JOHNXARCE Friendster Blog

We have lots of commercial software available to use on different platform to complete our different work, but they are not free and sometime we do not able to purchase. Don’t worry about it, today we are listing here 11 Free And Useful Open-Source Alternatives For Designers in which most of them are cross-platform. There are many alternative available for single software, but I just tried to list down some very similar and useful alternative. You might not be able to enjoy all the features as original software but it will really help you to perform your task in a better way when your pocket does not allow you to purchase commercial software.

Jahshaka

Alternative: Adobe After Effects

Jahshaka give you the power of movie editing and effects in open source environment. You can edit with flexibility and speed and can create Effects in real time. With this software animate with unlimited features and Paint/design on moving video. It will let you work in any format at any resolution as well.

CinePaint

Alternative: Adobe Photoshop

CinePaint is used to retouch feature films and in pro photography. CinePaint opens high fidelity image file formats such as DPX, 16-bit TIFF, and OpenEXR, and conventional formats like JPEG and PNG. It has a flipbook for movie playback of image sequences in RAM. It supports 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit color channels, HDR and CMS.

Amaya

Alternative: Adobe Dreamweaver

Amaya is a Web editor, i.e. a tool used to create and update documents directly on the Web. Browsing features are seamlessly integrated with the editing and remote access features in a uniform environment. This follows the original vision of the Web as a space for collaboration and not just a one-way publishing medium.

Open Office Draw

Alternative: Microsoft Visio

DRAW - from a quick sketch to a complex plan, DRAW gives you the tools to communicate with graphics and diagrams. With a maximum page size of 300cm by 300cm, DRAW is powerful tool for technical or general posters, etc.

Blender

Alternative: Autodesk 3ds Max

Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems. It includes tools for modeling - fast subdivision surface and polygon tools, multi-resolution mesh sculpting, metaballs, NURBS, vector fonts, and curves; uv mapping; shaders and texturing - both paint based and node based; ik and fk animation tools with rigging, constraints, skinning, morph targets, drivers, deformers, and modifiers; simulation tools including hard bodies, soft body, cloth, and fluids; and particle systems including hair. Blender has integrated rendering with both its native renderer and the raytracer Yafray as well supporting many external renderers; and python based scripting.

Imgv

Alternative: ACDSee

Imgv is a unique and feature rich Image Viewer. It is released as free software with full source code. Imgv is portable and can run on Windows, Linux, BSD, OSX, and other operating systems. Features include a GUI that doesn’t get in the way of viewing your images, a file browser, slideshows, zooming, rotating, on-the-fly Exif viewing, histograms, fullscreen support, wallpaper settin and much more…

Inkscape

Alternative: Adobe Illustrator

An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.  Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more.

Gimpshop

Alternative: Adobe Photoshop

Gimpshop is a hack made on top of the original Gimp project which changes all menues, dialogs, etc., in order to make them look as much as their counterparts in Photoshop. This makes users who are already familiar with the layout of Photoshop feel right at home in this open source application. Please note that all features in Photoshop in not available in Gimpshop, since it is based on the Gimp project and it’s feature set.

Xara LX

Alternative: CoralDRAW

Xara Xtreme for Linux is a powerful, general purpose graphics program for Unix platforms including Linux, FreeBSD and (in development) OS-X. It offers some of the most powerful graphics tools available. Xara Xtreme has a clean, un-cluttered user interface. Few floating dialogs, palettes, menus etc.

Avidemux

Alternative: Final Cut Pro

Avidemux is a free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. Tasks can be automated using projects, job queue and powerful scripting capabilities.

Pencil

Alternative: Toon Boom Studio

Pencil is an animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics. Pencil is free and open source.

Linux Mint is an Ubuntu-based distribution whose goal is to provide a more complete out-of-the-box experience by including browser plugins, media codecs, support for DVD playback, Java and other components. It also adds a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, and a web-based package installation interface. Linux Mint is compatible with Ubuntu software repositories.

Linux Mint’s purpose is to produce an elegant, up to date and comfortable GNU/Linux desktop distribution.

Excerpt From DistroWatch.com:

Linux Mint is one of the surprise packages of the past year. Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, it has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market - complete with a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, a web-based package installation interface, and a number of different editions. Perhaps most importantly, this is one project where the developers and users are in constant interaction, resulting in dramatic, user-driven improvements with every new release. DistroWatch has spoken to the founder and lead developer of Linux Mint, Clement Lefebvre, about the history of the distribution.

