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Photoshop in Linux Thanks to Disney

miladus writes "eWeek reports that Walt Disney's feature animation unit (along with 2 other unnamed studios) are using Adobe's Photoshop in Linux. They use the Wine emulator to run the software and the 3 studios 'not known as team players, all three agreed that a project that would benefit the entire open-source community while delivering a technology they needed--was worth their cooperation'."

145 of 812 comments (clear)

  1. Also ... by Arthaed · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I just remembered reading this article in Linux Journal about Dreamworks running Photoshop via VMWare.

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    1. Re:Also ... by Surak · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Running Photoshop on VMWare has even less to do with running Photoshop in Linux that running Photoshop running on Wine.

      It's still a Windows application running on an implementation of the Win32 API. Which means it's not a Linux application, it's a Windows application that runs in an emulator. So what?

    2. Re:Also ... by gowen · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Which means it's not a Linux application, it's a Windows application that runs in an emulator. So what?
      It means the emulator is getting better and better, so theres a good chance that more and more apps will work with it, which decreases MS's competitive advantage. And decreasing the competitive advantage of a monopolist is good for the market.
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    3. Re:Also ... by Frothy+Walrus · · Score: 4, Funny

      Which means it's not a Linux application, it's a Windows application... So what?

      so it might not suck

    4. Re:Also ... by The+Cydonian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Just this:- I think this should be credible enough for Adobe to look at a Linux version of Photoshop. After all, two of its large corporate customers, DreamWorks and Disney, are already using it.

    5. Re:Also ... by hackstraw · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It means the emulator is getting better and better, so theres a good chance that more and more apps will work with it, which decreases MS's competitive advantage.

      And buying a copy of Windows and running it under Linux does what to MS's competitive advantage?

      I personally think vmware and wine screw Linux, how are we ever going to get native apps when its OK just to go out and buy windows and run it under Linux?

    6. Re:Also ... by gowen · · Score: 5, Insightful
      how are we ever going to get native apps when its OK just to go out and buy windows and run it under Linux?
      WINE doesn't need a copy of Windows, its a reimplementation of the API's. This means that those APIs are getting better at mimicking those in Windows.
      --
      Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    7. Re:Also ... by JohnFluxx · · Score: 2, Insightful

      you meant "buy windows apps and run it under linux" right?

      Just incase you did mean what you said - wine doesn't need a copy of windows installed.

    8. Re:Also ... by heXXXen · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Whethever it's running under VMWare or WINE, whether it requires a purchased copy of Windows or not, it's still considered "OK" to run a Windows-native program under WINE, rather than develop specifically for linux. A little hack or workaround is not as enticing as a native port, and really does little for Linux.

    9. Re:Also ... by gte910h · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wine IS a Win32 subsystem emulator. It is not a x86 emulator that you must purchase Windows to run on top of it.

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    10. Re:Also ... by stripes · · Score: 2, Insightful
      It means the emulator is getting better and better, so theres a good chance that more and more apps will work with it, which decreases MS's competitive advantage.

      It also means large visible customers for some large visible apps are using WINE, so if the next version of that app fails to work under WINE there will be some pressure on the app vender to make it work (as well as the ever present pressure on the WINE project).

      If that becomes common enough it will create a large disincentive to use any secret APIs MS may choose to share with a select few vendors because the venders will learn that using those APIs will upset a bunch of their customers and make getting those customers to upgrade (and pay them!) will be harder. That is very very good.

      It may well pave the way for WINE to be one of the common test lab setups for Windows software venders. Maybe they may someday even start to list "Red Hat FOO WINE version BAR" as a "supported operations system". That would be good. Not as good as a non-Windows API version of the software though.

      It will also create as (not as large) disincentive for venders to use new (documented) APIs that they aren't sure if WINE has implemented. That reduces MS's ability to evolve windows, and while that may make it easier for Linux (and other OSes) to "beat" Windows, it does so in a way that reduces the end user benefit. That's not so good.

    11. Re:Also ... by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 2, Informative

      Whether you call it an emulator is not relevant. What is relevant is that Wine does not require that you install a copy of Windows for it to work, which is the (false) claim that was being countered.

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    12. Re:Also ... by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Adobe != Microsoft.

      Getting more apps to run on Linux (even if through Wine) gives a path to follow to wean a company away from Windows slowly instead of the daunting all-at-once switch that they aren't willing to go for. It's much like the inverse of installing Unix Services for Windows. The purpose of that isn't to help unix - it's give companies using unix a path to leave it slowly.

      If Windows as a platform is no longer needed because it's apps can run elsewhere, then companies can start using linux for everything, and THEN native ports become economically feasable after the install base is there.

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

  2. Haha! by mao+che+minh · · Score: 4, Funny
    Take that SCO! What are you gonna do, sue Adobe and Disney now? Awww, poor babies, are you dissapointed?

    Haha, yes!

    1. Re:Haha! by mao+che+minh · · Score: 2, Funny
      Your sentence should read "It seems as though you are very angry.".

      Thank you,
      Mao Che Minh
      CEO
      Your Mom

    2. Re:Haha! by ndogg · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, Disney!

      Hey, wait, why are you guys suing me? I didn't do anything wrong. What about those MP3s? Those are songs written by my friends. Belittled_Mermaid.mp3 has nothing to do with The Little Mermaid movie and Beauty's_Swan_Song.mp3 was also written by one of my friends. Stupid Disney...

      --
      // file: mice.h
      #include "frickin_lasers.h"
  3. Disney supporting open-source? by Prince_Ali · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can feel the slashdotters' brains explode with conflict.

    1. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by syle · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, that exploding sound you hear is thousands of wine fanatics reading the article and going, "Wine is NOT AN EMULATOR!!"

      --

      /syle

    2. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by Pope+Raymond+Lama · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No. Disney non-supporting Open Source,
      as it has always been.

      Now, instead of using, and helping
      improving The GIMP, "linux people"
      will just run their pirated Photoshops
      and be happy, as oftenly such users
      do not know the difference between free
      and proprietary software.

      --
      -><- no .sig is good sig.
    3. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by Laxitive · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Oh yeah.

      I dislike the company, but there are some really cool, nifty, interesting things, technologically, that disney does.

      One of my favourite examples - The core development team of Squeak smalltalk is resident at Disney. Smalltalk hackers are a cool bunch. And yes, Squeak is open source.

      Anyway, I'm sure there are many cool nerds at Disney.

      -Laxitive

    4. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 4, Insightful
      " I can feel the slashdotters' brains explode with conflict."

      Disney is just doing what it has always tried to do: Increase shareholder value. If they had decided that it was more cost effective to run all of their workflow on windows they would have done it. Linux is the best of the money according to them so they use it.

    5. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by vidarh · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I used to sort of like the Gimp, because I thought it had great promise. That was back in '98 or so. It's still mostly stuck with a UI that blows big time. Something as basic as drawing lines is still ridiculously unintuitive. Do you seriously think that the amount of money they spent on getting Photoshop running on Linux would make much difference to the quality of the Gimp?

    6. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by Tsali · · Score: 5, Funny

      You can draw lines in GIMP? I honestly couldn't figure it out...

      --
      This space for rent.
    7. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by dytin · · Score: 4, Informative

      What are you talking about? Drawing a line is as easy in Gimp as it is in any program. You select the pencil tool and then draw (same as in Photoshop). The problem that most people have with the Gimp, I think, is that they don't realize that in order to do anything, you have to right-click. This is definitely unlike regular windows programs. But, if you think about it, it really is easier. Rather than moving your mouse all the way to the top of the screen, you have all of your tools right there where ever your mouse is.

    8. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by ndogg · · Score: 4, Informative
      I would say, RTFA, but I realize that this is slashdot:
      Although Brooks considered and even tried to use several open-source alternatives, including GIMP, or GNU Image Manipulation Program (see related story), and Cinepaint (formerly FilmGimp), he said he ran into performance issues with the two programs. Artists also found the open-source programs less intuitive to use than Photoshop.

