Promises of FREE-DUMB for Creative Professionals

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They say that "no good thing is this world is free!" (paraphrased). I don't believe the statement is applicable for all circumstances and I believed that Ubuntu Studio was also going to prove this statement wrong.

Being zealous about Open Source apps I quickly downloaded Ubuntu Studio which promised to be beneficial for creative professionals (individuals who do graphics, video and audio editing). It was professed that the applications that came with the OS would be industry standard. Unfortunately they were not!

I tested the OS for myself and found a bunch of stand-alone applications for audio editing (synthesizers, drum machine emulators, voice recording, looping etc...) , that in itself was a setback and definitely provided no competition for Pro Tools or Adobe's Audition. Not to mention that the video editing applications had interfaces that were difficult to maneuver around.

I agree that Ubuntu is breaking ground, producing a Linux based OS that is easy to install and use for the average user. But it fails to be that for the Creative Professionals.

So, not everything that is free is good!

One small step for Dell and one giant leap for Ubuntu - Linux

Linux has been around for a while but not may computer users are aware of this open source operating system and some who do are skeptical of open source, willing to shell out major bucks for Microsoft's latest. Truth is, Linux is mostly used by developers and individuals in 3rd world countries. But I think all that is about to change!

On Sun.May.27.07 I was browsing the net and came across an article on CNet's Download.com with regards to Wubi - a windows based instillation program for Ubuntu 7.04. Wubi is in a beta phase but got raving reviews. I then whent to Ubuntu's website and saw an ad for Dell pcs with Ubuntu 7.04 pre-installed. Talk of Dell selling pcs was just that, talk! Now it's official.

I was all smiles, not because Dell was now selling systems with Ubuntu Linux but that linux was finally being acknowledged as a OS worthy to be considered as an option in the corporate market. And with the help up Wubi users can no run a dual OS pc.

I wonder what's next?!?!?

Apple Strikes Back…

Microsoft recently came out with it’s “iPod Killer” – Zune. However, that didn’t seem to stop consumers from buying iPods. And for consumers who purchased Zunes there was a constant comparison with the iPod, with regards to the size. It seems with all this in mind Apple threw another punch and unveiled the iPhone which is to be launced in June 2007 for US$599.

The iPhone thrives on the need to be cool, providing a media player, touch screen interactivity, internet connectivity (wireless), 2.0 Mega Pixel Camera, Widgets that give stock exchange reports, weather etc… and all the other features of the modern day cell phones. The iPhone has a 8GB hard drive (unexpandable) and a 3.5 inch screen.

On rotating the phone form landscape to portrait (or vice versa) the phone detects the rotation and rotates the image accordingly. It also detects when the phone is close to the ear and turns off the display screen in order to save power. All this is done on the Mac OS X platform.

Though there has been a few snags along the way, such as the law suite from CISCO with regards to the trademark for the name “iPhone”, apple seems to be going full speed ahead with its new product. The phone will be available exclusively to Cingular customers for now.

It seems that this phone is targeted toward a younger market and will do well seeing that cell phones, portable media players and digital cameras are trendy. All of which the iPhone embodies.