IrfanView: November 2007 Archives

Here are some recent Click entries that don't have a lot to do with me installing Linux-based system software:

I have two items (here and here) I did last night on the new Kindle electronic reading device being pushed by Amazon. On the cover of Newsweek this week, the $399 Kindle is being touted as "the next iPod," or "the iPod for books, magazines and newspapers" (yes, the New York Times is available by subscription) It could be huge, but it might not be ready -- or priced -- for prime time. I try to cut through the hype.

And I have my choice as the BEST free photo-editing software for Windows (I've been using it for LA.com images, and it's better than even Photoshop for that purpose).

Look at this pointer to a YouTube video in which Google co-founder and gazillionaire Sergey Brin discusses Google's new Android cell-phone operating system (which should knock the iPhone on its ass by the middle of next year):

If you don't know what the latest thing in servers is, see my roundup of recent news on "cloud computing," in which the vast server farms of Amazon and soon IBM are/will be converted into virtual computing environments, with virtual servers being rented out "from the cloud" to businesses that want what looks and acts like a dedicated server -- running all the applications a server can run -- but is not in the company's back room and instead is built and maintained by these huge companies. Yes, they rent them by the hour:

And there's also my coverage of Wal-Mart's new $199 desktop computer that DOESN'T use Windows (here and here).

IrfanView.

Between the application itself and its plugins, it's light as can be but does absolutely everything I need.

It took me awhile to figure out how to crop a photo to exact dimensions and get control over that process, but I did figure out that final missing piece of the puzzle.

OK, there were two missing pieces. I couldn't figure out how to create an image file, but now that I've crossed that bridge, I'm ready to say that Irfanview is the best shareware/freeware image-editor out there. I say "shareware/freeware," because developer Irfan Skiljan says the program is free for home or noncommercial use but requests a $12 or 10-euro donation for business use.

While I prefer remaining in the world of free, open-source software, a $12 shareware, closed-source program is way better than a many-hundreds-of-dollars closed-source program like Photoshop.

And the great thing about IrfanView is that it loads in a couple seconds. Try that with Photoshop.

Now if only Irfanview was available for Linux and Mac. That would be great. As it is, I will try running IrfanView with WINE (the Windows emulator) in Linux, and I will report back.

Along the way, I tried out MANY applications. I still love MtPaint, the best lightweight image editor for Linux, but it doesn't handle the IPTC info that I need to preserve. I'll have to check whether it destroys it, as the GIMP so tragically does whenever a JPG is saved.

Others I tried included the KDE apps Krita (love it ... but it doesn't do IPTC; again, I'll have to check what it does to existing data) and digiKam.

The latter -- digiKam -- is digital-camera interface software for the KDE Linux/BSD desktop. Soon KDE is coming to a Windows machine near you, and I predict that MANY Windows users will adopt KDE as their user environment of choice.

Anyway, digiKam does have an editing function, and it does support IPTC, though to the extent that IrfanView does. The problems: digiKam wants to create its own directories (like iPhoto) that seem to mandate multiple copies of the same images in hard-to-navigate-to places. And the act of resizing a photo can, for some reason, take many minutes and/or crash the app. If only the KDE people would put full IPTC editing capability into Krita, which I think is a great image editor. Fix that and fix the initial-open-quote problem in KWord, and I'd be a die-hard KDE user.

But again, IrfanView is -- in my opinion -- the best photo-editing program for Windows that's out there today.

Update: I didn't realize that my version of IrfanView was old. I'm using Version 3.95, and the latest is 4.10. I'm downloading the new app and plugins now. I will report later on how it works.

Another update: This guy installed IrfanView in Linux with WINE. And so did this guy. And this guy, too.

This, however, I don't understand at all, but it might help. Also, check out this thread.

Even further update: The IrfanView forum.

I spend pretty much the entire day pulling images and editing them for the Web. I do this in both Windows and Linux, and since I neither have nor want Photoshop, I've been using both free and free, open-source programs to get the job done.

Free ... free and open-source -- what's the difference?

Let me throw in two more terms: Shareware and crapware.

Let's knock 'em down:

Crapware: "Free" software included on a new PCs hard drive that only functions for a limited period of time, after which the computer owner must purchase it or discontinue its use. Source code not included or available.

Shareware: Software that is initially free to download and install, sometimes in a full version, other times in a truncated form, that can be used for either a certain period of time or forever, but which can be purchased -- or must be purchased to continue using after a period of time. Source code not included or available.

Freeware: Software that can be freely downloaded and used, but not necessarily freely distributed. Source code not included or available.

Free, open-source software: This is the GPL (GNU General Public License) model that governs most Linux system software and the applications that go with it. Software is freely available, source code is also freely available and can be modified and re-released provided source code for the subsequent revision is also included. Software can be repackaged and sold ... but the source code must continue to be made available free of charge.

At least that is my understanding of the various levels of "free" and not-so-free software.

Over the past decade or so, the model has shifted from mostly shareware to mostly FOSS (free, open-source software). That's a good -- and probably a great -- thing. Keeping the code open makes it easier to find and fix problems and to create new applications from a code base.

Anyway ... back to my image-editing problem. I love the GIMP, the free, open-source photo-editing program that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux/BSD. I've barely used Photoshop in all my years of computing, so I don't miss it.

But one of my "new" tasks at work is preparing photos with embedded IPTC info -- caption and credit information that is part of the JPEG file. I can't find a FOSS photo editing program that both lets me do what I need to do in terms of image sizing and cropping as well as preserving and modifying the IPTC infomation.

The GIMP obliterates the IPTC info. I've since tried Krita (from the KDE software family) and my favorite light image-editor, MtPaint, and neither allows access to the IPTC info.

But one of the freeware editors I use on my Windows box, IrfanView, does allow access to IPTC. If you get the main program and all its plugins, you have a lot of power at your fingertips. It's not as easy -- for me, at least -- as the GIMP, but it is extremely quick to load. And it appears to do the job.

IrfanView is freeware, not FOSS, which troubles me a bit. But its developer, Irfan Skiljan of Austria, is a fantastic programmer, and I can't begrudge him licensing the application the way he sees fit.

Oh, and I wish IrfanView was available for Linux and the Mac. One can dream.

Update: I guess you can call Irfanview a kind of shareware. It does cost:

If you intend to use IrfanView at your place of business or for commercial purposes, please register and purchase it. I want to continue working on this program, therefore, your registration will be an incentive for me to add new functions and increase the program's quality.

Any suggestions, feedback and comments are welcome and won't be ignored.

If you are a commercial user and you like this program (or are a home user who wants to support/donate further development), please register/donate by sending US$ 12.00 or EUR 10,- (this is the price for one (single) licence) to the address below.

Please send cash only. (I cannot accept high check cashing fees at the bank)

Address:

Irfan Skiljan

Postfach 48

2700 Wiener Neustadt

Austria, Europe

Commercial users: please contact me by E-Mail for prices and discounts. Note: If you want, you can buy the licenses using PayPal or credit card.

Even though I prefer "free," $12 U.S. is an excellent deal. If I use IrfanView for a week and it does what I want, I'll pay up. Especially given the current dollar-euro exchange rate, it's a deal for U.S. users vis a vis Europeans.