Re: [Gimp-user] Why so COMPLICATED?

[Steve Kinney <admin pilobilus net>]

On 12/19/2013 01:58 PM, SirCrow wrote:
> > Hey SirCrow,
> >
> > I bet it would help if you were to name the old program you liked so
> > much.  That would provide a point of reference for the editing
> > workflow that you're talking about.
> >
> > It's even possible that something like what you are describing is
> > possible in the GIMP.  If enough people like the idea of "sliders
> > for everything" even that might eventually happen.
> >
> > :o)
> >
> > Steve
>
> Hi, Steve.  Thanks for replying.

I have been very quiet on-list for a while, but that's what
gimp-user and similar lists and forums are for:  They are the GIMP's
tech support system.  That's part of the way Free Software works.  I
ain't no developer but as a way long time GIMP user I do take a more
than casual interest in the project.

> Logitech's FotoTouch Color is the old app that I loved, despite its limitations.
> Didn't mention it this time because none of my previous mentions of it ever
> evoked the slightest recognition from respondents.  I believe I'm the only one
> on this planet who wishes GIMP had been based on FotoTouch rather than
> PhotoShop.  

Comparisons are inevitable, but the GIMP is not 'based on' Photoshop
or in competition with it - except in the sense that it does give
people who work on photos and other "pixel map files" a real choice
of programs, based on personal preference and practical
requirements.  Originally the "General Image Manipulation Program,"
the GIMP was created as an educational project and its early
versions were quite primitive compared to what it has grown into.
The GIMP is very much "a thing unto itself" following its own
evolutionary path.

> Apparently, nobody wants simple tasks to be.... well, SIMPLE.  I
> can't stress (there's a relevant word!) strongly enough how annoying and
> frustrating it is when GIMP won't let me do a simple thing that clearly should
> be possible without dealing with menus, layers, etc.  And I'm still using
> Windows Vista, which similarly infuriates me at times.

There are two different version of "simple" that apply here:
There's simple as in, obvious and easy to figure out.  The GIMP
ain't that, and probably never will be; its target audience is
professionals and serious hobbyists who are happy to deal with some
additional complexity in exchange for the power to do complicated
things to pictures.

But the GIMP simple as in, made of relatively simple parts that
enable the user to do a wide range of tasks, including ones that the
developers did not even anticipate.  The GIMP is all about that kind
of simplicity:  A big box of simple tools, that can be combined to
accomplish a wide range of tasks as required.  This design approach
is inherited from the UNIX philosophy:

"Write programs that do one thing and do it well. Write programs to
work together."

http://www.faqs.org/docs/artu/ch01s06.html

The large number of components that are checked and indexed every
time the GIMP starts are programs like that.  Most of these programs
are under direct user control via the GIMP user interface. Thanks to
the UNIX design paradigm, these small programs can also be combined
in clusters for complex functions via scripts, i.e. Script Fu,
Python Fu, and packages like G'MIC.

> There, I've mentioned FotoTouch by name yet again and, as before, nothing will
> come of it.  Unless someone out there, as you seem to suggest, has or acquires a
> copy of FotoTouch and learns its layout and functionality and actually writes a
> lovely little script.  It won't be in time for Christmas, but (hint) my
> birthday's in February!  No hurry, really;  I'd just be happy to have it.  Or
> how about this:  a plugin for Irfanview that allows more flexible selections, as
> well as feathering of edges.  I use Irfanview more often than the GIMP.

It looks like FotoTouch was a stand alone executable for Windows 3.1
and compatible systems.  I could not find a copy, else I would have
fired it up under WINE to see what it does.  Alas, another "free as
in beer" program, derelict and unmaintainable, sinks beneath the
waves...

Back when I had to use Microsoft operating systems Irfanview was one
of my favorite things; IMO the GIMP without Irfanview on a Windows
platform is an incomplete kit.  In addition to being an image viewer
and simple image library maintenance tool, Irfanview's basic editing
functions are sufficient for most casual uses.  But when a person
starts to hit the limits of what Irfanview can do to pictures, the
next step - moving to a professional strength image editor - is a
big one.

The GIMP seems to have recently turned a big corner in terms of both
user uptake and the availability of user created tutorials and such.
 YouTube is fairly bursting with walk-throughs for both common and
fancy tasks, and in comparision to the best tutorials on websites,
my own "introduction to the GIMP" page is starting to look like an
antique.  (I still think it's useful though:
http://pilobilus.net/gimp_tutorial.html )

I believe that somebody who went to the trouble of finding the
gimp-user list and describing his problems in sensible language will
not find learning to navigate the complexities of the GIMP nearly as
difficult as it seems initially.

> Thanks for reading and caring at all.  :o)
> (That's the same smiley I usually use.)

Clown nose, honk honk!

:o)

Steve