class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/logo.jpg" alt="portable sketchpad" />Occasionally here on MakeUseOf we think it’s nice to feature an app that’s worthy of both our and your money. Usually these apps are one-of-a-kind, where no decent free alternative exists – and I think iMaschine falls into this category.

iMaschine is a new app for your iPhone from the clever chaps over at Native Instruments who are responsible for all manner of professional-level href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/rock-on-with-free-mixxx-music-mixing-software/">music software and hardware – Traktor and Maschine, to name but two.

So you’d expect this app to be pretty good right? If you like to groove on the go, read on to find out if iMaschine is set to become your next App Store purchase.

Groovin’ on the Go

iMaschine is a simple app to suss out, and one that can be used to create all manner of beats and loops. You’re provided with 4 tracks on which to tap out a rhythm, each can be customized to use a pad (pre-determined samples on a 16 button “sampler”), keyboard or a simple mic-in.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/basic.jpg" alt="portable sketchpad" width="320" height="480" />

Tapping and holding A, B, C or D allows you to change the track’s input, so if you’d like to layer up some vocals, a guitar backing and a few handclaps you can choose 3 mic inputs and create a completely acoustic loop. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/keys.jpg" alt="imaschine app" width="320" height="480" /> /> On the other hand, 4 pads provides an opportunity to create some highly complex drum patterns using the in-built kits and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/royalty-free/">samples. Each of the 16 buttons on a pad can be changed, re-recorded and be used in one-shot mode (whereby the whole sample plays once pressed, instead of having to hold the button). /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/kitskeysmic.jpg" alt="imaschine app" width="320" height="480" /> /> Your $5 goes quite a way in terms of included sounds, kits and projects. There are 10 projects included which you can load and check out to see what’s possible. On top of these there are 25 kits (not just drum samples, but chord hits and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-essential-websites-download-free-dj-mixes-sets/">dubstep wub-wub noises too!) delivering more than 400 individual sounds. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/kits.jpg" alt="imaschine app" width="320" height="480" />

Building Up A Beat

The app itself is fairly intuitive, though you’ll need to play around for a few minutes to start with. Once you’ve selected an input the 5 buttons along the bottom of the screen come into play. The first is a simple note repeat, making it easy to just hold down a sample and have it repeat seamlessly. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/pattern.jpg" alt="imaschine ipad" width="320" height="480" /> /> The second controls velocity and the third allows you to remove, double and change your pattern. It’s worth noting at this point that your pattern will automatically loop, and the longest pattern you tap out essentially dictates the length of the loop – simple stuff. /> The fourth button enables the recording and editing of each sample individually and the bottom right allows you to change the whole kit or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-sites-for-learning-piano-online/">keyboard sound. It might sound a little complex, but it’s really not and only takes a few minutes to master.

Along the top the first button allows you to save, load and so on. BPM can be set by tapping the number atop the screen, play and record are fairly self explanatory and the top right button is the mixer, which I’ll mention later. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/recording.jpg" alt="imaschine ipad" width="320" height="480" /> /> The key to creating funky loops is layering and building up a sound incrementally. Make a mistake? No problem, clear the pattern and re-record without affecting your other tracks. Try recording an intricate pattern at a low BPM and then jack it up to drum and bass standards for a real ego boost!

Effects, Live Use, Customizing and Usability

The mixer allows you to change each input’s level and also provides access to effects. Two effects can be defined and then applied to each track. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of effects, but simple low-pass filters and delays can help fine-tune your desired sound, and for an iPhone the results certainly aren’t bad. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/mixer.jpg" alt="imaschine ipad" width="320" height="480" /> /> Another possible use for iMaschine is href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-websites-listen-live-music-band/">live performances, either during DJ sets for simple one-shot samples or as a fully customizable mobile sampler. By connecting your iPhone to your PC you can use iTunes file sharing to add your own 16-bit WAV samples which can then be imported into a kit and saved for quick access later. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/editsample.jpg" alt="portable sketchpad" width="320" height="480" /> /> Occasionally whilst using the app I found the odd sound didn’t register, and thus I missed a beat so to speak. There are a few other reports of this on the App Store, though on the whole it’s not a frequent problem and one I’m sure could be solved in a future update. Crashes have happened, though they are infrequent and the app resumed exactly where I left off. Aside from this, I had no other issues with iMaschine after prolonged use. It’s addictive, what can I say?

Conclusion

Considering this app only costs $5, you get an awful lot of bang for your buck. There are additional sample packs for download, though you’re more than welcome to cut up your own and create completely unique kits. For href="http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/?category=1773">Maschine veterans there is even an export option so you can continue your project on the desktop.

iMaschine is a great toy, tool or addition to your music workstation. It’s a creative time-killer which is both fun and rewarding to use, and thus has earned its very own MakeUseOf seal of approval.

Download: href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/imaschine/id400432594?mt=8">iMaschine @ App Store ($5) /> Visit: href="http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/imaschine/">iMaschine @ NativeInstruments.com

Have you tried iMaschine? Do you own any other Native Instruments products? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iphonecamera.png" border="0" alt="iphone camera apps" />Right behind the Nikon D90, Apple’s iPhone 4 is the most popular camera in terms of pictures taken and uploaded to the photo sharing site, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/flickr">Flickr. While this little camera in your pocket has its limitations, there are hundreds of apps that provide it with some truly professional features and enhancements.

There are hundreds of paid apps built for the iPhone camera, but there are also some really useful free options. I selected free apps that are both good demos of their counterpart full versions and/or just useful apps for the serious iPhone photo hobbyist. If you know of other good free options, please let us know about them.

Cropping Apps

The iPhone camera doesn’t have a post-shot crop tool, and if you’re serious about iPhone photography, you should have an app that enables you to crop photos. Many paid advanced photo editor apps include a cropping feature, but I found two iPhone camera apps that are devoted to just cropping and resizing images.

The aptly named app, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crop/id405666696?mt=8">Crop [iTunes Store link], enables you to crop and rotate your images without losing quality to your cropped images. It’s simple to use, and you don’t have to tap several buttons to get what you need.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot492.jpg" border="0" alt="iphone camera apps" width="580" height="419" />

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-rotate-crop/id438891150?mt=8">Rotate and Crop [iTunes Store link] includes the same features Crop, but it also allows you to make some exposure image adjustments, as well as share and export your edited images to Evernote, Dropbox, and a few other applications.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot493.jpg" border="0" alt="best iphone camera apps" width="580" height="382" />

Photo Album

The iPhone includes a photo library application for storing photos you import from your computer via iTunes, as well as the Camera Roll of images you snap with iPhone itself. But you should have one or more photo album apps that allow you to create folders of images that you import from your existing camera roll, your photo library, or images you download from the Internet on your iPhone.

