Photoshop versus free graphics software
Although Gnu has been around for many years, providing free software for many distributions, it is a misconception that the Gnu program only provides software for Unix and Linux systems. A variety of Gnu programs are available for Windows that can compete well with commercial offerings. The Gnu Image Manipulation program, called Gimp, offers many of the same features as Adobe’s Photoshop. Each has specific advantages and disadvantages. Which one a person uses will depend on their needs and the chosen operating system. Photoshop is not available for many platforms.
Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular commercial programs for manipulating images. It works fine and many people download it illegally via BitTorrent and Warez sites, despite the viruses that often contain this pirated software. Linux and Unix users have long had to use the free program available to them, known as the Gnu Image Manipulation Project, or Gimp for short. Photoshop is available only for Windows and Macintosh OS, although this may change as Linux’s popularity increases.
Both Photoshop and Gimp are powerful programs that allow those who know their inner workings to make amazing photo edits, but the serious photo editer is highly recommended to invest in Photoshop. Adobe’s program is considerably easier to learn, but is currently only available for Windows and Macintosh environments.
True to the ideals of the Gnu project, Gimp is available for free. There is a version for almost every operating system imaginable. Many Linux distributions, including the popular Ubuntu, install Gimp as part of the operating system software package. Manuals and tutorials for using this complex program can be found online. Far fewer books have been written for this software, though that is changing as it gains popularity.
Photoshop can do some things faster since it doesn’t rely on the routines implemented in the GTK toolkit, but because Gimp is open source, a variety of plugins and features can be downloaded and installed. Not only that, unlike commercial Adobe Photoshop, users can modify the source code to suit their particular needs if they are good at programming and interpreting code that others have written. Most users don’t care about a program’s source code, as long as the program is not difficult to learn and can perform the tasks for which the user requires the software.
According to this website, there are special features that Photoshop professionals require that cannot be found in Gimp. This may or may not have been true at the time the author wrote the website. Many plugins add further functionality to Gimp, but people who work with graphics for a living probably don’t want to waste time looking for modules to make a program work the way they need it to.
A professional graphic artist using Windows or Mac OS who wants to avoid a learning procedure that can include countless frustrating internet searches on how to do something in GIMP, Photoshop should be your choice. Photoshop can be expensive, but it allows a user who knows how to use the software to its fullest ability to present a professional image with minimal effort. Professionals working on Linux or Unix platforms should learn how to do the same with Gimp.
The average user who uses such programs to make signatures on an Internet forum, or simply needs to crop, resize, or crop parts of images taken with a digital camera, can accomplish all of these tasks with either one, but need not worry. for long downloads of illegal files. software if they decide to use Gimp instead.
Adobe Photoshop must be purchased, but GIMP can be downloaded or ordered on CD. Both are full-featured graphics programs, but which one a person will use will depend on the image they want to convey, the functionality they need (Photoshop is still slightly ahead of the pack), and how much time a person is willing to invest. in learning to use the software. A person who wants to try the Gnu Image Manipulation project for the first time can go to [http://www.thegimp.org] and find the appropriate download link for your operating system. Windows users may also need to download GTK in order for many other pieces of GNU software to work on their computer.