Tag Archives: free software

Featured Short Film, Website and Pages

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In this week’s roundup, we’ll see why Pope Benedict XVI considers priests as a gift for the church and for the world. If you are a Linux newbie you’ll surely find the next link useful as it shows you 5 things new users of the free operating system should know. Would you like to know what it means to call God “Father”? Then the third link is just right for you. This may raise a lot of eyebrows but the Vatican endorses the “Blues Brothers” film. Curious? Then click on the fourth link. The fifth link will show you that where you start your digital day says a lot about you.

The featured website this week is Kuya Mac’s Kuwaderno and the featured short film is Joaquin Baldwin’s “Sebastian’s Voodoo”.

  • Priests are a Gift for the Church and for the World
    “The Year for Priests came to an end on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is traditionally the ‘day of priestly sanctification’, and this time it was especially so”, the Pope told the faithful gathered below his study window in St. Peter’s Square. Read more…
  • 5 Things New Linux Converts Should Know
    If you’ve recently converted to Linux from Windows, or if you’re just giving Linux a shot, there are a few things you need to know right off the bat about how Linux works and where the major differences are when compared to Windows. Read more…
  • Why Call God “Father?”
    A hundred years ago this month, Father’s Day was first observed in Spokane, Washington. This June not only the USA but 55 other countries around the world will honor the roles fathers play in the family and the community. This modern secular holiday invites us to ask a very important question — what does it mean to call God “Father?” Read more…
  • Vatican Endorses “The Blues Brothers”
    On the 30th anniversary of the film’s release, “L’Osservatore Romano,” the Vatican’s official newspaper, called the film a “Catholic classic” and said it should be recommended viewing for Catholics everywhere. Read more…
  • What Do You Check First: Email or Facebook?
    Where you start your digital day says a lot about you, according to a new study from ExactTarget, an email and social media marketing company. If you check email first, the company said, you tend to be more task-oriented and only interact with brands online when you need something, such as researching a deal, getting information about promotions or finding new product information. Read more…

Featured Website: Kuya Mac’s Kuwaderno

URL: http://kuyamac.tumblr.com/

Kuya Mac’s Kuwaderno is the blog of Michael Vivas. Among other things, Michael is a youth leader, an artist, a musician, a prayer warrior, a web designer, a user interface engineer and a usability practitioner. His blog is both eye candy and inspirational.

Featured Short Film: Sebastian’s Voodoo

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ePWK0qfisE

A voodoo doll must find the courage to save his friends from being pinned to death.

The director, Joaquin Baldwin, is an Annie Award nominee director and animator from Paraguay. Living in Los Angeles, he is now finishing his MFA in animation at UCLA. He has received over 50 international awards for his animated films Sebastian’s Voodoo and Papiroflexia, and also several grants including the Jack Kent Cooke full Graduate Scholarship in 2006.



Where to Find Linux Screencasts/Video Tutorials

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The importance of video in learning Linux cannot be overemphasized. For most people, the best way to learn is to watch someone do it first. One great advantage of video tutorials is that learners can work at their own pace. They can watch the recording, pause it, go to a particular time code, stop it and watch it as many times as they need.

The video tutorials and screencasts offered in the following sites cover a wide range of Linux systems and applications. Most of the free tutorials are designed to help beginners who wish to learn new applications and new skills. There are also videos that are made to satisfy the need of advanced users and those who want to advance their skill set.

If I missed any relevant site, please let me know via comments.

ShowMeDo

Linux Journal

BeginLinux

LinTube

GoingLinux

Ubuntu Clips

Ubuntu Screencasts

FOSSCasts

Create Video Slideshows in Linux with SMILE

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Slideshow Maker in Linux Environment

SMILE is a Free Software that allows you to create video slideshows using images and videos. The name SMILE is acronym for Slideshow Maker In Linux Environment. The best way to start using SMILE in Ubuntu 9.10 is to install this package from getdeb.net because it installs all the required components with a couple of clicks. Users of other Linux distros can download SMILE here.

SMILE allows you to create slideshows either in PAL or NTSC format and you can render the final output in XVID, MPEG2, FLV, DV and MPEG4 HD formats. You have about a hundred transitions at your disposal. You also have an array of choices when it comes to effects: image rotation, slide opacity, motion blur, resize, transition speed and many others. As you might have guessed it, this powerful application also lets you add and edit titles.