      And while Photoshop is the program of choice among Disney's artist base, Disney is keeping an eye on Cinepaint and is even using the program in a few cases, Brooks said.

      "There's this whole artistic community built around Photoshop, and we couldn't easily move these people to free alternatives," Brooks said. "[But] we hope [Cinepaint] will get to the point where we can use it for more tasks."
      --
      // file: mice.h
      #include "frickin_lasers.h"
    9. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by kpansky · · Score: 2, Informative

      IIRC, Disney (at least DreamWorks and Pixar) were using lots of opensource software. Pixar's use of python for its complex rendering software comes to mind. This really isn't anything new for these companies. Hopefully though their increased profile will help more companies realize the emerging relevance of Linux as a platform for their tools.

      --

      --Kevin
    10. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by antiMStroll · · Score: 2, Funny
      ...."linux people" will just run their pirated Photoshops and be happy....

      For the first time joining in an activity their Windows bretheren have enjoyed for years. :)

    11. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by Microlith · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This is, undoubtedly, a UI-design chosen by a propellerhead as opposed to someone designing a UI for the masses.

      Obviously if a number of people on slashdot can't figure it out, then maybe it should not be the sole method of getting something done.

    12. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by b-baggins · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's fine as a shortcut. That sucks as interface as your primary interface. Why? Because it violates two principles of UI: Space and visibility.

      All primary tools should be readily visible, and should be in a specific locale of space where the user can reliably remember where they are and locate them again in the future.

      This is one of the biggest problems with Linux GUIs. The people who code them think a pretty icon makes a good GUI. They don't have a clue about usability, because 90% of them secretly despise the GUI as a dumbing down of the computer.

      --
      You can tell a great deal about the character of a man by observing those who hate him.
    13. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I don't know if you're kidding or not, but I almost said the same thing. I haven't figured out how to use the "Path Tool" to make an ordinary straight line. I know you can make them at 90 degree angles with the shift key, but for slanted lines I usually either make it at 90 degrees and use the rotate tool, or give up and just make a box. I'm posting anonymously because it makes me feel like an idiot. Thanks GIMP!

    14. Re:Disney supporting open-source? by topher1kenobe · · Score: 2, Informative
      If you don't like to have to right click, then right click once an click the "tear-off" bar at the top. *poof* you have a menu that stays there, and you can slide it to the side.

      Or you can do this with any of the sub menus that you use a lot.

      That's something I wish photoshop could do.

      --

      yadda

  4. so they have configured wine by minus_273 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    to run photoshop. Was this not previously possible?

    --
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    The war on terror is a war for peace
    1. Re:so they have configured wine by mao+che+minh · · Score: 5, Informative

      It was really hard to do without crashing with all kinds of errors before, yes. I got Photoshop 5 to run for like 10 minutes once.....

    2. Re:so they have configured wine by flynt · · Score: 5, Funny

      I got Photoshop 5 to run for like 10 minutes once.....

      What about when you tried it on Linux though?

  5. ARRGHH!!!! by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why does it takes an EVIL company to do the right thing????

    1. Re:ARRGHH!!!! by innosent · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why does it takes an EVIL company to do the right thing????

      Ahh, but you're missing the point entirely. This is one of the major strengths of open-source from a corporate perspective. If there is something in an open-source package that does almost what you need, you pay a development team to add the feature in, then you "contribute" your changes back to the open source project, and they maintain it, at no cost to you. Developing software is relatively cheap when compared to maintaining it over a long period of time. So Disney was smart, and they got a feature they needed for relatively little money, and will continue to get it, and updates to it, for free.
      Evil or not, they're not stupid, and it perfectly illustrates why open-source is a good investment for companies.

      --
      --That's the point of being root, you can do anything you want, even if it's stupid.
  6. So how long by Keebler71 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ....so how long before we start seeing Tux cameos in Disney toons?

    --
    "It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell
    1. Re:So how long by Lord_Slepnir · · Score: 4, Funny
      As a representative of the Disney Corporation, I am pleased to announce the creation of Tucks the Penguin(TM). He will be participating along with BSE the blowfish in a series of movies due out this fall.

      Note: Any attempt to use an image similar to Tucks the Penguin (TM) will result in swift legal action. Have a nice day

    2. Re:So how long by PhilHibbs · · Score: 2, Informative

      Admit it, you just did a Google image search for "toy story penguin", didn't you?

  7. in a somewhat-related vein by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder if/when Apple will release a powerful yet easy to use image editor to compete with Photoshop. I'd like to see what they can do, as I think Photoshop's UI "is the sux", as the kids say.

    1. Re:in a somewhat-related vein by dildatron · · Score: 2

      I agree. While I know people that love it, and love the consistency between all the Adobe products' user interfaces, I can't stand it. I have used Photoshop and Premiere and I even after traning and books on how to use it, it never really "clicked" with me. Just a personal preference I guess.

      I just don't like their interface, and I think it could be much better. But, I think graphics people are so used to it that it will probably never change.

      --


      If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
  8. speed by Tirel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What about speed issues? Isn't photoshop+wine a lot slower than running it in native win32? I can hardly run mirc with wine on a 1ghz computer (only a test, I don't really use mirc ;)

    1. Re:speed by shanebush · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Speed is not an issue with my setup at all. I have installed Photoshop 7.0 with no windows dlls at all in wine's fake_windows setup. The install ran perfectly for me. Pop in the cd, mount it, and run "wine setup.exe"

      The actual execution of Photoshop has been perfect so far. I have used various builtin filters (but not all) with no problems. Saving files is quicker on Linux than it is on Windows, but then again, I have my drive hdparm'd to the max :-)...

      Oh, btw, I'm running this on a PIII 500mhz w/ 128 meg of ram... not really a high end machine. Again, I have had no real performance issues with running Photoshop under Wine.

      BTW, I am using wine-20030618

    2. Re:speed by afidel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In general WINE is no slower than native Win32, and in many cases is actually faster! Remember WINE is Not an emulator, it is a reimplementation of the Win32 API native to Linux. The Linux guys often do a better job on the reimplementation then the origional coders =) Not sure where the slowness is for mirc, but I know that the mirc code uses almost none of the standard API calls so it's possibly something that is broken in WINE. Btw why run mirc under WINE when there are so many native IRC apps?

      --
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    3. Re:speed by Shelrem · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm no fan of Microsoft or anything, but if and when WINE is faster than native Windows, perhaps it's because libwine has a whole lot of stub functions where Windows has functionality. Not that i have a problem with WINE, but it just doesn't do some things that Windows does, and there's a performance benefit for that.

      b.c

    4. Re:speed by Josh+Booth · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Think about it. You are running native x86 code, you're just using WINE to provide the API's. Of course, there is more latency (theoretically) by using WINE to provide an abstraction layer above GNU/Linux, and there may be inefficiencies due to the differing models that each OS uses. However, all the filters and stuff is basically algorithm and I/O AFAIK (which isn't much), and the algorithm is still native, and the I/O is good enough, it shouldn't be bad.

  9. Make Photoshop Open Source! by Lieutenant_Dan · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think it would benefit the graphics designers if Photoshop for Linux was made Open Source. The Open Source developer community would be able to enhance the offerings of the Adobe Team by adding new Gaussian blur filters, better fill methodologies, and Ogg Vorbis export functionality.

    The Linux platforms is an untapped market for Adobe and by making Photoshop Open Source, not only would the community forgive them for the ElcomSoft lawsuit but would also create a new revenue stream by offering support and consulting for Linux adopters.

    Only when we free the works of Milne from the clutches of depraved millionaires will we be able to entertain our children.

    Which is nice.

    --
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    1. Re:Make Photoshop Open Source! by Surak · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You might as well have just said "Make Windows Open Source". Dude, whatever. It's not going to happen. And we don't NEED an Open Source Photoshop. We have The Gimp. It's a decent package that supports everything Photoshop does from filters to layers, as long as you don't need prepress stuff.

