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A Gimp In Photoshop's Clothing
comforteagle writes "Scott Moschella, from Attack of the Show!, set out to make The Gimp a little friendlier with a simple UI make-over, creating GimpShop. Despite an outcry from some developers, users have picked it up with passion. Howard Wen has interviewed Scott about why he did this. From the interview: 'I've always thought that GIMP was just as powerful as Photoshop. My way of proving it was to make GIMP work as close to Photoshop as I possibly could, given my limited programming experience.' As more Windows/Mac users discover powerful open source applications are they bound (slashdot disc.) to make more discoveries of this kind?" Update: 09/16 18:48 GMT by Z : Some users have pointed out this is basically an update to a previous discussion we've had. Link added for the sake of completeness.
Having grown up, in the figurative sense, with Photoshop the interface for The Gimp has always driven me crazy. I can't imagine I'm the only one either. Maybe this will help more people make the switch.
Powerful open source applications? Have you tried doing anything in GIMP on a Macintosh? It will only run through Apple's X11.app, and it makes a 386 running Windows XP look fast. I was so disappointed by the performance I bought Photoshop Elements for Mac on eBay (it only cost me $30 though... well worth the price.)
Ok, I admit, when I first started using the gimp I had just come over from Photoshop, so it was a little wierd. The UI was, in short, different. But I've been using it more and more in recent times, and as I've gotten into it, I find it to be much more intuitive than Photoshop's interface. At least for me. I like the shortcuts, I like the right clicking menus, I like the multiple windows, etc... Everytime I go back to Photoshop (because I'm forced to, not because I want to) I find more reasons to like the gimp.
-=JML=-
I've only used the GIMP on occasion because it was a bit awkward. I was used to the photoshop-esque look and feel. As soon as I heard about this I uninstalled photoshop (to remove all temptation) and am going to install the GIMP with this tonight. I'm excited to try it out.
Generation Trance: What generation are you?
Gimp is a powerful tool, and has a wealth of features (in many respects overshadowing Photoshop itself).
But, it has a clunky interface (at least to my eyes), and requires more work to perform many tasks. The win32 versions I've used have always been buggy (I have to save often, and have lost countless hours of work due to Gimp crashes). And it is loaded with a number of features I wish it didn't waste my navigation with (like that cute little image-stamper tool).
I think one strength of Gimp is it's freedom to experiment with interfaces, so in that light I'd rather the core version didn't try to emulate Photoshop... rather concentrating on trying to be something different and potentially better.
But aside from that, the changes I see this guy putting out are making me pitch a tent.
Do not confuse "Freedom of Choice" with "Free Will".
It could use a bit of an overhaul on the interface. It's not very intuitive to use. It would be nice if you could get a version of GIMP that was designed more for the idiot^H^H^H^H^Hnovice user for quick touchups, without all the extras cluttering up the interface.
My software never has bugs.
It just develops random features.
It would be a great idea to implement this kind of functionality as a xml template, where non-programmers can create templates that mimic similar applications. This is not only handy for the Gimp, but also OpenOffice. On-the-fly-switching would be even better. Microsoft Word used to have a 'compatibility mode' back when WordPerfect still ruled.
The GIMP has its own interface. If someone is throwing a PS interface onto the GIMP to prove a point about its functionality, I would hardly call that "ripping off".
This is why I think applications should be built in stages. Using letter writing as an example. You could have the same basic framwork go from:
Note pad -> Word pad -> Word -> Word Publishing
Why not have the gimp frame work able to go from a basic Paint application to a full featured artisic tool. Or from a basic photo touch up with resize and redeye reduction to a full scale photo manipulation.
Why don't OS developers see that they could not only skin the looks of the application but the features as well.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
IMO, the goal isn't to please people with a new interface, but rather to give something people are used to. I use an old version of Photoshop (5.5) fairly regularly, so I'm used to its interface. When I switched over to the Gimp recently to do some work with transparent PNG's, I had an extremely difficult time getting around. Had I known about this at the time, I would have probably used this instead.
Go, and never darken my towels again! -- Rufus
When the GIMP has:
1) CMYK support;
2) Channel math;
3) Industry standard color engine and ICC profile support;
4) Channel mixer;
5) Equal control over color adjustment modes
and a bunch of other shit, then the GIMP will be as powerful as Photoshop. Until then, it's a silly statement to make. While 50% of the people who use Photoshop can very probably do the exact same things with the GIMP, for the 50% who really push Photoshop there is no substitute. And, as you climb higher on that curve to the people who are really stretching Photoshop on a daily basis (mainly very high level retouchers/digital artists) it is quite literally the only tool for the job.
This is one of those time I think open source cheerleading is not a good thing. Just because it's an open source digital image editing program doesn't mean it's the same thing as Adobe's flagship product.
I am a believer of momentum and curves.
Wasn't it Apple/Microsoft that had the court battle that decided look and feel were not something you could copywrite?
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
If you want to truly compete with Photoshop and other programs, you have to compete on two fronts - interface and functionality. The interface has to be usable by people on the entry-level for their tasks, and it can't get in the way of pros for theirs. If you want to compete with Photoshop, you're also competing with a massive amount of functionality wrapped in a passable but very refined interface.
The low-end is saturated with dozens of products, but especially Adobe's own Photoshop Elements (which people here like to ignore, probably because it usually costs $35 - it's easier to attack "a thousand dollars Canadian"). On the high-end, you have professionals with very exacting requirements and no time for hassles. These people live for 5-second reductions in processing time because they do it constantly. Anything that causes them to slow down even the tiniest bit will be a deal-breaker. The interface must be completely fluid.
Most open source projects aren't necessarily strapped for cash, but rather they have little focus or centralized planning. They suffer either from feature creep and bloated interfaces that make no sense, or a dearth of features due to lack of desire to implement what other people want. Cash won't make a bit of difference if the developers don't have focus, and I don't see that kind of emphasis on quality and interface refinement in the Gimp. "Good enough" isn't good enough.
I don't know what kind of crack I was on, but I suspect it was decaf.
Odd....wonder why they haven't sued Jasc for PaintShop Pro ...
Make America grate again!
Yes, for a couple of important reasons.
Number one, while you can point to some obscure and -to be blunt- bizarre definition of the word, people who are decision makers are not going to think of the word you mean; they are going to think of the meaning which the word "GIMP" currently has in popular vocabulary
Secondly, the target audience which I'm referring to are people who already endure the stigma of either mental illness, chemical dependencies or physical challenges; the word "gimp" is a direct insult to at least two of those people.
Third, coming up with clever and obtuse rationalisations may get you trolling points on an obscure internet message board, but they do nothing to address what is a very real concern, nor do they carry any weight with people who are faced with making the decision as to how to spend tax payer money in a non profit organisation (of any sort).
The GIMP = The GNU Image Manipulation Program
then so would be paint shop pro and tons of older programs called photo shop and who can forget print shop..
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
Yeah lets mimic "industry standard" software and not innovate. That way our software is sure to be mainstream.
Skinning generally refers (particularly in the past, although some apps have far more complex things now) to just changing the look of the interface, not what's actually there. He's essentially suggesting changing the whole frontend to create several apps of varying complexity with a common backend.
seriously, maybe its time for a couple of upstarts to take things in a better direction. It worked wonders for firefox...
I've downloaded GIMP... had no idea what to do with it so after a couple sessions of randomly pushing buttons left it sit to gather stray 0s and 1s that collect on my HDD much like the dust gathers on my Windows 95 MCP book.
If the g'vt kept the data on you that google does you'd better believe you'd be calling it "doing evil"