Re: [SLUG] Defining "Mainsteam"

[Glen Turner]

Malcolm Johnston wrote:
All this may be just me.  I haven't had a decent look at distros like Ubuntu, 
and this is why I ask my question.  What, in a nutshell, is their appeal?
One one level it's all Unix, of course, but, given that, what are the 
appealing differences?


In the past few years Linux has gone past the boundaries defined by
Unix. The area this is most noticeable is in the APIs used by
applications programmers (it's not xlib anymore) and in handling
the new ways hardware works (hot plug everything, suspend/resume).

The appeal of Ubuntu and Fedora is that they are now beyond trying
to develop a reasonable Unix-like operating system. They're now
trying to produce a superb operating system -- one that is easy
and pleasant to use, where new hardware Just Works, where single
machine systems administration doesn't require command line genius.

Older distros thought it was fine that I needed to be an
expert in graphics to connect a projector.  That's a fail
for me, since my expertise is in networking.

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Fwd: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Martin Visser]

On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Marghanita da Cruz
 wrote:
>> "The deal with Microsoft is a world-first in student licensing, based on
a
>> per student approach rather than licensing per device.
> <
http://www.premier.nsw.gov.au/Newsroom/Articles/2009/April/090401_The_digital_education_revolution_is_here.html
>
>

When I look at the formatting of that press release, it hurts my eyes.
With the unbalanced apostrophes and single sentence paragraphs, it
almost appears as a failed experiment in avant-garde rap poetry.

The lack of attention to detail, and it has been published for two
days now, doesn't give one any confidence that the Premier's
Department understands how to effectively communicate using the
intarwebs. At the very least their is an opportunity for a savvy
open-source consultant to propose a decent content management system.

Regards, Martin

martinvisse...@gmail.com
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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Daniel Pittman]

Martin Visser  writes:
> On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 9:43 AM, lloyd  wrote:
>
>> Apart from Heracles, does anyone know who marketed Linux & FOSS to the NSW
>> Department of Education prior to this decision? This is obviously relevant
>> to statements about "Linux not compete".  I think we can be sure that the
>> competition to Linux were backed by substantial if not huge marketing
>> expenditure.
>
> I know for certain that at least one major vendor did have Linux as a
> key part of their bid for this tender. I would be very surprised if
> there were not more than one.

There have certainly been a number of bids based around FOSS into
Victorian government over the years; in my previous role I was
intimately involved in several.

So, yes, they do actually happen.

Regards,
Daniel
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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Martin Visser]

On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 9:43 AM, lloyd  wrote:

> Apart from Heracles, does anyone know who marketed Linux & FOSS to the NSW
> Department of
> Education prior to this decision? This is obviously relevant to statements
> about "Linux not compete".
> I think we can be sure that the competition to Linux were backed by
> substantial if not huge marketing expenditure.
>
>
I know for certain that at least one major vendor did have Linux as a key
part of their bid for this tender. I would be very surprised if there were
not more than one.

Regards, Martin

martinvisse...@gmail.com
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Re: [SLUG] Defining "Mainsteam"

[Rick Welykochy]

Rev Simon Rumble wrote:

One of my colleagues was complaining this week that a Vista service pack 
is something like a gigabyte (and her ISP doesn't have free mirrors) of 
download in one hit.  Ouch.


Sounds outrageous! I had a peek on the Microsoft website for the Vista
services packs. SP1 is about 440 MB and SP2 is about 350 MB. Ouch!

Apple has similar offerings, perhaps 500 MB every four months.

Comparatively, the debian box I am caring for needs maybe several
100 MB of updates in a year.

Apples and oranges, though, since the deb box is not running X. Just plain
old shells. Bliss!


cheers
rickw


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Re: [SLUG] Defining "Mainsteam"

[Rev Simon Rumble]

This one time, at band camp, Daniel Bush wrote:

> I don't always like the way debian (and perhaps by extension ubuntu) modify
> the conf files and arrange things for various software  - I don't want to
> have to figure out the debian-way on top of figuring out the software itself

Wait a second, you'd rather learn where every piece of software you 
install puts its config files rather than the single place you'll find 
all config files with any Debian package?

