tutorial I promised on how to make a software box. (You can click on the images to enlarge them.)1) Open Gimp. Create a new image with a white background, that is 400px by 550px.2) First, we need to make the boxes face that will be in the front for all to see. Create a new transparent layer. Name it front base. Select the Rectangle Selection tool and create a box that is about 260 by 340 pixels. Using the Paintbucket tool, fill your selection with whatever the base color of your box will be. I am making a Firefox software box so my base color will be blue. You should have something like this:3) Now, using the perspective tool, we will change the perspective of the front of the box so it appears as if we are viewing it from an angle. Just mess around with the box until you find something similar to mine:4) Now we need to make the side of the box. Create a new layer, name it side base. Pick the Rectangle Selection tool again. Make another rectangle whose length is equal ...
More About: Software

New Look, Gimp Stuff, and yeah..
2008-01-05 01:11:00
Alright, so I've updated my blog a bit with a new layout, a new RSS feed courtesy of FeedBurner, and that's about it. I decided to go with three columns just to try something different, and I kept the blue sort of theme as well.Also be on the lookout for a new tutorial I am writing about how to make one of those online software boxes that you see everywhere. Here's an example (yes I made it):That's about it for now.
More About: Stuff , Gimp , Yeah

Blog Changes
2008-01-04 05:57:00
Hey I just wanted to let you all know that my blog will be going under some design changes pretty soon. Just be on the look out for them.
More About: Blog

RAM Upgrading
2008-01-04 01:58:00
As I told you yesterday, I did a fresh install of Ubuntu on my Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop. So far, everything works great. Thanks to the help of Ubuntu1501, I've been able to complete all the small fixes needed to make Ubuntu a success on this laptop, such as the wifi fix, customization fixes, graphics card fixes, modem fixes, and so on.Well, I've decided that it's time to upgrade the RAM on this puppy. It has 512mb for RAM, barely enough to perform at a desired speed. I bought a 1gb RAM stick from Newegg.com, the same redDEAD bought on Ubuntu1501. He even has an easy to follow guide about how to install the RAM card in the laptop. My total cost came to $24.98, and it should arrive in 2 or 3 days. Not bad for the price.I'll keep you updated.

Ubuntu
2008-01-03 04:41:00
Alright, so a while back I reformatted my Dell Inspiron 1501 with Vista on it so I could install XP. XP worked great, but there were graphic card issues and it really got the best of me. So, I did a clean install of Ubuntu . With the help of Ubuntu1501.com, I successfully installed Ubuntu on my laptop. Ubuntu works great, and looks good. You can try it out by downloading or ordering a CD. You can even request a free CD. Just boot your computer off the Ubuntu CD and you can try it without actually installing it on your hard drive.

Gimp Graphics
2007-12-22 06:40:00
Alright so I've started a Gimp blog with a friend of mine. Link.
More About: Graphics

Image Textorizer
2007-12-10 04:50:00
I was browsing the forums at Gimper.net and YonYonJohn came across an online textorizer. It's pretty neat. Look at what it did to my logo:It's kind of like this other website I came across called www.text-image.com that converts images to HTML, ASCII, and Matrix. It does things like this:(It looks better if you click on it to make it full size)Anyway, just thought I should share.
More About: Image

iPod Dancer Tutorial
2007-12-07 05:20:00
You know those iPod commercials where the people are black and the earbuds are white and they are dancing and such? Well, I had this crazy idea, literally two seconds ago.I decided, hey, why not make a tut for all to see about how to make the little dancers with white earbuds in Gimp? So I did.1) Get a picture of someone dancing. It doesn't matter who. Anyone. I got mine from GettyImages:2) Open your image in Gimp. If you want, you can clear out that logo if you got it from a stock website. Also do some housekeeping, such as making the background one color, cleaning up anything fuzzy, etc.3) Create a new transparent layer. Name it "Black." Click the paths tool. Make sure in the toolbox, the paths tool is in Design Mode and polygonal is unchecked. Now, start outlining your dancer with the paths tool. When you get to the end, hold down CTRL and click on the beginning dot. It should look somewhat like mine:3) Now click on the "Selection from Path" button. You should now have a selecti...
More About: Tutorial , Ipod , Dancer

130 Web 2.0 Gradients for GIMP
2007-12-05 14:29:00
Here are those gradients I converted:http://gimp-tutorials.net/130-U ltimateWeb20-Gradients-for-Gimp Digg It Here:http://digg.com/design/The_complete_ 130_Ultimate_Web_2_0_Gradients_for_Gimp/Y ay!

