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Linux users demand Photoshop

And iTunes, Novell poll shows

A Novell poll asking Linux users which Windows/Mac apps they'd most like to see running on their machines, currently names Photoshop as the software of choice.

According to DestopLinux.com, the Novell CoolSolutions editor, Scott Morris, said since the poll began in the first week in January, more than 10,000 votes have been cast.

Morris said: "Several years ago, when I first started with Linux, it seemed when people thought of Linux they mostly thought of using it as some kind of server. Mostly, this came in the form of a webserver.

As Linux matured, the number of those using it on the desktop increased. At that point, the biggest demand was more for basic types of applications. This included word processing, email clients, web browsers, spreadsheet applications, and the like.

"As peoples' needs in those arenas were filled, they wanted media players for their music. An interest in graphic design and manipulation became more apparent. Pretty soon, people not only considered the possibility of Linux as a multimedia platform, but, as we can see, they are now demanding it," Morris said.

The proof of Morris's words are in the Novell league table after 31 days:

  1. Photoshop
  2. Autocad
  3. Dreamweaver
  4. iTunes
  5. Macromedia Studio
  6. Flash
  7. Quicken
  8. Visio
  9. Quickbooks
  10. Lotus Notes

Novell has said it will contact the vendors of the winning applications, "asking them to partner with Novell to port their software to Linux", Morris added.

Naturally, this Linux/Photoshop business has now surfaced on Slashdot, where the debate is raging around whether the Gimp can really compete with Photoshop. As one poster puts it:

The Gimp is good enough for most of us. It is different than Photoshop, so people need to relearn how to do some basic things which can painful for the easily frustrated. A better GUI for Gimp wouldn't hurt and I think they are addressing some of the issues in 2.4. Also, others have mentioned GimpShop. I'm not sure how mature that is though. But yes, Gimp as it stands is not good enough for photo professionals because it lacks colour management and built in CMYK support, even though a plugin exists. But then again, how many photo professionals use Linux in the first place?

Well, for the record, I recently switched to desktop Linux (Suse, if you must know) because I realised that if I continued to suffer Windows I would most likely take an assault rifle, go to the local mall and kill dozens of innocent people.

The Gimp is OK, and since it's free, who am I to complain? However, it isn't a patch on the (expensive legal copy) of Photoshop CS I'm running on another (Windows) box for photo manipulation work. So, that's my vote. Novell and Adobe, jump to it. ®

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