    2. Re:Make Photoshop Open Source! by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Heh, thanks.

      It's great to do a original USENET-style "don your radioactive fire control suit" flame.

      It really releaves stress ;-) And I really hate those kind of idiots.

      --
  10. Cost innefective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful


    why would they do this ?, surely if you can afford 700$ for photoshop (plus the oodles of ram/cpu it wants), 99$ for a copy of Windows XP is small change especially since the stability benefits of running dedicated Win compiled code rather than emulating it would be outweigh the cost. seems this is more of a experiment than a serious buisness strategy.

    Now if we could persuade PS to be native on linux we would be getting somewhere, until then ill stick with XP and PS on my x86 and my Mac wont be going anywhere soon

    1. Re:Cost innefective by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 2, Interesting
      especially since the stability benefits of running dedicated Win compiled code rather than emulating it would be outweigh the cost.
      What stability benefits are you referring to? I use Windows Media Player under Wine all the time, and it's never crashed. People play video games under Wine. Wine usually runs those annoying proprietary installers for odd software I need to get things done (like Palm application installers that spend 3MB to extract a 60KB .prc file for me to upload).

      In your experience, where have you seen instability problems with Photoshop? Do you know it to run poorly under Wine?

      --
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  11. performance by poison_reverse · · Score: 5, Interesting

    has anyone actually tried to run ps on linux? How does the performance measure up to say a mac or windose box? I would also like to see Adobe golive run nicely on linux too. Maybe adobe will notice the need for its apps on linux and start porting them.

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    1. Re:performance by CheeseMonkey · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Do you think there are any Linux users out there that would actually pay for Photoshop?

      My guess is the number of pirated copies of a Linux-ported PS would far outweigh the number of copies actually purchased. I mean how many people, really, would say "Hmmmm... I could use the GIMP for free, but I'd rather pay hundreds of dollars for Photoshop!" And, as for corporate use- I don't think Photoshop is keeping anybody tied to Windows. If they were going to go anywhere else for their Photoshop needs, it would be a Mac, and not to Linux. Linux is way not ready for your average artist. If companies are using Photoshop on Windows, there's probably a good (or not so good) reason for it, and it certainly has nothing to do with the unavailability of Photoshop on Linux!

      Maybe I'm wrong, but this is exactly the kind of thing Adobe would consider before porting it. They're in business to make money, after all...

      --
      Nothing to see here.
    2. Re:performance by mph · · Score: 5, Funny
      has anyone actually tried to run ps on linux?
      Yep.
      How does the performance measure up to say a mac or windose box?
      kronos:~$ uname -sr
      Linux 2.4.18-14
      kronos:~$ time ps
      PID TTY TIME CMD
      4014 pts/6 00:00:00 bash
      4042 pts/6 00:00:00 ps

      real 0m0.041s
      user 0m0.004s
      sys 0m0.025s
    3. Re:performance by WankersRevenge · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I've been running it for awhile and it works great. There's slight window redrawing problems, but that's just fluff. The meat of the program is solid. Check out the demo version is you have any doubts. Worth the money.

  12. A big step in the right direction by slusich · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is definately a big step in the right direction. Once major apps can run well under Linux, more users will be able to fully adopt it as a primary OS.

  13. One more down by nbarr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is a major improvement for Linux. I know of many people who dont use Linux because of Photoshop.

    I hope other companies do the same thing Disney did, with other poducts. It would bw a great boost to Linux on the desktop.

    --
    Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
  14. Yay! by prichardson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Photoshop is probably one of the things that kept Apple going in the dark times. With Photoshop working on Linux there is little reason for a lot of people to stay with windows. This won't make anyone suddenly aware of Linux, but that's because most graphic designers are smart enough to be able to weigh their options. This is why Apple has such a large market share in the design world compared to the consumer world. This probably won't be the killer app for Linux, but it's a VERY big step in the right direction.

    --
    Help I'm a rock.
    1. Re:Yay! by Space+Coyote · · Score: 5, Funny

      Graphic designer "So I hear photoshop runs on linux now, wanna show me how to set it up?" Linux guy: "OK, first you'll need to apply this source patch to WINE, to get photoshopp working. Are your glibc libraries up to date? Which version of GCC is installed on your box? Oh, you wanted to print? that's where it will get complicated..." Graphic designer: "go away" *switches Mac on. Starts working*

      --
      ___
      Cogito cogito, ergo cogito sum.
    2. Re:Yay! by Graymalkin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Apple has such a large hunk of the graphic design market because its workflow is much better suited to the task. Windows tends not to make a big impression with your typical Mac photoshopite because it gets in your way far too often. Windows' color matching is cheap, the keyboard shortcuts are so inefficient as to be practically useless, and the scripting environment sucks. Anybody can write an AppleScript to shortcut a task, with a little effort you can write one by hand to be even more useful. The keyboard shortcuts are obvious and easily accessible rather than modal like Windows shortcuts. ColorSync beats the pants off Windows color matching and is native to all applications.

      MacOS' workflow was the draw during "dark times", Adobe merely catered to this affinity by keeping Photoshop available. The workflow of Linux is too variable to really compare to MacOS or even Windows. Every desktop environment and window manager is going to give the user a different experience. Using Nautilus or gmc or Konq make just managing files entirely different experiences. X11's color matching is a joke, even when you've got monitor specifications. The print environment is also inconsistant and iffy at best. Linux is a good replacement for Windows machines performing several duties. It is not however suddenly going to sweep Windows or MacOS under the rug just because Photoshop runs on it.

      --
      I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
  15. Cool!! by Space_Nerd · · Score: 4, Funny

    But we still hate 'em right?

    --
    Everybody has a purpose in life, maybe mine is to lurk in slashdot.
  16. Re:Whaaaaaaaa? by Chuck+Bucket · · Score: 3, Informative

    Maybe you should read the text:

    "The project has paid off tremendously for Disney this year alone. Development of the porting solution, including site licenses, cost Disney less than $15,000. Had he opted to run Photoshop on Windows machines, it would have cost upward of $50,000 just in annual licensing fees, said Brooks. He estimates support would have been an additional $40,000 a year."

    CB

  17. Re:Thank goodness by justsomebody · · Score: 3, Informative

    No you shouldn't. I'm not trying to start some Photoshop-Gimp flamewar.

    If Gimp was working satisfactory for you until now, then you don't need CMYK. Which is the only fine line difference between them, and user interface, yes.

    I really need only RGB and pictures are not that big. During my tests Gimp proved to be more usable than Photoshop in my range of usage. But there's a clear line, printing professional usage can't include use of Gimp, except in some small cases where illustrations come in question.

    --
    Signature Pro version 1.13.2-3 release 83.5 beta3try7 after-breakfast edition
  18. Stil Not Free by rwiedower · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The best part of the GIMP is that it is free. For those of us on Windows, the idea of using Photoshop on Linux is cool, but I'd still have to pay for it. Until then, the GIMP is my tool of choice.

    1. Re:Stil Not Free by Xpilot · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Are you kidding? I'd pay for Photoshop in Linux. It's a quality tool regardless of how we feel towards Adobe. I'm sure many graphics professionals would pay for it too (Disney is proof). Adobe should really consider porting Photoshop to Linux (no need for it to be open source, closed source works fine).

      --
      "Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
    2. Re:Stil Not Free by mhesseltine · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you'd pay for Photoshop on Linux, then have you paid for Crossover Office, which runs Photoshop on Linux?

      It seems to me that, if Codeweavers has done a good enough job of making a complex application like Photoshop run on Linux, why should Adobe throw huge amounts of money at it, only to appease a small fraction of a small market?

      --
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  19. This has been possible for a while now. by aussersterne · · Score: 5, Informative

    See Crossover Office, which is based on Wine, to run Photoshop, Internet Explorer, MS Office and a number of other big-name Windows applications in Linux.

    --
    STOP . AMERICA . NOW
    1. Re:This has been possible for a while now. by vidarh · · Score: 4, Informative

      And if you'd read the article, you'd known that the article is about how Disney footed the bill to get Codeweavers to spend resources on getting Photoshop to work properly.