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ipic-manager/id427523435?mt=8">iPic Manager [iTunes Store Link] is a good free option. You can quickly add multiple photos from your existing iPhone library as well take a photo and have them instantly added to your selected folder. You can also password protect your images.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot494.jpg" border="0" alt="best iphone camera apps" width="580" height="406" />

You might also want to have a photo album app that is completely devoted to safeguarding selected photos on your iPhone. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/private-photo-vault/id417571834?mt=8">Private Photo Vault [iTunes Store Link] is another such option. This app also allows you to password protect individual albums, run a slide show, take photos from within the app, and much more.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot495.jpg" border="0" alt="best iphone camera apps" width="580" height="423" />

Photo Mashups

If you want to do something fun and creative with your iPhone photos, there are a couple of free options. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/realcoverlite/id411889666?mt=8">RealCoverLite [iTunes Store Link] allows you to place a photo inside a magazine cover without having to mess around with layering and masking. The Lite version offers only 6 covers (the full version includes 90), but it’s great for seeing what this app can do.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot496.jpg" border="0" alt="best camera apps iphone" width="580" height="438" />

Your cover images can be emailed and shared with others. You can also include additional text on template covers.

Creating photo collages is another cool way to show off photos. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photomashup/id398870403?mt=8">PhotoMashup [iTunes Store Link] allows you to copy and paste several photos from your iPhone photo library, and save or email them as a collection in one file. The default background for a collage project is gray, but you can double-tap on the background and shoot a new background from within the app, or you can choose an existing photo from your library. From there you can layer photos on top of one another. They can be moved around and rotated.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot497.jpg" border="0" alt="best camera apps iphone" width="580" height="421" />

Timer Apps

It’s also good to try out one or more time shutter apps on your iPhone. These iPhone camera apps are useful for shooting self-portraits, group and close-up shots. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-timer/id304581144?mt=8">Photo Timer is one of the best options, and it’s free for a limited time. It not only enables you to set a timer for the shutter release, but it also includes a photo composition guide, burst mode, and photo sharing to Facebook, Twitter, MobileMe, Tumblr, and email.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot498.jpg" border="0" alt="best camera apps iphone" width="580" height="426" />

If and when Photo Timer is no longer free, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/auto-shutter/id380995955?mt=8">Auto Shutter is another option, which does exactly what it’s named for.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot499.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot499" width="580" height="423" />

Photo Enhancers

The iTunes App store includes hundreds of iPhone camera apps for editing and enhancing your photos. We have published reviews about few good free options, including class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/photoshop-express/">Adobe’s Photo Express and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-sites-enhance-instagram-experience/">Instagram, but here are a few more.

The free version of class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/100-cameras-in-1-free-version/id428596902?mt=8">100 Cameras in 1 is a popular photo editor that includes 20+ photo effects for hardlighting and overlaying photos with various textures and filters. The paid version includes 100 more effects, but this free version is a good demo of what the app can do. You only have to tap once to apply an effect and see the applied effect.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot500.jpg" border="0" alt="iphone camera apps" width="580" height="396" />

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iquikdof-depth-field-creator/id423204960?mt=8">iQuikDof – Depth of Field Creator is an advanced photo editor that enables you to create a depth of field effect of a selected image. It contains auto presets feature for the DOF effects, or you can manually select an area in which you want to mask and keep in focus, while the unselected area is blurred. This is also a good demo app for the pro version which includes more presets and customizable blur.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot501.jpg" border="0" alt="iPhone camera apps" width="580" height="427" />

Let us know what you think of these apps and if you find one or more of them useful.

For more about how to use your iPhone camera to take better photos, check out  class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pictures-free-camera-iphone-3g-3gs/" target="_top">Take Better Pictures With Free Camera Plus and  class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top">Learn Digital class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top">Camera class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top"> Exposure Settings Using Your class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top">iPhone. />
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View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iphonecamera.png" border="0" alt="" />Right behind the Nikon D90, Apple’s iPhone 4 is the most popular camera in terms of pictures taken and uploaded to the photo sharing site, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/flickr">Flickr. While this little camera in your pocket has its limitations, there are hundreds of apps that provide it with some truly professional features and enhancements.

There are hundreds of paid apps built for the iPhone camera, but there are also some really useful free options. I selected free apps that are both good demos of their counterpart full versions and/or just useful apps for the serious iPhone photo hobbyist. If you know of other good free options, please let us know about them.

Cropping Apps

The iPhone camera doesn’t have a post-shot crop tool, and if you’re serious about iPhone photography, you should have an app that enables you to crop photos. Many paid advanced photo editor apps include a cropping feature, but I found two apps that are devoted to just cropping and resizing images.

The aptly named app, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crop/id405666696?mt=8">Crop [iTunes Store link], enables you to crop and rotate your images without losing quality to your cropped images. It’s simple to use, and you don’t have to tap several buttons to get what you need.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot492.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot492" width="580" height="419" />

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-rotate-crop/id438891150?mt=8">Rotate and Crop [iTunes Store link] includes the same features Crop, but it also allows you to make some exposure image adjustments, as well as share and export your edited images to Evernote, Dropbox, and a few other applications.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot493.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot493" width="580" height="382" />

Photo Album

The iPhone includes a photo library application for storing photos you import from your computer via iTunes, as well as the Camera Roll of images you snap with iPhone itself. But you should have one or more photo album apps that allow you to create folders of images that you import from your existing camera roll, your photo library, or images you download from the Internet on your iPhone.

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ipic-manager/id427523435?mt=8">iPic Manager [iTunes Store Link] is a good free option. You can quickly add multiple photos from your existing iPhone library as well take a photo and have them instantly added to your selected folder. You can also password protect your images.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot494.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot494" width="580" height="406" />

You might also want to have a photo album app that is completely devoted to safeguarding selected photos on your iPhone. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/private-photo-vault/id417571834?mt=8">Private Photo Vault [iTunes Store Link] is another such option. This app also allows you to password protect individual albums, run a slide show, take photos from within the app, and much more.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot495.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot495" width="580" height="423" />

Photo Mashups

If you want to do something fun and creative with your iPhone photos, there are a couple of free options. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/realcoverlite/id411889666?mt=8">RealCoverLite [iTunes Store Link] allows you to place a photo inside a magazine cover without having to mess around with layering and masking. The Lite version offers only 6 covers (the full version includes 90), but it’s great for seeing what this app can do.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot496.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot496" width="580" height="438" />

Your cover images can be emailed and shared with others. You can also include additional text on template covers.

