Oh, My user, my user, my user........

Been thinking about the movie "Tron" and how the program characters hoped in their users. A lot depends on the user, you know!

Pencils have been with us for eons yet some still find them awkward and clumsy. I never cared for pencils, barely liked ball-points till those gel-pens came along. Then I am undecided about fine or wide line, depends on the whim and the need. And felt tips are well, if you got to use them......... Computers use keyboards and while I am not a typist, my hunt and peck technique has improved a notch or two over the years. Some can fly blindfolded, others pound with their fists, their heads bobbing up and down at whiplash speeds. Lucky you if you are tech savvy and a keyboard master too.

In the art realm many use what's called a graphics tablet or a tablet PC. What they have in common is a pen to move the cursor for a more natural like drawing experience. There are tablets and then stones with chisels. I have a low end tablet, the pen on it is too sensitive and not very adjustable. It moves the cursor OK, but clicks all kinds of unintended stuff. So, if you are graphics tablet shopping, get one that has all kinds of adjustments from dainty to death grip. Spend the bucks, you get what you pay for. At this stage of the game, having used a mouse for so long, I have become accustomed to drawing with it (the mouse). Hey, let's see how well you draw with a bar of soap. It's a good thing drawing programs aren't like drawing with pencils.

There is much opinion about folks using such and such graphics program. Should you use a professional or a free open source one? Then which one? I have discovered graphics programs are exactly like pencils and pens. There's a lot of them, each are the same but different, and depends on the user. Yes, depends on the user! Every user has their own logic, their own natural quirks as to what works for them. If you actually spend enough time learning to use one program, it becomes imprinted in your way of doing things. This makes you biased to using that program over others. So, what fits you? What fits your way of thinking and working? And do you need it?

It is a funny thing with artist and other such folks. We start off using the best we can afford (usually the cheapest), then as we improve, invest in better materials. Partly because we think if we use the higher end stuff, we will be better or at least appear to be better. Then there is the quality thing. I think some have made a good business out of high end stuff. Computer artist have it over the traditional painters in that you can't tell which program has done the digital art. I know that many will boast in their software, after all it is used in the industry. But don't forget, it's the artist who manipulates the materials that makes the art. That person could just as well use any art software to do what they need to do. So this is my plug for FOSS, that is free and open source software. If you don't have access to the high end stuff, yet still need to create, use free and open source software.

I have been playing with GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) and Inkscape. They are wonderful. I have no experience with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, and just a little with their wannabe clones. I can't afford them, don't intend to buy them, and don't want to hear how great they are. If you use them, that's OK with me. I want to dig deep into the graphic bones of Linux and see what can be done here. This is Linuxville after all.

There are other Linux graphics programs, Krita (part of KDE office), Xara Xtreme, XPaint, GPaint, TuxPaint and several others. They are all like pens and pencils in that they fit different folks with different abilities and aims. All I know is that these other programs don't fit me so well, otherwise I'd be using them.

So now, you have no excuse, if you have lots of cash or are strapped, yet you want to do graphics, there are softwares for you to do the job. Most artist only have two modes, needing encouragement to get going and needing to be told to stop for a while. We do get into our work once we get going.

The ultimate artist would have a lap-held tablet PC, the screen is also the display. You could draw in any environment and when you are in range of your wireless network access point, tap into all your resources. Then print your stuff out on any material that will go through a printer. Gee, there's a lot to get into and you don't even have to leave the Linuxville city limits.

Care and feeding of a Linux user

As you all know, I am all fired up about how computer users are trained these days. It is not for computers in general but targeted for specific products. Usually it is about being a MS PC or a Mac person. Even general knowledge books assume we are using a MS PC and Macs get a cameo mention just to be inclusive. What about Linux, "Oh Linux is....... and Linux is........ It doesn't help when you get a Linux book that begins with the standard Bash command line commands. Why is it that MS PC's and Macs are point and click and Linux is still type in the commands? I have read a number of helpful Linux books and they all start off with command line training. What about the people who criticize as to whither Linux is ready for the desktop or not? They all are saying the need to use the command line makes Linux user-unfriendly. To extend the push even further, it is assumed that people interested in using Linux will grow up to be System Administrators one day or a programmer. You must be destined to use Linux on a server and manage a network and might even learn about Unix. All these perceptions prevent the popular use of Linux as a desktop operating system. Lets see, Linux on a server is highly respected but on the desktop is highly suspect even by Linux server people. Even though the Linux OS does the same things the other OS's do and the GUI on Linux does the same things that the other OS GUI's do, Linux is not ready for the desktop because it's too complex for average users because "you have to use the command line".
I have in my possession a book, "Red Hat Linux 7, Fast and Easy" by Brian Proffitt, published in 2000. This book starts off using the GUI to explore Red Hat Linux 7. It is too bad that other books I've read aren't like this one. This book is about Linux on the desktop for users to use Linux. Not for system administrators on servers, not for programmers. It does have a chapter on how to use the command line but in truth you do not need to use it unless you choose to.
So let me state the facts, you do not have to use the command line in order to use Linux on the desktop. Linux has a GUI with all the toolbars, icons and windows that other desktop operating systems have. Then, the problem with the perception of Linux not being ready for the desktop is because of people saying that Linux is for servers and programmers but not for typical users. Linux has a GUI and programs (applications) that open in windows using the keyboard or mouse, just like MS and Mac. It is the same, period. Here is a picture of my desktop.

Here I have two applications open, a game and a video playing, using only my mouse to do it. Notice the toolbar at the top, the desktop icons are hidden under the open windows. Believe me, if you can use a mouse you can use Linux on the desktop the same as you can use any other desktop operating systems. I myself am a long time computer user, but not a system administrator or a programmer. I am here to assure you that as a user you are free to point and click, drag and drop, and cut and paste on any computer you jump on, including the Linux desktop.