Gimpy Macs

[Trina P Holub]

I have a new IMac...I have been trying not to brag...I have had it for nearly a month now. It's beautiful! OMG!!!

OK, anyway, is anyone using Gimp on Lion OS? I looked at the Gimp site and it looks complicated to install. Any issues with installation, or conflict/compatibility issues I should be aware of? Do I even want to install Gimp on my new Mac?

Sincere thanks for any input. I can't afford Adobe CS5 at the moment and CS2(what I have) is too old and not supported...seems too risky for a new machine.

[Doug O.]

You might try Pixelmator. It is $29.00 from the Mac App Store.

iPhoto does a decent job for easy stuff.

[Nod]

I used Pixelmator for a while, then I switched to Aperture. Not exactly the same kind of program. I prefer Aperture more tho.

[Trina P Holub]

@dune1953 I just looked it up...Pixelmator can handle layers which is the thing I miss most in the simpler programs. Thanks so much! I didn't even know about this product. :-D

[Trina P Holub]

@viranod Also worth looking into. Thanks! :-)

[Anne ❀]

Congrats on your mac! We have CS on two macs, one for 6 months and the other for a year and a half, no problems at all. I would go with your CS2 if I were you.

[Doug O.]

Gimp was/is developed on Linux and then ported to Mac OSX. The graphical software uses X-Windows on the Mac, not the native graphics system. Bugs tend to get fixed first on Linux and then the Mac. It's free, which is a big plus. I use Gimp when I work on a Linux box.

[Trina P Holub]

@sunnygreenwood How did you make it install? I get a box stating that it's unsupported and then nothing--no next step.

[Trina P Holub]

@dune1953 I've been using Gimp on a netbook...not the easiest with no room to maneuver, but I really need it for some of the photos I put up here. I do know it's a bit trickier than PS to use, but I did like it just the same.

[Doug O.]

CS2 will not work on Lion. It is not a Universal binary. Apple removed support for old PowerPC architecture applications in Lion. In Leopard and Snow Leopard, CS2 ran because the PPC architecture was emulated with a package called Rosetta. Some of my old programs do not work now with Lion. Argghh. CS3 was the first version that was a Universal Binary that ran natively on the Intel platform.

[Trina P Holub]

@dune1953 I'd heard about the whole Rosetta thing, and then saw somewhere online that you could get Rosetta and then install...couldn't find it afterwards so assumed it was a web rumour. What really sucks is that I have Dreamweaver4 and that is useless too! Argghh is correct!

[Trina P Holub]

@dune1953 Hmmm...just thought of something...maybe I can look into buying CS3 cheap somewhere....

[Doug O.]

When ever I need to run old stuff (Nikon Scanning Software, etc., I dust off my old PPC Power Mac.

BTW, Gimp 2.6.11 for Snow Leopard does not work. It will try to launch and just hang. There is not a version for Lion at this time.

[Trina P Holub]

@dune1953 I am so glad that I asked! Now I can avoid that aggravation. You have been most helpful! Pixelmator it is....for now. :-)

[Courtney]

Thanks for this thread! I have not heard of Pixelmator before and I am looking for an affordable manipulation software for my Mac. I know it didn't answer your question, but it was good info for me!

PS I love Aperture for photo processing, but it doesn't let you create to a big extent.

Good luck with your Mac! I LOVE LOVE LOVE ours

[Caren]

I have OS Snow leopard I have gimp, I also use Pixlr very rarely. I only really use gimp to add my watermark that way I dont use my EXIF. I use Lightroom for postprocessing.

[Darren Griffen]

I would highly recommend Lightroom 3 if you have the budget, I tried Gimp sometime ago and never got on with it

[Trina P Holub]

@griff Gimp is a rough road.

[Trina P Holub]

@griff Just looked up Ligtroom. It looks great but I think I'm going to get Pixelmator....I wasn't expecting to have to have to buy PS, so no funds at the moment.

[Trina P Holub]

@cfitzgerald Thanks! It's my second Mac..my first was a powerbook, but I rarely took it anywhere, so I paid a lot less this time and have this big 21.5 inch screen, better sound, and expandability.
I agree, Aperture seems too light weight...I need transparent layers for some stuff. I am probably getting Pixelmator tonight. :-) I'm so happy that I started this discussion.

[Jason Daniels]

I just use iphoto - hee hee hee... but I may have to check out pixelmator!

[Trina P Holub]

@bobfoto New Iphoto is so much better than the one I used to have. :-) More user friendly, and it's also easier to move photos to other folders outside of iPhoto....the version I used to have didn't want to share photos with other program, I guess.

[Danae]

I have a mac and use Aperture for 99% of my editing - it has everything that I normally need, apart from layers. If i want to use layers i switch over to Pixelmator, which is totally awesome! Total cost - less than £100!

[Kit Marsden]

I tried to use GIMP once. It was akin to swimming in porridge.

It is the least user-friendly software I have ever come across. (And that includes "Melodyne"!)

[Rachel]

Eep we just got an iMac too! Aren't they awesome!? I'm sorry but I have no idea about Gimp... sounds complex!

[Heidi Gurov]

Fighting the desire to post about how my brand new PC will run CS2 just fine... whoops, just did.

:P

[Trina P Holub]

@hmgphotos Yeah, I know...my new work computer at work still runs CS2

[Trina P Holub]

@rleonard Extremely awesome!! I love how the screen IS the computer. The picture is amazing, the sound, amazing. well worth the year I waited to get it. :-)

[Trina P Holub]

@manek43509 I kind of thought so too...but for the price.....I thought I'd muddle through it. And I did find that the magic wand could cut around fur better than the PS one. Other than that, anything you wanted to do required extra and unexpected steps.

[Trina P Holub]

OK, so now I am home and downloaded Pixelmator....OMG...seems to be just what I was looking for! :-D

@bobfoto @cfitzgerald @dune1953 @viranod

[Courtney]

I downloaded a free trial this afternoon and I think I am in LOVE!!!!



Just wanted to share. I think I have better shot of getting this software for Christmas than Photoshop Elements! THANKS again for the discussion!

[Trina P Holub]

@cfitzgerald And if you know PS, all of the menus are the same! And it's prettier!
You'e so welcome! I'm really happy too. :-) Looking forward to WWYD's and other things
nice levitation. :-)

[Courtney]

Thanks! I don't know Photoshop and yet, I can do some of the things here I have wanted to try. I am SUPER PSYCHED! I seriously was in a funk and trying to just get through the last 35 days of my project, but now I know I can finish it with style! THANK YOU again!