[Katsunami]

So... the people in the open source community ask themselves why their software isn't used for daily tasks performed by normal users in companies, apart from an anomaly here or there.

Since I stopped my photography hobby, I've been using GIMP for the relatively modest graphics needs I have, such as resizing or cropping some images. I still have all my old stuff though: lenses, camera's, the color calibrated monitor, *and* Photoshop CS5.1 (from 2011).

I needed a graphics editor to create... uh... some graphics. I refuse to re-install CS5.1, because I will never buy a subscription to Adobe's software. Not because I can't afford the €12 a month for Photoshop and Lightroom, but because I don't want to be locked into anything that can suddenly cost €20 or more next year. I just hate subscriptions.

So, I tried to create what I needed in GIMP, the latest 2.8.22 release.

I did it, and it worked, but boy... it's SLOW. No hardware acceleration. And it misses SO MANY features Photoshop has had since the early 2000's. OK, it's free, and open source, so you can't really compare it to a software package that used to cost like €600, but still, what an enormous slog.

I went looking to see if there are any alternatives to Photoshop apart from Paint Shop Pro, which I've had very bad experiences with after Corel bought Jasc. (Slow, and crash-prone, mostly, poor color management, as far as I was able to see in my trial tests over the years.)

I found Affinity Photo, which, since version 1.5, is also available for Windows, next to the Mac version.

I tested it, and.... ooooh boy.

I don't like the dark GUI (a light one will be introduced in 1.6, which is due out now any moment), but it is FAST. Everything is hardware accelerated. While I'm sure that it still can't do EVERYTHING that Photoshop CC 2017 can (or maybe eve CS5.1/2011), it CAN do everything I need, and more. 32-bit color. (GIMP is still at 8-bit... and someday, it'll get this when version 2.10 is released. Somewhere, over the rainbow.) Adjustment Layers. Layer Effects (Yes, I know of the small GIMP plugin that adds a few.) Blend modes. Layer locking. It already has many features that are planned only for GIMP 3.2, or aren't planned at all. GIMP will get the major feature of Adjustment Layers in version 3.2 (if they manage it), which Photoshop has had since version 4... released in 1996! At this rate of development, GIMP will obtain parity with Photoshop 4 in 2030 or so, 25 years behind the curve.

In short, Affinity Photo is AT LEAST on par with the features I've been using in Photoshop since version 7 (2002). You know what? Affinity Photo is the professional spin-off of Serif Photo which was a direct competitor to Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop Elements, and it has only been in development for 2 years.

And the kicker? Affinity Photo costs just €54 for a boxed (OK, downloadable) version, without any subscription.

So, if a company can build a program within two years, that runs GIMP into the ground and dances on its grave for good measure and then sell it for €54 for a perpetual license, I can imagine why open source doesn't get a foot in the door.

After version 1.6 is released and there are no major roadblocks when running the trial, I'll probably get it.