Creating photo collages is another cool way to show off photos. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photomashup/id398870403?mt=8">PhotoMashup [iTunes Store Link] allows you to copy and paste several photos from your iPhone photo library, and save or email them as a collection in one file. The default background for a collage project is gray, but you can double-tap on the background and shoot a new background from within the app, or you can choose an existing photo from your library. From there you can layer photos on top of one another. They can be moved around and rotated.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot497.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot497" width="580" height="421" />

Timer Apps

It’s also good to try out one or more time shutter apps on your iPhone. These apps are useful for shooting self-portraits, group and close-up shots. class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-timer/id304581144?mt=8">Photo Timer is one of the best options, and it’s free for a limited time. It not only enables you to set a timer for the shutter release, but it also includes a photo composition guide, burst mode, and photo sharing to Facebook, Twitter, MobileMe, Tumblr, and email.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot498.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot498" width="580" height="426" />

If and when Photo Timer is no longer free, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/auto-shutter/id380995955?mt=8">Auto Shutter is another option, which does exactly what it’s named for.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot499.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot499" width="580" height="423" />

Photo Enhancers

The iTunes App store includes hundreds of iPhone camera apps for editing and enhancing your photos. We have published reviews about few good free options, including class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/photoshop-express/">Adobe’s Photo Express and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-sites-enhance-instagram-experience/">Instagram, but here are a few more.

The free version of class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/100-cameras-in-1-free-version/id428596902?mt=8">100 Cameras in 1 is a popular photo editor that includes 20+ photo effects for hardlighting and overlaying photos with various textures and filters. The paid version includes 100 more effects, but this free version is a good demo of what the app can do. You only have to tap once to apply an effect and see the applied effect.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot500.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot500" width="580" height="396" />

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iquikdof-depth-field-creator/id423204960?mt=8">iQuikDof – Depth of Field Creator is an advanced photo editor that enables you to create a depth of field effect of a selected image. It contains auto presets feature for the DOF effects, or you can manually select an area in which you want to mask and keep in focus, while the unselected area is blurred. This is also a good demo app for the pro version which includes more presets and customizable blur.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/muoscreenshot501.jpg" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot501" width="580" height="427" />

Let us know what you think of these apps and if you find one or more of them useful.

For more about how to use your iPhone camera to take better photos, check out  class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pictures-free-camera-iphone-3g-3gs/" target="_top">Take Better Pictures With Free Camera Plus and  class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top">Learn Digital class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top">Camera class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top"> Exposure Settings Using Your class="l vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-exposure-settings-free-iphone-apps/" target="_top">iPhone. />
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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/intro5.jpg" alt="photo blog engine" width="251" height="54" />Last month we highlighted href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pixelpost-capable-photo-blog-engine-website/">Pixelpost, a very capable and easy to use (if slightly outdated) photoblog engine. Despite being a fantastic little freebie, a number of readers got in touch to tell us how great Zenphoto is.

I originally used href="http://www.zenphoto.org">Zenphoto a few years ago, and immediately noticed that the project has come on leaps and bounds since then. I’ll be looking at version 1.4.0.2 in this article, which at the time of writing has only been out for a couple of weeks. If you couldn’t be sicker of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/flickr/">Flickr and fancy hosting your own hard work then step inside.

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Setting Up

Much like Pixelpost, ZenPhoto is designed to run on a web server and you’ll need your own hosting package to install. You’re going to need an Apache server with PHP version 5.2 or greater and MySQL 5 or better. As of version 2.0 it is now possible to use PostgreSQL and SQLite databases as well.

The installation process is a fairly painless experience, and one that Zenphoto prides itself upon. You can download the latest version from href="http://www.zenphoto.org">the homepage in .ZIP or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/compile-install-tar-gz-tar-bz2-files-ubuntu-linux/">.TAR.GZ format. Once downloaded (it’s around 6MB compressed) extract the folder to a location on your hard drive.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/extract.png" alt="photo blog engine" width="564" height="395" />

Now upload the folder you just extracted to the desired location on your webserver. If you upload Zen to your root folder (usually a folder called “httpdocs”) your Zenphoto gallery will be found at yoururl.com/zenphoto. You will need an FTP client to upload, something like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-files-by-ftp-with-filezilla/">Filezilla is perfect.

The upload process can take a while, depending on your upload speed so whilst that’s completing you might as well create a MySQL database. Your href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/website-hosting-technology-explained/">hosting company probably provided you with a web control panel like Plesk or CPanel to complete such a task.

Once done make a note of the database name. You’ll also need to add a user to the database, make a note of both username and password. You’re now ready to install, simply visit yoururl.com/zenphoto/zp-core/setup.php and follow the instructions.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/sql.png" alt="photo blog software" width="580" height="257" />

Admin Duties

One you’ve set database options and defined a username and password, you’ll be taken to the admin panel. Zenphoto’s admin interface is definitely more attractive and probably easier to work with than Pixelpost, though the general layout remains the same.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/adminpanel.png" alt="photo blog software" width="580" height="317" />

One of the first stops you’ll want to make is the Options tab, which can take you a while to work your way through. Here you can customize the general settings related to your Zenphoto installation including href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/14-other-ways-to-use-rss-feeds/">RSS, plugins, your theme, upload settings, image display and comments.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/options.png" alt="photo blog software" width="580" height="97" />

When you’ve finally set everything up (and it can take a while) you’ll probably want to upload something. Luckily you won’t need to create any albums before uploading, as there’s an option to do so on the fly. Tags don’t quite operate in the same way and do need to be added on the Tags tab and then be attached to each image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/upload.png" alt="photo blog tools" width="434" height="318" />

Batch uploading is possible as Zenphoto will accept .ZIP archives that contain recognised image types. Arranging everything just the way you want it is made infinitely easier thanks to the drag and drop interface and galleries can be manipulated in this way too.

Once you’ve uploaded an image or .ZIP collection, you can then add titles, descriptions and individual attributes to your photos. There’s even the option to take care of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/watermarks-marking-your-image-territory/">watermarking for you and a fantastic thumbnail editor, allowing you to get the perfect crop.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/cropview.jpg" alt="photo blog tools" width="580" height="409" />

EXIF data can be extracted from your images and put to good use, for example using the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-five-best-things-about-google-maps/">Google Maps plugin you can show visitors where the image was taken using the latitude and longitude stored in the image (if your camera supports it, of course).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/exif.png" alt="photo blog tools" width="467" height="382" />

You can add all these settings manually for each image of course, and once you’ve filled it all out you’ll probably have something that looks like this:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/imageview.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="503" />

Whilst viewing your site’s front end you may notice there’s a handy Admin Toolbox in the top right corner, allowing you to manipulate various pages. From this box you can go straight into editing an image, log out and get back to the admin panel.