Some of the reasons for the success of Linux Mint are:

• It’s one of the most community driven distributions. You could literally post an idea in the forums today and see it implemented the week after in the “current” release. Of course this has pros and cons and compared to distributions with roadmaps, feature boards and fixed release cycles we miss a lot of structure and potentially a lot of quality, but it allows us to react quickly, implement more innovations and make the whole experience for us and for the users extremely exciting.
• It is a Debian-based distribution and as such it is very solid and it comes with one of the greatest package managers.
• It is compatible with and uses Ubuntu repositories. This gives Linux Mint users access to a huge collection of packages and software.
• It comes with a lot of desktop improvements which make it easier for the user to do common things.
• There is a strong focus on making things work out of the box (WiFi cards drivers in the file system, multimedia support, screen resolution, etc).

Distribution: Linux Mint
Home Page: http://linuxmint.com/
User Forums: http://linuxmint.com/forum/
Documentation: http://linuxmint.com/wiki
Screenshots: http://www.linuxmint.com/screenshots.php
Download Mirrors: http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

Michael Jordan, John Stockton and David Robinson were among the 16 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Friday. NBA coaches Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer also made the cut from a field of 164 nominees, as did former NBA stars Dennis Johnson, Chris Mullin and Bernard King, and two-time WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper.

“I’ll step out on a limb and speak for all of them and say thank you,” said Robinson, the former San Antonio stalwart and lone finalist who attended the announcement during NBA All-Star Game festivities. “We understand the honor that goes along with being nominated. We know everyone doesn’t get in.”

The election announcement will be made on April 6 at the NCAA Final Four in Detroit, with enshrinement in September at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. All 16 finalists may be elected, according to Hall policy.

Jordan, regarded by many as the greatest player in history, led the Bulls to six NBA titles and won an NCAA championship at North Carolina. He was a five-time NBA MVP and a six-time NBA Finals MVP. He also won two Olympic gold medals.

Jordan and Stockton dueled in two memorable NBA Finals, with Jordan’s Chicago Bulls defeating Stockton’s Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998.

Stockton retired as the NBA’s career leader in assists and steals, and he also won a pair of Olympic gold medals.

Jordan and Stockton were teammates on the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, and now they’re poised to enter the Hall together.

“I mean, those two are a lock,” Robinson said. “But think about the rest of these guys. Who’s not going to get in?”

Other finalists include former Golden State coach Al Attles, who was nominated as a contributor; Bob Hurley Sr., who has more than 900 wins at St. Anthony’s High School in New Jersey; Vladimir Kondrashin, who coached the Soviet Union to the 1972 Olympic gold medal, defeating the U.S. in a controversial final; Pereira “Ubiratan” Maciel, a player known as “The King” in his native Brazil; Richie Guerin, a six-time NBA All-Star with the New York Knicks and a former player-coach with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks; and Johnny “Red” Kerr, a longtime Chicago Bulls commentator who was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1967 after leading the expansion Bulls into the playoffs in their first season.

Phoenix center Shaquille O’Neal, who is representing the West in the All-Star Game, said he congratulated Robinson on being a finalist.

O’Neal said Robinson was one of three players — Patrick Ewing and Rony Seikaly were the others — that he patterned his game after as a high schooler.

“I told Dave something I never told anyone in my life before: I told him he deserved it,” O’Neal said. “I told him that he was always my favorite player.”

Asked why Robinson was his favorite, O’Neal said, “Because he had the spin-lob thing. He always ran the court. He was a nice-looking guy, so when I was in high school, designing my game, I picked him, Patrick Ewing and Rony Seikaly.”

The continuation of the Eraserheads Reunion concert that got cut short last August 30, will reportedly be held on March 7, 2009.

Titled The Eraserheads concert, “The Final Set,” the venue is currently a tossup between The Fort and SM Mall of Asia grounds and will be produced by MTV and Smart.

Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro are just about to sign to contract and will have their press conference on January 19, 2009.

The said concert will be on March 7, 2009 at the SM Mall of Asia grounds, tickets are available at the Ticketworld with prices Php5,000 for VIP, PhP3000 for Gold , PhP1300 for Silver & PhP300 for Bronze
Titled The Eraserheads concert, “The Final Set,” the venue is currently a tossup between The Fort and SM Mall of Asia grounds and will be produced by MTV and Smart.

Happy Valentines Day….