This, for me, is the best thing about Debian!  Configuration is in 
/etc/.  Not /use/opt/lib/conf/ or wherever the weirdo who wrote the 
software thinks config files should go since he started using Unix on 
one of the proprietary "open" systems in the seventies and that was the 
place it put them.  If config isn't in /etc/, it's a bug.

> The other thing is that debian and its non-commercial nature seems like an
> interesting phenomenon in itself.  It feels big, comprehensive and reliable
> (that ssh thing last year notwithstanding :) ) but it's not backed by any
> big company or an overt commercial interest.   Seems to me that there is
> definitely something valuable there in the way it brings together a lot of
> the best free/open-source software into a unified system that can be shown
> off to the world.

The amazing thing is that the project has stuck to its guns throughout, 
and that's paying off.  Nobody would consider forking their own distro 
from another source now unless they were deeply invested in another 
distro already.

> [1] it also helps that there are isp's like iinet who provide free mirrors
> for debian/ubuntu/* repositories which you can use if you are customer

One of my colleagues was complaining this week that a Vista service pack 
is something like a gigabyte (and her ISP doesn't have free mirrors) of 
download in one hit.  Ouch.

-- 
Rev Simon Rumble 
www.rumble.net

The Tourist Engineer
Just because you're on holiday, doesn't mean you're not a geek.
http://engineer.openguides.org/

 "When bankers get together for dinner they discuss art, when artists
  get together for dinner they discuss money."
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Re: [SLUG] Defining "Mainsteam"

[Daniel Bush]

2009/4/3 Malcolm Johnston 

> Regarding Martin Visser's comments in the final "Sound Problem" posting.  I
> don't want to incite a Holdens versus Faclcons type debate here, but how
> would one briefly characterize "mainstream Linux" these days?
> ...
>
> All this may be just me.  I haven't had a decent look at distros like
> Ubuntu,
> and this is why I ask my question.  What, in a nutshell, is their appeal?
> One one level it's all Unix, of course, but, given that, what are the
> appealing differences?
>
>

I don't always like the way debian (and perhaps by extension ubuntu) modify
the conf files and arrange things for various software  - I don't want to
have to figure out the debian-way on top of figuring out the software itself
-  but the thing I keep coming back to is the packaging system and
particularly apt/aptitude.  It's gold [1].

I've used yum utility with centos which does a similar thing but I had more
trouble getting what I wanted (that may be because of less experience and
the fact I was using one version below current).

The other thing is that debian and its non-commercial nature seems like an
interesting phenomenon in itself.  It feels big, comprehensive and reliable
(that ssh thing last year notwithstanding :) ) but it's not backed by any
big company or an overt commercial interest.   Seems to me that there is
definitely something valuable there in the way it brings together a lot of
the best free/open-source software into a unified system that can be shown
off to the world.

[1] it also helps that there are isp's like iinet who provide free mirrors
for debian/ubuntu/* repositories which you can use if you are customer

-- 
Daniel Bush

http://blog.web17.com.au
http://github.com/danielbush
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[SLUG] Anyone played with the Beagle yet?

[Peter Chubb]

Does anyone have any experience here with the Beagle?
http://beagleboard.org  It looks very nice and it looks as if it's
supported in Angstrom.
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A university is a non-profit organisation only in the sense that it
spends everything it gets  ... Luca Turin.
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Re: [SLUG] Defining "Mainsteam"

[Erik de Castro Lopo]

Malcolm Johnston wrote:

> All this may be just me.  I haven't had a decent look at distros like Ubuntu, 
> and this is why I ask my question.  What, in a nutshell, is their appeal?
> One one level it's all Unix, of course, but, given that, what are the 
> appealing differences?

Above all Ubuntu (and I believe Fedora) offers a 6 month release cycle
and the ability to upgrade from one release to the next relatively
easily. That means its relatively easy to keep up-to-date with current
developments without too much pain.

In addition, the packaging systems of all the Debian based distros
(including Ubuntu) also track dependancies so if you try to install X
that requires Y to work correctly, the packaging system will check for
Y (and if its not available install it) before installing X. Fedora
also does this. I don't know about Slackware.

FWIW, I would consider any machine running a 2.4 kernel as rather out of
date.