This is a really handy little feature which means you won’t be constantly fumbling around with bookmarks or the address bar when you want to change something.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/galleryview.png" alt="photo blog engine" width="580" height="308" />

Conclusion

At this stage Zenphoto probably looks a bit drab and boring, and there’s still plenty more that can be done with it. I’ll be following this up with another post about themes, integrating your galleries and even turning Zenphoto into a blog-style href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/cms/">CMS centred around your images.

The exhaustive list of features supported by Zenphoto makes for a thoroughly impressive cost-free package. Let us know what you think of it or share your own gallery in the comments below. />
/>Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to target="_blank" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-share-share-spread-word/">share our articles with others! It’s really important to us. />
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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/netbookappsthumb.gif" alt="best netbook applications" width="300" height="201" />Netbooks, and other small ultra-portable computers including Windows tablets, are well loved because of their small footprint and light weight. However, netbooks are far less powerful than the typical notebook PC, which means they can have trouble running applications that other PCs have no problem with.

This means that anyone who wants a snappy netbook needs to pick the best netbook applications. Finding and judging the best netbook applications can take some time, which is why I’ve handled it for you.

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Best Antivirus: class="vt-p" href="http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/">Panda Cloud Antivirus

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/netbookapps1.jpg" alt="best netbook applications" width="513" height="318" />

Picking an class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ten-best-antivirus-programs/"> antivirus program for a netbook is tricky because of the limited system resources available. All antivirus software has the potential to become a real resource hog, because the process of shifting through files in search of virus signatures isn’t easy.

There are a number of relatively lightweight antivirus programs, however, and Panda Cloud Antivirus is at the top. It’s intuitive, quick, and provides solid protection. I will admit that this spot was hotly contested, however. If you’re not happy with Panda, try class="vt-p" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Ffree-antivirus-download&ei=AWxATaHJB4-ssAPbjt3yCA&usg=AFQjCNESA4PpFkxcFAbaMJc8XgBh0ftqXg">Avast! free edition or class="vt-p" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fsecurity_essentials%2F&ei=4WtATZ28DIK0sAOHxa2BCQ&usg=AFQjCNG-Ti_cvPq5cgZj9K9dV513GtNQ2A"> Microsoft Security Essentials.

Best Browser: class="vt-p" href="http://www.google.com/chrome">Google Chrome

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: left;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/googlechromelogo.png" alt="netbook software applications" width="200" height="82" />Honestly, there wasn’t much of a contest here. Google Chrome is incredibly light on system resources and does almost everything that you could want a browser to do.

I have occasionally run into websites that failed to support Chrome properly, but you can always keep a backup of Internet Explorer installed for those very rare situations.

Best Desktop Enchancement: class="vt-p" href="http://www.360desktop.com/">360Desktop

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/netbookapps2.png" alt="netbook software applications" width="580" height="198" />

Netbooks have small displays. This is a disadvantage that is common in small devices, and one that can feel very limiting. Fortuantely, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-indefinite-desktop-space-with-360desktop-windows/">360Desktop can help you get around this problem. No, it doesn’t magically make your display larger, but it does virtually enlarge it and provides the ability to scroll across it. This provides you with more usable space on the same small display.

Best Office Suite: class="vt-p" href="http://docs.google.com/">Google Docs

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Google-Docs07.png" alt="netbook applications" />

The decision to include class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/google-docs-spreadsheets/">Google Docs as the pick for best netbook office suite, rather than OpenOffice/LibreOffice or any other contender, is related to the small footprint of Google Chrome. If you’re already using Chrome on your netbook, as recommended, it only makes sense to use Google Docs. This has a very low impact on system resources but provides common office suite functionality.

Best Image Editor: class="vt-p" href="http://lmadhavan.com/software/fotografix/">Fotograpfix

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/netbookapps3.jpg" alt="netbook applications" width="500" height="433" />

There are a lot of image editing programs to choose from these days, but out of all of them I think class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/portable-multiple-layered-image-editor-fotographix/">Fotograpfix is the best for netbooks. Although the program isn’t very pretty, and doesn’t match the functionality of GIMP, Fotograpfix does include all the basic image editing features. It’s absurdly light, as well – if Windows Task Manager can be trusted, it typically uses less system resources than Mozilla Firefox with a single tab open. That’s not bad at all!

Best Resource Monitor: class="vt-p" href="http://perso.accelance.net/~pesoft/trm/us_trm.html">TinyResMeter

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: left;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/netbookapps4.png" alt="netbook applications" width="150" height="92" />System resources on a netbook are important. They’re the entire reason I’m writing this blog post. With only so much to go around, you need to keep tabs on what is available and what isn’t.

TinyResMeter is a great way to do that. This light, customizable application provides information about your netbook without consuming much resources itself. It can monitor a huge range of  variables including not only common items, such as available RAM, but also more obscure information such as current hard drive disk speed. /> class="alignright" style="margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; border: 0px none initial;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ImpulseLogo.png" alt="best netbook applications" width="240" height="230" />

Best Game Platform: class="vt-p" href="http://www.impulsedriven.com/">Impulse

Steam generally takes the cake when it comes to gaming on a PC, but it can be a bit unwieldy on a netbook. Steam itself always runs in the background, and I’ve found that during sales the pop-up Windows loaded by Steam can take some time to appear on a netbook.

Impulse is a solid alternative that provides many of the same functions. Although the game selection and social networking features aren’t as good as Steam’s, Impulse has an advantage – it can be shut off completely, and you can still play the games you purchased. Impulse also has a good selection of obscure indie titles that tend to be less demanding on system resources.

Conclusion

Obviously, there is always going to be some debate about the programs that are best for netbooks. There are also a lot of categories of software – I covered those I think most relevant, but if you have a favorite program that wasn’t included here, please post it in the comments.

Image Credit: class="vt-p" rel="nofollow" href="http://wardskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/11/conscious-consumer-oxymoron.html">Ward’s Kitchen />
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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/00-Aviary-HTML5-Photo-Editor.jpg" border="0" alt="online photo editor" />I think many people would agree that one of the most controversial turning points in the tech world is Apple’s decision not to support Flash technology in its iDevices and go with HTML5 instead.

Despite the pros and cons that surround the decision, the real question is whether this new technology has what it takes to at least stand on the same ground with Flash. For the time being, the answer might still be “not yet”. However, a new online photo editor from Aviary called class="vt-p" href="http://aviary.com/html5">Feather shows us that we can definitely expect great things from HTML5.

