Ubuntu Tips n Tricks

7 Best Free and Open Source Vector Graphics Editors for Linux

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 06:40 AM PDT

A software application that gives users the ability to compose and edit vector graphics images interactively on a computer is called a vector graphics editor. CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator are some of the most popular proprietary vector editors for Windows. But if you are looking for a capable free alternative that can also work on your Linux box, there are a lot to choose from.

Here are some of the best Free and Open Source vector graphics editors that you should check out:

Inkscape
Inkscape is a well-known, full-featured vector graphics editor application for Linux. It has a main goal of becoming a powerful graphics tool while being fully compliant with the XML, SVG, and CSS standards. One of the prime concerns of the Inkscape project is interface consistency and usability. This involves efforts to follow the GNOME Human interface guidelines, universal keyboard accessibility, and convenient on-canvas editing. Inkscape has achieved important advancement in usability since the project started.

Xara Xtreme (Linux Edition)
Xara Xtreme was originally developed for Windows but an open source version was later released for Linux. Xara Xtreme is known for its usability and fast rendering. It is also notable for being among the first vector graphics software applications to provide a fully anti-aliased display, advanced gradient fill, and transparency tools, features now common to many vector graphics editors. With interface almost identical to that of Inkscape and CorelDRAW, Xara Xtreme is considered to be quite easy to learn.

OpenOffice.org Draw
OpenOffice.org Draw is a powerful graphics package that is part of the OpenOffice.org office suite. It features "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowchart. Currently, OpenOffice.org Draw officially supports exporting to SVG format, though with some limitations to be resolved. It is anticipated that as SVG and SVG filters evolve, users will be able to use Draw to edit the large-scale collection of SVG samples from Open Clip Art Library.

Skencil
Skencil is a unique drawing application in the sense that it is implemented almost completely in Python, a very high-level, object oriented, interpreted programming language, with the rest written in C for speed. In addition to the standard features (rectangles, ellipses, curves, text etc.) that you can expect from a vector graphics editor, Skencil also has some more advanced attributes like the possibility to bend text along a path.

sK1
From its project website, sK1 is described as an open-source illustration program that can substitute proprietary software like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator. It supports professional publishing features like CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and press-ready PDF output. It also has CorelDRAW formats importers and tabbed multi-document interface. sK1 is a fork of Skencil and was started by a small team of Ukrainian professionals.

Karbon14
Karbon14 (formerly known as Kontour) is part of the KDE office suite (KOffice). The name is a play on KDE and the radioactive isotope Carbon-14. Karbon14 boasts a user interface that is easy-to-use, highly customizable and extensible. It is also loaded with great features making it ideal for anyone who wants to create clipart, logos, illustrations or photorealistic vector images.

Xfig
Xfig is an interactive drawing tool that runs under the X Window System. In xfig, figures may be drawn using objects such as circles, boxes, lines, spline curves, text, etc. It is also possible to import images in formats such as GIF, JPEG, EPSF (PostScript), and many others. Xfig saves figures in its native Fig format, but they may be converted into various formats.

Weekly Ten (9-28-2009)

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 10:54 PM PDT

10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful:

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2. Free software is dead. Long live open source
One of the most inspiring things I've witnessed in my 10-plus years in open source is its gradual embrace of pragmatism. By "pragmatism" I don't mean "capitulation," whereby open source comes to look more like the proprietary world it has sought to displace. Rather, I would suggest that the more open source has gone mainstream the more it has learned to make compromises, compromises that make it stronger, not weaker.
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3. Jump to the information you want right from the search snippets
For most search results, Google shows you a few lines of text to give you an idea of what the page is about — we call this a "search snippet." Recently, we've enhanced the search snippet with two new features that make it easier to find information buried deep within a page.
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4. Steal the administrator password from an EEPROM

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5. The Linux Foundation's "Community" Doesn't Look Very Community

The first annual Linux Foundation's Linuxcon is in full swing, and it sure looks like the face of Linux is still a bearded one, despite the Linux Foundation's grand claims of Community. Perhaps they have a more limited definition of "community."
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6. Android OS 1.6 "Donut" Is a Treat for Developers
Android OS 1.6, codenamed "Donut", has been released to application developers with relatively little fanfare, at least in comparison to the previous 1.5 "Cupcake" version. The list of new features suggests the public release will grab a little more attention from users; it includes a series of large fixes, frequently-requested additions, and a few surprises.
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7. There are Over a Million People Actively Using Facebook Right Now

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8. Murata Seiko unicycling robot gets an awesome upgrade

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9. Intel Hints at Its Own Smartphone Operating System
Intel showed off a spiffy new version of Moblin, a Linux operating system designed for mobile gadgets. Initially targeted at netbooks, Intel has now hinted that it will extend the system's reach to mobile phones.
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10. Top 10 Movie Sound Effects We All Recognize
Have you ever noticed that whenever animals appear in a film sequence that they are making a lot of noise? What many people don't realize is that the sound effects we hear in movies are usually added later and very often don't signify reality, they signify our perception of reality. What people also often don't know is that many movies and TV programs use the very same sounds.

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