  20. Just the start by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm glad to see this sort of thing happening, but I am a little disappointed that Adobe didn't port its code to linux natively.

    Using Wine will nodoubtedly help many companies using linux. And it will make the decision easier for many companies that want to use linux, but are worried about compatability issues.

    My hope is that Win will carry us through the transition phase until software manufacturers just compile a linux version of their product.

    The problem now is that companies won't switch to linux because their aren't enough programs supported on linux. But software companies won't develop linux products because there aren't enough companies using linux. It's a deadlock. But if Wine can make the first crack in the floodgates, the whole thing should crumble. If there are already a bunch of photoshop users running linux-wine, Adobe is much more likely to issue a linux port of their code. Which in turn makes it easier to go linux with your company!

    And soon enough, all the software companies will compile their linux distrubutions, and then, if enough people ask for it, alter the code so it can be compiled for Windows.

    --

    Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
  21. numbers by Lxy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't get where their numbers are coming from.

    Apparently Photoshop on Windows costs $50K+$40K support == $90K

    Photoshop on linux costs $15K.

    Last I checked, Photoshop was around $600 per workstation. XP Pro is $200/station, and I think licenses for NT/2K/2K3 server are around $100/seat. So really, Windows ended up being the cheaper part of of the equation, at $300 per station.

    Support? How is it that Windows support is $40K/yr but linux support is free? There's just as much free Windows support out there as linux.

    I applaud the effort to move off Windows, and I'm glad to see that WINE is of this caliber quality, but don't justify your switch with a bunch of nonsense numbers.

    --

    There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
    :wq
    1. Re:numbers by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Linux support is free, because once you have a standard configuration, you can employ scripts to replicate and maintain it. 2 network engineers at my place take care of 15 Linux servers, 3 Win2k servers, the network, email, and the intranet website. We spend a disproportinate amount of time on the 2K servers, despite having service contracts that theoreitcally should take care of the issues for us.

      Also remember that disney is editing 35MM film, 24 frames per second, at ungodly resolution. They probably have this stuff running on a 4 way or 8 way workstations. Multi-head licenses for windows are STEEP. Microsoft also takes you out the ass for large-scale file storage. The cost per workstation probably includes the cost of the server divided over the number of users.

      With Linux you are paying for the hardware and the photoshop license.

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
    2. Re:numbers by afidel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Maybe the standardization of remote mount points, remote administration, etc which are native to lin/unix that everyone else is seeing are also benifiting Disney? I know that just about every survey I have seen puts the number of machines per unix admin at several times that of the average windows admin. This bears out in my own experience, I'm an MCSE and a RHCE and the amount of time spent per machine to support linux has been much lower overall. I still don't see why their costs are that high though, for instance I supported ~500 pc's at my last gig, about half servers and half workstations, the only machines that would have aproached those costs were CAD stations running ultra expensive specialized stuff like PCB autorouters and chip design software, support cost would be my salary+benifits/number of pc's + a little bit of the time of the remote admin team that helped me with the servers.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    3. Re:numbers by BrotherPope · · Score: 3, Informative
      I don't get where their numbers are coming from.

      Last I checked, Photoshop was around $600 per workstation. XP Pro is $200/station, and I think licenses for NT/2K/2K3 server are around $100/seat. So really, Windows ended up being the cheaper part of of the equation, at $300 per station.

      Start here:
      Today, Brooks runs Photoshop 7.0 on CrossOver Office on more than 200 workstations. CrossWeavers, in turn, has added support of Photoshop 7.0 to its CrossOver Office product.


      So we're talking about 200 times whatever you get hit with under their licensing agreement (Licensing 6.0, anybody?)...

      Development of the porting solution, including site licenses, cost Disney less than $15,000. Had he opted to run Photoshop on Windows machines, it would have cost upward of $50,000 just in annual licensing fees, said Brooks. He estimates support would have been an additional $40,000 a year.


      So, any way you look at it, they're site-licensing Photoshop, so take it out of the equation. Once you do that, this makes sense. 200*250 = 50,000 in licensing per year (let's hear it for subscription software!) and the 40K is presumably for the highest available level of support straight from MS.

      On the other hand, $15k was kicked over to CodeWeavers (along with whatever the other two 'mystery studios' kicked in) so they would focus on Photoshop support in Crossover Office. Presumably, the actual licenses and support deals came out of the same bucket. This is quite likely, as Codeweavers offers terrific support with any purchase, let alone 200 licenses!

      I applaud the effort to move off Windows, and I'm glad to see that WINE is of this caliber quality, but don't justify your switch with a bunch of nonsense numbers.

      The nonsense numbers are purely your own, I assure you.
  22. CrossOver Office has been doing this by nacs · · Score: 2, Informative

    Crossover Office 2.0 has official support for Adobe Photoshop.

    I installed PS 7 on my P4 2.4Ghz and is ran quite nicely. It's amazing how far Wine has come.

    --
    "I filter at +6, and have yet to miss out on an important comment." (#822545)
  23. Re:Why? by vidarh · · Score: 5, Informative

    Why do people keep assuming that running Wine will cause a lot of overhead? And why don't people READ the article, including the part about performance? And what does clustering technologies like OpenMosix have to do with running an application that is intended for usage on workstations, not render farms? And why, oh, why don't people read the article, especially the part of how the real benefit for Disney was that they a) saved money and b) could standarize on Linux instead of having part of their team stuck with Windows?

  24. Me too... by ryanvm · · Score: 4, Funny

    I find that wine helps me use a lot of Linux applications too. In fact, I have to be flat out drunk before I'll even start Emacs.

    [Yikes - who threw that?!]

  25. Cool article by EZmagz · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I thought this was an interesting article, and it's nice to see that Disney was able to save a pretty decent chunk of change by running Linux and wine instead of Windows on their desktops. I'd still give my left testicle to be able to play in the Disney/Pixar/etc. animation studios and computing centers...talk about horsepower!

    On a related note, I'm still kind of surprised that Adobe wouldn't port Photoshop over to Linux even for a company with as much clout as Disney. Seriously, I realize it's a LOT of work to port an app that massive, but if basically every animator who runs linux wants it, why not? Catering to your customers is definitely part of a good business model. Since Adobe's management switched over not too far back though, I think some of the crazy innovations might be slower-coming these days. Guess that's what happens when you replace someone with vision (Adobe founder) with a Marketing drone (current CEO, IIRC).

    --

    "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned for SEGA. ..."

    1. Re:Cool article by tfinniga · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This is a bit unrelated, but also interesting. It appears that Adobe used Qt on their album product, Adobe Photoshop Album. I imagine that moving a behemoth like Photoshop to a different widget set would be a massive undertaking, so I'm not holding my breath..

      --
      Powered by Web3.5 RC 2
    2. Re:Cool article by Schnapple · · Score: 2, Informative
      I'm still kind of surprised that Adobe wouldn't port Photoshop over to Linux even for a company with as much clout as Disney
      Dvorak ran a column on the five things it would take to make Linux work on the desktop, and Photoshop was #1. People wrote back and reminded him about how steamed Adobe was about GhostScript and how their ports to Solaris met zip sales, so a Linux port is unlikely.
    3. Re:Cool article by TechnoPope · · Score: 3, Insightful

      On a related note, I'm still kind of surprised that Adobe wouldn't port Photoshop over to Linux even for a company with as much clout as Disney. Seriously, I realize it's a LOT of work to port an app that massive, but if basically every animator who runs linux wants it, why not? Catering to your customers is definitely part of a good business model.

      Catering to your paying customers is a good model. The majority of the people who are interested in paying for Photoshop are probably not going to be using Linux. Sure there are people who want to use Photoshop on linux, but not enough willing to pay the 600 bucks per copy for them to recoup the development costs. And while it is not a fair bias, the Linux community is often seen as people not willing to pay for software. When presented with this, why would adobe ever release Photoshop for Linux.