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The Photo Editor

Aviary is the maker of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/edit-images-online-with-the-aviary-web-suite/">the online photo editor suite. Feather, its latest creation, is the simplified version (with HTML5 twist) of class="vt-p" href="http://www.aviary.com/tools/phoenix">Phoenix, Aviary’s Flash-based online photo editor. But being the simplified version doesn’t mean that Feather is less powerful than Phoenix. Feather collects the most popular tools of Phoenix, and packs them into one light and simple tool. Feather is perfect for everyday users who will never use advanced image editing tools to re-touch their images – and who could use extra system resources while doing so.

Anybody can use the tool without any obligation. Just visit the site and click on the “See it in Action” tab.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01a-See-It-In-Action.jpg" border="0" alt="online photo editor" width="385" height="80" />

Then you can upload your image to edit.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01aa-HTML5-Editor-Upload-Image.jpg" border="0" alt="01aa HTML5 Editor - Upload Image.jpg" width="580" height="349" />

Or you could also point Feather to an online image location by providing the image’s URL. Feather will download the image to its server.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ab-HTML5-Editor-Image-URL.jpg" border="0" alt="01ab HTML5 Editor - Image URL.jpg" width="360" height="80" />

The image will be opened along with a bunch of image editing tools such as Rotate, Flip, Resize and Crop. There are also quick effect tools that you can use, like: Instant!, Toy Camera, Old Photo and Retro.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ac-HTML5-Editor-Edit.jpg" border="0" alt="01ac HTML5 Editor - Edit.jpg" width="520" height="410" />

More options of a specific tool will be available after you select that tool. There’s also Undo and Redo buttons.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ax-HTML5-Editor-Crop.jpg" border="0" alt="01ax HTML5 Editor - Crop.jpg" width="475" height="315" />

Feather allows you to add text to your images, but the options are very limited. You can’t change the font type nor add effects. All you can do is change the color and size of the font.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ay1-Test-Text.jpg" border="0" alt="01ay1 Test Text.jpg" width="295" height="232" />

To delete a text group, select the text and click on the “X” button on the top right corner of the text box.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ay2-Test-Text.jpg" border="0" alt="01ay2 Test Text.jpg" width="330" height="150" />

To get fun effects quickly and effortlessly, use the quick effect tools. Below is the result of “Instant!” tool.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01az-Quick-Effect.jpg" border="0" alt="01az Quick Effect.jpg" width="580" height="350" />

After you are done, click the save button and wait. You will be given a URL and a download button to download the image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ad-Download-Edited-Image.jpg" border="0" alt="01ad Download Edited Image.jpg" width="580" height="270" />

On The Mobile Side

Out of curiosity, I tried to open Feather using iPhone’s Safari. Even though the site could be opened just fine, I couldn’t upload any image from the phone to the editor. The only option left was to use an image URL.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ba-Opening-Editor-In-iPhone.jpg" border="0" alt="01ba Opening Editor In iPhone.jpg" width="480" height="300" />

So I opened my blog, then tapped and held on an image. I chose “Copy” from the pop up buttons to copy the image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01bb-Copy-Image-URL-1.jpg" border="0" alt="01bb Copy Image URL-1.jpg" width="480" height="300" />

I went back to the editor, tapped on the URL field and chose “Paste“. The image URL was pasted inside the URL field, I clicked “Go” and the image was opened along with the editor and I could edit the image as if it was done on an ordinary browser.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01bc-Edit-Image-1.jpg" border="0" alt="online photo editor" width="480" height="300" />

This little experiment showed us that this free, light and powerful image editing tool is also accessible from iDevices (and other smart phones) as long as they can connect to the internet. The best method is to edit images that are already on the web, something like Flickr photos or pre-uploaded personal photos.

Embedding The Tool To Your Site?

The developer mentions that you can also embed the online photo editor to your site. After a few failed attempts to use the embedded tool as a personal online image editor, I contacted the developer asking whether I made mistakes in the process. It turned out that the current version of the embeddable image editor doesn’t support image uploading and will only add an Edit button below specific images on the page where the code is embedded.

The developer also said that an image uploading feature might be added in the future. But until then, we’ll have to stick to the online editor on the Aviary site.

In conclusion, I think Feather is a very useful light, simple and powerful image editor. The tool could be a good alternative to heavier online (and offline) image editors.

Have you tried Feather? What do you think of the tool? Share your opinions using the comments below. />
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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/intro3.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="183" />As anyone who has ever dabbled in class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/build-virtually-explore-3d-design-google-sketchup">3D modelling will tell you – it sure ain’t easy. Becoming proficient in any powerful software suite takes time, patience, trial and error – and yet more patience.

Then again if you’re passionate enough about something you want to achieve, there’s very little standing in your way.

That’s where class="vt-p" href="http://www.blender.org/">Blender comes in. It’s free. class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-great-applications-for-the-graphic-designer-on-a-budget/">Completely free, and a tool that has dozens of applications allowing you to try your hand at the challenging world of computer-generated artwork. Did I mention it’s free?

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Why Should I Choose Blender?

Because you’re curious. Curious enough to try something new without dropping a couple of thousand dollars (pounds, Euros, whatever) on the latest and greatest commercial packages available.

Programs like 3D Studio Max (the industry-standard for most CGI ventures) and Cinema4D (most often used for fancy TV graphics) which often cost more than the PC you’re using right now. Blender packs a punch too, with the potential for some beautiful creations.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/strat.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="371" />

You’re an average Joe who just wants a go. You can be running class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/windows">Windows, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/mac">Mac OS or class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux. That’s why Blender is perfect for you.

Can My PC Handle It?

The minimum specifications for Blender are pretty achievable by today’s standards: 300MHz processor, 128MB of RAM, 20MB of free space and an OpenGL graphics card. You’re also going to need a 3-button mouse for manipulating the 3D workspace.

A machine of that calibre will do, but render times will be through the roof so the Blender foundation recommend the following for decent performance: 2GHz dual-core, 2GB of RAM and an OpenGL graphics card with 128MB of RAM.

For a production-standard machine you’ll want a 64bit quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM and a graphics card with 768MB of RAM. That’s a tall order, but thankfully not a necessity.

What Can I Do With It?

One heck of a lot, that’s what. Jessica recently produced an article showing off some class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-amazing-short-films-free-software/">great short 3D films and animations made with class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/roundup-15-free-must-install-programs-for-your-new-pc/">completely free software. The top-billed video was a production called class="vt-p" href="http://durian.blender.org/">Sintel which was created with Blender and also rendered using Linux – which is a double-dose of freeware right there.

classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="580" height="430" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eRsGyueVLvQ" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eRsGyueVLvQ">

You’re probably not going to be creating feature-length masterpieces right away, but everyone has to start somewhere. With enough time spent inside the program, reading tutorials and generally playing around you will eventually exceed your own expectations and make momma proud.

