Shop Talk: Don't be afraid of FLOSS

Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) are basically applications which are distributed with their human-readable source code included. Other users can then freely use, study, modify, improve and redistribute the software. FLOSS have been steadily gaining popularity because they offer free or inexpensive alternatives to many proprietary applications. However, the biggest factor hindering them from gaining wide acceptance is fear that FLOSS are poor substitutes to the popular proprietary programs.

Nothing could be further from the truth though. Just because software is Free, it doesn't mean that it's cheap. Mozilla Firefox is a prime example of an open-source application actually working better than their closed source counterparts.

OpenOffice.org has all of the necessary office suite features plus a few extras at thousands of Pesos (PhP) less. It lets users create documents, spreadsheets, vector graphics, presentations, databases, and mathematical formulas. It can even open and save most Microsoft Office files without a hitch.

Don't be afraid to check our blog's Open Source Power Tools list for our picks of other excellent FLOSS applications.

Shop Talk: Choose the Right Format For the Web

When saving raster images for the Web, should you use GIF, PNG or JPEG? By knowing the most appropriate file format to choose, you will be able to save clearer images with lower file sizes.

The main use of GIFs nowadays is to put simple (non-Flash) animations online. The format is limited to a maximum of 256 colors so it is better suited for images with large color blocks and no continuous gradients. It does support transparency, though, so it is also useful for placing simple illustrations, logos, icons, and, sometimes, even text on top of a colored background. It also uses lossless LZW compression to keep the file sizes small without throwing any data away.

The PNG format (pronounced as "ping") was designed to replace GIFs to avoid any licensing issues from the patented LZW compression. Like GIFs, PNGs support transparency, use a similar lossless compression scheme, and are well suited for images with large areas of the same color. But unlike GIFs, PNGs can support up to 16.7 million colors, which allows them to also be used for photographic images. However, because of its compression scheme, the file sizes are much larger. This is where JPEGs come in.

The JPEG format also supports 16.7 million colors. It's compression scheme, however, handles color information differently compared to the schemes used by GIF and PNG, and is best suited for photographs, or images which use continuous tone and gradients. The GIF and PNG formats, however, are better for images with blocks of color and well-defined edges, such as simple illustrations and text. Beware though that JPEG compression is lossy. Based on your settings, it will throw color information away, which may or may not be visible to the eye. Once saved, that's data that you won't be able to get back.

Shop Talk: Using Master Pages and Styles

Styles and master pages allow users of desktop publishing applications to consistently and efficiently design the appearance of type and pages.

Styles can be applied to text elements such as headers, bulleted lists, and body copy. Once assigned, styles can be redefined, so that the format of characters and paragraphs based on them will change as well. Master pages also work in much the same way. After a master page is modified, the appearance of its child page changes too. These result in a consistent look for all text and pages.

Master pages and styles also offer the added bonus of smaller files sizes. You can, for instance, place a watermarked background image on a master page, and you would no longer have to add that image to each page individually. Then, the image will appear in all the pages based on that master page. You can also define styles so that you would not need to repeatedly define the character and paragraph attributes of your text.

Shop Talk: Creating a Metallic Texture

Creating brushed metal textures is one of those cool effects that's actually easy to do. Plus, there are really no rules, so you should feel free to experiment with the various settings.

First, create a new document, making sure that the Color Mode is set to RGB. This ensures that all filters will be available. Then, add noise to the Background layer. (If you're using the Adobe Photoshop Add Noise Filter, make sure that you turn on the Monochromatic option.)

Next, use a Motion Blur filter to transform the noise grains into the brushed metal lines. Simply adjust the Angle and Length of the blur to suit your taste.

Finally, create a new layer, and use gradients to add shadows and highlights to your texture. You can also do this with Lighting Effects filters, but you no longer have to create a new layer.

Voila! You now have a silver metallic texture!

Shop Talk: Find that Font!

If you want to know the name of a specific typeface, you should try two popular free web services: WhatTheFont?! and Identifont.

WhatTheFont?! is great if you have a scan or digital image of the font you want. Just upload the image, check and correct their Character Selection, and then WTF?! will look for a match in their font database. Sometimes, the program will make mistakes, like splitting the letter "i" into two, but overall it's pretty accurate. My advice: just try to follow the tips/instructions to ensure better character analysis. Try WhatTheFont?!

Identifont, on the other hand, is good if you have a sample of the fonts in front of you. What it does is ask several questions about the appearance of different characters to narrow it down to a shortlist of fonts. A word of warning, though: your patience may be tested a little. In my experience, it takes around 20-30 questions to get results. I also suggest that you use the restricted set of letters option, so that you'll only get questions about characters that you can actually see on your hard copy. Try Identifont

Note: Since this tip is a bit simple, we'll try to post another one by the weekend.

Shop Talk: How to Fix Faded Pictures

Here’s a quick way to fix faded photos. First, make a duplicate layer of the faded image. Then, change the duplicate layer’s Blending Mode from Normal to Multiply. If the contrast is too high, adjust the Opacity until it’s just right. If it’s still faded, then simply keep adding and adjusting duplicate layers until you’re satisfied with the results.

This technique also works for underexposed photos. Instead of the Multiply Blending Mode, though, you should use Screen.

Although the GIMP was used for this tip, it will also work with Adobe Photoshop.