Bb RealTech

Every once in a while, something comes along that is so well executed, it makes you want to jump up and down. That's what the jParallax library, and the wonderful demos did for me.

Don't take my word for it. You have to check out the library and demos yourself. No, you really have to.

(Thanks for the link, Michael.)

I've written about Aviary, the online graphics toolset that includes Phoenix, a graphics tool/photo editor, Peacock, a "visual laboratory" (background editor), Toucan, for creating color swatches, and supposedly Raven, for vector editing. I've been waiting for Raven, and it is out in alpha, but available only for Blue subscribers. Blue subscribers?

Yes, Aviary now has subscription plans, Blue and Green, each of which provides a different level of support. Blue provides everything, including access to early release software, such as Raven. Blue is also priced at $149.90 a year, though Photojojo readers can get the Blue for $95. At least the first 2000 readers can—the offer is limited.

It will be interesting to see how the Aviary toolset does as a subscription model. Internet users balk at anything that isn't free, with mumbled, vague assumptions of "ad-based" as an alternative to paid subscriptions. I think the Aviary pricing model is fair, not necessarily great, but workable. The Blue plan is priced high for internet usage, but is much cheaper than Photoshop. Not as cheap as GIMP, though. However, when you consider the plan covers all the Aviary tools, including ones to be released in the future, the deal does seem sweeter. The toolset is also available from all your computers.

Will I be getting a subscription? No, I'm into frugal right now. Very, very frugal. I will miss being able to try out Raven, but I'm content with Inkscape for vector editing. However, for those of you interested in the Aviary toolset and with some bucks to spare, you might check to see if you can get the Photojojo pricing and save $55 bucks.

GIMP 2.6 was released this week, with enhanced UI experience, as well as support for 32-bit color. The latter is particularly important as several web designers and photographers have focused on GIMP's 8-bit support as their main reason not to use the tool. The 8-bit support is still the default, but you can turn 32-bit on, and the next few versions of GIMP should incorporate comprehensive support for both 32-bit and non-destructive editing.

The release is source code only at the GIMP site, though Lifehacker provides links and instructions for installing the tool in Ubuntu and Windows. The application has not been ported to Macports yet, and probably won't be for some time. I am considering doing a source code build, something I normally wouldn't touch. However, I really do want to see the new features, and in particular, the 32-bit support.

What makes the timing on GIMP 2.6 especially relevant is the fact that the days when we could spend thousands of dollars on software and equipment in order to work with our photos and web designs are over for most of us. I wasn't joking when I said earlier that Frugal is sexy. Not buying is the new black.

When I have GIMP 2.6 installed, I'll be back with a more detailed look. In the meantime, let's hear it for 32-bit support. Let's hear it for free.

How many misspellings does it take to make a successful mashup?

Elaine posted a note about Flickr adding edit capability via Picnik. I immediately tried it out, as the following screenshots demonstrate:

Just as with the stand alone version of Picnik, some of the functionality is free, others are part of a premium package: $24.95 per year.

Picnik is one of the few online photo editors I did include in the book, primarily because it's one of the better organized, and has some of the most interesting effects. One aspect I like most about it is the sliding scale tool, which provides live scaling of the image.

Picnik uses Flash, like all of the online photo editors do. Flash isn't a requirement, though. Most of the functionality, and then some, that Picnik can do can be done with something that most people already have installed at their linux-based hosting site: ImageMagick.

To use the ImageMagick, you do need to have command line access through SSH. ImageMagick can also be installed on the Mac using Macports, and accessed via the Terminal application. Once installed, the following command:

Creates the following effect.

Or, you can use Picnik with the premium package.

I grabbed my camera and my GPS handheld yesterday to get some test data for application development. The recorded track isn't the best, primarily because the containing field was small, and the terrain was flat. I also realized from the track that I tend to meander when walking around, taking photos.

I can assure you, though, that I didn't actually go through the lily pond.

Garmin provides it's own export format, MPS, but I used g7towin on the PC to export the data directly from the device into GPX, another popular format. I also loaded the same track from my device using Ascent on my Mac. All these formats are XML-based–GPX, GML, MPS, KML, and geoRSS. Not to mention the embedded photo info contained in the EXIF data section, which is formatted as RDF/XML. In the debate between JSON and XML, when it comes to the geoweb, JSON has no where to go.

I converted the GPX files into KML files using GPS Visualizer. I also generated a topographic map of the area. With the GPX and KML, I can use any number of GPS applications and utilities, including Google Earth, and the GPSPhotoLinker, which provides the capability to upload a GPS track and any number of photos and geotags the photos, either individually or as a batch. Works in the Mac, too, which is unusual, as most GPS applications are Windows-based.

I can do any number of things with the GPS data since all of it is standard XML and accessible by any number of XML-based APIs and applications. I can generate SVG to draw out the track, as well as create an application to determine from the variance in slope between waypoints or tackpoints, whether the hike is arduous or not. I can use 'geotagging' in the images to incorporate photographs into mapping. Or mapping into photography.

Lastly, I can display or otherwise use the EXIF data, though using ImageMagick to generate thumbnails can also strip this information. Eventually even update my old photo/RDF work into something not dependent on a content management tool.