GIMP 2.99.8 is here but what's happened to 3.0? If only stuff would not break all the time
(2021/10/21)
- Reference: 1634826908
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/10/21/gimp_2998/
- Source link:
GIMP 2.99.8, a development version with many new features, [1]has been released , but 3.0 is taking its time due to system changes that break things.
[2]
The GNU Image Manipulation Program is a full-featured bitmap image editor with a long history, the first public release being January 1996. Version 1.0 came in June 1998.
It is appreciated for its extensive features (and free price) but development is slow. The current production version is 2.10, the first version of which came out in April 2010, built using Gtk 2.x. That said, GIMP 2.10 is regularly updated, most recently with 2.10.28 last month, featuring many bug fixes especially on Windows.
[3]
GIMP 2.99.8 in action on Windows 11
Version 2.99.8 uses Gtk 3 and is [4]described as having "a huge set of improvements." In summary:
Clone and heal tools now work across multiple layers.
Windows Ink support, described as "a huge milestone for artists using Windows."
The GIMP icon in the taskbar will no longer include a preview of the image. "This complicated locating GIMP's window among windows of other running applications," said the team.
JPEG-XL support, and improved import of Adobe Photoshop files, with support for PSD files of larger than 4GB.
Bug fixes including an end to "huge memory leaks" when using Wayland on Linux.
Another important change is that a new contributor, Lukas Oberhuber, has taken on development packaging for macOS, which was previously lacking, though the team says that more macOS contributors are still needed. A lot of work has also been done on the GIMP infrastructure for continuous integration, including testing and releasing.
[5]The GIMP turns 25 and promises to carry on being the FOSS not-Photoshop
[6]GIMP open source image editor forked to fix 'problematic' name
[7]It may be poor man's Photoshop, but GIMP casts a Long Shadow with latest update
[8]GIMP masks font downloads, adds horizon fix in new build
Does this mean GIMP 3.0 is nearly done? No date is set for this and the [9]roadmap only states that it is a "work in progress."
According to the release announcement: "Taking care of technology changes (Wayland on Linux and macOS in particular) these days is also taking quite a toll in our development efficiency as we spend a lot of time fixing things which just get broken because the underlining systems change."
A [10]July post explained the difficulty caused by contributors who leave the project and invited users to contribute to funding for some key maintainers. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gimp.org/news/2021/10/20/gimp-2-99-8-released/
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/10/21/gimp.jpg
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/10/21/gimp2.jpg
[4] https://www.gimp.org/news/2021/10/20/gimp-2-99-8-released/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/23/gimp_turns_25/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/28/gimp_open_source_image_editor_forked_to_fix_problematic_name/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2018/08/22/gimp_2106/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/05/gimp_new_build/
[9] https://wiki.gimp.org/wiki/Roadmap
[10] https://www.gimp.org/news/2021/07/27/support-gimp-developers-sustainable-development/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
[2]
The GNU Image Manipulation Program is a full-featured bitmap image editor with a long history, the first public release being January 1996. Version 1.0 came in June 1998.
It is appreciated for its extensive features (and free price) but development is slow. The current production version is 2.10, the first version of which came out in April 2010, built using Gtk 2.x. That said, GIMP 2.10 is regularly updated, most recently with 2.10.28 last month, featuring many bug fixes especially on Windows.
[3]
GIMP 2.99.8 in action on Windows 11
Version 2.99.8 uses Gtk 3 and is [4]described as having "a huge set of improvements." In summary:
Clone and heal tools now work across multiple layers.
Windows Ink support, described as "a huge milestone for artists using Windows."
The GIMP icon in the taskbar will no longer include a preview of the image. "This complicated locating GIMP's window among windows of other running applications," said the team.
JPEG-XL support, and improved import of Adobe Photoshop files, with support for PSD files of larger than 4GB.
Bug fixes including an end to "huge memory leaks" when using Wayland on Linux.
Another important change is that a new contributor, Lukas Oberhuber, has taken on development packaging for macOS, which was previously lacking, though the team says that more macOS contributors are still needed. A lot of work has also been done on the GIMP infrastructure for continuous integration, including testing and releasing.
[5]The GIMP turns 25 and promises to carry on being the FOSS not-Photoshop
[6]GIMP open source image editor forked to fix 'problematic' name
[7]It may be poor man's Photoshop, but GIMP casts a Long Shadow with latest update
[8]GIMP masks font downloads, adds horizon fix in new build
Does this mean GIMP 3.0 is nearly done? No date is set for this and the [9]roadmap only states that it is a "work in progress."
According to the release announcement: "Taking care of technology changes (Wayland on Linux and macOS in particular) these days is also taking quite a toll in our development efficiency as we spend a lot of time fixing things which just get broken because the underlining systems change."
A [10]July post explained the difficulty caused by contributors who leave the project and invited users to contribute to funding for some key maintainers. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gimp.org/news/2021/10/20/gimp-2-99-8-released/
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/10/21/gimp.jpg
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/10/21/gimp2.jpg
[4] https://www.gimp.org/news/2021/10/20/gimp-2-99-8-released/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/23/gimp_turns_25/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/28/gimp_open_source_image_editor_forked_to_fix_problematic_name/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2018/08/22/gimp_2106/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/05/gimp_new_build/
[9] https://wiki.gimp.org/wiki/Roadmap
[10] https://www.gimp.org/news/2021/07/27/support-gimp-developers-sustainable-development/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
I love gimp, (they got in on the kaffeeklatch registration i do every decade or so.)
They got coffee money from me and i use it daily.
and I have looked thru (perl/ java scipt pythlon modules) for animation + gifs.
'couse, i'm a moron user too.
the 'made with gimp' is still there. not worried about stripped info in resizing,
as humiliating as it sounds, make-gif/ ray-trace refine (sharpen) and
use as AI model ML and training in neural net (make 3d amimation, refocus, deblur)
options that would would help? don't tell intel tho. set number of active cores? assign cores?
love gimp, they deserve a 100 registration fee.
packrat