[Gimp-user] GIMP vs Photoshop UI

[Leon Brooks GIMP]

On Saturday 29 September 2007 01:51:59 carol irvin wrote:
>  I am switching myself to open source programs whenever I
> can to save money.  It is no more complex than that.

Hi Carol!

Um, I convert people to OpenOffice who basically don't give a
hoot about the $$$. They adopt it because:

 * They don't need to get permission to spend $$$ (OK, so
   that's partially $$$ oriented); &

 * OOo can often recover broken or virussed MSO documents
   (-: the delight registering on faces as "the impossible"
   transpires & a couple of days or weeks of work is instantly
   recovered is immeasurable :-); &

 * It spits out PDFs without any extra software; &

 * It runs on anything (so someone can use a Mac at home vs
   WinXP at work & still face the same software -- oh, & ($$$)
   not have to pay for it twice); &

 * Some users much prefer OOo's stylesheets, or template
   management, or whatever even down to one lad who prefers
   the view-nonprinting-characters mode; &

 * One clear-cut preferral for the better HTML editing facilities; &

 * They can successfully read & write old MSO (& OOo) docs; &

 * It's better at importing Plain Text, CSVs or InsertRandomFormat
   documents; &

 * Variety of features down to Insert Special Character working
   better, or simply having Insert Formatting Mark, or sundry
   other added features; &

 * so on.

In short, you may be doing yourself out of the better parts of
the deal by simply sticking to financial reasons, essentially
ignoring the others.

It's a bit like reading scripture for doctrinal reasons only: you
miss out on the really juicy bits. (-:

I have Linux users who use the penguin because:

 * It's free (yay, & most of them don't know or care); &

 * They can read email, browse the web, & word process; &

 * There are no viruses (well, there actually are a few, but zero
   of my users have ever tripped over one, & it's kind of heart-
   warming to have your users tell of other systems blitzing
   into the ground in spiralling clouds of greasy smoke while
   they continue their work unabated); &

 * Things don't change by themselves (well... the machines are
   set to auto-update, so things do eventually change, but what
   they're talking about is the random config changes & transient
   insanity so typical of MS-Windows machines); &

 * The tools to fix (or alter) almost anything are immediately to
   hand.

In short: cost-sorta/functionality/safety/reliability/flexibility.
Cost is one factor of 5, & in Real Life(tm) is often irrelevant.

GIMP is not *quite* the same, in that compatibility with another
app (not always PS) is more often a concern, but in general terms
the cases are "close enough."

Cheers; Leon