      Ultimatly, this news totally benefits Adobe. Now they know that they DON'T have to develop for Linux because it works well under Wine. They can just sit back and reap the profits from selling Photoshop to Linux people. And the best part is, they don't have to support the software.

      "Hello, I'm having problems with Photoshop"
      "What operating system are you using?"
      "Linux under..."
      "I'm sorry, we don't support Linux. Have a nice day.
      click

      It's ingenious really.

      --
      Slashdot...it's like Fox news, but without the biased sl...or maybe not.
  26. Re:WINE by KillerHamster · · Score: 5, Funny

    Disney Is Not an Open Source Advocate Unless Required.

  27. Er. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    See this is why most application companies DON'T want to have anything to do with Linux. The second they touch it, the community starts yelling "Open Source it", "Boycott it, it's binary only!", "They're violating the GPL!", etc. etc. :/ Some thanks... (Well that and the insanely small desktop market share)

  28. Photoshop is a killer ap. by Prince_Ali · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm sorry, but Linux needs photoshop. That is one of those programs that some people actually earn their living using. The GIMP is nothing compared to photoshop. It may work for amateurs, but even people who use it as a major hobby could not get the same results with GIMP.

    1. Re:Photoshop is a killer ap. by johnnyb · · Score: 3, Informative

      "The GIMP is nothing compared to photoshop. It may work for amateurs, but even people who use it as a major hobby could not get the same results with GIMP."

      I know many people who use the GIMP for great results. I personally use it for menus for VCDs quite a bit, as well as web graphics. Perhaps you are simply not aware of all of it's features?

      In scriptability, when we have a large site to build, we define standard button types, and I make scripts to generate them, and then we just do them in batch, and then as-needed. These are complicated buttons/headings that Photoshop actions don't do well enough for. But with GIMP, it's easy.

      There is one place that GIMP falls flat - print. The lack of CMYK really hurts it for print. Other than that, I can't think of anything really missing from it. Well, maybe PS has better dynamic text support, but that's usually not too big of an issue (GIMP's is definitely good enough).

  29. Damn you Disney... by ndogg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why can't you just be the evil company that you're supposed to be?!

    ARGH!!!

    --
    // file: mice.h
    #include "frickin_lasers.h"
  30. I've done it by metalhed77 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've done it, the latest CSOffice supports Photoshop 7. For me, it seems to run at about 1/2 to 3/4 speed, depending on what you do.

    --
    Photos.
  31. CrossOver Office + PS7 by SQLz · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have Photoshop 7 running with CrossOver office on a AthonXP 2800+ and Gentoo, runs like a dream. Its actually never crashed and even the auto online update thingy works. Speed wise, the app feels like your running Redhat. Sometimes things take a second to draw and mouse events are slower than normal. You also cannot resize the toolbar thing, thats ok though.

  32. Puzzled by linuxislandsucks · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If the same license fees are paid to Adobe for photoshop no matter if you run on Windows or Linxu where is the huge savings? Did MS change the fees fo desktop windows as of late4 without telling us?

    --
    Don't Tread on OpenSource
    1. Re:Puzzled by digitalhermit · · Score: 4, Informative

      For one, there's no Windows license cost involved. For two, the animators may already have Linux desktops. It makes a lot of sense to be able to run Photoshop directly rather than having a separate PC, dual booting, or using something like VMWare.

  33. Confusion by magsymp · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm confused... I thought I was supposed to hate Disney. Have the slashgods turned they back on me, again!?

    SCO is still bad right?

    1. Re:Confusion by pdbogen · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, SCO is protecting Linux from those evil people that want to corrupt its source with their "free" and "open" additions. Uhm... I think?

  34. What about color calibration/colorspace mgmt? by isaac · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Can anyone whose done real work with Photoshop-on-WINE comment on how they deal with display calibration and colorspace issues? How do you make sure what you see on your linux box is what you get from your film printer?

    -Isaac

    --
    I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
    1. Re:What about color calibration/colorspace mgmt? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      We calibrate the monitor/graphics card using a system level package, then disable the color management in Photoshop. This gets all the workstations in sync, and set to a reasonably close approximation of the true color. Final color matching is done in post production, usually on an Avid.

    2. Re:What about color calibration/colorspace mgmt? by step · · Score: 2, Informative
      Actually, the point is quite valid.

      Running Photoshop in an emulation layer is not the same as in 'native' Windows, because WINE can possibly alter the colorspace (eg. to fake a 24-bit visual on 16-bit displays). So you can't just calibrate your setup in Windows and hope to get accurate results with the same ICC profile in WINE.

      Corel PhotoPaint for Linux can do ICC, and so does Scribus. Not sure on the GIMP side of things, but overall I think at least manual calibration (Adobe Gamma) should give good results.

  35. Re:Thank goodness by Synic · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The counter-intuitive UI of Gimp is enough reason to ditch it. Add the fact that the plugins from Alien Skin are sw33t and not duplicated in any satisfactory way in Gimp and you have two good reasons why you would want to use Photoshop over it.

  36. Re:Thank goodness by Proctal+Relapse · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, but GIMP sucks to use when you compare it side-by-side with Photoshop. Sure it can do a lot of the same things, and suffices for most Unix users when there is no better alternative. It still clunks like a square-wheeled rickshaw.

    It's true; I could typeset my documents with Emacs and LaTeX. That fact doesn't stop me from using Word though.

  37. Applications applications applications by pubjames · · Score: 5, Insightful


    Getting popular applications like this running on Linux is the single most important thing to get Linux on the desktop.

    Note that Adobe could probably release a native version of Photoshop to run on Linux fairly easily. They had a Unix version, and also of course it will run on OSX, so going native to Linux can't be that big an issue.

    Everyone who wants to see Linux on the desktop should be pestering the companies of the software they use to release a Linux version. For me, the important one is Macromedia Flash, so I've been emailing Macromedia asking when they are going to port it. If you want to see Linux on the desktop, start pestering!

  38. So? Its a windwos binary.. by nurb432 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What would be really great news is that there was a native *nix version again. ( there was one for SGI long ago.. so they cant claim it cant be done ).

    While using it in wine may be nice, and shows wine is improving, ( hats off to their team ) it really doesn't mean THAT much in the grand scheme of things.... we don't want to be relegated to just be an 'emulator' ( yes i know its not 100% accurate to say emulation, but you get the point so its close enough )

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    1. Re:So? Its a windwos binary.. by Anita+Coney · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm torn by this too. You're point appears valid, Linux shouldn't become an "emulator" for Windows software.

      On the other hand, if enough people start using Photoshop in Linux via wine, it might create a critical mass of users to compel Adobe to do a native version.

      --
      If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
  39. Excellent Performance! by jpsowin · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've used PS7 with Crossover Office before (about three months ago)... it ran very smooth, and very fast! I couldn't tell the difference between on Linux and on XP, except that in XP the widgets look a little sleeker for some reason. I can now finally do quality photo maniulation without banging my head against the wall in Linux ;) I highly recommend Crossover, it's a great product.

  40. Re:Thank goodness by zdzichu · · Score: 3, Informative

    You may be happy hearing that GIMP is slowly starting to support CMYK

    - Added naive RGB CMYK conversion routines [Sven]
    - Generalized paint tools [Mitch]

    --
    :wq
  41. Old Timer by blinder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've been using Photoshop since the 2.5 days (pre layers -- when real men [and women] used alpha channels) on Macs. I then switched over to using pshop on the PC because, well, I couldn't afford a mac!

    But then, something strange happened. I had been using Linux (Redhat) as my OS-of-choice at home and would switch to my laptop (running 2k) to do Photoshop work. Out of the desire to use my mouse, I went and sunk a few bucks and bought the crossover application (commercial version of wine) and whalla! Photoshop 6 runs on my linux box, and faster!

    So, now I can use Photoshop with my mouse (instead of that annoying touch-pad). The only thing that is a little annoying is that the focus of the tool bar and the other pallets take away from the canvas, so if you click on the marquee tool, you have to "double click" on the canvas to get the focus where you need it. Not a big deal, just a "thing."