Erik
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Re: [SLUG] Defining "Mainsteam"

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Malcolm Johnston wrote:
Regarding Martin Visser's comments in the final "Sound Problem" posting.  I 
don't want to incite a Holdens versus Faclcons type debate here, but how 
would one briefly characterize "mainstream Linux" these days?


I've been using generic Unix systems (including Bell Unix, Whitesmith's Idris, 
AIX, Solaris and Linux) since the mid-1980s.  Slackware Linux is rather in 
the old, tool-box type mould, I guess, and although it can be a bit fiddly to 
set up and can produce problems like the one I just had, I can't honestly say 
I find it all that strange or alien.  I've had a couple of bouts with Red Hat 
(the last one was the somewhat quirky RH8) and found that unsatisfactory 
because (apart from problems with the implementation) I found I was out of 
sync with many of its defaults.


All this may be just me.  I haven't had a decent look at distros like Ubuntu, 
and this is why I ask my question.  What, in a nutshell, is their appeal?
One one level it's all Unix, of course, but, given that, what are the 
appealing differences?



My experience with Unix is a little older. We had to program on it in the course
of my studies circa 1980-81 - there was something called a shell - which I felt
was akin to the Java Virtual Machine.

Then in the mid 80s Solaris,AIX, Ultrix (from DEC, which was bought by Compaq,
which was subsequently bought by HP) appeared - these were vendors half hearted
attempt to standardise on an operating system.

I am not sure whether the software is/was open source - distributed shared
developer pool.

In 2003, faced with moving from an aging laptop running Windows 95 - I checked
out a few distros of Linux - Fedora, Debian and Knoppix. Ubuntu  wasn't around.

In the end I settled on Knoppix -it ran on my laptop - though the sound, power
management did not work. I upgraded to Knoppix 5.1, on the same laptop, a couple
of years back and sound and power "just worked".

It was with some trepidation that I took my laptop, shipped with some version of
windows, into a service centre, with Knoppix 3.2, when it wouldn't boot.
However, the tech showed me copies of Xandros and asked if he could have a copy
of my Knoppix Disk :-). Xandros is the distro on the eeePC. The tech did not say
anything, but returned a working computer - I think I just had a flat battery. 
:-(

Linux seems not to be hardware specific nor to suffer from the proprietary
divergence of AIX and Ultrix. My understanding is that it is just one version
packaged differently.

I documented my switch to Linux here:


The idea of customised distros has application in Schools and workplaces.
> About eduKnoppix
> eduKnoppix is an Italian educational distribution based on Knoppix, designed 
especially for teachers and pupils (age 12 up). eduKnoppix has two major 
features: it comes with a comprehensive range of various Mathematics packages, 
as well as resources to obtain the European Computer Driver's License ONLY with 
free software.



Marghanita
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Phone: (+61)0414 869202










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[SLUG] Defining "Mainsteam"

[Malcolm Johnston]

Regarding Martin Visser's comments in the final "Sound Problem" posting.  I 
don't want to incite a Holdens versus Faclcons type debate here, but how 
would one briefly characterize "mainstream Linux" these days?

I've been using generic Unix systems (including Bell Unix, Whitesmith's Idris, 
AIX, Solaris and Linux) since the mid-1980s.  Slackware Linux is rather in 
the old, tool-box type mould, I guess, and although it can be a bit fiddly to 
set up and can produce problems like the one I just had, I can't honestly say 
I find it all that strange or alien.  I've had a couple of bouts with Red Hat 
(the last one was the somewhat quirky RH8) and found that unsatisfactory 
because (apart from problems with the implementation) I found I was out of 
sync with many of its defaults.

All this may be just me.  I haven't had a decent look at distros like Ubuntu, 
and this is why I ask my question.  What, in a nutshell, is their appeal?
One one level it's all Unix, of course, but, given that, what are the 
appealing differences?

Cheers,
Malcolm Johnston
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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Marghanita da Cruz]

lloyd wrote:

Apart from Heracles, does anyone know who marketed Linux & FOSS to the NSW 
Department of
Education prior to this decision? This is obviously relevant to statements about 
"Linux not compete".
I think we can be sure that the competition to Linux were backed by substantial 
if not huge marketing expenditure.