What if someone tells you this:
“I don’t believe in courtship.
It’s just a waste of time.
If I love a person,
I’ll tell her right away.
But for you,
I will make an exception…
just love me now
and I’ll court you forever… “

Intel Core i7 is a family of three Intel desktop x86-64 processors, the first processors released using the Intel Nehalem microarchitecture and the successor to the Intel Core 2 family. All three models are quad-core processors.

We’ve already seen a few benchmarks of Intel’s new Core i7 processor, but if you’re still craving some more details about Intel’s latest and greatest you now have plenty more than that to chew on, with reviews, overviews, and yet more benchmarks pouring in left and right. As you might expect, most sites are describing the CPU as a very big deal for Intel, with the folks at Maximum PC even going so far as to call it the company’s “most significant CPU launch in, well, ever.” What’s more, as those early benchmarks hinted at, it doesn’t look like there’s too many folks disappointed with the new processors, with even the “low end” Core i7 920 able to defeat the higher clock speed Core 2 Quad Q9650 “over and over” according to TechSpot, a feat due in large part to the CPU’s on-die memory controller and Intel’s new QPI technology. The first few systems shipping with the processor also look to have been fairly well received, with Slash Gear finding that Gateway’s new Core i7 920-based FX6800-01e delivered a reasonable but not revolutionary upgrade over its Core 2 Quad-based predecessor, and Computer Shopper also finding plenty of things to like in new systems from Falcon Northwest and iBuypower, though the price of each of those systems is another matter. That, of course, is just skimming the surface, and if you’ve got a few hours to spare, you can find plenty more to keep you busy by diving into the links below.

Manny Pacquiao now sits atop the boxing world.

The pound for pound king is a fast, strong precision puncher with dazzling footwork. One would have to think hard to come up with a name in the current ranks of lightweight and light-welterweights who could give the Pacman a serious beat-down.

Ricky Hatton is one such name. And we will soon find out if he is enough of a fighter to stand toe to toe with the Pacman.

In all, Pacquiao has suffered a total of three career losses. Two of them in the late 90’s when he was still a scrawny light-flyweight/flyweight. The third and latest was dealt by Eric Morales as a superfeatherweight. Here is a closer look at those losses.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Rustico Torrecampo (1996)

After a string of 11 straight wins, Pacquiao was knocked out in the third round by journeyman Torrecampo. Pacquiao failed to make the 106lb limit and was thus, forced to use heavier gloves. That, plus his failed effort to make weight placed a drain on the young Pacquiao’s strength.

These factors, plus what was said to be a lucky punch by his opponent, led to the Pacman’s first career loss. Torrecampo, now long retired, did not go on to achieve much in the boxing world inspite of his win over an opponent who would go on to become part of boxing folklore. Moving up in weight after the loss, Pacquiao was not able to avenge his first loss.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Medgoen Singsurat (1999)

This fight was Pacquiao’s second defense of the WBA flyweight title. He lost the crown even before stepping into the ring as he failed to make weight and was stripped of the title, making the bout with Singsurat a non-title tiff. Despite again being physically drained from his failed effortto make weight, Pacquiao opted to fight. Stepping into the ring, the Pacman was visibly drained and weak-kneed.

He was in no condition to win the fight. From the opening bell, Pacquiao just stood there, being an easy target for his Thai opponent. Barely throwing punches, it was apparent he did not fight to win. In the third round, Singsurat connected with body blows that sent Pacquiao to the canvass. He was writhing in pain, a heap of skin and bone as he was counted out.

Like his first loss, he failed to avenge the defeat to Singsurat as he opted to move up in weight. Singsurat, now campaigning in the super-bantamweight ranks, remains a journeyman, with no notable achievements apart from his win over Pacquiao.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales (2005)

Moving up in weight after a successful stint as a featherweight, Pacquiao’s first stab at  super-featherweight was an  attemptto win a world title versus future hall of famer Erik Morales. Losing a close and bloody 12 round decision, Pacquiao was clearly out-boxed by Morales. The savvy Mexican stuck to his game-plan, catching Pacquiao as he went in and counter-punching effectively.

Morales had an answer for everything Pacquiao dished out.  Morales led by two points in the judges’ score-cards. Analysts later said Pacquiao failed to bring his power from the lower weight classes to super-featherweight. This was to be proven wrong in the coming years as the Pacman avenged the loss twice over.

In the succeeding rematches, Pacquiao stopped Morales in the 10th round in their second fight, and scored a relatively easy third TKO in the third fight. Morales, a legend in his own right, is semi-retired. He will go down as one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Manny Pacquiao has grown by leaps and bounds since his past losses. Literally and figuratively. He is a wholly different fighter. Bigger, stronger, more disciplined and supremely confident.

