"Karen Hill" writes:

Apple is just amazing. Their hardware is so awesome and stylish that
it is common to see Java, Linux and Unix developers carting their
PowerBooks around at Linux and Open Source Expos. Computing hasn't
been this stylish and powerful since the last time Steve Jobs has been
at Apple which was at the height of the original Macintosh.

Now Apple has announced the release of its Aperture software. It is
designed from the ground up on the digital camera workflow. Most
professionals are now putting digital backs on their hasselblad
cameras.

Apple has released such great photo software which seems much further
advanced than the Gnu Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). The Aperture
user interface is awesome compared to gimp. Apple designers no doubt
put careful thought and research into the user interface. Where in
GIMP you can spend 10 minutes looking for a feature on google and every
menu, the Aperture interface is intuitive.

My point is this. Why can Apple release a product that matches and
surpases Photoshop in most areas, where the GIMP program has struggled
extensively? I know that Apple has integrated pdf support into OS X,
has made Adobe retreat with Final Cut Pro kicking Premier off the map.

We can see Apple's development model as superiour to the GNU model.
Apple embraces the superiour software of BSD. Most BSD software is of
better quality than its GPL counterpart. PostgreSQL is better than
MySQL, OpenBSD is more secure than Linux, etc. In fact, Apple uses
C++ in the Darwin Kernel, and is based on a Micro-Kernel design.

Apple takes it one step further and refines the BSD quality into the
user interface. Unlike GIMP or Linux where buttons are put willy
nilly, Apple produces guidlines. Most Mac Application developers know
them; but since Apple's OS X has extensive JAVA support, Apple smartly
included instructions for JAVA developers (notorious for bad UI
design).

Quoth from apples's developer site (Linux devs take careful notes):

" The Aqua user interface [] is streamlined to provide the absolute
best user experience... This section helps you to make decisions that
let your Java applications approach the appearance and performance
characteristics of native applications. In fact, following some of the
suggestions presented here can probably help make your application
appear and perform more like native applications on other platforms as
well. The topics covered here represent just a small subset of design
decision topics, but they are high-visibility issues often present in
Java application".

http://developer.apple.com/documenta...tegration.html

In fact, the design considerations are THE issue holding back Linux
desktop progress. Even MS has more thought into the UI than Linux and
GPL software. Apple put in the effort for excellent UI design and now
it is paying off because they can release great products rapidly...even
beating Adobe in so many areas that as a person who is a photography
nut, is seeing the Photoshop empire crumbling to Apple and not Linux.

I will probably skip purchasing the next upgrade to photoshop for my
business and just move over to Aperture. Just look at the features:

http://www.apple.com/aperture/compare/

P.S. GIMP does have its uses I do agree. It is better than nothing,
and for those who cannot afford professional tools like students and
young people, it may be fine. Or for making amature Linux logos for
yet another distro.

Great, just what we need, a female Oxford. Can't you people ever figure out
how to post to just one group?