According to the latest news , it seems,  Ubuntu Linux is planning to bring closed source products like Adobe Photoshop and Apple i-tunes . A recent official post in Ubuntu forums asks readers to fill out a survey form which asks  for user’s choice of applications which , they need should be ported to Ubuntu Linux .  Here is the link .

If  such a situation arises , like porting of photoshop to ubuntu happens , it is sure that a lot of windows users would be shifting from Windows to Linux . There are a large number of windows users , who need to change to Linux , but can’t do so only because of such awesome softwares like Adobe Photoshop . Although there is already an alternative for photoshop in Linux named Gimp , it is said that considering the present scenario Gimp is never a substitute for photoshop .

Well this one is a stunning tutorial that helps you create buttons within seconds…. This one is one of ma personal favorites. Well I think this one will be very useful for webmasters!!…

Hmm.. lets start the short one!!

Step 1 : Open a new document 500 * 500 resolution 72!.. Insert a new layer and draw the rounded rectangle as shown below! keep a black layer below the current layer!!..

step 2: set a gradient overlay of colors #f8f7f7 and #000000 . Scale 91, opacity 100%. Now set a inner glow of white color . Size 8. opacity 67 %..Now hit ok! ..

Step 3. Now disable the layer effects that you have set in the previous step!. Using elliptical marquee tool draw an ellipse and make a copy of the upperportion and make a copy of It. Now make its opacity to 12%. Turn on the layer effects of the previous layer.

step 4 : Lets create the text now!. Using the text tool type in the text and apply the following effects .Drop shadow: Blend Mode : Multiply,Distance : 5 ,Spread : 0, Size 5; Outer Glow : Opacity : 32%, Spread 8, size 10, color white; Bevel and Emboss : Depth 52, Soften 2; Color Overlay : #acacac , Opacity of 75%

Step 5: Thats all You are done!!

A  portable application can be run from your usb drive or external storage device rather than installing it in your computer . If you need to carry your applications to where ever you go , then you should be aware of the best of portable applications. This collection of portable applications consists of more than 15 applications.

Vlc player – One of the best , multimedia players available . It is a good option to carry this superb media player as it is capable of playing almost anything under the sun .

vlcplayer

MediaPlayer Classic – Just like vlc player it supports a lot of video formats , and its huge collection of video codecs make it an excellent choice for  multimedia freaks.

mediaplayerclassic

CDBurner XP – Portable freeware for burning dvds and cds . CDBurner XP is capable of even burning bluray and HD dvds. CDBurner XP even offers features for burning iso images and is a freely available software.

FastStone Capture – FastStone Capture is a screen-shot utility , which supports a lot of features like  floating Capture Panel,shortcut keys , resize function crop function, text annotation, print support , e-mail, zoom  and lots more.

faststone-photo-editing-software-screenshot-1

VDownloader – As the name suggest , VDownloader is small tool for downloading videos from  the internet .

vdownloader

Notepad ++ – Portable edition Document editor , which has advanced features like indentation and language support . Because of its ease of use and stability , it is usually kept as a replacement for notepad.

Portable OpenOffice – The complete office suite for your computer , and that too for free . Portable OpenOffice is really worth carrying  as it supports almost all document formats . Generally considered as an alternative to Microsoft Office.

Foxit PdfReader – A nice small pdf reader which even offers portability . Foxit Reader is a free software and considered as an alternative to adobe acrobat reader.

foxit reader

Pstart – Portable launcher , absolutely free of cost . Pstart is completely rid of ads or spyware .

pstart

CCleaner – CCleaner is a small tool that can take care of all your computer , from repairing registries to erasing your web browsing history .

ccleaner2

?torrent – Bittorrent client that is portable , and  small with a simple and clean interface .

Portable Firefox -  Firefox , not to mention it’s name . Everyone around here had been using firefox , for long days . Ya ,there is a portable version for your favourite web browser .

TrueCrypt Portable – Having unencrypted data on your harddisk can be a security risk , when the data contained is important . TrueCrypt can take care of all your data , ensuring privacy .

TrueCrypt

Portable Antivir Personal Edition – Portable antivirus comes in handy , when you are in a strange computer . Run your antivirus and things will be fine and you can work in full confidence.

Pidgin – I have heard a lot of Pidgin freaks crying , when pidgin was removed from Ubuntu 9.10 with empathy . Pidgin is an  instant messaging client  .Pidgin can take care of your AOL ,Yahoo, MSN and much more.

Feel free to post your comments . If any nice applications other than this are known to you, let me know please post it here .

The Final look of Floral Logo Effect!

step 1: Create a new document in photoshop 750 * 550 pixels resolution 72. Using radial gradient draw a gradient from top to bottom. Foreground color : #004b64 , background : #000000.

Step 2: Now go to Adobe Illustrator. Set a background as BLACK and with white color type in a letter. Now go to effects 3d and change the angles so that the final image looks like this. Use a thick font preferably in the bold styte.. Please don’t forget to set the bevel to classic.

Step 3: Now repeat this step for all other letters with different angles and set a nice look for your logo.

Step 4. Now copy each letter by letter to photoshop and choose paste as smart object.

Step 5 : Align it to the required setting.

