| Linux: not yet photo-friendly |
Aug. 22, 2008
Linux kernel maintainer Andrew Morton is fond of saying, "If you want the kernel team to do something, make us look bad." Perhaps somewhat in that spirit, a blog called "Linux Photography" has carefully outlined where Linux falls short today as a world-class environment for serious, production-oriented professional photographers.
The blog is maintained by Joel Cornuz, of Geneva, Switzerland, who describes himself as a serious amateur photographer.
Cornuz writes:My goal with this entry is to brush a big picture of where Linux stands as far as photography is concerned. What are the achievements, where improvement are needed and being worked on, and which pieces are still missing. I will survey what I consider the three main areas that an OS has to cover for serious photography work: color management, printing support, and workflow. After that, the gloves come off. The wish list goes something like this:- A system-wide preferences framework, like a GConf for color calibration settings, so that color editing profiles, monitor profiles, and rendering intents do not have to be configured separately for each application in the user's workflow
- Support under Linux for the affordable printer colorimeters that are starting to appear, so that each printer/paper/ink combo can be easily profiled without booting into another OS
- More universal support at the driver level for often-ignored features such as black and white photo printing, and full-bleed (to edge of paper) prints. Oh, and support for Canon Pixma printers would be nice, too
- A high bit-depth photo editing program offering the 16-bit power of Cinepaint with the interface sophistication of the Gimp. Cornuz says pointedly, "If I [were] a billionaire in charge of a Linux distribution, I would hire Sven and Mitch to work on Gimp full time," later adding that without [16-bit color support in a good image editor], Linux will just not cut it for serious photography."
- An image viewer/tagger that can handle both RAW images and JPEG images -- Linux's philosophy of orthogonal tools be damned
In a nutshell, Cornuz wants a few usable, well-integrated tools that handle the basics efficiently and quickly, rather than the mass of special-purpose tools currently available, none of which interoperate especially well. Commenting on the current state of things, he writes, "There is this push for more features that has been a trap in open source projects -- and closed source, when you come to think of it."
Sounds to us like most of the tools are there, and what's needed might be a special-purpose Linux Shutterbug Edition distro, similar to the 64Studio distribution for music production. Despite a few missing pieces (most of which are under construction), Conruz's biggest gripe seems to be the lack of integration between components, which all have to be configured to work together better before productivity can be achieved.
The complete essay can be found here.
-- Henry Kingman
Do you have comments on this story?
Talkback here NOTE: Please post your comments regarding our articles using the above link. Be sure to use this article's title as the "Subject" in your posts. Before you create a new thread, please check to see if a discussion thread is already running on the article you plan to comment on. Thanks!
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.
Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.
Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.
Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.
Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.
Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.
Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.
Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.
Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.
|
|
|
|
|