As well as 3D stills and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-make-animated-gifs-from-images-and-videos-with-gifninjacom/">animation (like class="vt-p" href="http://orange.blender.org/">Elephants Dream and class="vt-p" href="http://peach.blender.org/">Big Buck Bunny), Blender can also be used to create interactive 3D elements such as games (like class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/yo-frankie-free-open-source-platform-game/">Yo Frankie!).

Within the suite itself there are an exhastive list of technical features. 3D modelling, texturing, particle effects (like smoke) and water simulation, skinning, animating, compositing and non-linear editing (including a very capable class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-tools-to-make-a-home-movie-online-for-free/">video editor for 3D non-3D projects alike) are all on the cards.

There’s also support for compositing, so you can merge your creations in the third dimension with your own footage and get down and dirty with a green screen.

You’ve Convinced Me, How Do I Get It?

Head over to class="vt-p" href="http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/">the official Blender download page and grab your version. As I’ve mentioned previously, the suite is compatible with all 3 major operating systems. I installed Blender on Ubuntu, and found that installing via the command line was the quickest and easiest way.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ubuntuinstall.jpg" alt="" width="568" height="410" />

If you find yourself in this situation open up a Terminal window (Applications, Accessories then Terminal) and paste the following:

sudo apt-get install blender

Input your password and hit “y” then Enter. All done, now you can launch the program for the first time.

This Looks Hard – What’s Next?

First of all I recommend you familiarise yourself with the interface – have a play around. Next download class="vt-p" href="http://www.blenderguru.com/blender-2-5-cheat-sheet/">BlenderGuru’s cheat-sheet and get acquainted with all the keyboard shortcuts and make your life that little bit easier. It’s a handy PDF that you can print out and stick to the wall.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Blender.png" alt="" width="580" height="364" />

Then you’re going to want to take a look at some tutorials. Depending on what you want to build, you’ll find life a lot easier with a bit of help from this lot:

class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro">Wikibooks – Blender 3D: From Noob to Pro

The early chapters in this book will teach you the very basics of modelling, exactly what Blender does and how it all works together. An absolute essential if you’ve not done this before, and pretty useful even if you have.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.blenderguru.com/category/tutorials/">BlenderGuru – Tutorials />

Follow Andrew Price and his excellent walkthroughs to create some stunning scenes. Each tutorial is provided in video format and you can download completed project files for a more detailed look into his work.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.blender.org/education-help/">Blender – Education and Help />

The official repository for tutorials and guides to get you up and running with Blender. The wiki is full of links to walk you through the basics from the interface and navigation to using the game engine to create your own adventure.

Can You Make It Any Easier?

If you need a helping hand with a project then you can always download models and materials to use in your own work. Many authors have helped assemble collections solely to help the rest of the community. Here’s a few of the best:

class="vt-p" href="http://e2-productions.com/repository/index.php">The Official Blender Model Repository

A good couple of hundred models for use in your own scenes. You can do what you like with them, and they’re all completely free.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.blendermodels.org/">The Blender Open Model Repository />

More than 600 models assembled into 24 categories. The model files for the aforementioned Big Buck Bunny film are also hosted here.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.blender-materials.org/">Blender Materials – The Open Material Repository

Materials for use in your scenes. From carbon fibre to peanut shells – there’s plenty to help you on your way.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.katorlegaz.com/3d_models/index.php">Kator Legaz – 3D Models />

Plenty of good quality 3D models to choose from.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.imageafter.com/">ImageAfter

Free high quality images for use as textures or simply reference images to be turned into beautiful 3D models.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.makehuman.org/">MakeHuman

A standalone utility for creating human models that can then be exported and used within Blender. Still early days for this one, but a project worth keeping in mind.

Conclusion

At the risk of repeating myself – it’s not easy. But thanks to the community it’s easier than going it alone. If you’ve always wanted to try it, Blender gives you the excuse. There’s plenty of reading involved, and even more experimentation but give it time and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish with nothing but time, effort and Blender.

Have you tried your hand at Blender before? Created anything you want to share with the rest of us? Just starting out? Let us know in the comments.

Image Credit: class="vt-p" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostcero/3971698047/">Blender Logo, class="vt-p" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.blender.org/features-gallery/gallery/art-gallery/">Blender Stratocaster />
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If you wish to save a lot of trouble involved with uploading video(s) to your Site, no doubt that “Movie In Adobe Flash” Tool can help you get there. If you look for an easy way to convert your movie(s) to web format, then this technology is definitely an option you should consider. In this quick article learn how VDOs-onto-Websites technology can easily help you on converting and uploading a movie onto any Webpage.

Short overview

The entire processing mechanism of “Movie In Adobe Flash” Tool focuses on transforming your videos from their raw format into a Web format called Flash-Video or .FLV. Once the software finished processing, all you need is to do is paste a small code onto your original Webpage and save the new files on your Webhosting site. It is important to know that the following process creates streaming webvideos – they enable you to start watching them immediately without having to wait for a complete download.

Quick advantages

Let’s examine what is in it for us and how it can easily enable you to attract more visitors:

* It enables you to be more creative and persuasive.
* Upload movies to an existing Web page instead of making a new page.
* Easily transforms your Site(s) more impressive.
* Easily upload family movies to share with relatives and friends.
* Enables you to download, convert, and play YouTube videos on your Website(s).

There are plenty other benefits provided by this innovative technology simply because it this powerful web-marketing tool provides so many opportunities for quick and creative web-marketers.

Conclusions

This technology enables you to quickly convert large files into a very small size, for example an advanced “Movie In Adobe Flash” Tool can easily compress a 100MB raw file to only 9MB Flash-Video file. Now that you know more about this technology it is advised to test it live in order to explore and see how it can easily improve productivity of your online business.

“Create Video In Frontpage” Tool is an excellent solution for those who haven’t got a clue about how to embed video(s) onto their Site. This highly effective solution is quickly becoming popular; simply because it transforms the conversion process very easy for many users. Learn about the latest Video-to-Web techniques and how they are about to generate a lot more incoming traffic for you.

Short background

“Create Video In Frontpage” Tool automatically generates special Web display files out of your videos by compressing and converting them to Flash-Video .FLV file format. By simply adding a small html code to your target page and delivering the files to your Web’s server, you’ll be able to display your new streaming Webvideo(s). This conversion process creates streaming webvideos – they enable you to start watching them immediately without having to wait for a complete download.

Important advantages

This smart solution provides several clear advantages:

* Compressing raw movies to 10% or less of their original file size!
* It helps your visitors feel more comfortable doing business with you online.
* If a picture is worth a thousand words how much would a Webvideo worth?
* Enables you to download, convert, and play YouTube videos on your Website(s).
* This Web-marketing solution is a fraction of the cost of TV commercials.

