The GIMP turns 2.0
The GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program
In a world where it's often said there's no free lunch, it's reassuring to share news like this. Linux users and open source devotees are quite familiar with The GIMP, an openly distributed image composition and manipulation application. Windows and Mac users may not be as a aware of the program because of the rich choices available for image work on those platforms.
Not everyone needs Photoshop though (or the $800 MSRP tag that goes a long with it). And while Microsoft Paint is a servicable utility for light duty work, it isn't a tool I'd want to use to retouch or composite digital photos or design elements for my web site.
The GIMP, while powerful, was always a bit dowdy compared to its commercial cousins. With the release this week of version 2.0, all that has changed. The new version has a vastly improved user interface and much easier to use tools. The underlying code has been substantially rewritten and it shows. This version feels twice as fast as the older version 1.2 which I had installed on my laptop.
If you need (or want) a near-professional quality image program that costs approximately $800 less than the sticker on that box of Photoshop at the neighborhood software store, download a copy of The GIMP this weekend and see how good free software can get.