Gimp, Scribus and More...

GIMP:

Gimp is a free software graphics editor and it is used as an image retouching tool. It can resize, crop and edit photos, apart from converting photos into many

different formats. This program can also be used to ceate animated images in the GIF format. It is suitable for amateur and professional use and it is intended to print in inkjet printers. However, GIMP does still not allow CMYK separation and color management. As in Photoshop, GIMP also has options such as layers, masks, plug-ins and many more features.

Here is the GIMP webpage:

http://www.gimp.org/

SCRIBUS:

Scribus is another open-source program; it is a desktop publishing application which is well known for its wide range of features compared to other non-free programs such as Page-Maker. Among its varied features are scalable vector graphics, CMYK color and ICC color management. It is aviable for Linux, Mac and Windows.

This is SCRIBUS's web page:

http://www.scribus.net/

APPLE IPAD:

Apple has just released its new IPad, the best way to experience the web, email, photos and video. It is much like an ITouch, just that with a bigger screen and more vibrant color and sharp text. The new IPad also allows you tro read books and newspapers in the way they were designed; one page at a time. The photo design is also new and very intuitive, since they are displayed in a stack, and just with touching, the hole album opens. However the mos

t new and expected feature is the IBook App where you can purchase a book directly from ITunes Store and it is displayed in your "bookshelf". In general, the IPad is very similar to the ITouch, just that with a bigger screen and the IBook App.

IPad webpage

Google Wave

Google Wave is an online software application of Google which works as a personal communications tool. It is a web-based service program designed to be used for e-mail, instant messages and social networking. It includes translation into 40 different languages, spelling check and many other features. The key of Google Wave is that it is constantly refreshed, and therefore everything appears in real-t

ime.

Google Wave page

AUDACITY

Audacity is a free audio editor software from the OpenSource initiative aviable for Windows, Mac. Linux and BSD. Tracks can be mixed, digital effects added, and you can even change a track's pitch without changing its speed. However, audacity does not include equalizer controls and plug-ins are needed for some features.

Audacity Webpage

OpenOffice programs

OPEN OFFICE

OpenOffice is part of the Open Source initiative, an initiative to freely distribute

software for computers. OpenOffice includes 6 programs; Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw and Math, with similar characteristics to those of Microsoft Office.

1. - WRITER- A word processor very similar to Microsoft Word, with which you can even export PDF files with no additional software. You can save documehts in DOC. format, as well as DOCX., RTF. and XHTML. formats.

2.- IMPRESS- It is a presentation program similar to Power Point. It can export files in flash format, and it can read Power Point's ppt. format. However, while Power Point gives you pre-made templates, Impress does not.

3.- CALC- This program is similar to Microsoft Excel. Apart from having the same features as Excel, it has other tools that Mocrosoft's version doesn't have, such as a system that automatically defines series for graphing. It can also export files in PDF format.


4.BASE- It is a database managemet program similar to Microsoft Access. It can be used to format JET, ODBC and MySQL formats. However, it is the least used and downloaded OpenOffice program.

5. DRAW- It is a program similar to Micrososft Visio with which you can draw objects, connect vectors and you can even make flowcharts and many other diagrams. You can export files in .PDF format.

6. MATH- It is a program similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. You have the ability to create mathematical formulas and insert them into other documents in WRITER, for example. It can also export in PDF format.

In general, and although OpenOffice is a very good option, I personally prefer Microsoft Office, because I am more used to using it, it has more features and you are sure that the formats are going to be comatible.

Open Source

OPEN SOURCE

The Open Source Initiative is a great database of free programs for everyone to use freely. The basic idea of Open Source is to freely give a product with similar chacracteristics to others which centralized companies make.

Open Source includes a variety of programs and software, such as Free BSD and Linux, which are operating systems, Tomcat Web Server and Apache, which are web servers, and Mozzila Firefox, a web browser. Apart from these, the most widely spread one is Open Office, which is very much like Office but without having to pay. Even a web page we all know and use, Wikipedia, is run by Mediawiki, an Open Source web server. And Moodle, a platform for course managing, which is now widely used, is, in its base, an Open Source program.

Open Source goes much beyond what we think. There are Open Source programs for finances, such as "Mifos", for 3-D modelling, for statistics, microscope image processing, geography, video editing ("Cinelerra"), flash animation, firewall and even enkryptioning programs, such as "Seahorse"!

However, the Open Source idea has existed long before technology, in agriculture, markets and health and medicines.

It is very clear that today, Open Source programs and software are a very good alternative to the traditional, costworthy applications which have a very similar quality to the Open Source ones.

Thanksgiving is HERE!

Thanksgiving is just beside the corner! Next thursday, November 26 is Thanksgiving Day, a traditional celebration which took place to give thanks for the good harvest and in general, to life. The first thanksgiving celebration took place in 1621, at the Plymouth Plantation, where the first pilgrims in America gave thanks for the harvest and health. These pilgrims had to survive a very harsh winter where many people died, so they were extremely thankful for having survived. The feast lasted for three days, and there was enough food for 90 indians and 53 pilgrims. The menu consisted of turkey or any other fowl, boiled pumpkin,duck, geese, venison, fish, lobster, clams, swan, berries, dried fruit, pumpkin, squash, and many more vegetables. Today, the menu consists of turkey, potatoes and apple pie, and even though the celebration no longer has the objective of giving thanks, the spirit of the first pilgrims is still preserved.

My Summer Vacations

Sun, water, beach; summer, that was the only thing I was looking forwards to when the year ended. I wanted to meet with friends, stay long hours in the water and roast myself in the sun. Time fled and, without noticing I was well into summer. In what seemed as a couple of days I had already gone to a rafting camp in France, I had been in a tennis stage and was now in Laredo, pasing the long July days with my friends, canoing, sailing and simply, beaching. July ccame to an end, and one of my Laredo friends invited me to go with him a but more towards the Equator, that is, Cádiz. There, even though mosquitoes bit us all over, we had a great time.

Summer was already on the highway, and before it ended I still had one last big event, a cruise through th Aegan Sea, stopping at some beautiful Greek islands. The day came and we flew from Madrid to Athens, where we had the opportunity to see the Parthenon and later on went to the port, where the enormous cruise awaited us. After a dinner which semed a banquet we left Athens and headed for Mykonnos, the first island on our intinerary. There, the crystalline waters greeted us, and after a walk around the small village, we took a taxi to a small, beautiful cape where we admired the colorful fish in the water. We went to many other places, such as Rhodas, Dubrovnik and Santorini, in which we had the opportunity to see a live volcano. Apart from the visit, I also had a great time on board the boat. There was a great theater, gym, pools and whirpools, climbing wall and disco apart from many other things and with other teenagers on the boat, we made quite a big group of friends. We became 20 and had a great time together, attending the shows and ended each day with a grand finale at the disco. In general, I can affirm that these year's vacations have been simply GREAT. However, all things come to an end, and here we are again, back at school, and we'll try and make it, as amusing as posssible.

My Summer Vacations pictures

European Elections

Yesterday, June 7, European elections took place in Spain and in other European countries. From the beginning, participation in these elections was expected to be very low, and at the end there was a participation of 46%, 1 tenth more than in the last 2004 ones. In total, 43.23% of the people voted PP, 38.51% voted PSOE, 2.87% voted UPyD and the remaining votes went for IU, PNV and CEU.

More especifically, in the Basque Country, 32.95%, 133541 votes went for the PNV, 27.66%, 112072 votes went for the PSOE, and 15.83%, 64158 votes went for the PP.

However, with the low participation (46%) compared to the 76% of participation for the general elections, it is difficult to get a solid impression of what people really are thinking.