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Posts tagged as “video”

Learn Inkscape Ins and Outs Using Videos

By Phil Shapiro on March 22, 2016 |

Software and Tutorial

Learn Inkscape Ins and Outs Using VideosInkscape logo

The FOSS Force Screening Room

Sometimes learning how to use software such as Inkscape only seems difficult because you don’t have anyone to show you how it’s done.

I’d like to kick off this column by spotlighting not one video, but 116 outstanding screencast videos giving tips and techniques for using Inkscape, the vector graphics program that is popular on Linux, Mac and Windows. Created by two friends several years ago, these videos are exceptionally well done. If you’re new to Inkscape, start off viewing the short Microsodes. I particularly love the Photo Popping Fun screencast:

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Easy Netflix on LinuxNetflix on Linux Mint XFCE

Easy Netflix on Linux

By Christine Hall on October 13, 2014 |

Browsers, Internet and Operating Systems

Linux’s got Netflix. No fuss, no muss, easy-peasy Netflix, straight out-of-the-box.

It wasn’t so long ago that common knowledge dictated that the reason GNU/Linux wasn’t getting traction was software, namely MS Office and Photoshop. Those days are long gone. Office is now pretty much irrevelant, with many if not most home users (at least the people I know) opting for Open Office or LibreOffice. Meanwhile, Photoshop’s moved to the cloud and although it still won’t work on Linux, many graphic artists are finding that GIMP is robust enough to tackle nearly everything thrown at it.

Netflix on Linux Mint XFCE

So that should be it, right? Wrong.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), a paradigm shift in home computing has occurred during the past seven years. These days, computers are as much about entertainment as they are about word processing, spreadsheets and the like. At the center of the computer-as-entertainment-device revolution is our favorite old DVD rental company Netflix, which offers more streaming moving image titles that you can shake a stick at — if shaking sticks at movie titles happens to be your thing — with unlimited streaming costing as little as eight bucks a month.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
Continue readingEasy Netflix on Linux
‘Hello World’ Fundraising Update

‘Hello World’ Fundraising Update

By Christine Hall on October 2, 2014 |

Business and Community

A little over two weeks ago, I told you about the Brothers Nielsen, Jared and JR, who produce short educational videos which teach Linux and other tech skills to nine to thirteen-year-olds under the “Hello World” banner — a name which should be familiar to anyone who’s ever taken a “programming for dummies” course.

At the time of that article, the Nielsens were just a few days into an all-or-nothing Indiegogo fundraising campaign, hoping to raise the small amount of $2,048 to replace worn-out equipment. That’s it. They aren’t trying to raise money to cover a year’s worth of expenses; they’re not trying to get the public to finance their salaries for the next year; all they want is a little bit of cash for camera’s, lenses, lights and the like. When that article went online, they’d already raised $680, nearly a third of their target amount.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
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Hello World: Videos That Teach Linux To KidsHello World Nielson

Hello World: Videos That Teach Linux To Kids

By Christine Hall on September 15, 2014 |

Business, Media, News and Operating Systems

The Hello World Program needs a few bucks to buy some new equipment to enable them to continue to keep on doing what they do. What they do is make videos that teach Linux and other computer tech subjects to kids, using sock puppets, robots and animation — sort of Kukla, Fran and Ollie for the 21st century. Or Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop in color and high def.

They don’t need much. $2,048 by their estimation will do just fine — a mere drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things. They’ve been on Indiegogo since last Wednesday, where they’re making their case.

Hello World Nielson
Jared (L) and JR (R) Nielson at work on a video project.
“We don’t have a proper studio to shoot video,” they wrote on their Indiegogo page, “the bulbs in our light kit are burned out, our cameras and lenses are dirty because we’ve been shooting in basements and (very cold) garages for the last year, our backdrop needs replacing, and our highly intelligent robot host requires an upgrade.”

They’re already a third of the way there, with $680 raised so far. But crowdfunding campaigns sometimes stall after getting off to a good start. It happens — ask Mark Shuttleworth. It’s not time to relax yet.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
Continue readingHello World: Videos That Teach Linux To Kids
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