[Ma-linux] RE: [Dclug] Dealing with Dell

[Chuck Divine]

Michael,

Thanks for the information.  The phone messages did give me the choice
of cancelling.  Fortunately, having a laptop falls under the nice thing
to have, not a necessity -- at least as of now.

Thanks also for the kind words about my images.  Here's how I did those
spacescapes.   I've been a serious photographer for over 30 years.  That
means I have been shooting with equipment that is now obsolete.
Specifically, I have been using Canon equipment.  Canon did make top of
the line 35 mm gear.  I have perhaps 4,000-5,000 color images, some of
them landscapes.  I used to make spacescapes in the darkroom using
photographic masks.  These days I use The GIMP.  It allows me much more
freedom.  First I take a color image to a lab (United Photo in
Beltsville, MD) and get them to digitize it.  Then I look at images I
have downloaded from the Hubble Space Telescope web site.  I use the
largest files I can get -- well into the megabyte range -- sometimes
100s of megabytes.  With two images in hand, I start up GIMP.  Using
GIMP, I play around with the colors of both images.  There are times I
do stay with the original colors, but I tend to manipulate them in
various ways.  Then I copy the astronomical image into a new window that
is larger than the original.  I then use GIMP tools to select the ground
part of the image I've taken.  I then copy that part of the image into
the same window the astronomical image now resides in.  I align the
images to my taste, anchor the images and then write the result to hard
drive.  When I want the image printed, I write it to CD and take it back
to United Photo.  Why don't I print it myself?  Well, the last time I
checked out printers, the really good ones for printing large images
(think 16x20, 20x28) cost way more than I care to spend.  The folks at
United also do an excellent job at quite good prices.  

Why haven't I moved on to digital photographic equipment?  Actually I do
have a Canon Powershot A75 I've used a bit.  Last month  I did see some
photographs that were done with with a new model digital that are up to
gallery standards.  That increases the probability greatly I will pick
up something digital in the not too distant future.  Yes, I care quite a
bit about good technical quality for my serious images that I want to
display on gallery walls.

Best,

Chuck Divine

On Fri, 2007-08-03 at 06:39 -0400, Michael Haggerty wrote:
> With regards to Dell, this is unusual. When shipments to me have been
> delayed in the past, I received a phone call from an operator in India AFTER
> it was supposed to be there who was unable to provide me with a realistic
> date to expect to receive the product or reason for the delay. So it sounds
> like they are improving.
> 
> With regards to GIMP art, oooooooooooooooooooo. Those are some nice
> spacescapes! Are you using a tablet or anything to produce them?
> 
> Thank you,
> Michael Haggerty
> Managing Partner
> Trellon, LLC
> http://www.trellon.com
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: dclug-bounces at calypso.tux.org [mailto:dclug-bounces at calypso.tux.org]
> > On Behalf Of Chuck Divine
> > Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 3:11 PM
> > To: dclug; ma-linux
> > Subject: [Dclug] Dealing with Dell
> > 
> > All,
> > 
> > I purchased off their web site the Dell laptop that comes with Linux on
> > July 6th.  They told me the manufacture and ship date would be July 23rd
> > with an expected arrival of July 26th.
> > 
> > I've now received two automated phone calls informing me of delays on
> > July 23rd and July 30th.  The current ship date is now August 6th.
> > 
> > Is this normal for Dell?
> > 
> > There's a West Coast conference in September I'd like to have the laptop
> > for.
> > 
> > Oh -- on another note -- my digital art, created with The GIMP is
> > starting to attract attention.  The Maryland Federation of Art has
> > accepted "Rockies, in 10 Billion Years" for their American Landscapes
> > show which opens in September.  That's the 6th piece they've shown in
> > the past year.  If you want to take a look a my stuff, check out the URL
> > http://chuck.divine.home.comcast.net/sfart/
> > 
> > Best,
> > --
> > Chuck Divine <chuck.divine at comcast.net>
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > Dclug mailing list
> > Dclug at calypso.tux.org
> > http://calypso.tux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dclug
> 
-- 
Chuck Divine <chuck.divine at comcast.net>