Free and Open Source Software

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What details/tools have you found help people transition to similar, open software from closed software, or think could help? (lemm.ee)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/30719639 in [email protected]

I'm thinking of ways to help people move from established software to more open, flexible forms that don't lock them to another organization.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

I don’t think I’m saying anything new here, but if the free software is superior, then it’s easier to make the argument to try it out. If it just has similar functionality, then there’s little incentive to move over. A good example is GIMP being presented as an alternative to Photoshop. It’s not. Not even close. And I hate Adobe and refuse to pay for their crap. Even price isn’t enough. If your job/business depends on a piece of software that cost a lot of moolah Vs. an unknown free application, the free software loses. So you need a superior application plus an easy way to migrate all your data.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

As someone who does not do any sort of professional photo editing, I find GIMP and Photoshop to be equally confusing as hell. The only photo editor I've used with any degree of success is paint dot net, which obviously doesn't have the same firepower as the bigger options.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

You should check out Pinta then, I find it easier to use than Paint.net, yet reasonably feature-packed (obviously nowhere near GIMP/Photoshop).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Thanks for reminding me that Pinta exists. :D I remember not enjoying it as much as paint dot net, but I'm a dirty Linux user so if I ever need to do some photo work I might give it a shot instead of fumbling around on GIMP forever.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Also, superior depends on the user and use case. One person might find that GIMP has all the tools they actually use in Photoshop, and another might find that the ones they use are missing from GIMP. Without knowing the audience, it's hard to know what they want to hear.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

A good example is GIMP being presented as an alternative to Photoshop. It’s not. Not even close.

Krita on the other hand...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Krita rocks! It's amazing if you're a freehand artist. I think the brush engine is better than PS. Krita is also fast and can handle large images with multiple layers with no problems.