Backlogs and Real Life

The last three months have been a bit crazy, with far too much "real life" hitting us upside the head. Things have finally settled in a bit so that I'll be able to get my head above water and surface again. Aside from diving head first at the new day job and surviving the holidays, much had happened in the tech world.

I still haven't had time to finish my writeup of SVG Open (partly since I accepted the new day job while I was attending it up in Mountain View). Then there was the Google Summer of Code Mentors' summit. Great things happened there. Then I had to prep for our visit to New Zealand as co-organizer for a Libre Graphics Day miniconf and as a speaker at the main linux.conf.au. Then we had SCALE8x come 'round where I presented yet another talk and then also run the Inkscape booth on the show floor. Toss in getting a new tech (adaptive UI) going, starting a new project with other CREATE guys, and doing battle across the board to help get proper CMYK support out for end users everywhere.

Whew!

On top of all that was work for Inkscape and trying to get new features solid for the next release, 0.48. Thankfully I was able to squeeze the time in to finish up the basic support and UI for per-document color/swatch palettes. This allows for basic colors to be stored as a set in a given document, but also for gradients to be included in that. One big thing that inclusion accomplishes is breaking down the artificial barriers software engineers have imposed on artists for far too long. Assets had been artificially separated by their *implementation*, without regard for how artists actually are used to working. This also enabled many workflow enhancements including making art recoloring easier, indicating which swatches are in use on the selected object, etc.

Work on the new input devices dialog also came through. Aside from more end users getting their hands on tablets and such, we had a push in that the ugly outdated GTK+ dialog is being removed. And just in the nick of time we had Krzysztof step up and investigate some of the win32 tablet bugs and get some insight on the problem with Aiptek and others showing up with broken names. I was able to help refine the fixups there wile getting them set to be reimplemented in the new dialog.

And then there is the basic work on adaptive UI. This is a very promising area, and is just beginning to show the tip of the iceberg. I'm implementing internals based in part on Michael Terry's work with INGIMP he has presented at LGM. Though 0.48 will only expose a tiny bit of what can go on, the support in Inkscape will give it some very useful functionality in even the near term. We're looking at only giving 0.48 a few set layout modes, but with some handy logic behind the scenes to assist users getting what they need without having to think as much.

Unfortunately, though, we were unable to find time to work in support for Wii remotes, joysticks, and the SpaceNavigator someone at LCA lent me. We are on track to get more in, and 0.49 might even see some of that. Some of this (like using guitar game controllers) might sound a bit silly. However there are some very interesting ways these can be worked in and give Inkscape some nice functionality for average users. And, of course, more hardware toys always makes the geeks happier.

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Inkscape should NOT "support CMYK"!

Recently Felipe "JucaBlues" and I were hashing out some next steps for development, when I realized that Inkscape should NOT "support CMYK." Given that the Brazilian user community has really been pushing progress on the adoption of Open Source, including the use of Inkscape in print work, this might seem a bit surprising. However as we have been moving forward, implementing things, and trying to really support more and more professional use of Inkscape, the problem has become a bit clearer. What it seems to come down to is that we need to be sure to not get caught up in the low-level "how" of implementation of "four color CMYK" and instead change to focus on the higher-level "why" of "supporting prepress work." To get good, reliable, professional results in all forms of image work is a good thing, and people being able to get work done, and well, is key.

People who don't work towards print output are not often as familiar with CMYK and a CMYK workflow. What people are familiar with, at least when it comes to computer imagery, is RGB. GIMP, for example, has worked in RGB for the longest time (though it is now getting updated with new internals that will make working for print output much nicer). RGB images are split into three components: Red, Green, and Blue. Colors might be chosen with different modes (such as HSL), but are generally are stored in RGB. For photographs, web work, etc., RGB image work can be quite sufficient, and sometimes even preferable. There are also subtle variations such as sRGB, wide gamut RGB, Adobe RGB, etc. that can be used for specific needs.

