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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."
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.
Anyway - good luck to the GIMP guys - a nice tool!
I agree with you in some degree, the problem I run into is I like useing the Gimp for little odds and ends jobs. Don't get me wrong the Gimp is a good application, I think of it as a middle weight tool. Something like a Flame, Flint or Inferno user views Combustion. Just like svg is the rave for icons so is a 32bit enviroment for images. This is not a feature that adds bloat, its more a feature of where the world is going.
Why? If you use Qt you can just make GTK use the Qt engine (there's a special GTK engine which uses Qt, I don't remember what it was called), if you prefer to have them look the same way.
The one feature I miss the most in The GIMP is better text handling, like being able to have more than one font/bold/italic/sized text in each text area. It should also have text boundaries which can be properly enforced to do word-wrapping and stuff. It's also nice to be able to have text follow a path, or be stretched into certain shapes.
I also really like Photoshop's 'Save for Web' dialogue, and would like to see something like that in The GIMP.
These are the only things I use photoshop for, everything else is really nice.
One of the things I prefer about The GIMP is being able to have layer sizes different to the image size.
A feature I have yet to see in either Photoshop or The GIMP is being able to use the stamp tool to rotate the source image based on a path before applying it, this would allow you for example to correct problems around the edge of a circle without a whole lot of mess.
How can I make a circle, by clicking three points and the circle going through all of them?
Sometimes you need this feature.
As a Photoshop (and, occasionally, GIMP) user, I would be glad to know of what, in your opinion, is a good photo editing application for professionals? Am I missing out on something?
Or something along those lines - I try the PC port from time to time, and it always turns me straight off that it opens all its windows straight on the desktop (as opposed to one window with all the others in it)
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
The only thing keeping me from using GIMP with no concern for PS whatsoever is the lack of support for 32-bit BMP files (BMP with Alpha). Even if it were implemented in a seperate (linux) program, that could a) convert a PNG with alpha or b) combine two BMP files, one grayscale. Until that point, I still have to use PS or some other tool to do the final edits for textures on MS Flightsim.
I would love to see a comprehensive listing of what can't be done with GIMP 2.4 that you can do with Photoshop. Then, tack on a list of what features can be covered by other applications (open source or commercial) from the list of missing features in GIMP. That would give me a very nice look at comparing the two and deciding which way to go. Also, it would give me a sense of how much money, if any, I have to spend to acquire the capability of Photoshop or being better.
Use of SIOX will most likely increase Fark and Worth 1000 entries. No comment on if this is a good or bad thing...
Click here or here.
I have been using GIMP for a long time but when I switched to PhotoShop I suddenly got a lot better at doing graphics. It isn't any one feature that I can point to the Photoshop has or does better then the GIMP it is just the interface in photoshop is somehow easer. Layers seem so much easer in Photoshop then in the GIMP, Finding filters to run seems much simpler too. Perhaps it is because photoshop put the features you use the most more readily available while GIMP seems to give all the features all the same level (Cryptic). With tools like GIMP and Photoshop there is a fine line of usability. And if GIMP could get it right it would be a lot better. I wish I could give better deatails on what they should do but I am not sure myself. I personally don't care much for the photoshop interface as well but compared to the GIMP is is just more usable.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
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.
Well, I don't think it's too difficult to work around that. For example to have a lookup table + simple linear model locally. As for Pantone+Hexachrome it's copyright + trademark law, not patent law. GIMP should just create the framework of named colors, so they can have one for HTML colors, and you can define your own "My company" profile with "My foreground", "My background" and so on. The rest would probably sort itself out. It all depends on a much more complex color management than what is available though.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
GIMP will become a threat to photoshop the day our schools teach bettet ethics. Right now people would rather steal photoshop then to use a free alternative like GIMP.
evil is as evil does