If we search a little more, we could easily find other great benefits provided by this advanced tool simply because it opens up various opportunities that enable us to better promote any new or existing online business.

On the bottom line

In average, installation process of such solution takes no more than 2-3 minutes; moreover, an average individual conversion process of a 100MB file with this “Create Video In Frontpage” Tool takes no more than one minute. Now that you know more about this technology it is advised to try this technology as in most cases implementation requires no more than several minutes.

Mp3 player is the most recent and popular music format that has inevitably helped the consumer to listen the tunes of their choice. The previous audio formats like the tapes, cassettes, CD’s didn’t give much convenience to the consumers in comparison to the mp3 audio format. Therefore, with the help of mp3 player, you can easily create personalized or customized music tunes and carry it anywhere you go.

How mp3 files work?
Mp3 files movement is much amazing as compared to music cassettes, CD’s and other audio formats. A CD stores music in the form of digital information. When a CD is created, music is sampled around 44,100 times per second. Separate samples are used both for left and right sound speakers of a music system. Thus, a CD stores huge amount of data i.e. 44,100 samples/second * 16 bits/sample * 2 channels = 1,411,200 bits per second. If we break it down, 1.4 million bits per second equals 176,000 bytes per second. An average song on a CD consumes about 32 million bytes of space and it takes much time while you download it. In case of mp3 audio format, the size of music file is reduced whereby a 32 MB music file is compressed to 3 Mb. Therefore, it could also be downloaded fast from the internet to your hard disk. At the same time, it takes much less space.

Why Mp3 has revolutionized the web?
It has made easy for people to easily distribute their music files at very less or no cost. It provides easy and instant accessibility to music files on the internet. People have learned a lot to manipulate sound on the computer. You can now easily;

Download an mp3 song from the internet and play it.

Rip any song from a CD and play it or encode it in mp3 format.

Record any song yourself, convert it into mp3 format and distribute over the internet to the rest of the world.

You can convert MP3 files into CD files and create your own audio CD’s from mp3 files over the internet.

Store a number of Mp3 files on data CD’s.

Load mp3 songs into any mp3 player and carry it anywhere you go.

If you want to have more information please visit our recommended website freedownloadmp3song.info

Most of us encounter this situation at some point, you buy a new Pc, it works fine for just a few months and unexpectedly you start getting these problems, you start getting these concerning error messages, activex errors and maybe even program crashes. Fortunately, professional Windows Xp Registry Fixer can easily repair most of these problems. If you follow this review you’ll be able to solve most of these problems by yourself.

Do you know what win registry is? Well, Registry is a Win internal db which basically stores various data and settings about your pc’s various h/w and s/w installations. This information is being used by your PC’s Windows o.s.. When time passes by, many software installations and other files that are being used can corrupt your win-registry, causing your windows to start popping up a wide range of errors, reducing your PC’s performance and even affecting your Pc’s internet speed.

As you probably already understand it is quite important to maintain your Win registry db undamaged. It’ll guarantee better performance for a long time. Now, you probably already ask yourself how you can do that. If you know how to handle your win-registry, then that can be easily done manually, it should be quite easy for you, but when it concerns hundreds of h/w & s/w settings on your Pc you may find this task quite frustrating since it would require much of your time & effort. Most pc users don’t even know where to start or what to do, so it is necessary to either let an experienced person to fix and maintain your windows reg. (Can be very expensive…) or get yourself a professional win-registry repair application.

Very briefly – Windows Xp Registry Fixer is a software solution which is designed to automatically scan, identify and repair/remove problematic configurations from your Win registry. By following such solution you’ll be able to avoid various computer problems, blue screens, driver errors, Chkdsk issues and various irritating Windows problems that most of us usually experience almost every day.

There are countless of Windows Xp Registry Fixer solutions on the World wide web, so it is highly important to conduct a quick comparison between the web’s top solutions and find out which programs are truly effective on assisting you to quickly improve your Win performance.

For an effective adware and spyware protection, you could always check online for many anti spyware software programs available. A few of them are also available free of cost. Many of the software development companies have contributed a lot of their resources for the structuring of sophisticated and effective anti spyware program for personal computer protection. A few of them are as follows below:

1. Spyware Doctor

The Spyware Doctor is one of the multi award winning tools available for the removal of spyware. It is available as free trail software and also a paid product version with higher levels of adware and spyware protection. It would effectively remove by detecting the bug and protect the computer from loads of potentially disturbing adware and spyware programs multiplying in the internet world.

The Spyware Doctor could quickly and easily get rid of the Spyware, Adware, Key loggers, dialers and Trojan horses. The On Guard feature that is included prevents new infections from Spyware and provides real time protection. The user gets the protection as he works and would not need manual scanning for detecting the virus. Furthermore the remover tool would remove, ignore or quarantine the spyware that is identified. This tool is available free of cost in the trial version.

The Spyware Doctor essentially is the mostly downloaded and picked spyware removing program. It has been developed by PC tools for removing spyware and is a product from MS Windows. To buy the product, you would subscribe in the Spyware Doctor which comes with a year’s license for database and program updates. This is safe software designed for removing the spyware and which is registered for the same. The trial version of this program could be tried as it is available for a free download; however with quite limited functions, distinct to the registered version.

2. MacAfee Anti-Spyware

Before the Spyware software steals your identity from your system, you must ensure to do away with them. People could track you down and monitor all your private moves. This anti spyware could prove to be the right protection required in today’s kind of secure browsing area.

MacAfee anti-spyware would soon detect and eliminate malicious applications in a safe manner. It could help eliminating malicious applications like remote control programs, key loggers, browser hijackers, spybots etc which would often be hiding in the system before stealing the user of all his private and confidential information. They often indulge in monitor browsing and snatching of passwords. Online road blocks are avoided with the help of McAfee Anti-spyware, along with preventing adware program triggers along with all annoying ads speed deterioration.

3. X-Cleaner

X-Cleaner is another premier privacy software program solution that is structured by one of the highly trusted names in anti-spyware software technology. X-Cleaner helps in effectively deleting system and browser usage tracks, shreds pictures and helps in generating secure passwords within your PC. It also assists in featuring a unique adware and anti-spy and technology that would remove them completely from your machine. Furthermore, the X-Cleaner has effective inoculation attributes that would help in preventing future infections keeping your system safe for use.

Some key features of this software program include the ability of removing traces of pictures movie files that is already viewed. It could also remove and detect spy software programs that log the private activities online and perhaps undermine personal security online. The X-Cleaner could also search and remove pornographic matter that might contain malicious codes in your machine.

