

New GIMP 2.6 Gives Photoshop a Run for Its Money - qhoxie
http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/New_GIMP_2DOT6_Gives_Photoshop_a_Run_for_Its_Money

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thwarted
"That means that closing an image no longer closes the app and it also means
there’s drag-and-drop support for opening images."

I have Gimp 2.4.7 on Fedora9 and it doesn't close the app when you close any
or all image windows, and there is support for drag-and-drop opening to either
an already created image window or to the tool palette window.

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sharjeel
Gimp has been developed by developers for developers. They don't understand
how designers use imaging applications and apparently they dont want to know
either.

For example they've been told so many times that non-modal dialogs on ms
windows sux. Your workspace windows appearing on the taskbar not only clutter
everything, it also makes your ork harder by switching between windows. Just
to cater this thing a project called gimpshop was forked but gimp community
should have included it in the core. hoever they've always shot down this
idea.

If they want to compete with photoshop they should focus on usability rather
than features. The scripting features might be awefully cool for developers
but for designers who have to sometimes make hundreds of clicks to get one
pixel straight, usability matters the most.

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halo
Did you read the article?

>"Perhaps the most welcome change to the UI is that the palettes (toolbox and
docks in GIMP parlance) are now utility windows, which means that they won’t
show up in your dock or task bar as separate windows"

Apparently it doesn't yet apply to the Windows build (I haven't tried), but
they have fixed the two single biggest and most obvious GUI annoyances -
multiple pointless and confusing menus and multiple windows in task-bar.
Another one of the biggest requested features - CMYK support - is on its way.
It's /long/ overdue, but Gimp is actually seems to be making huge strides in
the right direction.

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swilliams
Good for them, but I don't understand how they waited until _2008_ to get this
in. It seems like such a basic UI concept to me.

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netcan
I think the GIMP is one of the biggest casualties of pirating. It's ironic.

~~~
SwellJoe
How so? Since the thing that matters most is that the people who develop it,
and the people who use it and get involved, are enjoying the software, I don't
see how not having those users that pirate Photoshop is any negative.

I've been an Open Source developer for over 10 years...and while it's nice to
have a lot of users (particularly if you want to make money on the software in
some way), the kind of users you have is more important than the quantity. I'd
take one good Open Source fanatic over a dozen Photoshop pirates any day. The
pirates don't _do_ anything and they have little respect for the developers of
the software. If I were building the GIMP, why would I want them to use my
software?

If the goal of the GIMP developers is "kill Photoshop", then I guess piracy is
a negative...but if the goal is "make awesome software", then there's nothing
pirates can do to impact them in any way. I kinda suspect the goal for most
Open Source developers is "make awesome software" first, and stuff related to
proprietary competitors is way down the list, or not even relevant. (Again,
assuming money doesn't enter into the equation...in which case, the story is
somewhat different.)

For what it's worth, I've been a GIMP user since the very first public release
(I remember the first mention on Slashdot), and I haven't used anything else
in that time...never needed to. Regardless, I think GIMP is clearly one of the
great success stories of friendly, consumer-oriented, Open Source
software...and it gets better and more successful with every release.

~~~
netcan
You've already responded to my 'how so'. I would've said 'more users' you've
said 'crap users.' Fair enough.

It's just that photo editing software has a relatively high learning curve. I
think (anecdotal, I have no references for this) that due to the cost of
photoshop many users start experimenting on pirated copies. Mostly kids &
hobbyists. Years later they may buy a copy or take it with them to the
workplace. By that stage, they're used to photoshop to the extent that it's
the only option.

~~~
SwellJoe
There's certainly validity to the theory that piracy helps protect market
leaders. It's the reason Microsoft doesn't aggressively fight piracy in
developing markets (and if they do address piracy, it is by making the
software available for practically free through legitimate channels).

I'm sure there are some Open Source developers out there who do want every
possible user, and want, more than anything, to oust their leading proprietary
competitor. I'm only among them when I'm thinking like a business man, and
trying to figure out how to make money from my software.

~~~
eru
Microsoft gives away its most important products for free for students in
Germany. I guess they would not pay anyway.

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maxklein
The GIMP is an example of a user interface that has sucked for many many
years, but because certain people are used to it being that way, it was never
changed.

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irrelative
I agree that the UI in GIMP is pretty bad, but I really don't find Photoshop's
UI to be so clever and easy to use that it blows away the GIMP.

I even prefer the keyboard shortcuts in GIMP better: "m" for move (it's "v" in
Photoshop... what?), "r" for rectangular select (it's "m" in Photoshop).

If you've used one for a while, the other seems weird and clunky with an
almost identical feature set. Having used the GIMP more lately, I'd say in
response: Photoshop is an example of a user interface that has sucked for many
many years, but because certain professionals are used to it being that way,
it hasn't changed.

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jcl
For the record, rectangular select is "m" in Photoshop because the Photoshop
tool is called the "Marquee" tool (because the flashing dots around the
selection look like a theater marquee). So move gets "v" instead.

"V" is actually a better key for move than "m" because it's more convenient to
hit with the left hand; many experienced Photoshop users work with the left
hand on the lower left corner of the keyboard and the right hand on the
mouse/graphics tablet.

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Hexstream
Oh please, stop assuming Qwerty or we'll still be stuck with this shitty
layout in 500 years!

~~~
jcl
Heh... I wasn't expecting a keyboard layout complaint as much as a left-
handedness complaint, since the latter is bigger problem for more of today's
users.

But as I presume you are someone arguing for a more ergonomic layout, I assume
you can appreciate Photoshop's ergonomically fortuitous default choices. And
as you are someone who likely knows how to remap a keyboard, I assume you are
already capable of relocating a shortcut key to an appropriate location and
making up an alternate mnemonic to match whatever letter is already there.

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PStamatiou
GIMP doesn't give anything a run for its money if I can't figure out how the
menus are laid out. I've tried and tried but I'm not going to spend 20 minutes
trying to figure out how to do an unsharp mask when my Mac with CS3 is sitting
right next to my linux box. Call me stubborn.

I'll have to install it and see what they mean by "The result is a version of
GIMP that behaves much more like Photoshop and makes a very capable
replacement for those not locked into an Adobe workflow." for GIMP 2.6

(edit: yeah I know there is gimpshop but i was just saying for the sake of
argument..)

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ajross
It amuses me that you have internalized the meaning of a technique called
(without irony) "unsharp mask" but can't spend 20 minutes reading a tutorial
to figure out how to do it in a different tool.

It's not for you. You have photoshop and like it, and apparently don't mind
paying for it. Slamming competing software when it is blindingly obvious that
you have no intention of using it is basically just knee-jerk jealousy.

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cbarning
Still no 'Direct Select' tool in GIMP, which is basic of basic tools in
Photoshop and any other photo editing program.

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thwarted
GIMP has supported editing all components of a path, converting to a
selection, moving the entire path, and adjusting the handles, for a while. If
I remember correctly, it was buggy until around GIMP 1.2.

The second half of the video on this page, after the "Direct Select" tool is
chosen at 0:16, is completely doable in The GIMP.

[http://shapeshed.com/journal/photoshop_101_path_and_direct_s...](http://shapeshed.com/journal/photoshop_101_path_and_direct_selection_tools/)

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helveticaman
Now that this version exists, we need one that gives Photoshop a run for its
_money_.