I doubt a Linux, open office or Firefox on the desktop would be in the running
given this statement from the Premier:


"Using this software, students will be able to create videos, edit photos and 
make presentations for class assignments and projects.

"Students and teachers will also be able to set up video conferencing and 
collaborate on assignments using the built-in web cameras and software within the 
department's secure network.

"The Adobe software will be available not only for laptops but for all 
computers in NSW public schools and TAFE colleges.

"NSW Government will also finance the agreement with Microsoft to include Office 
Professional on all the new laptops."

Mr Rees said that this means students will have their own access to all the 
programs commonly found in the modern office workplace, including Word, Excel 
and Power Point.

...

"The new laptops are highly specified with 10.2" screens, large 160gb hard 
disks, 2gb memory and extended battery life.



Maybe Lenova is providing Lenova Quick Start:

Splashtop is an instant on commercial Linux distribution targeting PC 
motherboard vendors and other device manufacturers.[3] It is developed by 
DeviceVM.[4



Splashtop features a graphical user interface[8], a web browser based on 
Mozilla Firefox 2.0[8], a Skype VoIP client[8] and a chat client based on 
Pidgin.[7]



Other products featuring Splashtop

Asus rebrands Splashtop as "Express Gate" for its other products as well.

* ASUS Eee Box
* Asus EEE Top
* Envy 133 from VoodooPC
* ASUS Notebook PCs:
  o F3, F5, F6, F7, F8, F80, G70, M50, M51, M70, N10, N20, N80, N50, 
U2, U6, V1, VX3, X57VN, X58L [17]
* Lenovo IdeaPad S10/S10e, which rebrands Splashtop as "Lenovo Quick 
Start".[18][19][20]
* LG X120[21



Marghanita



If Linux succeeds, then the financial will take care of itself. I
doubt the education department really enjoys $m of funding being
top-sliced to pay for software when there are so many other uses
for $m within the education system.

--
  Glen Turner






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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Harrison Conlin]

On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 9:43 AM, lloyd  wrote:
> Apart from Heracles, does anyone know who marketed Linux & FOSS to the NSW 
> Department of
> Education prior to this decision?

While this doesn't answer your question, Sun Microsystems approached
some of the vendors offering commercial support for OpenOffice. One
vendor was interested and another declined.

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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[lloyd]

Apart from Heracles, does anyone know who marketed Linux & FOSS to the NSW 
Department of
Education prior to this decision? This is obviously relevant to statements 
about "Linux not compete".
I think we can be sure that the competition to Linux were backed by substantial 
if not huge marketing expenditure.

On Thu, 2009-04-02 at 22:41 +1030, Glen Turner wrote:
> Daniel Pittman wrote:
> > IIRC, this is usually by billing for a copy of Windows to run on
> > everything, regardless of what actually runs on it, so the cost of Linux
> > is now hardware + Windows + Linux, no savings available.
> 
> So what alternative do you propose? That every machine be inspected to
> see what operating system it is running on some census date?  We've been
> there with Sun machines running the various BSDs and it really, really
> hurt just for a few hundred machines. Only an insane love of bureaucracy
> would try that on a few hundred thousand machines.
> 
> Better to negotiate a discount for the estimated proportion of machines
> running another OS and pay on the number of machines in the assets register.
> 
> You'll note that NSW was delighted that it didn't even need to count
> machines, but could base its payment on student enrolments (ie, a figure
> it has easily to hand).
> 
> The state gov't schemes are also different in one other aspect: the
> software is paid by the gov't, not by the school.  As far as the
> school is concerned the software cost is $0.
> 
> Now, if I could have a moment to soapbox, why are Linux advocates bitching?
> Apple sell into exactly the same situation, and do quite well out of
> education, thank you. Can Linux not compete against a $0 alternative,
> is its only competitive edge the saving of license fees?
> 
> I don't believe so. I believe that Linux is a more useful operating
> system -- easier to use, more secure, more stable, more applications
> and a view of computing wider than that of mere business.  I especially
> believe that the ability to open the hood, to observe the blinkenlights,
> to treat the computer as a deterministic tool rather than a black box
> governed by moods and whims, brings large advantages to the act of teaching.
> 
> I don't believe this based on some mystical faith. I've used both
> Windows Xp and Ubuntu Linux on my Eee, and Ubuntu outshines Windows
> in every way.
> 
> I feel sad that Linux wasn't selected as the operating system my
> daughter will use at school. But the reasons for that sadness are
> not at all financial.
> 
> If Linux succeeds, then the financial will take care of itself. I
> doubt the education department really enjoys $m of funding being
> top-sliced to pay for software when there are so many other uses
> for $m within the education system.
> 
> -- 
>   Glen Turner


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Re: [SLUG] Certifications

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Petersham Tafe offers Linux Certificates:

Dean Hamstead wrote:

Although cisco are the spawn of all evil, CCNA has good street cred.