Convert Photoshop Layer Styles to Gimp Gradients
2007-12-05 01:18:00
Alright, so I was browsing the forums at Gimp er.net and Gimper asked in a post to convert the rest of these Photoshop Layer styles to Gimp gradients...all 130 of them. So I said I would and I did. These are the original layer styles by dezinerfolio:These are the 30 Gimper converted:So now, here's a tutorial on how to convert gradients.Here are the layer styles I downloaded, scroll down a bit to find the download link: http://www.dezinerfolio.com/2007/05/06/ul timate-web-20-layer-styles/You will also need Photoshop (I used CS3 but it doesn't really matter what version you use..) and you will also need Gimp.First, I will show you how to make the regular, two colored gradients, like this:Open Photoshop. Make a new image. Any size will do. I used 300x300 pixels, but it doesn't really matter. Select the Custom Shape Tool. Now select the black rectangle shape and click and drag it to a reasonable size on your canvas. Now select one of your layer styles by going here: and pick one simila...
More About: Styles , Convert

The Gimp 2.4
2007-11-27 02:27:00
On the 11th, GIMP 2.4.2 was officially released (so yeah, this is kinda late), but anyway, there are a lot of new features with this one. Download here. The release notes can be found here.The interface is a little different, "a refreshed look."Brushes are now scalable. I look forward to that one.The selection tools have been completely rebuilt, allowing you to resize existing selections, and more. There is a new foreground select tool. It is used in two steps: 1) You select a region of interest that contains the entire object, then 2) you paint over the selected area with a brush, not crossing the object's border. Yeah, that description confuses me, too. Don't blame me, I got it from their release notes. There's a video tutorial you can watch, too, about this tool (Just click on the release notes link above).Easier alignment is now possible with a new alignment tool, improved display when zooming in or out, and support for new file formats like:Photoshop ABR Brushes (I LOVE this...
More About: Gimp , The Gimp

Box.net
2007-11-25 00:32:00
Today I received an email from Brian, a Box.net intern asking me to try out a Firefox add-on called Box.net Bookmarks (or something like that). He did ask me to maybe post about it in my blog and to let them know if I come across anything that can be improved on. I decided to and so far, I am very happy with what I've seen.I installed the add-on from here, and then made an account at Box.net (it takes you there during installation), and then uploaded my Firefox bookmarks to my account. I went to my file manager on my account and saw my bookmarks there, ready for download as an XML file. I did have one suggestion though.Say you were at work or at school and couldn't download the XML because downloads were forbidden, then you couldn't view your bookmarks. I emailed Brian and told him about this. I am still waiting for a response however. I was wondering if there was some way for them to let you click on the bookmarks and view them online. It would be a bit easier. I did notice, tho...

Spread Firefox v.2
2007-11-23 06:32:00
The folks over at Spread Firefox have created a new version of their sfx site. You can still visit the old one here, but I'd recommend you check out this new one. A lot of it is still under construction and there is not a lot of activity to browse through, but it appears to me that it will be worth it.The new sfx includes a points system, project pages that you can be a part of to help market and develop Firefox, and the Mozilla marketing department will also promote their projects there as well. Currently the featured project is the "Extend Firefox 2 Contest." It is a developer contest to "encourage development and innovation in Web experience through add-ons to Firefox 2." The winner gets the "Ultimate Firefox Developer Kit." I think I might take a whack at it. Who knows.

Firefox 3 Beta 1
2007-11-23 05:24:00
There's a new Firefox that's ready for testing. Note: I said testing, so it's not completely full-proof yet. Here it is straight from SpreadFirefox.com:[Mozilla announced Firefox 3 Beta 1 today. Mike Beltzner has a comprehensive post on DevNews, crossposted below. Reminder that the Firefox 3 Beta 1 milestone releaseis intended for testing purposes only and is not for casual users. –Melissa Shapiro]Firefox 3 Beta 1 now available for downloadPlease note: We do not recommend that anyone other than developers and testers download the Firefox 3 Beta 1 milestone release. It is intended for testing purposes only. Firefox 3 Beta 1 is now available for download. This is the ninth developer milestone focused on testing the core functionality provided by many new features and changes to the platform scheduled for Firefox 3. Ongoing planning for Firefox 3 can be followed at the Firefox 3 Planning Center, as well as in mozilla.dev.planning and on irc.mozilla.org in #granparadiso. New featur...