Are there lessons to be learned by the camp of Hatton from Pacquiao’s losses? Maybe. Maybe not. We will find out soon enough.

Enter just the word http for your search to find the top 1000 PageRanked sites.

Enter only www in your search to see how Google ranks the top 1,000 sites.

Manually type the following prefixes and note their utility:

# link:url Shows other pages with links to that url.
# related:url same as “what’s related” on serps.
# site:domain restricts search results to the given domain.
# allinurl: shows only pages with all terms in the url.
# inurl: like allinurl, but only for the next query word.
# allintitle: shows only results with terms in title.
# intitle: similar to allintitle, but only for the next word. “intitle:seoforgoogle google” finds only pages with seoforgoogle in the title, and google anywhere on the page.
# cache:url will show the Google version of the passed url.
# info:url will show a page containing links to related searches, backlinks, and pages containing the url. This is the same as typing the url into the search box.
# spell: will spell check your query and search for it.
# stocks: will lookup the search query in a stock index.
# filetype: will restrict searches to that filetype. “-filetype:pdf” to remove Adobe PDF files.
# daterange: is supported in Julian date format only. 2452384 is an example of a Julian date.
# maps: If you enter a street address, a link to Yahoo Maps and to MapBlast will be presented.
# phone: enter anything that looks like a phone number to have a name and address displayed. Same is true for something that looks like an address (include a name and zip code)
# site:www.somesite.net “+www.somesite.+net” - (tells you how many pages of your site are indexed by google)
# allintext: searches only within text of pages, but not in the links or page title
# allinlinks: searches only within links, not text or title

You can say so much with just those three little words, but sometimes actions speak louder than words. Show you care with these fun ideas. Below we share 30 ways to say ‘I love you’ without saying a word.

Fun ways to say ‘I Love You’

1. Guys in tight pants running across a football field may not be your thing, but taking part in his interests is important. Surprise him with tickets to a football game - and go with him.

2. If he hasn’t been able to make the trek cross-country to his hometown since last Christmas, consider buying him a plane ticket home.

3. If you know your guy is working a long shift, have a nice warm dinner waiting when he gets home. We’re not trying to get all 1950s housewife on you, but the effort will show him you empathize with his crazy schedule.

4. Pay attention to his cute, quirky habits. Is he always waking up thirsty in the middle of the night? Put a glass of water on his nightstand.

5. Leave him a sweet note in his briefcase or wallet. This is especially great if your significant other does a lot of business traveling.

6. Give him some time off and take up his chores for the day.

7. Before you drift to sleep, tell him something he did that day you thought was especially sweet.

8. Cut out newspaper or magazine articles you think he’d enjoy and set it aside for him.

9. Leave the house for a Friday evening and let him enjoy a night-in poker game with the guys. Before you skip out, make a platter of his favorite snack.

10. Fly his best friend in for a guys’ weekend.

11. Secretly patch up the hole in his favorite pair of shorts and put them back in the drawer without saying a word.

12. Get his car washed.

13. Pack his favorite lunch for two and bring it to his office.

14. Ask him how his soccer game went or how his big presentation turned out - and pay attention.

15. Stock up on his toiletries if you see he’s running low.

16. If you and your sweetie live in separate places, keep your fridge stocked with his favorite foods.

17. Wake up early on a weekday and make him breakfast, set the paper on the table and fill up his to-go coffee mug.

18. Take his dog on a walk or come over with a surprise treat for the pup.

19. Buy him the box set of his favorite childhood TV show.

20. Bake him a cake - just because - and write ‘I love you’ in frosting across the top.

21. If you’re out of the house before him in the morning, turn on the heater so it’s nice and warm when he gets up.

22. Draw him a hot, candlelit bath.

23. Set your computer’s screen saver with a sweet message for him.

24. Send him a romantic greeting card via snail mail. Even if you live together.

25. Play hooky with him from work on a Wednesday and spend the entire time in bed watching movies. Turn off all phones.

26. Show respect to his family and their traditions - especially if you’re from different cultural backgrounds.

27. Flirt like you just met.

28. Tell him your deepest, darkest, nerdiest secret.

29. Nurture his nerdy side. Buy him a Star Wars figurine; surprise him the collector’s edition of Harry Potter.

30. Write him a love note in a secret code and give him the key to decipher the message.