You should also consider investing a few years at university and getting 
computer science or engineering degree.



Dean

Meijer, Luke wrote:

Hello

What (if any) Linux certifications have / are you guys doing?

I am looking at the NCLE as I passed the NCLP last year, anyone else 
doing this track?


I am also interested in the RHCE path if anyone can recommend texts.

Thanks for any info!

Luke
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This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain
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are not the intended recipient please delete it and notify the sender.
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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[terryc]

Glen Turner wrote:


Apple sell into exactly the same situation,


Nope. Apple was there first.

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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Daniel Pittman]

Glen Turner  writes:
> Daniel Pittman wrote:
>
>> IIRC, this is usually by billing for a copy of Windows to run on
>> everything, regardless of what actually runs on it, so the cost of Linux
>> is now hardware + Windows + Linux, no savings available.
>
> So what alternative do you propose?

I'm sorry, but I don't understand why you are asking me this question.

I was describing the current contractual agreements in Victoria, as
I understand them, not proposing (or advocating) anything much.

> That every machine be inspected to see what operating system it is
> running on some census date?  We've been there with Sun machines
> running the various BSDs and it really, really hurt just for a few
> hundred machines. Only an insane love of bureaucracy would try that on
> a few hundred thousand machines.
>
> Better to negotiate a discount for the estimated proportion of
> machines running another OS and pay on the number of machines in the
> assets register.

Um, yes.  I am in agreement with you.  Actually, come to that, I agree
with almost all of what you said, which is why your response puzzles me
so much, I think.

Regards,
Daniel
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[SLUG] cmyk, was Lenovo wins $150m NSW schools deal or April Fools joke?

[david]

Has anyone had any success with printing from Cinepaint?

Ben wrote:

2009/4/2 Erik de Castro Lopo :

Ben wrote:


GIMP and Inkscape can't do CMYK,

Does this not do it for Gimp?

   http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/gimp-cmyk


from that link:

How its works:
* Open your RGB image in Gimp via "File > Open"
* Start Seperate+ " > Image > Seperate > Seperate"
* Setup the profiles, may as source "Adobe 1998" and as destination
profile "Euroscala V2"
* Press OK, an image with 4 layers is created
* Each layer represents a color channel of CMYK
* Now save the image as CMYK Tiff at " > Image >
Seperate > Save..."

ew...
That is really, really not an acceptable implementation of CMYK. It's
the kind of thing that could be applied as a filter afterwards. It
doesn't let you work in CMYK with any kind of ease, you still work in
RGB and then do some kind of hideous conversion that would be almost
impossible to fine tune.

The point of CMYK is that you create stuff in the appopriate colours:

My printing recommends the following:
* Black text: 100%K, 0% all others
* Black backgrounds: 100%K, 30%C, 0% others

RGB gets converted to CMY(Cyan, Magenta, Yellow)(with no K(Black) channel).

This leads to imperfect blacks in printing, and 3x the ink being
dumped to form black leads to smearing, drying issues etc.
Text ends up with fuzzy colour speckles around it too.

The GIMP plugin will not resolve these issues as every part of the
image would have to be hand tuned after being created, which is really
not practical.


and this for inkscape (0.47):

   http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/inkscape-cmyk


0.47 is not released as stable yet. Even then the CMYK is only just
coming, so there could be bugs with it, and it's only for PDF export,
not for other export types, which are safer for sending to printer,
especially when you start doing things like embedding rasters inside
PDFs, which any vaguely sophisticated document will have.

Also, I think it would be easy to assume that the embedded rasters
would have issues when it comes to CMYK as they are a whole other
issue, so it will be some time before things are running properly
there.




