There aren’t tons of these distributions and some of them are threatened, daily, to disappear from lack of support. So it is my honor to hopefully introduce the Ghacks audience to these distributions.

Why free?

There is a common feeling among the GNU community that if you are going to opt for an operating system that offers you freedom from the “tyranny” of proprietary software, you should do so from top to bottom. There are a lot of Linux distributions out there and not all of them are 100% free. Take Ubuntu Linux for example. Install a little application called Virtual Richard M. Stallman (vrms) to find out all of the non-free software installed. On my Ubuntu 10.04 system I have:

• 4 non-free packages, 0.2% of 2069 installed packages.
• 3 contrib packages, 0.1% of 2069 installed packages.

The vrms tool will also list out each of these packages. Mine are:

• esci-interpreter-gt-f720  Plugin for the GT-F720/S620 and Perfection V30/V300
• iscan                     simple, easy to use scanner utility for EPSON scanners
• nvidia-current            NVIDIA binary Xorg driver, kernel module and VDPAU lib
• virtualbox-guest-addition guest additions iso image for VirtualBox

Along with the contrib packages:

• nvidia-common             Find obsolete NVIDIA drivers
• nvidia-settings           Tool of configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver

Can I live with that? Sure. As soon as the free NVIDIA drivers gain some level of maturity I will have no need for the NVidia proprietary drivers.

However, if you are one of those who insists on gaining independence from non-free software, you are in luck. There are Linux distributions just for you. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Mandriva Linux Free

Of all the completely free distributions, this is probably the one with the most support. With this flavor of 100% free Linux you at least know your foundation is based on a well known, well made operating system. Mandriva has been around for a long time and enjoys maturity an outstanding installation

Dragora

This particular distribution is one of few who’s primary goal is to stick to the four freedoms of software users:

• Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
• Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish.
• Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
• Freedom 3: The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others.

gNewSense

This is a spin off of Ubunut/Debian without the non-free software. It offers the typical, clean GNOME desktop and all the standard bells and whistles (free ones though) that accompany any Ubuntu distribution. The original name (Gnusiance) was a play on Richard M. Stallmans GPG key. The name has since been changed to gNewSense. A sense of humor will go a long way.

Kongoni

Kongoni is the African word for GNU. This distribution is based on Slackware and is aimed at being an easy to install, user-friendly, desktop OS that is bereft of non-free software. So if you are looking for a Slackware spinoff, with 100% free software, look no further.

Final thoughts

There are plenty more 100% free distributions out there. The four above should give you a fairly good taste of what is available to those who seek complete independence from non-free software. I hope you will try one of these listed. Or, if you have another you would like to share, please do.

The GIMP is a very powerful application that can handle most any image manipulation needs. Although The GIMP and read and write most every known graphic format, its native format, xcf, is not widely supported. But why would you want or need The GIMP? And who would best fit as a user of The GIMP?

Let’s first take a look at the feature list of The GIMP.

• Customizable interface
• Photo enhancement
• Digital retouching
• Wide range of hardware support
• Huge file format support
• Cross platform
• Plugin support
• Scripting language built in
• Built in file compression
• Layer support
• Masking
• Full alpha channel support
• Animation support
• Profession-level color management

That is just a sampling of what The GIMP has to offer.

As I stated before, I have used The GIMP for quite some time and for a great many projects. I have yet to find anything The GIMP can not do. And every time I use this application I am shocked that more people don’t use it. I am pretty sure the main reason why most don’t use The GIMP is familiarity. The masses simply do not know The GIMP exists. If they did they would gladly download and use a professional-quality graphics application that came free of charge.

But for those that have dabbled in The GIMP in the past, one of the biggest complaints has been the user-interface. The GIMP is not a clone of Photoshop. The interface is actually different. But is the interface difficult? No. The interface is actually one of the most intuitive interfaces I have used. And not only is it intuitive, it’s flexible. If there is something you do not like about the interface, change it! The complaints about the interface became all too obvious with the latest release (2.6). With this release came some minor changes to the look and feel of the UI. For the most part these changes not only made sense, they also enhanced the experience.

The GIMP Interface

For those who are unsure if they would like The GIMP it’s a win-win situation. You download the binary for the correct architecture from The GIMP website, you install it, and you try it. It’s not a demo that will time out…it’s free. And when you find yourself wondering “How can they give this away for free?” you’ll know you’ve found yourself a keeper.

The GIMP can be used by anyone in nearly any setting. It runs on practically any hardware (even older machines), can be employed for home, schoool, business, enterprise, professional graphics, you name it. And anyone that has used a graphics application before (be it Photoshop on down) will quickly figure out the interface.

If you haven’t given The GIMP a go you should. If you have a need, on any level, for graphics manipulation or creation, and you want a solid, reliable application (that won’t bring your machine either screeching to a slow painful crawl or crashing) The GIMP is where you should look.