Whereas RGB is creating colors by mixing three light primaries in additive color, CMYK is used with mixing four ink primaries in subtractive color. In general this is done by inverting the three RGB primary colors into inks and then adding a fourth ink that is plain black. This helps with getting true black, avoiding oversaturate paper, and other factors. Print artist often like working directly in CMYK so they can control sharpness of text, overprint of color, etc. However, the first big trap is that there is no such thing as "the CMYK colorspace." CMYK numbers/values are actually dependent on a specific device, and even two printers of the same make and model usually will give different results for the same input numbers. Given that an artist will choose to work in CMYK in order to more precisely control the output of a job, it is critical that color management is involved in the CMYK workflow to target specific jobs. Working on a job to be printed in a glossy magazine can be very different than one to be printed in a local newspaper.

SVG has been able to support CMYK via ICC profiles, and Inkscape has supported that in rough form since 0.46. Felipe and I have improved the interface for this more in 0.47, but there is still more to go. We also have been working with Scribus to help ensure color-managed SVG files become well supported. Some recent work for SVG 1.2 has added device-cmyk, but it turns out that this is for workflows that are not color-managed, and thus not really what end users need.

The other significant complication with a focus on "CMYK work" is that many professional jobs that are to go to print are not really "four color" at all. They might have four-color printing as part of the job, but then spot colors come in and easily expand to five-color, six-color and more. A company, for example, will often have a precise color they use for their logo, and this will be printed on its own plate in a pass of just that specific ink. UV coating, embossing and other effects might require their own color or 'channel'. Anyone who has ever heard "Pantone" mentioned has probably bumped up against this "not-just-four-colors" problem. And in addition to spot colors, modern printers have been expanded to use six or more colors, not just four, in order to get better results.

What that means is that to properly support end users needing to work on art that is going to be printed, Inkscape will need to support far more than only four colors. And more than just CMYK is a given (that spot color issue again). Artist will need to easily pick a target CMKY ICC profile for all jobs, have multi-color support preserved, handle spot colors and custom palettes, etc. So when it comes time to implement features, thinking only of CMYK will most likely lead to solutions that hurt, rather than help. So remember, think "professional prepress work" and not "CMYK work".

(Images
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. Original apple image by Jan Mehlich)

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Libre Graphics Day Call for Papers

linux.conf.au 2010 is taking place in Wellington, New Zealand this year. It's a wonderful conference, with quite a lot going on. I was lucky enough to have a talk accepted this past conference, and it was a great experience. For next year's conference Donna Benjamin and I proposed putting on a mini version of the Libre Graphics Meeting for people who have not been fortunate to make one. It had been accepted, and we're in the final half of the CFP before it closes on Friday 25th September and we have to decide what to go with. Again, there is just one week left!

So, the mini Libre Graphics Day is on January 18th, and is planning to bring together programmers, artists, designers and just those interested in using graphics programs all together. If you are planning to attend linux.conf.au and you might have something to say or show, please consider submitting a talk or such. This does not have to be just about Inkscape, since GIMP, Scribus, Krita and many others have all been involved in LGM.

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Libre Graphics Day at LCA 2010

Man, the past few weeks have been quite busy, including some sad family events. However, there is one item I need to get out there.

The news is that the LCA 2010 miniconf proposal of a "Libre Graphics Day" I submitted has been accepted! There still is a lot to do, but since the time is short we do need to be moving quickly.

I'm going to be coordinating this "mini" version of LGM with the help of Donna Benjamin and Tina Cruz. A more formal announcement along with a CFP will be up shortly. In the mean time you can ping us on identi.ca or Twitter with ideas and suggestions:
Twitter: @joncruz, @kattekrab, @sendchocolate
identi.ca: @joncruz, @kattekrab, @sendchocolate
(here's a hint. @sendchocolate is far more organized than I)

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Much to do, but color is on the march

"Real life" has again been conspiring to keep me distracted. Of course that really is the norm rather than the exception; we need to be able to complete despite distrations, not wait until distractions are done. However that is a topic for another time.

The main thing I wanted to address was in relation to color. Especially at and since the last LGM there has been a lot going on in regards to color and open source. As a last-minute fill-in I did a shorted presentation of my talk on why color management is needed. Ginger Coons made a presentation that included an artists'/designer's approach to needing better color standards, and GIMP and Scribus were among the others to touch on color, standards, etc.

