Recently in IrfanView Category

The OMG!Ubuntu blog reports on the decision, however preliminary, at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Dallas to remove the GIMP image editor from the 10.04 Lucid LTS release of the wildly popular Linux distribution.

Read the well-wrought entry linked above for the drawn-out reasoning behind moving the "professional"-quality Photoshop killer GIMP from the Ubuntu base (it'll be available in the Ubuntu Software Center, or your other favorite package-management tool).

Those assembled seem to think that GIMP is not used enough and is not consumery enough. And that the F-Spot photo manager can do basic photo editing and is much better for the average user.

Oh, do I have bones — plural — to pick over this one. I still haven't made my decision on whether I'm for Mono (using the Microsoft-compatible open-source tools) apps or against them (and F-Spot, along with Tomboy notes and, if you've added it, the Banshee music player seem in my mind anyway to be the highest-profile Mono apps in the GNOME world).

All I can say is that with the geek-political climate these days, more Mono rather than the same or less will just give more users a reason to jump off of GNOME (and Ubuntu) in order to keep one's collective hands, if not clean, than at least Microsoft-free.

Again, I haven't made a personal decision about Mono as yet, but I'm far from happy with F-Spot.

And yes, I've been using it somewhat regularly. For my purposes, I'm not crazy about having to import images into F-Spot. digiKam can deal with images in any directory structure, and I'd like my photo-organizing program to do the same. I understand that F-Spot is more iPhoto-like in this aspect. I still don't like it. It's OK for my personal images, but I can't keep my businessy images separate. Everything's in one big pile in F-Spot, except when you dig into the actual directory structure the app creates. Yep, just like iPhoto.

In F-Spot I can add a caption in the "comments" area. Unfortunately that data does not come up in any other applications I use to edit or view photos. I can't edit the IPTC data that 100 percent of professional photojournalists use (and those are the guys whose images I handle day in and out).

F-Spot will sharpen and adjust the color of images. It will crop them. But it won't resize them. Huge, huge deal-breaker for my "professional" use of this application. (And why would I use something for my "home" images that won't do the job with my real work if I don't have to?)

Truth be told, I don't require all that Photoshop offers. On the PC I use IrfanView. And basically my "quest" for a Linux/Unix image viewing/editing program runs along the lines of "give me something that does what IrfanView can do."

Even the GIMP (and Krita, too, O fans of KDE) can't deal with the IPTC data in JPEG images, which I absolutely need.

The digiKam image manager in KDE, through the great Kipi Plugins, CAN deal with this data, and pretty well, too (although the limit on the length of the IPTC credit line is a bit grating and seemingly unnecessary).

So I've been using digiKam for the past few weeks somewhat regularly. (Truth be told, I tend to work in IrfanView on my Windows box at the office about 80 percent of the time when editing photos; it's the environment I know, and that does what I want it to do.)

digiKam is a bit unwieldly. Like many KDE apps, there are menus for days, along with choices to match. It resizes. Good. It sharpens (although the results aren't as good, seemingly, as in every other app that sharpens images; there are, again, lots of choices, and I barely understand — and can't get a great result — from them. digiKam can crop, but you can't enter the exact dimensions of your crop in pixels and then drag the box around to make the perfect crop like I do in IrfanView. Not a deal-breaker, but not good either.

And did I say digiKam is unwieldy. Why are there separate "edit" modes for the metadata and the image data?

I've had little ol' gThumb on this Ubuntu machine for awhile. And hearing that the UDS suggested and then rejected it as a "replacement" for either GIMP and/or F-Spot prompted me to try it out. Sure I had opened a few images, but I hadn't yet done any heavy lifting with gThumb.

It was time.

Gthumb, little ol' gThumb (that's what I'll call it for the purposes of this entry), does almost everything I need:

-- Deals with images in their current directory structure
-- Resizes images to exact pixel dimensions
-- Crops images to exact pixel dimensions
-- Can edit/add IPTC caption info (to the main caption area only) with the "comments" feature
-- Allows for easy save-as of images

The only thing gThumb doesn't seem to do (and I could be missing it, though I don't think I am) is sharpen images. I can live without that, especially if gThumb can create and won't destroy existing IPTC data in JPEGs.

(Note: Besides Krita and GIMP, my previous favorite light image editor for Linux, MtPaint, is also an IPTC-data-destroyer and therefore can't be used for my "real" work.)

So thanks UDS people, for mentioning gThumb. And if you're asking my advice, and I know for damn sure that you're not, keep the GIMP or don't. I'll install it anyway.

