GeekwithEnvy

Richard Vincenti Jr

A Great Free Alternative to Photoshop

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Adobe Photoshop is an incredibly useful tool and it seems that the only limitation is your imagination. The only set back to using such powerful software could be it’s price tag.  The full version of Adobe Photoshop retails for $699 and if you want you can “rent” Photoshop for $19.99 per month but you must commit to a year long subscription or you will have to pay $29.99 per month. That’s a lot of money to throw down, especially for non-professional use, but there’s no need to fear, there are other options.

There is a really good alternative to Photoshop and it’s called GIMP which is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP offers up many of the same features as Photoshop and what’s even better is that it’s free!

GIMP Screenshot
GIMP UI

GIMP is loaded with features and you can export your images to many different file formats including TIFF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PSD and many more. What I have found to be one of the best features is the ability to download plugins. If there’s a feature or format that you need, you can usually always find a plugin to take care of your needs. You can perform many of the same common tasks that you would expect to find in any other modern image software, including photo retouching and enhancement, resizing/cropping, colorizing, filters and much more.

GIMP UI ScreenshotTwo
GIMP UI

Although most users will be able to jump right into it, those who are used to Photoshop may take a little while to get used to a different user interface. I use both Photoshop and GIMP but I do all of my work in GIMP on my laptop, including most of the photos you see on GeekwithEnvy. If you do get stuck or just want to learn more you can head over the the tutorials section to get up to speed.

GIMP is primarily written in C and was originally intended to to be a reasonably priced or Free image manipulation program for GNU/Linux and UNIX. Today, you can download the software for Mac OSX, Windows, Sun OpenSolaris, FreeBSD and of course GNU/Linux. For complete information you can head here.

 

Small Asteroid to Do a Close Flyby of Earth

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2012 DA14 is a small asteroid that is going to be flying past Earth on February 15th. The asteroid was discovered in February of 2012 by astronomers at the La Sagra Sky Survey. 2012 DA14 will be so close to Earth when it passes us that it will be within the Earth’s geosynchronous satellite ring, that’s pretty close. That distance is where some communications satellites reside, however it will be far above most other equipment and therefore will be a relatively low risk as it passes Earth at a blazing speed of 17,400 mph.

2012 DA14 Asteroid
2012 DA14 Asteroid Path (Source: NASA)

NASA will be taking advantage of this close approaching asteroid by studying it as it passes us.  2012 DA14 isn’t every large, it’s approximately 150ft across and won’t be visible by the naked eye when it passes us, but it should be visible through a telescope.

Update [NASA]

Sony Playstation 4 to be Announced Soon?

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playstationLogo

Well we are just getting into the second month of the new year and the rumors are pouring in from everywhere in the tech world. There is a lot of buzz going on about the next generation of gaming consoles and to add even more into the mix, sources at the Wall Street Journal have mentioned that they believe Sony is planing on releasing the Playstation 4 before the end of 2013, they have also suggested that Microsoft will be doing the same with the next Xbox. All of this comes after Sony held a press event mentioning something big coming up.

To catch you up, the PS4 project is codenamed Orbis and is slated to utilize a 4x Dual-Core AMD64 “Bulldozer” processor and will also contain a next-gen AMD graphics processor with over 2GB of memory. Rumors have also suggested that both the PS4 and Xbox 720 will still have optical drives despite earlier rumors that mentioned them going to an all digital download system. Blu-Ray will remain the primary media for games on the PS4. The new console is likely to have new controllers and they will likely have a touchpad. Finally, Sony will likely incorporate a rich social experience into it’s next console in order to better compete with it’s competitors.

According to sources, the next Playstation will be unveiled sooner than originally thought in New York City on Feb. 20, 2013.

-Thanks to VG247–

World of Warcraft Movie Gets a Director

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WoWlogo

Duncan Jones, who directed Source Code and Moon will now be directing the live-action film based on the MMORPG by Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft. The film has been trying to pick up steam over the last few years but hasn’t had much momentum until recently. Movies based on video games haven’t done so well over the years but hopefully this film will capture the essence of what has made World of Warcraft so successful over the years. The original game was released back in 2004 and has completely changed the company that created it, Blizzard Entertainment, due to it’s massive success.

Given the success of superhero movies, there is no reason why a movie about a video game with such a massive amount of lore behind it, can’t do just as well. With good writers and a solid cast we could see something worth watching. Many lore fans will argue that the story is difficult to put on screen but if the Lord of the Rings can translate well then so can WoW. Legendary Pictures is behind the film and hopes to see it release sometime in 2015.

Here is the official blue post from Blizzard:

We are pleased to announce that Duncan Jones, director of critically-acclaimed films Source Code and Moon, has signed on with Legendary Pictures to direct the upcoming live-action film based on the Warcraft universe. Click here for more info.

Legendary is keeping its script, written by Charles Leavitt, under wraps. The Warner Bros.-based production and finance outfit is eyeing a fall 2013 start and a 2015 release. Jones’ producing partner, Stuart Fenegan, will executive produce while Chris Metzen will co-produce for Blizzard. Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni are producing for Legendary along with Blizzard and Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven and Alex Gartner. Warcraft is expected to have a budget north of $100 million.

-Nethaera-

 

 

Product Review: Retractable Car Charger for iPhone

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With all of our smart phones and devices made to be our everything, we can’t have them dying on the road. Most people use car chargers nowadays, and recently my last one broke so I was in the market for a new one. The last one I owned had a long cord and when I wasn’t using it just got in the way or tangled up when trying to put it away.

I thought this retractable car charger was a great idea so I had to get it. With it’s neat retractable cord there’s no wires hanging all over the car and in the way, and prevents tangles. Another nice feature about this device is that there’s an extra USB port, which can be used to hook up many other usb powered devices or to charge two devices at once. There’s also plenty of cord to go around at a total length of 90cm.

The bottom line is it’s a great charger, especially for the price and I haven’t found anything about it I don’t like. If you are looking for a great iPhone charger at a good price, I recommend this one.

For more details on this charger and to purchase, go to MobileFun.com or if you’re looking for other iPhone 5 chargers.

 

Retractable CarCharger

Features:

High performance circuit prevents over charging

Elegant stylish design with compact size

Retractable cable to avoid mess and tangles

Input 12V-24V for any vehicle

Extra USB charges two devices at once

90cm the length of the wire

Blue LED indicator when working