    1. Re:Old Timer by danila · · Score: 2, Funny

      Out of the desire to use my mouse, I went and sunk a few bucks and bought the crossover application...

      You could simply connect the mouse to your laptop, couldn't you?

      --
      Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
  42. Re:It was horrible by elmegil · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Your days are unfortunately numbered. Adobe decided that they no longer need to support their friends with Macs, it seems likely that this attitude will continue with all their products, not just Premiere.

    --
    7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
  43. Definition of fanatic by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Give him a fresh juicy apple, and he complains that you should have instead figured out how to make the worm in the last apple tastier.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  44. Re:Thank goodness by gosand · · Score: 2, Insightful
    No you shouldn't. I'm not trying to start some Photoshop-Gimp flamewar. If Gimp was working satisfactory for you until now, then you don't need CMYK. Which is the only fine line difference between them, and user interface, yes. I really need only RGB and pictures are not that big. During my tests Gimp proved to be more usable than Photoshop in my range of usage. But there's a clear line, printing professional usage can't include use of Gimp, except in some small cases where illustrations come in question.

    If you are a graphics illustrator, you don't use The Gimp. You use Photoshop. It is the standard. I don't have a problem with that, but I use The Gimp. I don't do professional work, although The Gimp is pretty darn impressive. It is OK if they both exist, and one is free and the other makes you auction body parts on eBay. (unless you have acquired a copy by other means, which I won't address). If you really NEED Photoshop, then buy it. If you just want a great image editing program, then use Gimp. I know a lot of people have Photoshop simply because it is expensive, and they like to think they have expensive things. But The Gimp will suit 90% of the people who need to edit images.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  45. Re:Thank goodness by Frothy+Walrus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Added naive RGB CMYK conversion routines [Sven]


    This will go nicely with their naive user interface.

  46. CMYK is only a small part of the story by metalhed77 · · Score: 5, Informative

    CMYK is important yes, but photoshop has numerous features that the gimp doesn't have yet. Image Variations, pantone colors, vectors (yes adobe photoshop has limited vector support) a MUCH better way of handling type (the gimp is truly moronic at handling text) better painting tools (have you seen the entire revamped brush system in photoshop 7, amazing) along with better graphics tablet support. And I have not even come close to covering it all. And even after spending 2 hours trying to get used to gimps interface, it was very counterintuitive. Whoever made all the dialogs is a moron, unless you memorize every keystroke, all actions take 2 to 3 more clicks on average.

    Oh yeah, my biggest pet peeve, when you dynamically transform a selected area that stupid grid pops up instead of a more interactive live preview transform. I wish the gimp developers the best, but the gimp is years behind photoshop.

    --
    Photos.
  47. Re:It was horrible by larkost · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No, Adobe decided that they could not compete with Final Cut Pro and said so in a press release that had so much spin that people interpreted it to say that they were getting out of the Macintosh space.

    Why would Adobe even consider getting out of the market that they earn most of their money in? For the first time ever their sales between Win and Mac were even last year... a year in which NO major version of any Mac software came out.. .one in which everyone on the mac side was holding out of Photoshop 7.

    I have not taken many business courses, but abandoning half your revenue does not seem like a course of action they are likely to take.

  48. Mixed feelings by cpn2000 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I was rather exited reading this article until I ran into this paragraph ...

    Although Brooks considered and even tried to use several open-source alternatives, including GIMP, or GNU Image Manipulation Program (see related story), and Cinepaint (formerly FilmGimp), he said he ran into performance issues with the two programs. Artists also found the open-source programs less intuitive to use than Photoshop.

    On the whole I still believe that this is a major win for the Open Source community, and for the Linux and Wine projects in particular, but the above text did leave me pondering. It looks like Linux is getting fairly established as a stable OS, and also as a viable alternative to Microsoft's OSs', but until we have viable replacements to programs in the user space, a part of any Linux adoption policy will always be hostage to Microsoft and its tactics.
    --
    All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be ... Dark side of the moon
  49. Tea! by mattbee · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not such a crazy idea, Disney (well go.com) allowed the release of Tea, a Java servlet-based scripting language which is a cracking piece of work, coming as it does with great manuals, an IDE with some really smart auto-completion, and providing a statically type, fully compiled web programming environment. We used it on an eCommerce site to great effect, though I'm not sure how much development it's going through these days.

    --
    Matthew @ Bytemark Hosting
  50. Re:Thank goodness by LurkerXXX · · Score: 2, Interesting
    They don't use Photoshop just because it's the 'standard'. They use it because the user interface is orders of magnitude better than Gimp's. Artists's don't want each and every step they take to take 2-3 extra clicks. They don't want to memorize three million shortcuts, they want an easy to use interface so they can concentrate on the art and get it done quickly. People who make money doing this stuff laugh at suggestions they use Gimp.

    So you do this for a living... let's see, spending a few hundred bucks up front, verses several extra clicks for each and every manipulation you do for 8 hours a day for the next couple years. Hrmmm, not exactly a rough choice is it?

  51. Re:Thank goodness by wfberg · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's true; I could typeset my documents with Emacs and LaTeX. That fact doesn't stop me from using Word though.

    Actually, I much prefer vim and LaTeX. Word doesn't do typesetting btw, you'd be better off using Adobe InDesign/FrameMaker, quark xpress or even Microsoft Publisher(!)(an almost forgotten product, but even the windows 3.1 version was a whole lot better at typesetting than word is).

    Word's market isn't typesetting (or even DTP) or complicated document management; it's general use word processing. You shouldn't compare it to LaTeX, but to OpenOffice for example. And ooO certainly does have clunky-UI issues!

    --
    SCO employee? Check out the bounty
  52. Hard to replace some userland apps by Xeger · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Comprehensive kitchen-sink solutions like Photoshop will be hard to replace. With 10+ years of development history behind it, and an all-encompassing feature set that makes it useful to everyone from professional photographers to astronomers, Photoshop has created a legacy that's hard to displace.

    When an app gets sufficiently complex, learning to use the app effectively is like learning another language. Knowledge of all the app's functions, their associated menu items, options UI and keyboard shortcuts -- all of this know-how becomes background knowledge after using the product for awhile, and requires no thought to apply.

    Eventually a good Photoshop (or Word, or 3DS MAX) user gets to the point where he conceives of what he wants to do to the image, and his fingers and eyes just do it, without him thinking much about the task. This is what we mean when we talk about productivity.

    The GIMP is every bit as powerful as Photoshop, lacking only some of PS's filters and its more advanced image manipulation features. The Gimp even uses some PS-like constructs, such as layers. Nonetheless, The GIMP doesn't speak precisely the same "language" as Photoshop; thus, people will always complain about how much less intuitive The GIMP is.

    In the long run, the best solution to this problem is probably to develop an even more effective UI "language" for The GIMP, and target new users who have no previous experience with Photoshop. In this way, The GIMP could build a solid user base.

  53. An application doesn't bestow one with talent... by Trolling4Dollars · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...no matter how well it's written.

    I've used both and I can attest to the fact that GIMP is every bit as good as Photoshop. The differences between the two have to do with how well you know the apps AND most importantly how much talent you have.

    The only people who think that Photoshop is better than GIMP are people with very little original creativity. They rely solely on filters and have no idea how to truly create a work of art using *ANY* tool. These are the same people who call themselves graphic designers and web designers but put up garish images that they didn't create with their own hands. They used filters and pulled source images from royalty free libraries. This is what's wrong with the world today: crafts are being mistaken for art.

    Give a true artist a #2 pencil and some paper and they will give you a valuable work of art. Give a hack a fine set of brushes, oil paints and a canvas, and they will give you crap.

    That would make GIMP the fine set of brushes, oil paints and canvas. And people like you, hacks.

  54. If Adobe, Quark, and Macromedia by greymond · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Made Linux versions of their software I would never have to use Windows or OS-X again, and would be a much nerdier and happier person (happier cause I wouldn't have to keep upgrading both my expensive OS's).....

