by R.A. Scott

Created on: July 11, 2008   Last Updated: April 17, 2009

It is often said that the single best photo imaging editing program is Photoshop. The Photoshop program may well be good but it is very expensive and it does have a steep learning curve. Should you not feel like spending that kind of money for Photoshop or maybe you just can't afford it then what are you to do?

Are you going to settle for a program that, while more affordable, is second rate? Why bother paying for a photo image manipulation program at all? You deserve the best, don't you? So go get it. But forget paying for it and no I am not implying that you should steal it because stealing is illegal and you just might go to jail or be fined. Neither of us want that to happen now do we?

No, there is no need to steal the best image manipulation program. Just go and download it and it is totally for free. The program in question is The Gimp. Yes, I know that sounds politically incorrect but it is actually short for the GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP for short.

The Gimp is a wonderful program. Having used both programs, I would be hard pressed to say that Photoshop is any better than the Gimp. Over the years, the Gimp has grown into a full blown, complete photo imaging program. Not only that but it's free. You can't beat free especially when it's a truly great program.

The Gimp had made its first appearance in the computer world 1996. It was not originally developed for the Windows Operating System but for the Linux system. It has since had an installer developed so that it can be used with Windows.

While I haven't done an actual count it is easy to see that the feature level of the Gimp is easily comparable to that of its' retail brother, Photoshop. If you are new to the Gimp or photo imaging programs in general then the best part about the Gimp is its' in depth and very useful help section. If you have used a photo imaging program in the past using the Gimp should be just like falling off a log; easy but painful if you hit your head on the log. The GIMP may not look as slick as Photoshop buut it is as powerful.

You will never need to purchase a retail photo imaging program ever again. Simply download a copy of the Gimp and you are all set to edit any photo you might have. If you happen to more creative than myself, and my 2 year old Grand Daughter is more creative than I am, you can also use the Gimp to create art.

The Gimp is a great all round free photo manipulation program. It is larger and more powerful than other free programs like Picassa but the Gimp contains everything you could every want in a photo manipulation program and then some.

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