Clearer picture needed on image play software

Published: 12:00am, 20 Apr 2004

I want to manipulate images but have no desire to spend a lot of money on an expensive software package.

Also, I am not certain what platform I may be using. I have Windows and Mac but am considering Linux.

I have heard of Gimp, a GPL software package, and it sounds quite good. I have looked at the website www.gimp.org, but unfortunately it is full of gobbledygook.

Is this an application intended only for geeks and nerds or is it something an ordinary person can use?

Confused on Lantau Island

There are several ways to handle images on a computer. One way is to buy a specialist application, such as Adobe's Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, or similar products from others, or you can try something like Gimp, the Gnu imaging manipulation program.

The site you accessed was, in fact, the wrong site for what you want to do. www.gimp.org is where you can get the source code and 'play' with it, if you so desire. Playing with source code is definitely something for the geek community.

It can be fun to compile and run, but I suspect most people would prefer simply to run the application.

Apart from being free, Gimp has the advantage of running on multiple platforms, including the three you mention - Windows, Mac and Linux.

There are numerous sites that will make the installation process straightforward for whichever platform you use.

For the Mac, there is a DMG file you can download and then simply drag the Gimp application over to your hard disk. There are two versions of Gimp for the Mac - Gimp.app, which can be found at gimp-app.sourceforge.net, and MacGimp, from macgimp.com.

For Windows, there is an application that works the way most such installations under Windows work: you start it and click your way to the end (download from www2.arnes.si/~sopjsimo/gimp/index.htm)

Big commercial graphics applications such as Adobe Photoshop support Windows and Mac but rarely Linux. You have little choice if you are serious about looking at Linux.

Nearly all major Linux distributions (if you have the CD-Rom discs or DVD) come with a variety of easily installed applications, including Gimp, so it is likely that if you have Linux you already have a copy of Gimp. Linux/Unix versions can be downloaded from www.gimp.org/unix.

Many people find Gimp a little confusing after switching from another program. There is a good user guide, Grokking the Gimp: Learning Advanced Image Editing Techniques, that you can buy in book form or read at gimp-savvy.com/BOOK/index.html

The most important question for you, however, is how much image manipulation you really want to do.

Photoshop is a professional-level application and may be overkill, but Photoshop Elements may not be.

A designer in Hong Kong said Gimp was a bit like Toyota trying to make a sports car to compete with Ferrari (you still want the Ferrari, don't you?).

Being free, Gimp certainly is worth a try before committing to more expensive software.

Questions to Tech Talk will not be answered personally. E-mail Danyll Wills at [email protected]

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