In order to provide the right privacy, the X-Cleaner could permanently do away with files from your system with the help of a military style file shredder. You would be able to stop the theft of password and apparently know if any users are recording or snooping about the keystrokes with the aid of the X-Cleaner!

Multimedia and internet software developer Ramka Ltd. released a powerful program for ripping videos from Hulu called RipTiger (riptiger.com). It helps online video viewers save just about any video to their 

computers or mobile devices. The program automatically downloads web video once it starts playing in the browser and converts downloaded clips to popular video formats with a click of a button.

The developers say they created this tool to make up for the lack of reliably working and easy to use Hulu downloading tool. “We created RipTiger because the few Hulu downloaders that were available on the 

market didn’t work reliably. Some programs did work, but were too complicated and feature limited. On the other hand, RipTiger was designed to automatically download movies / TV shows from Hulu and other 

web-sites. With only two clicks the videos can be converted and transferred to a mobile device for on-the-go watching.”

It really couldn’t be easier. Users only need to launch RipTiger and the state-of-the-art software does the rest. Once RipTiger detects web video starting in the browser, it begins the download 

automatically, regardless if the window with the video is open or not.

“We are actively working to ensure that RipTiger is always compatible with the newest Hulu streaming mechanisms. We have also added and continue adding support for other videos sharing or video streaming 

web-sites. This has increased the software’s usability made into a truly versatile streaming video downloader.”

Fans of exotic online video resources aren’t left in the wild either. RipTiger’s sophisticated engine allows downloads from a large variety of web-sites, even the not so popular ones. RipTiger will capture 

video from most web-sites you ever visit, not just Hulu.

How do people use the downloaded online videos? There are many use cases depending on what a specific person needs. “Generally, people use RipTiger to download online movies and TV shows to watch on their 

computers or portable players later. However, it can be used to rip just about any video for personal use, for example music videos, educational videos, comedy videos, tutorials, etc”.

We are constantly working to ensure compatibility with more video sharing / video streaming web-sites. If you come across a great video web-site that RipTiger can’t download yet, just drop us a line and we will add it in the future.

Read more about RipTiger online video downloader and check Hulu downloading guide.

Most of us encounter this situation at some point, you buy a new Pc, it works fine for just a few months and unexpectedly you start getting these problems, you start getting these concerning error messages, activex errors and maybe even program crashes. Fortunately, professional Windows Xp Registry Fixer can easily repair most of these problems. If you follow this review you’ll be able to solve most of these problems by yourself.

Do you know what win registry is? Well, Registry is a Win internal db which basically stores various data and settings about your pc’s various h/w and s/w installations. This information is being used by your PC’s Windows o.s.. When time passes by, many software installations and other files that are being used can corrupt your win-registry, causing your windows to start popping up a wide range of errors, reducing your PC’s performance and even affecting your Pc’s internet speed.

As you probably already understand it is quite important to maintain your Win registry db undamaged. It’ll guarantee better performance for a long time. Now, you probably already ask yourself how you can do that. If you know how to handle your win-registry, then that can be easily done manually, it should be quite easy for you, but when it concerns hundreds of h/w & s/w settings on your Pc you may find this task quite frustrating since it would require much of your time & effort. Most pc users don’t even know where to start or what to do, so it is necessary to either let an experienced person to fix and maintain your windows reg. (Can be very expensive…) or get yourself a professional win-registry repair application.

Very briefly – Windows Xp Registry Fixer is a software solution which is designed to automatically scan, identify and repair/remove problematic configurations from your Win registry. By following such solution you’ll be able to avoid various computer problems, blue screens, driver errors, Chkdsk issues and various irritating Windows problems that most of us usually experience almost every day.

There are countless of Windows Xp Registry Fixer solutions on the World wide web, so it is highly important to conduct a quick comparison between the web’s top solutions and find out which programs are truly effective on assisting you to quickly improve your Win performance.

Your pc is running slow again? Well, there are many ways you can take in order to speed up windows vista, but, there’s another method which won’t require you to be technical or require you to fix your Computer by yourself. Continue reading the next report and easily find out how to effectively skyrocket your computer’s performance.

If your pc keeps freezing or maybe you get weird error messages, slow boot problems, and other irritating windows general errors and software failures – in most cases it is probably something that has to do with your Win registry system. Over time, when you add countless programs onto your windows, it happens that several programs aren’t installed or uninstalled correctly, causing your registry to get corrupted.

Basically, the registry is a Windows database – it basically stores info about your different hardware and software installations. Your system uses this information while operating each of your hardware or software. Now you probably figure out how sensitive your system is.

If you need to speed up windows vista you must maintain your win-registry optimized – damaged win-registry can cause your Pc various errors that usually slow down or even freeze specific programs and even your entire pc.

As you probably already understand the registry is quite complex, it is highly recommended not to try and fix it on your own unless you are certified to do that – it can cause you even more problems. The easiest way to speed up windows vista is to use a recommended registry repair tool and enable it scan, identify, and fix any registry error for you. Such repair process can effectively repair your Desktop’s / laptop’s speed problems and maintain your System’s productivity on the best side. The most popular solutions provide pre-set auto-fix tasks and automated program updates, so it easily enables you to maintain your computer optimized 24 x 7.

Your pc isn’t running as fast as it used to be? Just for you to know, there are so many things you can do if you want to speed up pc Windows XP, but, there’s another method which doesn’t require you to be technical or require you to fix your Windows on your own. Continue reading the next quick review and easily discover the best way that’ll enable you to dramatically improve your pc’s performance.

If your pc keeps freezing or maybe you probably experience unknown error messages, blue screens, and other popular windows performance issues – in most cases it is in high probability related to your Win registry system. When time passes by, when you download, install/uninstall so many applications onto your computer, it happens that few applications aren’t installed/uninstalled properly, while corrupting parts of your windows registry.

Basically, the registry is a Windows db – it basically stores data about your different hardware and software installations. The windows system uses this info when you run each of your hardware or software. You can now understand how vulnerable your operating system is.

If you wish to speed up pc Windows XP you must maintain your win-registry clean of errors – damaged windows reg. can cause your Pc serious malfunctions that usually slow or even freeze programs and even your entire system.

Your registry is quite vulnerable, it is highly advised not to try and fix it on your own unless you know exactly what you are doing – you may cause more damage than help. The most effective way to speed up pc Windows XP is to install a professional registry fix application and enable it scan, identify, and clean any registry error for you. In most cases such repair process can easily fix your System’s speed problems and keep your Windows performance on the best side. The most popular software solutions suggest scheduled auto-repair tasks and automatic system updates, so it easily enables you to maintain your operating system optimized 24 x 7.