If you want to campaign for open source, then probably try to get some
government money thrown towards open source development, rather than
try to push things that are inferior to the other market offerings.

Schools is one area where it actually doesn't need to be as good as
the rest of the world (ie lots of schools still have computers running
win2k), but where cheaper is definitely a win.


Erik
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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Glen Turner]

Daniel Pittman wrote:

IIRC, this is usually by billing for a copy of Windows to run on
everything, regardless of what actually runs on it, so the cost of Linux
is now hardware + Windows + Linux, no savings available.


So what alternative do you propose? That every machine be inspected to
see what operating system it is running on some census date?  We've been
there with Sun machines running the various BSDs and it really, really
hurt just for a few hundred machines. Only an insane love of bureaucracy
would try that on a few hundred thousand machines.

Better to negotiate a discount for the estimated proportion of machines
running another OS and pay on the number of machines in the assets register.

You'll note that NSW was delighted that it didn't even need to count
machines, but could base its payment on student enrolments (ie, a figure
it has easily to hand).

The state gov't schemes are also different in one other aspect: the
software is paid by the gov't, not by the school.  As far as the
school is concerned the software cost is $0.

Now, if I could have a moment to soapbox, why are Linux advocates bitching?
Apple sell into exactly the same situation, and do quite well out of
education, thank you. Can Linux not compete against a $0 alternative,
is its only competitive edge the saving of license fees?

I don't believe so. I believe that Linux is a more useful operating
system -- easier to use, more secure, more stable, more applications
and a view of computing wider than that of mere business.  I especially
believe that the ability to open the hood, to observe the blinkenlights,
to treat the computer as a deterministic tool rather than a black box
governed by moods and whims, brings large advantages to the act of teaching.

I don't believe this based on some mystical faith. I've used both
Windows Xp and Ubuntu Linux on my Eee, and Ubuntu outshines Windows
in every way.

I feel sad that Linux wasn't selected as the operating system my
daughter will use at school. But the reasons for that sadness are
not at all financial.

If Linux succeeds, then the financial will take care of itself. I
doubt the education department really enjoys $m of funding being
top-sliced to pay for software when there are so many other uses
for $m within the education system.

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 Glen Turner
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Re: [SLUG] Certifications

[Dean Hamstead]

Although cisco are the spawn of all evil, CCNA has good street cred.

You should also consider investing a few years at university and getting 
computer science or engineering degree.



Dean

Meijer, Luke wrote:

Hello

What (if any) Linux certifications have / are you guys doing?

I am looking at the NCLE as I passed the NCLP last year, anyone else doing this 
track?

I am also interested in the RHCE path if anyone can recommend texts.

Thanks for any info!

Luke
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Re: [SLUG] Switching Email outgoing gateways

[Voytek Eymont]

On Thu, April 2, 2009 2:17 pm, Daryl Thompson wrote:
> Hi all
>
>
> I use WESTNET as my outgoing email gateway (SMTP) when at home, but when
> I use another network or my OPTUS 3G modem I need to temporarily change
> my outgoing SMTP to the network I am  using. Is there a way I can set one
> outgoing email gateway (SMTP) that will work no mater what network or 3G
> modem I use, as changing these setting is geting monotonous.

SMTP AUTH is what I use

if your provider or your mail server has SMTP AUTH that's the way to do, I
think



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Re: [SLUG] Lenovo wins $150m NSW schools deal or April Fools joke?

[Ben]

2009/4/2 Erik de Castro Lopo :
> Ben wrote:
>
>> GIMP and Inkscape can't do CMYK,
>
> Does this not do it for Gimp?
>
>    http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/gimp-cmyk

from that link:

How its works:
* Open your RGB image in Gimp via "File > Open"
* Start Seperate+ " > Image > Seperate > Seperate"
* Setup the profiles, may as source "Adobe 1998" and as destination
profile "Euroscala V2"
* Press OK, an image with 4 layers is created
* Each layer represents a color channel of CMYK
* Now save the image as CMYK Tiff at " > Image >
Seperate > Save..."

ew...
That is really, really not an acceptable implementation of CMYK. It's
the kind of thing that could be applied as a filter afterwards. It
doesn't let you work in CMYK with any kind of ease, you still work in
RGB and then do some kind of hideous conversion that would be almost
impossible to fine tune.

