Ubuntu to Remove GIMP – Will more follow?
arstechnica.com recently discussed Ubuntu’s decision to remove GIMP (a GNU Image Manipulation Program that is popular among the Linux world) on the next release of Ubuntu slated for April 2010, and dubbed 10.04.
Many people think it’s not the right thing to do, but if you think long and hard about the decision, it’s quite simple to realize, that it’s a niche product for a niche market and its removal from a default installation doesn’t seem like that bad of an idea, since it could be simply installed using aptitude, or apt-get.
This will allow the Ubuntu Installation to add more applications that “normal” users require, and would allow them to continue to stay on a CD and not require the move to a DVD.
My Question is, do you think more distributions will go the route of removing the overly complex GIMP, to try to get people to not be intimidated and leaving the usage of gimp, to those who really want to use it, or do you think that move will in some way hamper and slow the development, or acceptance of such a great tool..
Will the Exclusion of GIMP and Inclusion of F-SPOT hurt the GIMP User Base Significantly
- No (58%, 68 Votes)
- Yes (36%, 43 Votes)
- I don't like to manipulate pictures (6%, 7 Votes)
Total Voters: 118
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i think suse should remove gimp from the default install.à
this program is to hard to be used by a newbies
i think a basic tool like Kolourpaint should be a better idea (not available i think with kde 4)
The REAL problem is not the complexity of GIMP, but the lack of functional alternatives. E.g. On MS-Windows or Apple-MacOS not everybody who does manipulating existing pics or creating new ones likes to use Adobe-Photoshop, but there are other applications availible. This is not entirely true for Linux/Unix-based systems.
Applications like Kolourpaint(KDE) or a Gnome pendant do not hold a candle here. The same is true for the in F-SPOT included manipulating functionality.
So if they (here Ubuntu) cast out GIMP to include a Mono-based F-SPOT, why do they not also invest the time/man-power to bring a .NET based App like Paint.NET over to Mono/Unix to fill this gap.
And yes, this is true for ALL Linux-Distros.
Cheers, Yamaban
PS: yes, I use less than 2 percent of GIMPs functionality, but I don’t like missing them.
I use the GIMP almost daily. I can install it from the repositories and do since I use Kubuntu and KDE does not come with the GIMP. The GIMP is the programme that gave us GTK. Without the GIMP there would be no GNOME. When you take into consideration the fact that the GIMP has been totally re-written in recent releases to make it a serious competitor to Photoshop and that they are working hard on improving the interface then this is a slap in the face. The developers are putting on a brave face, but it has to hurt to be tossed aside for a third rate bug ridden video editor like PiTiVi.
I would be interested about how many people download the GIMP compared to PiTiVi. I would bet that more people use the GIMP by far. How many people even own video cameras compared to digital cameras?
As for F-spot it over writes important EXIF metadata and it is useless as a photo editor. Krita is better than F-spot and so is Digikam. This EXIF problem has been known for at least two years and nothing has been fixed. It isn’t a photo editor to begin with. It can crop and rotate but I would not use it to change levels or anything serious even if it did work properly, but since it doesn’t then it is not a serious contender.
The decision to toss the GIMP for PiTiVi is lame and feels wrong on so many levels.
[...] More here: Ubuntu to Remove GIMP – Will more follow? | Ben Kevan's Blog [...]
I think Gimp should stay in the default installation, since F-Spot is not really up to the task of image editing. It is more an image manager in my view.
[...] original here: Ubuntu to Remove GIMP – Will more follow? | Ben Kevan's Blog By admin | category: ubuntu kde | tags: cast-out, cast-out-gimp, Gimp, gnome, [...]
Most of my circle of Ubuntu users use Picasa for their photo management and editing. F-spot just doesn’t cut it and Gimp is too complex. As long as Gimp stays compatible with Ubuntu, it’s removal from default installation should not cause major annoyance. I think that the requirement to fit on a CD-ROM as opposed to a DVD is more important.
I agree with Yamaban, Paint.Net should be ported over to Mono
Oh well yet another example of Ubuntu’s cryptofascism; There is very little that can replace GIMP; All the candidates to replace it are second rate and even if there were a BSD/LInux Adobe Creative Suite it is out of reach for most people who use open sourcer for financial reasons.
I really dislike Ubuntu’s functional philosophy and am not ready to think someone should quietly biobomb the Isle of Man with a H3N1 superflu variant (just a fantasy) but it’s enough to make me want to stick to Knoppix hacks and/or Debian and variants. Afterall I have a trove of Hispanic teenagers happily using Knoppix with persistent images to all the thing that teenagers are want to do in addition to a research group high in the Andes. I do wish Knoppix were turned into a real distro.
cryptofascism? I don’t think so. The Gimp is not being removed so that it can be replaced with something similar. If that’s what you think is happening then I can understand your concern.
The goal here is to re-evaluate the needs of the new user base and act on these new needs. The ‘linux user’ of today is different and the user has been redefined. People like you and me are becoming niche users, which is a great feat for Ubuntu and linux.
However, if it does bother you or, just re-spin a new ISO for yourself using the Ubuntu Customization Kit. This is the price of fame, but we are more than equipped to deal with these situations.
PS – If you do make a re-spin, post a link up for the rest of us
I think that removing GIMP is the most DUMBEST move they could ever make! Sure, we techies can just go and install it ourselves. But, I’ve been on Macs and PCs and they quite simply SUCK at manipulating Images from a Newbies perspective. It takes an act of God to be able to do more with a picture then simply resize it. Sure, most of GIMP is over my head yet, but I intend to learn. Besides, removing GIMP will do NOTHING to get Ubuntu Out of the Box ready for the non-techie majority. They need turn on the computer and NO terminal needed ever for any reason whatsoever, before they will come on board to Linux. Until that day, the only thing removing GIMP is going to do is cause me a headache, as its one more thing I have to install!