Since then the collaboration with software developers and designers has made some significant progress. The most important is in establishing working relationships with various vendors in many countries. Things are not quite ready for formal announcements, but many companies involved in color, printing, inks, paints, etc. have been talking with open source developers and advocates. Now we haven't gotten say the 500 pound gorilla on board (yet), but those leading the charge have been making some very solid contacts and commitments.

Of the companies out there, I do want to make note of New-Zealand-based color vendor Resene. They've been extremely committed and helpful. For a bit more, you can check out the note in this rant by Christoph Schäfer. And, of course, if anyone would like to help in this area, or knows someone or something, feel free to track down Christoph and talk.

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On Conficker and Zombie Education

So, T was talking with me just the other day about Conficker worm, and had a bit of a question. She'd finished listening to Steve Gibson's excellent Security Now podcast on the worm (episode 193), and was wondering about the checking of random domains. The question was basically how that could help infect machines.

The answer is that Conficker is not using those domains for infecting new machines, but rather for the zombie machines that are already infected to go and wait for updates. Other standard means are leveraged to infect new boxes and bring them into the botnet, and to do DOS attacks and such. Once I mentioned "zombie" as a term, she said "Yes, I get that. So you basically have the evil horde wandering to random intersections waiting to answer calls as they pass phone booths". Her question had been trying to figure out what the purpose of that would be, if it were not to infect new machines.

"Simple", I answered. "To get updates". That, of course, begs the question as to what exactly one would need to update a zombie in regards to. Well... using the analogy it turns out that the answer was very simple. Aside from the basic cat-and-mouse aspect of trying to hide from the zombie hunters that T. already knew, a big reason to update your zombies would be... to teach them to turn doorknobs!

In classic zombie movies, the heroes always end up huddled together inside a room/house/cabin/pub where the closed doors cause the feeble minded attackers to fumble uselessly against the panels of the door. Teach them to quickly open such obstacles and suddenly the horde is swarming right in to attack your PC and eat its brains. ♪ ♫

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Intuos4 Unboxing

Yes, that is the pretty new toy. After a bit of delay with things such as work, family, supporting friends, etc. I've finally gotten a chance to get up the pictures I took of my Intuos4 unboxing. As you can see, Wacom has stepped things up on their packaging, and seem to have done a nice job on the look of both the tablet and the box it comes in. The front of the package is quite simple, merely showing the product. You know their name, you know what a tablet is. If they need to tell you more, then this product is not really for you. Oh, and they also show down in the bottom left corner which of the sizes this tablet is. I like their subtle nudge that they have four of these, with two larger than the one I got.

The back of the box is pretty and informative (I have a larger pic for this one). They call out all the main features, including all the ooohs and aaahs that they should evoke. One main point of interest for the international (aka non-US) crowd is down at the very center bottom. It states "MOUSE INCLUDED", since I've read that the overseas version has to be purchased separately. Also they note that the tablet is shown actual size, so it is very helpful for a potential customer browsing in the store.

The front and back are part of a cover that slips down over the actual box. Once that is removed we see the box itself. It says "intuos4" in nice friendly letters on the cover. By this point I can see that Wacom was definitely taking lessons from Apple on their packaging. (I should also probably point out that I am not very practiced in photography, so the flash tended to wash things out and reflect a bit. Given that the battery on my camera was busy dying, I decided not to try to set up something more complex).

Lifting up the first flap of the box reveals "Where it all begins" in several languages. Again, friendly and welcoming. Also they have directions printed on the inside of that top flap. The three steps seem to be

1. put in the disc
2. install the software
3. connect the tablet

They realize that nobody really reads the directions, so they need to get things going as simply as possible.

Lifting up the second set of flaps reveals the tablet itself resting comfortably in it's nice protective foam sleeve. Like the rest of the packaging, this is a very pretty black (my flash did not do it justice). Also at this point I was struck by how light and efficient the packaging was. It definitely conveyed at least the feel of being more eco-conscious.

Sliding the tablet itself over a bit reveals more of the plastic it was sitting on, along with the stylus just below. All the rest is still hidden... probably to impress you more with the two parts you really care about.

