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First Look at GIMP 2.4
Liam30 writes "Newsforge (ed: part of the OSTG family) is running a story that gives a first look at the next version of GIMP." From the article: " A major update to the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), widely regarded as the leading free software raster image editing program, is scheduled for this month. The 2.4 release is expected to include a number of new features and enhancements to existing features ... The first thing most users will notice about 2.4 is the addition of three new tools to the palette: the Align tool, the Foreground Extraction tool, and a new 'Simple' Rectangle Selector. The Align tool lets you vertically and horizontally align image layers -- a task you had to perform manually before. You can align an image to any edge or the center, specify an offset in any direction, and adjust vertical and horizontal alignment separately."
For a while, I've had fairly negative views on GIMP. Sure, it's powerful, but it still lacks what Photoshop has out of the box, and it's got some fairly abstract configurations. But taking a look at SOIX and all, it's really going to push up against Photoshop. But now GIMP has to stop adding little features like simple rectangle select, and start adding more features like SOIX and superseeding PS to get it out there onto the commercial market.
I'll subscribe to Slashdot when I see a month without a dupe, a typo, or an article the "editors" didn't read.
SIOX is machine vision; this kind of algorithm has been developed before, but I don't know about the relationship between SIOX and previous methods--maybe the Berlin guys improved on prior work, or maybe they just didn't know about it.
Well, it's RGB CMYK conversion that's patented, not CMYK per se. Pantone+Hexachrome can't be supported in the GIMP either because of patent issues.
SVG is primarily a vector graphics format--kind of like a PNG or JPEG, only that you can scale it up without seeing pixels. Another way of looking at it is that it is roughly equivalent to Adobe Illustrator files. SVG can also be used for animation, like Flash, but that's not its main purpose in life, at least not in the short term. Right now, SVG is being used more and more for icons, user interface elements, diagrams, figures, and other static images.
That 'SIOX' object selection stuff looks really really cute; you have to wonder if it would come in useful for machine vision/AI as well.
SIOX was developed for echalk.
And echalk is developed by people of the AI-working group at the CS department of the FU Berlin.
And that working group is also behind the successful robot soccer team FU Fighters who are currently World Champion in the small-size league of Robocup and vice-champion in the middle-size league.
So it wouldn't surprise me if parts of it are already in use for "machine vision/AI"..
Many people do not use the GIMP because of the interface issues. It is useless for people to learn another interface. The reason many people do not use GIMP, the reason I do not use GIMP is sheer laziness, I do not feel like learning another interface.
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So, Scott Moschella made this modification. He isn't a programmer, he just is a GIMP user. It's called GIMPShop. A conversion that just rearranges the menu's to Photoshop style. Linkage for your pleasure... Gimpshop is available for Windows, Solaris/Sparc, Linux (detailed instructions), Debian, and RPM's. GIMPShop runs native under Mac.
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yeah, I don't understand why people have such a hard time with that...
It's annoying when people try to use the "GNU image MANIPULATION program" to create illustrations... Same with photoshop. To people who ask me simple things like how to draw basic shapes in photoshop, I ask why they don't use illustrator. And to people asking those questions in GIMP, I point them to Inkscape (disclaimer: I have never used inkscape, so I can't vouch for its usefulness).
although photoshop added shape tools (mostly worthless, imo) relatively recently, there's really no reason for GIMP to follow. Unless, of course, they're trying to clone photoshop.
...spike
Ewwwwww, coconut...