Dave Alanis wrote: >I am involved in a school project that it will involve creating a virtual image (or projection). It will involve having several layers or pieces of imagery. It will actually be putting together a data-center structure. The first thing that comes to mind is utilizing (MS Project and or VISIO) some type of autocad program, even Powerpoint. I don't have much experience with this type of software, is there any recommendations out there, that may help? > >I would like to make a presentation as realistic as possible. > > >Thank you, > >Dave > > > Hi Dave, Since you asked on the TC-LUG list, I assume you're looking for Linux and open-source software? You mention Visio and Powerpoint -- you may be interested in OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org). OpenOffice.org's "Impress" is a presentation program like Powerpoint. You could use it to put together a slide presentation. You can add the graphics for your slides with the few simple drawing tools in Impress. And you can use the OpenOffice "Draw" for more powerful tools and special effects. For photographic images, and layered images, you could use The GIMP, an image manipulation program. It's a little harder to learn than OpenOffice's drawing program, but it's powerful and has tools for lots of special effects. If you're making your own graphics by drawing, there's Inkscape (www.inkscape.org). It's a lot like the OpenOffice Draw, but maybe a little easier to use for some kinds of drawings. If you're really ambitious, there are programs like Blender (www.blender3d.org). With Blender, you can make realistic, animated 3-D graphics. But it has quite a steep learning curve -- not recommended if your project is due Monday. Kraig