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Author Topic: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop  (Read 10567 times)

Nick Walker

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2015, 02:02:38 pm »

Have looked at the Affinity photo video - looks promising - https://affinity.serif.com/blog/

Alan Smallbone

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2015, 02:55:57 pm »

Mac only when they do a windows version I would be interested.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2015, 05:07:39 pm »

Mac only when they do a windows version I would be interested.
Likewise.
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MarkM

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2015, 09:49:48 pm »

I'm clearly not cut out to be a Beta tester. I downloaded it, played with it for about five minutes until it froze at which point I forced-quit the app and then deleted it. The interface is attractive and I could probably get used to it. Keyboard combinations and icons are familiar from Photoshop so the transition wouldn't be horrible. Maybe I'll try again once it's a little more stable.
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bill t.

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2015, 12:28:02 am »

That they are not going cross-platform from the start suggests that this is a small scale project dependent on one or a very few talented programmers, and with a questionable business sense.  They are probably using the very pretty Apple Cocoa development environment, which no matter what anybody tells you is not even close to cross platform.  If it was, there would be a Windows version now.

Delayed cross platform development is a great way to doom a project, firstly because that defers at least 1/2 of the potential profits and cash flow needed to support vigorous development and create a stable company.  And secondly because there comes a point when there is so much single-platform code that going cross platform is a daunting project all by itself.  All that's covered in Business 101.

But maybe I'm wrong.  Could be that we will see a nice stable version in as little as 3 years.  It pains me to say all this, because I once wrote an ambitious single platform package that suffered many of the above afflictions.
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2015, 02:02:03 pm »

Pretty typical though, despite the attractiveness of doing both platforms from the start, most projects start out on a single platform, be it Window/Mac, android/iOS.  Only when the product has proven viability are resources allocated for the other platform.

Even large companies follow this pattern with some projects.
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bill t.

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2015, 05:56:04 pm »

Perhaps, but what really happens, and what's a good business plan are two different things.  In this case a talented programmer was probably hired or allied with the company on the basis of demonstrating a flashy, single platform program with a year or more of code development behind it.  That's a lot of code to reverse engineer for another OS.

Graphics software is different than business oriented software.  With business applications, it's pretty much a matter of translating dialogue boxes which are already very similar in Mac and Windows api's, and there are good software packages that can automate a lot of that.  OTOH, graphics software has to work very close to the hardware, and it that area Windows and Mac api's are very different and both rather esoteric in their design.  The longer they wait to keep an eye on both platforms, the harder it gets until finally they're stuck in single-platform mode.  Yes it's the common case, and yes it's a huge vulnerability to business success.

Anyway, it's another David and Goliath match.  In the real world, David almost always gets stomped.  Adobe has a truckload of software patents, many unworthy of ever being granted, but ammunition none the less.  The new guys could be badly harmed simply by the time needed to process subpoenas and give depositions, much less in court.
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daws

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2015, 02:03:24 pm »

http://www.creativebloq.com/computer-arts/first-real-alternative-photoshop-launched-and-its-free-21514137

As a longtime Windows user of Photoshop, I (and, I suspect, many others) will be watching the development of this very closely, and wishing them all success.
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Cayman

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2015, 04:08:00 pm »

Their best bet is to get bought out by Apple.
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chez

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2015, 07:33:37 pm »

Their best bet is to get bought out by Apple.

Why...so they could drop it like they did Aperture?
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Brian Gilkes

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2015, 09:35:11 pm »

All Goliaths started as Davids. The bigger they are the harder hey fall. Remember Kodak? Agfa?
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chez

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #12 on: February 15, 2015, 12:12:17 am »

All Goliaths started as Davids. The bigger they are the harder hey fall. Remember Kodak? Agfa?


Why is it you want Photoshop to fail. It is the product that all brought us into digital image processing.
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Cayman

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #13 on: February 15, 2015, 12:50:24 am »

Why...so they could drop it like they did Aperture?

Best as in for the developers.  Not necessarily for the product.
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Hening Bettermann

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #14 on: February 15, 2015, 06:49:08 am »

Wonder if they (and many others) are aware of PhotoLine, which is a full-fledged alternative to Photoshop and more, comes in both Mac and Windows, now in version 18, and is not free, but almost: 60 €, and for private users, that covers both the Mac and Windows versions!
Usual disclaimer applies.

Brian Gilkes

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2015, 06:38:20 am »

Chez- I have no desire to see Photoshop fail and I did not express that. I had no desire to see Kodak or Agfa go either .
I was indicating that all companies , like empires , can wax, wane and disappear. As far as entering the digital age many of us did so with Live Picture - superior even now to much of Photoshop. Alas it is no longer with us.
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Jimbo57

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2015, 10:48:41 am »

That they are not going cross-platform from the start suggests that this is a small scale project dependent on one or a very few talented programmers, and with a questionable business sense.  

Don't forget that Serif is already a very long-established company, originating in Britain, who are not averse to going head-to-head with Adobe.

Back in the early 1990s their PagePlus software was regarded by many as being superior to PageMaker in the DTP field. Their PhotoPlus ran early versions of Photoshop close on some scores.

But, as with the VHS/Betamax and Sky/BSB competitions, it was commercial weight rather than technical excellence that carried the day.

Now that Adobe have committed to the CC delivery model, it will be interesting to see if this latest move by Serif will find a way into today's marketplace.
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salimjaved

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Re: Free Beta Alternative To Photoshop
« Reply #17 on: February 18, 2015, 12:06:04 am »

I am just using the beta version from last 1 week, and really very impress to see that many features are just similar to photoshop, hence yes they will compete the them in editing tool world. I will not say as it will be very soon, to review the product, because it is still in beta version and beta are for BUGS, only many tool are at same place like in photoshop, Most of the Shorcut are also same like photoshop, So it will not take time to get use to it. The more people swith to photoshop more hard for photoshop to over, as people want full features with less price, In price serif tool are competiting and in features they will need years to fully overcome the feature like Photoshop.
But i must say this 2 month is hard for Photoshop, because in there 25 year of Journey they have never seen any software even close to them, I remember 2 month back one Photoshop Online free browser based editor was lauch named as toolpic, they are competiting with browser based editor of photoshop, in free tool. And this Month Affinity is Hitting on there back.

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