Free Software: Create Your Own Avatar with MeMaker

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MeMaker

In the world of computers, an avatar is a graphical representation of a user. Avatars come in different sizes, colors, dimensions and shapes. I like avatars so much that I use one as my profile image in my Facebook page. There are many tools to create a personalized avatar, but in the world of Linux the one that I like best is MeMaker.

MeMaker is a Free Software that allows users to create customized avatars and use them in social networking sites, forums, chat rooms and other virtual places. And yes, of course, you can use the avatars offline. While the application itself is tiny (only 4628 kB), it can do the work of giants. MeMaker provides seven styles to choose from: freestyle, artistic, plastidudes, glyphface, plazmoid, cocohead and animal-crackers. The avatar in the screenshot above is of the artistic type.

You can also choose the pigment and style of your hair as well as the color and shape of your face, eyes, mouth, ears, nose and eyebrows. You can even add eyeglasses, hats, beards and other accessories to your avatars.

The current stable version of MeMaker is 1.5. The easiest way to install it in Ubuntu 9.10 is to launch Ubuntu Software Center and find the free application under the “Graphics” category. If you are using another Linux distro, you can download the package here.

There is currently no Windows version of MeMaker.

Vatican Library Uses Linux

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I was browsing the Vatican Library website when I chanced upon this bit of interesting information. The Information Technology Center (C.E.D.) of the Vatican Library uses Red Hat. The site’s info page reveals that C.E.D.’s networks “are protected internally by two first-level firewalls in a Linux Red Hat environment”. But that’s not all. Of the 27 servers the Center uses, 19 are in a SUSE and Red Hat environment. The rest are running in a UNIX AIX environment and in a Microsoft environment (virtualized on Linux systems with VMWare).

A variant of the Red Hat distro is also employed in the Digital Photographic Laboratory of the 500 year-old Library. According to this page, the operating system used for the storage equipment in the Digital Photographic Laboratory is Centos.

More technical information here about the systems they use in the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana.

Established by Pope Nicholas V in 1448, the Vatican Library is one of the oldest libraries in the world. It contains more than 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.1 million printed books from throughout history, which makes it one of the most important repositories of knowledge in the world. The Information Technology Center of the Vatican Library was set up as early as 1985.

I am overwhelmed to know that the Church’s most important library uses the most secure operating system in the planet.

Linux Helps Me Live a Stress-Free Life

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Most of my day is spent in front of the computer. Thus a perfectly functioning machine is of vital importance to me. I do not want to worry about viruses and spyware. I do not want to have to defrag my harddisk every now and then or reboot everytime I install a new application. I do not want to worry about some malicious software or hacker gaining control of my computer. Since I multitask all the time, I do not want to be limited to a single workspace. In short, I want a computer that is secure and gives me what I need.

Thankfully there is an operating system that gives me the security and ease-of-use that I need. My laptop currently runs Ubuntu 9.10, a wildly popular Linux distribution. I’ve been using Linux (Red Hat, Mandriva, OpenSuse, PCLinuxOS and other distros) since 2004 and I can say that this free operating system helps me enjoy a stress-free life. And it’s because:

1. Linux makes me forget about viruses.
2. Linux allows me to update my system and all my applications with a single click.
3. Linux allows me to give copies of the OS for free
4. If I need to install an application I do not have to scour the web for it. In my Ubuntu-powered machine, all I have to do is run the Ubuntu Software Center
5. Linux allows me to use multiple workspaces. Great for multitasking
6. Linux comes pre-loaded with an office suite, media player, graphics programs, and many other essential applications
7. When I need help, the Linux online community will never forsake me

If you want to know more how Linux can make your life easier and why is it better than Windows or Mac, please go to this site.

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denniswong/3867706307/

Be Liberated By Linux. Dismiss Windows

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There are many websites that offer comparisons of Linux and Windows. I think the most objective is this wikipedia entry. But if you do not like long explanations, I think Get GNU Linux is the best place for you to start knowing why you should install Linux and ditch Windows.

The main reason why Linux is the better option is when you get a Linux distro, “you also get the freedom to study, copy, change, and redistribute it – that’s what makes it truly free software.” Here is a good list of what is better in Linux as well as what is mostly the same and what is not as good in Linux.

So why not Windows? Because when you buy it, you will get to face harsh restrictions. And besides, the Windows operating system and other Windows products like MS Office are not sold, but only licensed. But I am sure you want to read this for a more detailed explanation.