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GIMP 2.2 Splash Screen Contest Revisited
As reported here earlier, the GIMP team asked artists to submit their artwork to be used as the official splash screen for GIMP 2.2. The reaction was overwhelming. More than 666 splash screens have been submitted. You can look at the submissions in
the gallery or download the movies, grab some popcorn and enjoy...
Once you've seen all splashes, you may want to help the judges to pick the best splash by voting for your favorites.
Apparently he's posted the last 10 stories or so. Never seen the name before. Or else I never noticed.
Interesting contest, however, why is there a need for a splash screen? Would not it be better to change the application, so the startup sequence will be very short and the application will be immediately useable?
What about lazy initialisation/lazy loading of modules? I doubt that for common tasks you are going to use all modules/scripts/filters whatever. I think that it would be sufficient just to load list of modules and necessary information (such as icons or descriptions...). Then load module on first use.
Same can be used for other applications (OpenOffice?).
I do not believe that a modular application with good design can not be changed to use lazy initialisation/lazy loading. Perhaps I am wrong...
What do others think?
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Youch, I think we broke that one.
I really like Gimp however splash screens are lovely but shouldn't they be concentrating on making it an effective commercial alternative to Photoshop.
Yes, a long delay without a splash screen is irritating as well. But there is nothing as irritating as a splash screen that is always-on-top. What were they THINKING making the OOo splash screen always-on-top? They already have a reputation for being the slowest starting office product out there, must they rub it in your face then?
Yeah, but they never, ever seem to get done properly. Even if the splash screen isn't one of those obnoxious ones that insists on always being on top, it's still blocking a good portion of my desktop. The result is that I can't get to the icons of other programs that I want to also start during a time where I'm otherwise stuck twiddling my thumbs.
On a related note, with Unreal Tournament 2004, I found a bit of a nifty workaround. The splash screen is just a bitmap stored in the Help directory. Also, the size of the splash screen isn't hardcoded into the application. So I replaced the splash screen with a white 10x10 square, which is enough to give me feedback but which doesn't get in the way of anything.
But there is nothing as irritating as a splash screen that is always-on-top
;)
I second that. They should do like the Gnome splash screen, and make it dissapear as soon as you click on it. Occasionally it hangs around until you click on it though, maybe skip that "feature".
You have a point. From personal experience, many schools won't incorporate The Gimp into their curriculum, because the name is "intolerant" and "derogatory" of special education students.
I think its stupid, but thats how the real world thinks.
What is even worse is how programs with splash screens tend to be Java, meaning this splash screen stays on top for many seconds, perhaps up to 30 seconds while the program loads.
Eh, not really. While not attempting to deny you the fun of yanking random opinions from your ass and stating such as facts, I would have to disagree; splash screens cover the spectrum of apps out there.
As to sucking, I generally disapprove of gratuitous splash screens but I really dig the apps that incorporate progress indicators such as naming modules being loaded or the ever-ubiquitous progress meter. Oh, and since the Gimp is a tool primarily for artistic endeavors, it would seem reasonable to show off a little work that can be done with the tool while said tool loads. I always look forward to Gimp's new splash screens.
You can be an atheist and still not want to succumb to some weird cross-over sheep disease -- AC
1) Most prosumer/professional digital cameras, scanners, and frame grabbers have at least 10-bit, and sometimes 12-bit channels. These are usually cast into 16-bit values in various compatible file formats (i.e. TIFF).
2) More importantly, it is critical that any blending or intensity mapping operations are computed (and have intermediate results stored) in 16-bit to avoid unnecessary banding and clipping. You cast down to 8-bit when exporting to an 8-bit-only file format. Otherwise it's better to keep the precision around to avoid artifacts.
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
My point is people who believe 666 is evil aren't obsessed with evil, or stupid (as the previous post's utterly simple logic would imply) but that they're CHRISTIAN.