Qtpfsgui added to osalt.com
Qtpfsgui is a tool for tone mapping HDR photography (high dynamic range imaging), which combines several photos of the same thing but taken at different exposures, resulting in a true representation of what the human eye sees.

Qtpfsqui allows 8,16 & 32 bit channels. When loaded the images will automatically align with the wizard or you can do it manually. There are many options throughout the process, allowing you to accept default settings or customize them to your artistic preference. There are options for ghosting and response curves that can produce some very creative effects or simply make images appear clearly.

With Qtpfsfui you can make bright areas darker and vice versa and manipulate the light to accentuate places that wouldn't normally stand out. Inside shots that are ruined by light streaming into a window can easily be resolved by taking a shot exposed for outside light and one of the interior. You can use an image editor to put them together or Qtpfsgui will do it for you automatically. Since the images are there but obscured by the brightness of the light source, you can bring them out with Qtpfsgui.

Briefly, you click on the "New Hdr" button to start a new project. Select the images to combine, tweak the settings to merge the images, choose your options as default or customize them then load the image and preview it. During the preview you can adjust the gamma and zoom in or out to look at details; be sure to save your work periodically. Then you're ready to hit the "tonemap the Hdr" option and use any of the seven algorithms provided which you can read more about on Qtpfsgui's wiki. After that, you can apply effects if you like or keep it natural.

ThinkingRock added to osalt.com
Thinking Rock is a GTD (getting things done) application you can use both at home or at work. It is a very simple, bare bones way to organize and implement tasks with more options and choices than it initially appears have.

You will find that Thinking Rock forces you to organize everything correctly following the logical processes of collecting, processing, organizing, reviewing and finally completing the task. By using these basic steps it is unlikely that you'll have any loose ends to tie up after accomplishing your goal. These are the same steps used by professional project managers to insure that a task is done correctly and thoroughly. Rather than making a task more complicated, it simplifies the planning and execution. These stages can be brief and encourage you to use Purpose, Vision, Brainstorming, Organizing.

Thinking Rock allows you to group your actions in projects and sub-projects, viewing them either in tree or list form. The auto-sequencing feature makes organizing easy and logical. Although the interface is simple and unremarkable, it actually eliminates the clutter that is common with many GTD applications.

If you like, you can enter the outcome you wish for the project you're working on. This is a useful tool to see how effective your methods were to the outcome, comparing your vision when planning the task to the effectiveness of the outcome. You can micro-manage by nesting sub-projects up to three levels deep if you want to break the task up into individual pieces.

The GTD application can be easily transferred from one computer to another by moving just one data file or you can use a USB stick for easy portability. If you like to see your data in print rather than a computer screen you can print a PDF file by context or project outline.

FrostWire added to osalt.com
FrostWire is an alternative peer-to-peer file sharing service on the Gnutella network that is modeled after LimeWire and in fact, derived its code from LimeWire Pro. You'll find it a bit different in appearance but if you've worked with one, the other will be very familiar.

One of the advantages of FrostWire is that you won't get an onslaught of ads every time you open it to search for a file. This is good news for those who prefer to keep their machines clean of adware and spyware. The interface is pleasantly blue with rounded corners on the tabs but other than that, FrostWire is remarkably similar to LimeWire. You will still be sharing files on the Gnutella and Bittorent network but you'll be able to pay more attention to your downloads and less to unwanted ads.

As a pleasant extra feature, FrostWire has a built in community chat. The clean, straightforward interface is very user friendly and installation is fast and simple. However, pay attention to every screen if you would rather not install the ASK toolbar; you must uncheck two boxes instead of one if you prefer not to have this feature.

In short, FrostWire is quality peer-to-peer file sharing, Java based so it's compatible with any system. Those that have used other Bittorrent supported services will find FrostWire familiar and easy to use with fast downloads and a few enjoyable extras.

Qt Creator added to osalt.com
When you want to build applications with state of the art GUI interfaces you may want to look at Nokia's Qt Creator. It is focused on the idea of providing Qt users the features they need to get up and running, whether they are new at Qt or experienced developers. This IDE (integrated development environment) provides several unique features that make Qt creation easier and more enjoyable and supports multiple platforms.

Coding can be one of the biggest time consumers in developing applications and Qt's C++ code editor makes it easier and faster. It has static code checking and provides style hints as you type, code folding and advanced editing. You'll get context sensitive help and parenthesis matching and selection modes, two very helpful features that will let you finish the job faster.

Qt Creator provides navigation tools that will help you manage your source code, too. Have you ever forgotten the name of a file you needed? No problem here, you can open files even if you don't know where they are located or what the exact name is. You can also follow symbols across several different files and locations, search for files and classes and switch between header and source file or declarations and definitions. You'll also get an integrated GUI layout and forms designer, visual debugger and project and build management tools.

You can get Qt Creator bundled with the latest version Qt libraries as well as additional tools.

Support is provided through the customer portal, email, a knowledge base, software updates and an online forum consisting of experts and creators.

Mumble added to osalt.com
Mumble is voice chat software that can be used by any type of group but is tailored for gamers who enjoy chatting while gaming. It has an ingame overlay for DirectX9 and OpenGL based games and shows clearly who is speaking even when using full screen applications. This is a feature that most chatting software lacks and is what gamers have been asking for.

Gamers have had concerns about delays with other chat software. This presents a major problem when a gamer is asking advice and needs a quick response. Mumble has a much shorter delay and better implementation of Speex than most other software. In fact, it is based on the new Speex codec that has significantly lower memory needs and much better sound quality. Since it doesn't demand so much memory, gaming is smoother and the chatting process doesn't interfere with the game play.

Mumble comes with plug-in support to positional audio in games and also has a plug-in for Battlefield 2, one of the most recently popular games. The installer has Mumble as the client and the server Murmur. Murmer is the server that insures secure communication and full extensibility. It also has voice preprocessing and low latency that removes noise and improves voice clarity. The Murmur server delivers quality that is superior to many chat applications currently in use.

Mumble supports a number of popular game title including Battlefield 2, Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty 2 and 4, and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.