    Of course there is a 99% chance that will NEVER happen, and even if I use Wine or (insert YOUR favorite Crossover app) I still have to have windows on a partition - hence I still am supposed to buy/pay for a copy of windows - so why not just have Windows....

    1. Re:If Adobe, Quark, and Macromedia by Jsprat23 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Wine and the Crossover products don't require a windows partition. True some windows apps will function better with a windows partition, but those I've tried(games) have worked fine without a windows partition.

  55. Isn't that what it's about? by Vip · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "While animation studios compete fiercely for ticket sales and are not known as team players, all three agreed that a project that would benefit the entire open-source community--while delivering a technology they needed--was worth their cooperation"

    And isn't that what open source is all about? An itch to scratch that turns into something useful?

    Vip

  56. Re:Thank goodness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hell, I use Emacs for photoediting. It's a little hard modifying binary files by hand but you will eventually get the hang of it. I'm sure there is a preconfigured shortcut key for this but I havent found it yet.

  57. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by FatRatBastard · · Score: 5, Insightful

    An application doesn't bestow one with talent no matter how well it's written.

    But it can be a tool that makes a talented person's life a hell of a lot easier.

    A talented carpernter may be able to build a house with a Bowie knife and 20 acres of forest, but its not exactly the quickest and easiest way of doing it, especially if there are commercial demands and deadlines to meet. Sure, you're pure "artist" could render Finding Nemo with a #2 pencil, but how long would it take him.

    Personally, for the amount of PSing I do (bad Fark contests) the gimp and PS (or PS Elements) is a wash (mainly because I suck eggs). BUT... from the folks who do some sort of graphic design for a living almost all of them swear by PS, and quite a few of them have dicked around with the GIMP as well. To a (wo)man they all say it just isn't as good of a tool to get the type of work done in a timely manner.

  58. I thought the joke was... by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No, that exploding sound you hear is thousands of wine fanatics reading the article and going, "Wine is NOT AN EMULATOR!!

    I thought the joke embedded in the acronym was that it stood for BOTH of:

    - WINdows Emulator.
    - Wine Is Not an Emulator.

    Because it DOES provide a Windows API (which is one of the definitions of "emulator") but DOESN'T software emulate the machine itself (which is part of the USUAL definition of "emulator"), instead running the application's executable code "directly on the metal" - avoiding the massive speed penalty - and doing as much as practical of the API emulation by leveraging Linux native services rather than replacing them.

    But I don't actually KNOW how much of that is true. If one of the WINE core group can confirm or correct this post I'd appreciate it.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  59. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by Jungle+guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does Gimp support CMYK, like Photoshop? Do you know it is REALLY important if you are doing graphics for a living?

  60. Re:Thank goodness by truenoir · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If the GIMP acted more like...well, any other image editor, it might be an easier sell.
    Even Photopaint and Paint Shop Pro are reasonably similar to Photoshop. Painter is also adopting the Photoshop-like interface.

    To me, the GIMP might have features and capabilities close to Photoshop (in my experience it doesn't...unusable files and strange stuff like blur also darkening images), but I know how to use Photoshop. Other programs import layered Photoshop documents (After Effects anyone?). Subjectively, I think the interface is *terrible*. That's me, other folks may like it. But it keeps me from using the program, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

    Don't get me wrong, it's an admirable project. I can't see using it professionally though. Some do (film GIMP, or whatever it's called now), but I don't.

    As for the cost of Photoshop...it's reasonable. It's a professional tool that's pretty standard. Buy it in a bundle for $1000 (or $500 educational). If you can't afford that, get Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop Elements. Considering it's pretty much a one time major expense coupled with $150 upgrades every 18-24 months, it's not a bad professional or serious hobby use cost. If all you want is to resize a pic for a background or something, obviously you don't need Photoshop. If you stand to make several thousand dollars from a project, $150 for that Photoshop 7 upgrade isn't much...having the right tools is worth quite a bit.

  61. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by jellomizer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It sounds like you never used photoshop of any period of time. I have been using GIMP for years until last year when I got a Mac and after having GIMP Crash on me every 5 minutes I forked over some cash and got photoshop (I got it at a good price off ebay) And even though I have more years with GIMP I must say Photoshop is a lot better then the GIMP and that is without the filters. It may have most of the same tools but I found photoshop is layed out in a method that is a lot easier to use and more powerful. Sure you can make art with any tool. I have seen some quality pictures done in MS Paint. I am no means a graphical full graphical artest but I need to give my programs I make a nice polish to them and I found that using Photoshop allows me to make a lot looking nicer application then with GIMP. And having tools that make your life easier is not a hack it is a tool to make yourself a lot easier. It is like saying that a person is not a true artest because they need to use a ruler to make a straight line.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  62. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by 64K · · Score: 2
    The differences between the two have to do with how well you know the apps AND most importantly how much talent you have
    Umm, no, the differences between the two have to do with the capabilities of the respective applications. Try creating a CMYK document with GIMP. Then realize that a professional graphic artist needs CMYK, not RGB. GIMP is not a professional tool by any stretch of the imagination.
  63. Re:Tux.. by asdfx · · Score: 2, Funny

    Don't be surprised when Pixar releases a movie about it.

  64. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by jandrese · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I always thought a lot of the interface complaints came from people who were used to using Photoshop and then couldn't find stuff in the Gimp because it didn't just copy the Photoshop interface.

    I got used to using the Gimp then I tried out my sister's copy of Photoshop for a couple of simple operations. I found the Photoshop interface to be a bit less efficent (the gimp would include a couple of useful features in a dialog box that Photoship didn't) in a couple of places, but more or less equivilent in my mind.

    The biggest stumbling block I see for the Gimp is lack of native CMYK support, which is a big deal in the professional publishing biz (or so I'm told). After trying Photoshop, I went back to the Gimp and never thought twice about it.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  65. Now, what about this? by mkro · · Score: 3, Interesting
    From the end of the article:
    However, Disney's legal department has developed a policy that enables Disney to protect its intellectual property while keeping within the statutes of the GNU General Public License.
    ...and there is no mention of what that policy is. Would be interesting to know, since we are - as we all know - dealing with a good, old-fashioned Evil Corporation here. Could be nothing, but I'm rather suspicious by default when it comes to Disney.
    --
    I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.
  66. Re:Thank goodness by Eric+Ass+Raymond · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I suppose you emerged from your mother's womb knowing how to use Photoshop?

    That's not the issue here. The issue here is that the Gimp GUI is so braindamaged that it is almost like the authors deliberately designed it to hinder whatever it is you want to do with the program.

    Please, please, please tell me this. WHY THE FUCK does Gimp have all of its image processing functions in a goddamn right-mousebutton pop-up menu that hides the image you're trying to process in the first place? Jesus Christ! You couldn't make a worse design even if you tried.

    And it has not been fixed just because of the attitude you show here. "Oh yeah? Our system is counterintuitive? Well, boy. There's only one thing I can tell you: just take your time learning our GUI because there is no way in hell that we would stoop as low as using the same GUI the people are familiar in the first place."

  67. Dream on by bogie · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This only encourages Adobe to put even less effort in linux. Why bother making your product work properly on linux when you can have others do it for you free of charge?

    This is just free money for Adobe and lets them sell additional copies without having to worry about support or how well the product works. This isn't going to pressure Adobe into anything.

    Taking Wine to its obvious conclusion you have to ask yourself, why turn Linux into a Windows clone?

    Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the Adobe products come to linux. It's just that I don't see Wine doing anything but crippling linux in the long run.

    --
    If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
  68. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by pomakis · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Also, The Gimp doesn't handle 16-bits-per-sample images. You need a special hacked version of The Gimp called "Film Gimp" for that. WTF? Also, how about a simple red-eye reduction mechanism?

    Don't get me wrong, I use The Gimp almost exclusively for my photo-editing needs. (Although in some simple situations xv or the pbmplus utilities suffice). But it does lack a few very important things (IMHO) that Photoshop provides.

