[CLUE-Tech] Linux for publishing and the masses

[Jed S. Baer]

On 13 Jun 2003 07:16:45 -0600
"Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier" <jzb at dissociatedpress.net> wrote:

> On Fri, 2003-06-13 at 06:58, Jed S. Baer wrote:
> 
> *snip*
> 
> > I'm certainly no expert, and I haven't spent much time with it, but
> > I've tried Sodipodi, and found it wanting. As perhaps a commentary on
> > the general state of Linux SVG programs, note that files such as
> > /usr/share/gdm/themes/happygnome/background.svg were created in Adobe
> > Illustrator. Since SVG is an XML format, you can open these files in a
> > text editor, and note the MS-DOS line-end style as well. I attempted
> > to manipulate that file in Sodipodi. I was not successful. But will
> > point out that graphics programs generally have steeper learning
> > curves, so my experience is perhaps not informative. But I found
> > Sodipodi frustrating.
>
> Is the MS-DOS thing from the Illustrator files, or Sodipodi? 

It's in the original files. I sorta feel a Stallmanesque rant might be
justified. I don't see the need to need to include files created with a
non-OSI licensed tool, especially if there aren't any OS tools which can
edit it. Was there some reason why Gnome couldn't have used a JPEG, XPM,
PNG, or whatever? I mean, it just feels wierd -- if you're developing
stuff for the open-source community, why use a non-free graphics program?

> What about creating graphics from scratch? 

Still painful. The difference between it's bezier curve tool and The
Gimp's is just enough to be annoying. I'd sure like to have a copy of
Corel Draw to compare it to.

I found it simple to create simple shapes using Sodipodi. But then
manipulating them afterwards was just strange. I was able, for instance,
to set some sort of flag in the properties for an object, which made it
impossible to edit it, and there wasn't any way to reset that flag.

> Sodipodi is a relatively young program... I think it's at version 0.31,
> so it still has some maturing to do... Looks more promising than the
> other Illustrator-type apps that I've seen, though. If it gets the same
> kind of developer attention that the Gimp had, it could be pretty
> formidible in a short time... I hope, anyway. I'm tired of saying "Linux
> can do all this...but it can't do this..." An Illustrator and
> PageMaker/QuarkXPress substitute would do a LOT for Linux. 

Well, I will say that it was better than either Sketch or Killustrator (or
whatever the KDE SVG proggie is).

jed
-- 
I wouldn't even think about bribing a rottweiler with a steak that
didn't weigh more than I do. -- Jason Earl