GIMPshop
Originally uploaded by blind sam.

I've mentioned GIMP before in postings, and promised to investigate it properly at some point. A good opportunity has arisen as I recently became aware of GIMPshop, which is a hack for GIMP that mimics the menu layout and keyboard shortcuts of Photoshop allowing for an easier transition for PS veterans.

In my very limited experience of GIMP, from when it went 2.0 I noticed some pretty strange interface 'features' some of which this 'hack' addresses. Some derived from the fact that the same items were repeated twice under different headings others from the plain old opacity of the titles of stuff. Scott mentions some of these himself. The reorganisation really helps someone like me, it makes it less like learning an entirely new program to do something that I could before, and more of a change in dialect.

One of the side effects of this that I've noticed in my own behaviour is that I'm giving GIMP a chance. Rather than dismissing a PS feature as nonexistant, I'll hunt around GIMP's interface to try to find something. Often they are there, but not where you'd expect them. (Would you find the unsharp mask under 'sharpen' or the more generic 'enhance'? I know where I'd look first...)

GIMP's UI is one of the worst things about the program. Its ugly, unfriendly and incredibly wasteful with always limited space. One of the things that Adobe have always managed to do (and are getting better at it, unlike apple) is displaying the right amount of information in the right places and in a consistent way. Its not that I believe only in the Adobe way, LightWave has a very different way of engaging the user but it is consistent, very economical on your attention and with its use of space (screen space is even more precious in 3D) and quick to use. Its probably a quicker interface than Photoshop and has considerably more information to process. However, the problem with the GIMP is that the user experience is difficult to understand.

One of the things that GIMP really has in its favour is that the back end programming is very good, and very sophisticated. You can, should you wish, adjust the sub-sampling rate when choosing the compression on a JPEG, something which I didn't realise you could do at all, I thought that JPEG's automatically compressed at 4:2:2. Things like this (which are scattered , publically) through GIMP is an obvious indication of the calibre of the programmers, their abilities and their commitment to producing high end software. What they do need is somebody to translate what these mean to somebody like myself - who isn't ignorant, but isn't an imaging scientist either. GIMP has to be easy for a beginner, and usable for intermediates, power users and specialists.

The main problem or so it seems is that the back end and the user experience has to be more integrated. That balance is no there yet, but I see no reason why it couldn't get there. Its an amazing program and a real poster child of the GNU revolution, and I look forward to the day when it really shines.

I'll watch for updates and keep you informed.