Adobe like software

[Alex Alexzander]

First I'd like to thank the Ubuntu developers for doing such an outstanding job with Ubuntu. Every year, I give Linux a try, and pretty much every year, I feel the same way. A little better, but not good enough. Ubuntu is the best Linux I have ever seen. I think you guys have the best chance at making Linux a mainstream operating system for the average person.

I wanted to write a message to the Ubuntu folks to let you all know how much folks like me appreciate what you are doing. Right now, I can change a few items of hardware, and Microsoft's Windows might decide that my machine is no longer the machine I activated my license on. And just like that, I have to make a call, and basically pleed my case that I should be able to run the software I paid for.

A few months back, I couldn't install Office 2003. I called tech support and was told my copy was not a real copy of office. This was a shock to me as I happened to bought it directly from Microsoft! Not a 3rd party. I bought it from Microsoft's online store, and they shipped it to me. So how could this be I wondered. I installed Open Office because Microsoft refussed to help me. Some 3 weeks later, I did get a call from Microsoft. They told me their license server had been down, and they asked me to try again. I thanked them for calling me and letting me know what they now knew what I already knew. I also gave them an earful about how pirates are having a much easier time of installing software than I am, and I am thier paying customer.

It all leads back to this. We all want software that is more flexible, and I think Linux, and in particular, Ubuntu fullfils that need. But there are areas in which it's just not available. I see the OS itself is good. OpenOffice is great for replacing the basic Office suite from Microsoft. But when it comes to GIMP replacing Adobo Photoshop, it's not happening.

Just a few weeks ago, Adobe had some kind of bug, and lots of folks like me couldn't get their Adobe applications to get past a bad error message, essentially telling us that the License was no longer functional, and we needed to re-install. That actually created more problems, and several people using these products, all went through days of trouble, all because of licensing software gone bad. Legal users being denied access to the use of the software they paid money to use.

So basically, I am here to beg for Adobe like software. Something that is far closer to Photoshop and Illustrator than the current OpenSource software is. Soemthing that creates the same file types, and can be used in place of Adobe's adobe's software. The world is more than productivity and tech. Last I heard, the number one asked for application to support Linux, is Photoshop, despite the existance of GIMP. That says that Photoshop users like myself are simply un-able to adjust to GIMP.

We'd all love to see someting compatible and very much like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign for Ubuntu Linux.

end of my shameless begging.

Best,

Alex Alexzander

[juxtaposed]

While I don't know much about photoshop and all (besides that I used it and really didn't like it), I think there is a thing called GIMPshop that intends to make gimp more like photoshop, though I don't know much about it to know how well it is at doing that.

[lakersforce]

So basically, I am here to beg for Adobe like software.

I am sorry to inform you, but you came to the wrong place. The best place to beg would be at the Adobe website. I don't think the Adobe guys hang around here. But if you start a petition asking Adobe to release their products under linux I will be the first to sign it.

[Alex Alexzander]

No, you missunderstand me. I do not want Adobe to release Photoshop on Linux. I want an OpenSource alternative to Photoshop, that is as close to Photoshop as Open Office is to Microsoft Office. Adobe is the problem, and we certainly don't need them to bring their problems into the Linux community. If all I wanted was Photoshop, I'd continue using it on windows.

Best,

Alex

[lakersforce]

Excuse me for asking, but what is not sufficient about The GIMP? The GIMP is a really good graphics editing program when you first get the hang of it. Don't let the UI design difference discourage you. You properly would not feel that way if you have ever used Photoshop on a Mac. I do not know how efficient The GIMP is at retaining the correct structure of PSD files, but I know that you can both work with them and export to that file format.

I personally would really like to see Flash editing possible on Linux.

(And please forgive me if you already covered this in your initial post. I just scanned it :redface:)

[Lucifiel]

Uhmmm... this is going to be difficult. =/

Most open-source devs do this in their free-time and Gimp is the only software right now that's even able to do some of what Photoshop can(like 5% to 10% only). However, Gimp is not intended to be another Photoshop and I doubt the developers will put in features that deviate Gimp from its'/their intended goal.

So, maybe I dunno... throw your weight behind Krita and hope it works out?

[Alex Alexzander]

I've used GIMP, though the interface, and the layer palette are just too strange. Been using photoshop since version 2.5 when it was a black and white application. And I'be been using Illustrator since version 6 in 1996. So 11 years on that one.

I have licenses on both Mac and PC. There is virtually no difference between the Mac and the PC versions. Just one single menu is different. The application menu is OS X doesn't exist in Windows. That's about it.

Anyone who tells me they are close is not an Adobe user that has spent time with Adobe products. Sorry, but that's reality. They are not close at all. Perhaps teh results are, perhaps making layered art is, but the way you arrive at that is vastly different, and no one I know who uses Photoshop or Illustrator can use GIMP for more than 2 minutes before they go back.

Now, compare that to the difference between Microsoft Office, and Open Office. And it's completely different. Open Office is very much like Microsoft Office. And you can start using it right away. The review workflow isn't exaclty the same, and that makes it harder to work with an editor in the article / review / markup workflow, but you can get past that in little time.

Best,

Alex

[Lucifiel]

I really don't know then. *shrugs*