  69. Contact Adobe by Grip3n · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you're interested in contacting Adobe, here's a direct link to their Feature Request form. I suggest as many of us as possible to visit this page and let Adobe know there certainly is a demand for their product. We're talking 3 studios here, including Disney. Lets make some (positive) noise!

    http://www.adobe.com/support/feature.html

    --
    To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
  70. Only one thing is left.. by MongooseCN · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I use PS on Windows for all my digital photo editing (as can be seen in my signature). But I still need to use Windows because my scanner, a Canon scanner, only has software for Windows. If the scanner worked in Linux then all my digital photo editing would no longer require Windows.

  71. Could this be a bad thing? by Eric(b0mb)Dennis · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Photoshop in linux...? Could this be a bad thing? Once you have the end-all photo editing suite available in linux, what happens to all the great photoshop-esque programs that opensource devs have been woring on for years? It sort of sticks a knife in the gimp's throat, if you know what i mean. Now, being that it's running on WINE and not being ported to run on linux directly, this might not be the case.

    --
    Excuse me, I don't mean to impose, but I am the ocean
  72. WINE Is Not a win32 subsystem Emulator by MobyDisk · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, Wine is a Win32 subsystem re-implementation. There is a very important difference. In fact, it was so important to the authors that they put it in the name!

  73. Re:Thank goodness by Eric+Ass+Raymond · · Score: 2, Interesting
    1) They are used to it. Most people, once they actually learn GIMP's interface, like it better.

    Thank you for making my point. And just why should they learn yet another interface? Because it is "better"?

    Well, I'm sure the authors think it is better, but if at least one of them would take his head out of his ass for once, he'd realize that the professional people do not want "better" GUIs, they want GUIs they are familiar with - something they can get the work done right away and not after learning yet another goddamn arrangement of menus, buttons and dialogs.

    This is what you open source people just don't seem to get. You people Ignore (with capital I) what the end users want. You are so caught up with being different, revolutionary and 3133t that you want to revise everything. Well, the Adobe GUI does not need revising. People already know how to use it. Revise whatever is under the hood instead. Make it work faster. Make it work more reliably. Make it do more. But whatever you do, don't change the interface.

    You may have the time to tweak your kernel, compile your applications and learn a dozen new programming languages a week, but when it comes to the real world you need the results now - preferably already yesterday. Work under the hood and clone the de facto standard interfaces shamelessly.

  74. Marketing by yerricde · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why bother making your product work properly on linux when you can have others do it for you free of charge?

    If Marketing can convince Quality Assurance to test the Windows ports of the publisher's products on all three platforms (Wine, Windows 9x, and Windows NT) instead of just two (9x and NT), then Marketing scores an extra bullet point in the products' features lists.

    why turn Linux into a Windows clone?

    Commercial distributors of emancipated operating systems want whatever the market wants. During my college education (1999-2003), the market wanted a Windows clone.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  75. CYMK by MenTaLguY · · Score: 3, Informative

    Anything beyond the most trivial CYMK support (i.e. anything adequate for commercial purposes) is tied up in patents.

    It's not legal for them to implement.

    --

    DNA just wants to be free...
    1. Re:CYMK by faust2097 · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, you can write your own CMYK to RGB routines all you want, the problem is that you don't want to. It's a whole lot of really, really messy 3D and 4D vector math that was only figured out through a LOT of research into color perception and reproduction. To rip off the algorithms that these companies came up with is not OK.

      This is not the one-click patent. This is a lot of of very smart people spending a lot of time working with spectrophotometers and linear algebra text books.

  76. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by Angst+Badger · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That would make GIMP the fine set of brushes, oil paints and canvas. And people like you, hacks.

    What a pompous load of shit. This is like arguing that artists who buy ready-made oil paints are just hacks and real artists gather minerals in the field and grind their own pigments by hand.

    Yes, you can do in GIMP most of what you can do in Photoshop, but the simple fact of the matter is that you can do it more quickly and easily in Photoshop. If you're a prima donna fine artist (or fancy yourself one, which sounds like the case here), then you can afford to screw around with whatever tool floats your boat. If you are a commercial artist, you are generally producing "art" to satisfy the specifications and budget constraints imposed by a client who doesn't give a rat's ass what tool you use as long as the end product is on time and under budget.

    Which is why commercial artists tend to have mortgages and car payments and fine artists tend to have attitude problems.

    The GIMP is on a par with Photoshop 3 or 4. Those who say otherwise need to become more familiar with the current Photoshop featureset. This is all painfully familiar of the whining I used to hear from TeX users about how Word didn't do such-and-such that TeX did, when in actual fact Word did have the feature in question.

    --
    Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
  77. Re:Why is this news? Why is anyone saying it's goo by Dynedain · · Score: 3, Informative

    your presumption is incorrect...Wine reverse engineers the Windows API, so there is no need for a MS license since there is no MS product present.

    --
    I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
  78. You'd better tell Adobe by DrSkwid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Because it already has a Windows render farm capability

    "I already have a CPU in here, why would I need another one?"

    I guess you've never edited a 200dpi poster

    --
    There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
  79. Re:An application doesn't bestow one with talent.. by FatRatBastard · · Score: 4, Informative

    Again, these folks do this for a *living*, have deadlines to meet, etc. Why force them to eat into productive time to learn a new program just to meet someone else's political view of "what's right"?

    This is the thrust of the entire article. Disney's (and the two other, unnamed companies') workers use Photoshop. Moving PS from windows to linux obviously saved more money from ditching Windows licenses over time than the investment they put into tweaking WINE. Save $$$ = good. But, as the article stated, GIMP and CinePaint didn't meet their requirements. Thus, there was no saving of $$$ since the time and effort needed to bring GIMP and CinePaint up to the level of PS (not to mention training) would cost more than the savings they would have gotten from tossing the Adobe licenses. One day this *may* happen in the future, but obviously it wasn't a good business decision now.

    Just because it doesn't meet some zealot's political muster doesn't mean it was a bad idea.

  80. Redundant by TheViewFromTheGround · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I know it's been said already a great deal, but I want to state it clearly: among other things, I'm a graphic designer and use Photoshop all friggin' day. I run a Linux webserver for my web sites and have a couple Linux boxes around the house and in my office for file sharing, server testing, etc and the single biggest reason I haven't given up Windows on my desktop is precisely because I need Photoshop all friggin' day. However, this put the final nails in the Windows coffin.

    Nobody I know who does serious graphic design takes the GIMP seriously. I believe this has to do with the GIMP's awful interface, limited (with respect to Photoshop) feature set, Photoshop's name recognition, and the widespread support for Photoshop.

    Graphic designers who do it for the love, from my experience, tend to be like me in that in that they are open minded about the OS they use and share the values of the open source and free software movement to a significant extent precisely because of the creative and moral nature of good graphic design--beauty and social importance are values with a premium for many graphic designers. And, as everybody knows, supporting Microsoft with our money may actually have negative social consequences for the 99% of our society that brushes up to information technology every now and then. Because of this many good graphic designers could be persuaded to make the move to Linux.

    Here's the final point, and it's really the kicker: the Mac gained and retained a lot of prestige precisely because it was the graphics platform of choice for so long and a great deal of that had to do with Photoshop. Even though graphic design users make up a small part of the population of software users relative to people who word-process and write email, almost anyone familiar with technology used to know that the Macintosh was a) expensive and b) capable of and almost exclusively used by professionals to create beautiful graphics. This helped keep Apple's reputation going even when things were going to hell in a handbasket for everything Apple-related. For whatever reason, use for professional graphics carries prestige that use for professional servers doesn't even though both are critical uses of technology. Now, what if almost everyone who monkies around on a computer heard about this Linux thing and heard that Linux was a) cheap, b) getting much easier to use and c) capable of and used by a large number of professionals to create beautiful graphics?

    --
    Online citizen journalism from the inner city: The View From The Ground
  81. Re:AutoCAD? by leeward · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Wine web site has some links for running AutoCad in Wine