But look deep into your geeky, geeky hearts and find it within them to replace F-Spot with gThumb. Or at very least make gThumb part of the Ubuntu base, make it the default image-organizing app, and let the rest of the free, open-source software-using world discover this most worthy of applications that for the most part can free me from the purgatory of Windows-based photo editing applications for good.

(And while I'm on the well-trod soapbox, let me mention that I wrote this entire entry using the newish Webkit-based Epiphany Web browser, another lovely bit of GNOME that I liked in its Gecko days but like even more now.)

(And sorry [really] about all those parentheses, within which I'm thinking all too often these days.)

What role does the Internet Explorer Web browser play in your life? In recent days, new vulnerabilities in the flagship Windows browser have come to light.

Alas, the fix is in, but pundits continue to suggest that running IE is just asking for trouble.

I'm not ready to say IE is such a security risk that instead browsing the Web with Firefox, Google's new Chrome, the super-quick Opera or even Apple's cross-platform Safari is enough to save your digital bacon.

Nope, it's all about what you do, where you go and what computing platform you choose to do it with.

The fast is that i386-based Windows PCs continue to be the most vulnerable platforms out there because of both their ubiquity and relative lack of built-in security when compared to Macintosh OS X and the vast number of Unix-like OSes out there (including Linux, the BSDs and Sun's offerings).

If you make a habit of downloading executable files (they're easy to spot in Windows because they end in .exe) without being absolutely sure they're totally legitimate and then double-clicking on them, bad things may very well happen.

Don't get me wrong. Searching for free software for Windows computers is something I do, too. Not often, but I do it. That's how I found some of my very favorite applications on any platform, including the terrific image viewer/editor IrfanView, the fast AbiWord word processor and Notepad++, the best Windows-native text editor ever.

This interesting article at OStatic mentions one free, non-open-source app I rely on greatly, the Irfanview image viewer/editor, which I use for most of my photo editing, and one I'm anxious to try, the Zoho Web-based app suite, which some think is better than what Google offers.

Back in the BBS days, I actually did pay for a shareware program. I used a couple of related programs that allowed for the reading of and writing to QWK packets, which enabled me to download my Internet mail and USENET messages, read them offline, do my replies, new messages and the like, and assemble them for upload. I can't remember the name of the programs, but I actually paid something like $15 for their use, for which I actually received a couple of 5 1/4-inch floppies in the mail.

Now I prefer FOSS -- free, open-source software -- for everything, and in Linux it's easy to get a distribution with thousands of packages -- all free to use and modify as any of us sees fit.

But back in the worlds of Windows and OS X, there are quite a few FOSS programs, but more that are released under the old terms of "shareware" and "freeware." Not being entirely free at all. Some ask for donations, others say that for "commercial" use, you should pay X amount.

The two I use most in Windows:

IrfanView, which is free for personal use, with a donation requested for businesses. I think the amount requested is $10.

EditPadLite can be used "only for private purposes that do not generate any income and by registered not-for-profit organizations ..." There is the non-free program EditPad Pro for "profitable" usage, which costs "only $49.95."

I'll make my confession now: I use both programs for "business use," though I'm never quite sure if such use is, indeed, generating any profit (even though that is way beside the point).

As I say, even though I prefer FOSS, I'm inclined to pay the $10 toll for Irfanview. It's worth way more, seeing as I can't find even one application that can do what it does as well and as fast.

The $49.95 for EditPad Pro? That's too rich for my blood.

Sure I could get my frugal employer to pay, but as they say, I've got other fish to fry ... I should probably just find a FOSS editor that works with Windows and be on my merry-friggin-way.

I do have Gvim installed ... but that seems like too much trouble.

I like using Geany in Linux, and there's a build of that for PC. Maybe I'll give that a try.

But again, I ask: Have you ever paid for shareware?

I've been using IrfanView heavily on my Windows box. And yes, I love it more than ever. I've been using it to process screen grabs (I use the Print Screen key to copy the screen image, then I start the new image in IrfanView, paste it in and crop what I need).

And I love the "create custom selection" feature, which I have preconfigured with the exact pixel dimension I need for one of the images I have to cut regularly. First I size down the image to a little bigger than I want it, then I go to "create custom selection" in the menu, and a box the exact size I want it is superimposed on the image. I can then crop right there, or right-click with the mouse to move the box exactly where I want it.

