Latest Common Applications, Tools And Utilities

 Browsers, Gimp, software  No Responses »
May 102012
 
latest-common-applications-tools-and-utilities

Great News LibreOffice has a new release…….:)

This is a list of the latest common applications, tools and utilities most widely used. The latest version will be highlighted in RED.

The programs, tools or utilities below are either freeware, open source and some have commercial features that can be purchased i.e Skype and iTunes.

Web Browsers:

Web browsers has been moved to the following link web browsers.

Chat:

  • Skype: Install Skype, add your friends as contacts, then call, video call and instant message with them for free. Call people who aren’t on Skype too, at really low rates……..Latest Version 5.9.0.115
  • Yahoo! Messenger: Yahoo Messenger has come a long way with the latest updates. Yahoo has started to listen to the community and implemented some great new features…… Latest Version 11.5.0.192

Messaging:

  • IncrediMail: IncrediMail is a free email software that allows you to enjoy a fun and exciting email application offering new ways to compose, send and receive email. …Latest Version 5175

Image Editors:

  • Picasa: Google’s powerful Picasa is a software that allows you to edit, organise and share your photos on the internet…… Latest Version 3.9 Build 135.93
  • Paint.NET: Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. Don’t underestimate this little germ. Even though it is very small in size it still has some very powerful features that will impress you…….Latest Version 3.5.10
  • The Gimp: GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. Like the above software is even more powerful. You could say it is a rivalry to photoshop but with NO price tag. Yes that is correct it is an open source software maintaing by a great community that releases updates on a regular basis. You will be impressed once you get around the understanding of where all the tools are. You will get to love this great FREE software. Gimp is used for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It works on many operating systems, in many languages. …Latest Version Gimp 2.8 ……have a look at what’s new in Gimp 2.8  check out my gimp tutorial

Media Players:

  • VLC Media Player: VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVD, Audio CD, VCD, and various streaming protocols…….Latest Version 2.0.1
  • iTunes: iTunes is a free application for Mac and PC. It plays all your digital music and video. It syncs content to your iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV….Latest Version 10.6

Office Package:

  • LibraOffice: LibreOffice is the power-packed free, libre and open source personal productivity suite for Windows, Macintosh and GNU/Linux, that gives you six feature-rich applications for all your document production and data processing needs: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base……..Latest Version LibreOffice 3.5.3 Have a look at what’s new in this release LibreOffice 3.5.3 features.

Cleaning:

  • Ccleaner: CCleaner is the number-one tool for cleaning your Windows PC. It protects your privacy online and makes your computer faster and more secure. Easy to use and a small, fast download……Latest Version 3.18.1707

If you have any request and or want me to add some tool, programs or software let me know. Keep coming back as this list will be maintained and more will be added.

Enjoy!!!

 

Gimp – How to make an image background transparent

 Gimp, tutorial  No Responses »
Apr 242012
 
gimp-how-to-make-an-image-background-transparent

Donate for a cup of coffee :)

Latest News: I have added a flash slideshow at the end to help you even further. This slide show tutorial uses Gimp 2.8.0 RC1

This tutorial was created using Gimp version 2.6.11

We are going to learn how to change an image background to transparent background. I am going to use an image of a rose with a black background colour.
1.    Open your image.

Red rose with black background colour
2.    Select the area you want to make transparent, in this instance we are going to select the black background. Use shift-click to add more regions/colors.
Tip: Use zoom in to see finer details of exactly what you’re selecting.

Image black background selected
1.    I am going to use the magic wand. Click on the image to view.

Selecting the magic wand tool3.    In the Layer window (the one showing your image), select Layer – Transparency – Add Alpha Channel.  If this is blanked out then it’s already done.  This makes sure your image can store transparency data.

Select the image layer transparency alpha channel
4.    Select Edit – Clear.  This makes the selection transparent.

Select edit and clear the black background
5.    Save the file. I will save the file as a png format. This is one of the most widely use formats for the internet. Of course you can save it as jpg if you wish.
Note: If you save it as a PNG file, be sure to select the ‘Save colour values from transparent pixels’ option in the Save as PNG dialog box.

Png settings gimpThis is the end result

Small red rose with transparent background
And that’s it. As you can see it is very simple.

I have added a flash video slideshow tutorial below to help you. Let me know what you think and if you feel that I can improve this tutorial. Any feed back would be appreciated :)

Transparent background using Gimp

Create round corners using Gimp

 Gimp, tutorial  No Responses »
Mar 122011
 

We are going to create round corners using Gimp. Have a look at the image below, which illustrates how to navigate to the tool needed.

Round corners using gimp

The following tool allows you to set the radius, shadow and the background colour. Have a look at the following image.

Script-Fu tool from Gimp

We are going to create 2 types of round corners, one with shadow and the other with no shadow. Have a look at the following image with a shadow on the right and bottom edge.

Image with a background shadow

The following image has no shadow

No background shadow

We are going to look at different type of round corners that you can create using Gimp.

The following image shows the background corner set to white. Here you can set what ever background colour you desire.

Corner with a background colour

The following image has no background colour. It is set to transparent.

A transparent background round corner

This concludes this tutorial. Come  back for more Gimp tutorials.