With Pixlr, Who Needs Photoshop?

Pixlr is an online photo editor with a vast potential.  Certainly not for those with printing needs, but for those designing for the web Pixlr may become a better option than Photoshop.  Pixlr is not only free, but also web-based (no need to install anything on your computer nor to keep up with updates), and you do not even need to create an account to work with it.  In addition, there is a bonus, an extension you can install on your browser called Pixlr Grabber.

Many web-based photo editors require you to register.  With Pixlr, you can start editing your images with a browser and an internet connection.

Pixlr has three applications, Pixlr Editor, Express and Grabber.  Editor is almost like Photoshop, Express is to perform quick edits, and Grabber is a very handy extension you install in your browser to have ready acces to online images.  With Grabber, you have three capturing options, entire page, a selection, or the visible area of a page.

Pixlr Editor looks  very similar to Photoshop and has almost all the same basic functions and toolbar.  Pixlr also has Layers, History, and Navigation windows.  The text tool is also very powerful with a considerable library of fonts.

To start working, you can open an image from your computer or directly from a URL (you can also create a new image from scratch).  When you finished editing, you can save the result to your computer just as if you were working with Photoshop or any other application installed on your computer.

So, if you create web content, you should certainly give Pixlr a try.  You do not need to open an extra application, just open a new tab, type pixlr.com and start working.

Other web-based photos editors reviewed here http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10170333-2.html

 

Belgian Bells: Creative Commons Music Library

Electrobel.be is one of the largest Creative Commons contemporary music libraries I know of and certainly the European leader. Yet, Electrobel.be remains largely unknown to many listeners and producers.
Electrobel.be is a Belgian site that features original music composed primarily by Belgian musicians.  In addition to its Electrobel.be site, Electrobel has other sites dedicated to musicians from other nationalities,  UK, French, Italian, and Dutch branches.
This site offers a wealth of music that could be used for different purposes since their tracks are free to use and released under a CC license. Video makers, podcasters, screencasters and other producers could take full advantage of these easily downloadable tracks.
Electrobel.be’s thousands tracks are organized by genres from hip hop to breakcore and acousmatic.
Users do not need to sign in to download their mp3 tracks. They can access the player by simply clicking on a track or the “listen to all” button at the end of every page.
The quality of Electrobel.be’s tracks varies, but for the most part they are seriously made and showcased on the site looking for feedback and support from other fellow musicians. As they state on their site, “Electrobel is far more than just your local MP3-host. Electrobel is a living community bringing together artists and fans, organising music events, coordinating mutual help and promoting the independent music culture across Europe.” (www.electrobel.be)
Electrobel.be also has its own label Netlabel, which has already released over fifteen albums since 2006, also downloadable from their site http://www.netlabel.be
Producers and listeners need yet to discover this wealth of content and high-quality tracks free to download and use.
Visit Electrobel.be and get started http://www.electrobel.be

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A Website, A Showcase, A Vault

Wordpress.com, the safety of a vault

“I’ve done that, but don’t know where it is!”  Many times, I ask my students if they have made a video, written an article or a CV.  Most of them have, but some or many of them are unable to show me the document or item they have spent so much time producing–they have simply lost it or misplaced it.

I find that a website could work not only as a showcase but also as vault to save almost any work students produce in a centralized manner.

There are many advantages to this approach.

• Once you put an item online, it is rather easy to retrieve it since you could use one single site to centralize all your documents.  You would no longer have some articles on a CD, others in your computer, a poster you designed in your friend’s computer, etc.
• You have a very reliable backup just in case you lose all copies (mainly if you have Wordpres.com site)
• You can readily show people your work and share it with eventual collaborators by adding them as a user of your website or CMS
• A WordPress.com site would accept almost any sort of items including videos, songs, interviews, photos, drawings, PDFs, and certainly text
• You can set items to private and public, having full control over what you wish to share/show

WordPress.com offers all the advantages listed above and many more.

I strongly recommend to encourage students to use WordPress.com to showcase their work as well as to manage their work in a centralized fashion.