Now that I have Wine on my Ubuntu 7.04 install (yes, IEs4Linux did work), I need to start trying to run IrfanView under Linux. If it works, I will be a very, very happy camper indeed.

Here's the deal. We've got a Mac at home ... and my two Linux-equipped laptops. This Old PC in the Back Room has no Internet connectivity at present. And the university where Ilene teaches changed their online administrative portal from one that works in Firefox to one that ... does not. It requires Internet Explorer, version 5.5 or greater. That even leaves out the last version of IE that Microsoft deigned to produce for Mac's OS X.

I returned to the easiest way to get Internet Explorer (and the Wine tools required to run it and many other Windows apps). That would be IEs4Linux.

By following the Ubuntu-specific instructions, I was able to get wine, cabextract and all the relevant files to install IE 5.5 and IE 6 on my Gutsy setup. Yep, Gusty is still giving me trouble with any package-management program that isn't apt or Aptitude, but since I have those two at my disposal still, I'm sticking with this install for awhile.

Anyway, even though the process involves changing the repositories in /etc/apt/sources.list, then downloading, unpacking and installing from a tarball, it's all laid out. My advice: go to the page and use copy and past to get the exact code into your terminal window.

There are also distro-specific instructions for: Fedora, Gentoo, Debian, Suse, Mandriva and PCLinuxOS.

In short, if you need IE, this works. And you now have Wine, with which you can experiment with other Windows apps on your Linux box. It's trial and error (mostly error) in my limited experience; for heavy duty use of Wine, I recommend Code Weavers, which costs money but is probably well worth it.

As I've previously written, my first "experiment" will be getting IrfanView running under Linux. Sadly, there is nothing -- NOTHING -- on Linux to equal IrfanView when it comes to image editing -- or at least the kind of image editing I do.

Here are some recent Click entries that don't have a lot to do with me installing Linux-based system software:

I have two items (here and here) I did last night on the new Kindle electronic reading device being pushed by Amazon. On the cover of Newsweek this week, the $399 Kindle is being touted as "the next iPod," or "the iPod for books, magazines and newspapers" (yes, the New York Times is available by subscription) It could be huge, but it might not be ready -- or priced -- for prime time. I try to cut through the hype.

And I have my choice as the BEST free photo-editing software for Windows (I've been using it for LA.com images, and it's better than even Photoshop for that purpose).

Look at this pointer to a YouTube video in which Google co-founder and gazillionaire Sergey Brin discusses Google's new Android cell-phone operating system (which should knock the iPhone on its ass by the middle of next year):

If you don't know what the latest thing in servers is, see my roundup of recent news on "cloud computing," in which the vast server farms of Amazon and soon IBM are/will be converted into virtual computing environments, with virtual servers being rented out "from the cloud" to businesses that want what looks and acts like a dedicated server -- running all the applications a server can run -- but is not in the company's back room and instead is built and maintained by these huge companies. Yes, they rent them by the hour:

And there's also my coverage of Wal-Mart's new $199 desktop computer that DOESN'T use Windows (here and here).

IrfanView.

Between the application itself and its plugins, it's light as can be but does absolutely everything I need.

It took me awhile to figure out how to crop a photo to exact dimensions and get control over that process, but I did figure out that final missing piece of the puzzle.

OK, there were two missing pieces. I couldn't figure out how to create an image file, but now that I've crossed that bridge, I'm ready to say that Irfanview is the best shareware/freeware image-editor out there. I say "shareware/freeware," because developer Irfan Skiljan says the program is free for home or noncommercial use but requests a $12 or 10-euro donation for business use.

While I prefer remaining in the world of free, open-source software, a $12 shareware, closed-source program is way better than a many-hundreds-of-dollars closed-source program like Photoshop.

And the great thing about IrfanView is that it loads in a couple seconds. Try that with Photoshop.

Now if only Irfanview was available for Linux and Mac. That would be great. As it is, I will try running IrfanView with WINE (the Windows emulator) in Linux, and I will report back.

Along the way, I tried out MANY applications. I still love MtPaint, the best lightweight image editor for Linux, but it doesn't handle the IPTC info that I need to preserve. I'll have to check whether it destroys it, as the GIMP so tragically does whenever a JPG is saved.

Others I tried included the KDE apps Krita (love it ... but it doesn't do IPTC; again, I'll have to check what it does to existing data) and digiKam.

The latter -- digiKam -- is digital-camera interface software for the KDE Linux/BSD desktop. Soon KDE is coming to a Windows machine near you, and I predict that MANY Windows users will adopt KDE as their user environment of choice.