Step 6. Ctrl click on the first layer thumbnail to get selection over the layer. Apply a gradient for the layer.Insert a new layer called floral to add flowers. Now use the floral brush tool to paint a flower above the text. Change the blending mode of the layer to overlay and set opacity to 50%. Also set a mask for the current layer with the previous selected marquee!.

Step 7. Do this for all the letters.

Step8. Now we need to add some flowers in the background. For this insert a layer below all the layers set the forground color to BEFA8 and draw the flowers . Set  blend mode to overlay and also set a layer style of glow with color white.

Step9 . Now add one more layer above it. Add a big flower. Blend mode to overlay, opacity to 30%.

Step 10: Its time to add the stars . For this use a soft brush with 1 px and draw a cross. Using erasor erase the 4 corners. Now using a soft brush of 30px . add a dot in the meeting point of the cross. Add layer style of glow to the required amount.

Step  11. Repeat these steps as you like and you are ready to get your nice flowery logo!!

Cloudy text sounds pretty tough….. But its not soo… Its just a few steps. Some of my friends asked me about it . So I thought of writing one myself..

The final view of the effect will look like this!!…

Step 1 : Open a new document in photoshop. I prefered 1920 x 1200 px ,72 resolution. Create a gradient overlay of colors #07090b and #27160a . Scale set to 115% and type set to radial..

Step 2 : Select the text tool and type something in the middle of the document. Use a very narrow font. Preferably Helevtica Neue Ultra Light. I couldn’t get that so I used another one. Right click one the current layer on layers panel and click Rasterize type. Now holdnig down the ctrl key click on the same. This will Marquee the text.

Step 3 : I think this one is a bit tough, if you haven’t used a very very Narrow font.. But you can use your creativity here and convert it to a single line path as I have done here .. If you had used a narrow font then this step could have been easier.. But this one is a trainer!! happy to experiment!!!

Step 4: Now its the time to create the custom brush for rendering our clouds…   select the brush window by F5 and apply the following settings..

step5 : Now lets render the clouds above the selected path. Add A new Layer . Select the path, right click and select stroke path. On the following box press the brush selector.. Check that you have selected the above brush!!. Now repeat this step two more times with white – black – white foreground. this will create a depth for our cloudy text!!

step 6 : Now lets add some clouds to the background to render some reality!!… Create a new layer. Check that you have selected black and while colors. Now filter->render->clouds. Now remove the cloud pattern above and below the text. Also create another layer to add some white clouds. Use the same brush created above and paint using different brush sizes!!.. The final cut will look as shown below!!..

step 7: Now lets render some stars. . Make a new Layer, fill it with black. Now select filter render Noise add Noise. change the gaussian to 10% . Go to image ->adjustments -> levels . Increase the black to decrease the amount of stars and decrease the white to increase brightness. Now select color dodge for the selected layer!

step 8: Lets add some glow to show off a heavenly touch. Do stamp visible (ctrl + Alt + shift + E) now select the layer filter -> blur Gaussian Blur -> set amount to 12. change the blend mode to screen!!

step 9: thats all you are done!!!

Are you looking for free windows software alternatives ? . Here we will be making your life simpler , with a list of free alternatives equivalent to the commercial ones.Can’t wait reading , here it is.

1.MOZILLA FIREFOX

Offers better browsing with improved security features and addons, simply make this stuff really amazing .Firefox is worth a try,  if you haven’t done that yet.

2.GIMP

Gimp can be considered as an alternative to the Adobe Photoshop.I agree it is not as advanced as Photoshop ,but it is constantly upgraded and contributed that it will surely overtake Photoshop.Recommended for starters in Photoshop.

3.NOTEPAD++

Not just an alternative to Notepad , but this stuff  offers more advanced features,  like programming language recognition and intendation matching. Notepad should be definitely replaced with Notepad ++.

4.7-ZIP

Advanced compression tool than built in compression tools.It supports the best compression format .7zip.Definitely worth a try.

5.VLC PLAYER

Not to mention the name , better alternative to Media Player , with enhanced format support. Usually plays anything and inbuilt volume booster.

keywords opensource softwares free softwares

Please post your comments , I will be extending this list.

Yes,I know you need to move to Linux from windows ,but scared of doing it, as you will miss your  favourite applications and games in Windows. Here is wine to rescue you.It is an emulator for linux to run windows specific applications.Dive in to know how to do it ..

1.Boot your linux and login.

2.Open your terminal and type sudo apt-get install wine.

3.It asks for your root password ,enter the password .

4.Type y to continue with download and install .

5.After the installation is completed, close the terminal.

The other way to install wine.

1.Launch your favourite browser and go to www.winehq.org/download.

2.Select your Distro and click ok to download the file.

3.Open the file with the package Installer  (For Ubuntu it is Debian Package Installer) and walk through the installation process.

After Installation

1.Select the application you wish to install.

2.Choose Open With… and select Wine .

3.Your Windows application should initiate.

4.Do whatever you want with your favouite application.

Point to note: Wine is not 100% perfect ,some advanced programs may not work with it.Here is the page that displays the programs that are supported by wine .http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&sTitle=Browse

Adobe Photoshop CS2 in linux

Adobe Flash in Linux