14 DAY TRIAL // The GIMP team announced today the first release from the 2.5 development series. It is true that this version is unstable, but a little bird told me to give it a try and see what's it capable of. First of all, let me tell you that its interface is quite redesigned and I think that some users will have problems adjusting with it, but that's just my two cents. On the other hand, version 2.5.0 of The GIMP includes some hot new features, like the integration of GEGL (Generic Graphics Library) which will finally get support for higher color depths, more colorspaces and eventually non-destructive editing.
But enough chitchat, and let's take a closer look at some of the new features and improvements to be found in The GIMP 2.5.0:
Redesigned interface:
Is this what you have expected from a new major version of The GIMP? Maybe not, but as you can see from the above screenshot, The GIMP's main window (yes, the one you've already used with) has no menu! Instead, from now on you will have two windows opened. The main window is the one in the left, where you can drag and drop images, and the toolbox (the one in the right) it's treated as an utility window.
Polygonal Selection Tool:
By public demand, a simple polygonal selection tool was added in this release.
The Power of GEGL
GEGL (Generic Graphics Library) is a graph based image processing framework. It's original design was made to scratch GIMP's itches for a new compositing and processing core. In other words it will get support for higher color depths, more colorspaces and eventually non-destructive editing in The GIMP!
Improved Text Tool
The Text tool was greatly improved in this unstable release of The GIMP.
For those of you who don't know yet what GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is and what it can do, it is a freely distributed piece of software for tasks such as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. But that's not even 1% of what it can do, as it has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, you name it! The GIMP works on many operating systems, in many languages. Below you can find more screenshots from The GIMP 2.5.0.
Download The GIMP 2.5.0 (unstable) sources right now from Softpedia.
Download The GIMP 2.4.5 (stable) for Linux right now from Softpedia.