Anyway, digiKam does have an editing function, and it does support IPTC, though to the extent that IrfanView does. The problems: digiKam wants to create its own directories (like iPhoto) that seem to mandate multiple copies of the same images in hard-to-navigate-to places. And the act of resizing a photo can, for some reason, take many minutes and/or crash the app. If only the KDE people would put full IPTC editing capability into Krita, which I think is a great image editor. Fix that and fix the initial-open-quote problem in KWord, and I'd be a die-hard KDE user.

But again, IrfanView is -- in my opinion -- the best photo-editing program for Windows that's out there today.

Update: I didn't realize that my version of IrfanView was old. I'm using Version 3.95, and the latest is 4.10. I'm downloading the new app and plugins now. I will report later on how it works.

Another update: This guy installed IrfanView in Linux with WINE. And so did this guy. And this guy, too.

This, however, I don't understand at all, but it might help. Also, check out this thread.

Even further update: The IrfanView forum.

I spend pretty much the entire day pulling images and editing them for the Web. I do this in both Windows and Linux, and since I neither have nor want Photoshop, I've been using both free and free, open-source programs to get the job done.

Free ... free and open-source -- what's the difference?

Let me throw in two more terms: Shareware and crapware.

Let's knock 'em down:

Crapware: "Free" software included on a new PCs hard drive that only functions for a limited period of time, after which the computer owner must purchase it or discontinue its use. Source code not included or available.

Shareware: Software that is initially free to download and install, sometimes in a full version, other times in a truncated form, that can be used for either a certain period of time or forever, but which can be purchased -- or must be purchased to continue using after a period of time. Source code not included or available.

Freeware: Software that can be freely downloaded and used, but not necessarily freely distributed. Source code not included or available.

Free, open-source software: This is the GPL (GNU General Public License) model that governs most Linux system software and the applications that go with it. Software is freely available, source code is also freely available and can be modified and re-released provided source code for the subsequent revision is also included. Software can be repackaged and sold ... but the source code must continue to be made available free of charge.

At least that is my understanding of the various levels of "free" and not-so-free software.

Over the past decade or so, the model has shifted from mostly shareware to mostly FOSS (free, open-source software). That's a good -- and probably a great -- thing. Keeping the code open makes it easier to find and fix problems and to create new applications from a code base.

Anyway ... back to my image-editing problem. I love the GIMP, the free, open-source photo-editing program that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux/BSD. I've barely used Photoshop in all my years of computing, so I don't miss it.

But one of my "new" tasks at work is preparing photos with embedded IPTC info -- caption and credit information that is part of the JPEG file. I can't find a FOSS photo editing program that both lets me do what I need to do in terms of image sizing and cropping as well as preserving and modifying the IPTC infomation.

The GIMP obliterates the IPTC info. I've since tried Krita (from the KDE software family) and my favorite light image-editor, MtPaint, and neither allows access to the IPTC info.

But one of the freeware editors I use on my Windows box, IrfanView, does allow access to IPTC. If you get the main program and all its plugins, you have a lot of power at your fingertips. It's not as easy -- for me, at least -- as the GIMP, but it is extremely quick to load. And it appears to do the job.

IrfanView is freeware, not FOSS, which troubles me a bit. But its developer, Irfan Skiljan of Austria, is a fantastic programmer, and I can't begrudge him licensing the application the way he sees fit.

Oh, and I wish IrfanView was available for Linux and the Mac. One can dream.

Update: I guess you can call Irfanview a kind of shareware. It does cost:

If you intend to use IrfanView at your place of business or for commercial purposes, please register and purchase it. I want to continue working on this program, therefore, your registration will be an incentive for me to add new functions and increase the program's quality.

Any suggestions, feedback and comments are welcome and won't be ignored.

If you are a commercial user and you like this program (or are a home user who wants to support/donate further development), please register/donate by sending US$ 12.00 or EUR 10,- (this is the price for one (single) licence) to the address below.

Please send cash only. (I cannot accept high check cashing fees at the bank)

Address:

Irfan Skiljan

Postfach 48

2700 Wiener Neustadt

Austria, Europe

Commercial users: please contact me by E-Mail for prices and discounts. Note: If you want, you can buy the licenses using PayPal or credit card.

Even though I prefer "free," $12 U.S. is an excellent deal. If I use IrfanView for a week and it does what I want, I'll pay up. Especially given the current dollar-euro exchange rate, it's a deal for U.S. users vis a vis Europeans.