Actually, throw the pirated Photoshop out, and download GIMP.
Here are some reasons why you should and can do it.
Using pirated software is illegal. That is right – it is not legitimate to use pirated software. Be it Adobe Photoshop, or anything else. It is legal to use GIMP, and produce artworks (even for commercial purposes). GIMP is an Open Source software.
It is unethical to use pirated software. Yes, I put this separately. Some times, things may be with in the law, but still be immoral. This is a case where it is illegitimate and unethical to use pirated software. You may justify saying that you are not using it to sell your works. You are not making money out of it. But, the use for hobby purposes does not justify piracy. If you are using it just for hobby, then it does not need to be Photoshop. There is GIMP. There are other softwares out there which you can download and use.
Features of GIMP is a standard of its own. Many who want to switch to GIMP have the complaint that the user interface of GIMP is hard to use. It actually is not hard to use. It is just different. It would be wrong to expect it to have a user interface of Photoshop. Just use it and you will learn. A human brain is designed to learn.
Adobe Photoshop is a good software – there is no question about it. But it is costly, and it is justified to use it provided you pay for it, or the company that hired you pays for it. If you are a professional who has income based on the work done on the image editor, then it makes sense to buy it.
But if you are just a hobbyist, and it provides no revenue for you – then you might as well use GIMP or one of the other Open Source editors. It is illegal and immoral to use a pirated version of any software.
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July 13, 2007 at 6:28 pm
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July 5, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Rosalin
Well that was a crisp one. I would rather say blunt, but what u said there is right.
July 5, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Vyoma
There is not other way of putting it. Use of unlicensed software is immoral. (It is illegal or not, is a different issue). Many, though feel that it is justified because ‘corporations are evil’. But then, what does the use of pirated software make us?
July 5, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Venu
I am trying to design a header for my blog for sometime now using gimp, the UI seems to be confusing me a lot
July 5, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Vyoma
Venu, the UI would be different from Photoshop. You just need to get used to it.
As for the header for your blog, it would depend on the kind of header you want. If it is too heavy with rasters, use GIMP. Else, if you need clean graphics, try out Inkscape.
July 6, 2007 at 10:18 am
Vaibhav
i feel that using pirated softwares is no wrong. The actual rates of these softwares are so high that no common user can afford it. The pricing should come down, and people will buy these softwares as they will get genuine advantage like updates, online help and all…
July 6, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Vyoma
Well, Vaibhav - I partly agree with you.
The price of Adobe Photoshop is high. That is a topic that would have a discussion of its own.
In my opinion though, that does not justify piracy. That too when there are other option (like GIMP or Paint.net) available. If the price of a software is high, and we do not agree to it, then we just should not use it.
July 9, 2007 at 3:13 am
ReviewSaurus
@ Mahesh : Awesome post!!! I’ve shifted myself from these commercial softwares to the open source and freewares! There is not even a single pirated installed on my machine at this time and will not be there in future too!
@ Vaibhav : Well, if you are comfortable with one software, then you got comfortable with because you used it a lot, when you’ve got free alternatives then you should use them instead and with time, you’ll get used to that software too.
What adobe could have done, is that they could have released a streamlined version of photoshop and should have provided for free, I’m sure they would have got more customers for their paid version too!
July 9, 2007 at 3:15 am
Vyoma
Yes Mayank. There is a lot more things Adobe could have done with the pricing model.
July 14, 2007 at 9:01 am
TechZilo
Nice…..I have been an avid GIMP user for 8 months now. No problems with UI - since i havent used PS. PS is powerful, but for most purposes, GIMP is fine. besides, there’s the open source communities, and forums. i learned quite a few tricks from forums and tutorials.
those help in bridging gap between ps and gimp.
July 14, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Vyoma
Sumesh (TechZilo), yes indeed. The UI is just a matter of practice and what you get used to.
About the tricks and tutorials for GIMP - I think it is far less than those that are there for Photoshop. But it makes me wonder how many really own a legal copy of Photoshop.
July 27, 2007 at 7:21 am
nickelson
hey dont underestimate gimp! it can be even better than photoshop. and with the cost advantage to its side, i’d say gimp is the best image editing software!!
July 27, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Vyoma
Hey nickelson. I am not that sure how much better GIMP can be compared to Photoshop, but I have to agree - GIMP should not be underestimated.
August 18, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Gaz
GIMP is hard to use. Unfriendly with too many steps required to perform simple operations such as pasting from the clipboard into a new image (you have to know the dimensions of the clipboard image in advance). I don’t have time to learn GIMP’s unrefined ways and I have switched to Paint.net
August 18, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Vyoma
Gaz, while I may have a different opinion on GIMP usability - I have to check out Paint.NET one of these days. Been hearing about it a lot.
Does it work on Linux or do I need to switch to Windows?