Finally the view we have been waiting for. The tablet and stylus removed from their protective wrappings to bask in all their glory. The flash picks out the different textures, but in person all the parts are just about the same shade of black. The left edge is a high-gloss translucent finish, whereas the rest of the frame is a matte finish with a nice feel to it. Quite comfortable to rest one's hand or arm on. You can also see that the eraser end of the stylus is quite different.

I set my Intuos3 stylus down for a side-by-side comparison. The front looks just about the same, but the back is shorter and the eraser is definitely more "nubby." The Intuos4 stylus also had a lighter feel to it.

This next shot really shows off the glossy side with all the buttons. Under normal lighting the buttons and touch wheel do appear to be almost the same black as the glossy hard plastic. The way the buttons are all on one side now are quite evident, along with their placement to facilitate easy single-hand operation. Here you can see the "wacom" at the bottom, which hits where the tablet starts to curve down. There is a corresponding logo on the top, upside down, for when the tablet is used in left-handed mode.

Lifting out the black plastic tray reveals the packing of the additional bits. To the left is the nice, long USB cable. In the middle is the very Apple-ish box with the driver CD and such. On the right is the revamped stylus holder. It has secrets. We'll see more on that next.

Here is a shot with the stylus holder opened to reveal its trove of goodies. The top comes off with a quick quarter-turn to reveal a foam bed with ten nibs and a changing tool in the middle. This seems like it will make things much more convenient.

Under the box with the CD is hidden the nice goodie (at least for those in the US)... the new mouse. As with the other pretty parts, it's in a nice protective cover so that you will be the first one to get to scratch it up.

There's the new mouse. One negative is that the two buttons on the side are now gone. However, it has some secrets to make up for that. More later on that. One thing to note is that this shot does give a good idea of the actual colors of the different pieces (the flash didn't wash it out too much).

Here we have it all together. The flash is really washing out the smooth blackness of the normal appearance. And the mouse definitely is not blue nor gray; just two textures of a nice black.

For comparison I set the Intuos3 mouse and pen next to the Intuos4. The new mouse is definitely more rounded, and the styling on the stylus holder is even nicer. It is also clear that the Intuos4 mouse is smaller. I'm not sure how it will work for people with larger hands, but it fits mine quite well.

Another angle on the accessories.

Comparing the Intuos4 medium to my Intuos3 6x8, the evolution of the tablet is easy to see. The newer area has a widescreen aspect ratio, to match modern displays. There is also a bit less tablet above and below the active area.

And switching them to give a better idea of lighting, etc. The matte edges of the Intuos4 really contrast with the glossy finish on all of the Intuos3.

From the left sides of the tablets. (trying to give a fair impression of their shape, etc)

From the right sides of the tablets.

And looking at the new mouse and stylus on top of the old tablet.

Even the bottom of the tablet is pretty and well designed. One thing to note here is that there is a slider on the left edge of the bottom.

That slider is used to expose and cover the USB connectors on the side. When one switches between right and left handed use, the slider will expose the connector away from the user and cover the other connector to protect it and keep it from becoming gunked up.

In my initial comparison to the Intuos3 a few points stood out

• The feel of the surface and nibs struck me as much more paper-like. This should make the artists out there much happier.
• The two touch strips were replaced by the single touch wheel. However the use of that is much more natural, and the addition of the mode toggle in the center makes for nice potential.
• The mouse has a z-axis!!! This is probably the top feature for mouse/puck use. Before this, one would have to move their hand aligned to the tablet itself, regardless of the angle of the mouse, in order to move straight. With the Intuos4 the mouse reports the "twist" of the angle it is on, and the drivers compensate for this to make it move like any normal mouse, regardless of the orientation of the tablet.
• There are OLED displays next to each of the programmable buttons. The stock software can make them switch per app (which is perfect for making the tablet suddenly say your daughter's name and freak her out)

I will have to revisit with some details on actual use later. However it seems to work well with OS X, Inkscape and decent with Windows. I did have a problem with the drivers triggering a sleep problem on a Windows XP laptop, but that might be due to XP in general. I was not able to test under Linux since the wacom drivers only now are supporting it in the dev versions, and I was not quite ready to try poking those in (need to update to Jaunty among other things).

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