The point of CMYK is that you create stuff in the appopriate colours:

My printing recommends the following:
* Black text: 100%K, 0% all others
* Black backgrounds: 100%K, 30%C, 0% others

RGB gets converted to CMY(Cyan, Magenta, Yellow)(with no K(Black) channel).

This leads to imperfect blacks in printing, and 3x the ink being
dumped to form black leads to smearing, drying issues etc.
Text ends up with fuzzy colour speckles around it too.

The GIMP plugin will not resolve these issues as every part of the
image would have to be hand tuned after being created, which is really
not practical.

> and this for inkscape (0.47):
>
>    http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/inkscape-cmyk

0.47 is not released as stable yet. Even then the CMYK is only just
coming, so there could be bugs with it, and it's only for PDF export,
not for other export types, which are safer for sending to printer,
especially when you start doing things like embedding rasters inside
PDFs, which any vaguely sophisticated document will have.

Also, I think it would be easy to assume that the embedded rasters
would have issues when it comes to CMYK as they are a whole other
issue, so it will be some time before things are running properly
there.



>
>> If you want to campaign for open source, then probably try to get some
>> government money thrown towards open source development, rather than
>> try to push things that are inferior to the other market offerings.
>
> Schools is one area where it actually doesn't need to be as good as
> the rest of the world (ie lots of schools still have computers running
> win2k), but where cheaper is definitely a win.
>
>
> Erik
> --
> --
> Erik de Castro Lopo
> http://www.mega-nerd.com/
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[SLUG] Certifications

[Meijer, Luke]

Hello

What (if any) Linux certifications have / are you guys doing?

I am looking at the NCLE as I passed the NCLP last year, anyone else doing this 
track?

I am also interested in the RHCE path if anyone can recommend texts.

Thanks for any info!

Luke
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privileged information or confidential information or both. If you
are not the intended recipient please delete it and notify the sender.
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Re: [SLUG] [Fwd: Re: Computers & software for schools]

[Daniel Pittman]

david  writes:
> Daniel Pittman wrote:
>> Heracles  writes:
>>
>>> I spent a great deal of time over the last few years trying to get parts
>>> of the DET to look at free software with little effect. I found three
>>> major hurdles.
>>> 1. The unfounded belief that anything free must be second rate
>>> 2. The complete reliance on their Microsoft trained advisers
>>> 3. The argument that the students will only ever encounter MS based
>>>software in the workplace (also based on their advisers).
>>>
>>> I know that these are bogus arguments, but the powers that be are
>>> convinced that they are true.
>>
>> You have a more liberal department than many of the Victorian
>> equivalents, then.  Down here cause number one, of one, is that the
>> contractual agreement that gets them Microsoft software at reasonable
>> price also explicitly excludes them using any alternative OS.
>
> What a pity there isn't anyone around with deep pockets to run a
> restraint-of-trade court case.. or similar.

There isn't any restraint of trade, simply a standard commercial
contract that grants a specialized license to the department in return
for various conditions of use.

The department is in no way obligated to make such a contract in the
first place, or to renew it when it expires, and they are welcome to do
anything they please as long as they comply with the contractual terms.

They could, for example, walk away from the contract right now[1],
remove all Microsoft software from their systems (or obtain a new
agreement), and be happy.

Likewise, they could contract another company, perhaps fruit or clothing
based, to provide all the software and hardware after the current
contract expires, if they so desired.

Trade is in no way restrained by this, although you would be right to
wonder what sort of discount was applied to obtain such a restrictive
contract in the first place.[2]


The place you /might/ raise an objection is when the government renew
the contract without a formal tendering process, but I don't think you
would get anywhere with a claim of restraint of trade.

> I know the law is an ass... but instinctively it seems that there
> should be enough of a public interest case there.

Instinct is an extremely poor guide to the workings of law, I fear.

Regards,
Daniel

Footnotes: 
[1]  Subject to whatever early termination penalty was stipulated in the
 contract, of course.

[2]  The government here regularly flirt with Linux on the desktop or
 server, often coincidental to contract renewal negotiations in
 their near future.  Coincedintally.

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