Andy Fitzsimon

Some people have it all wrong!

I’m fairly certain that the ‘best tool for the job’ can be open-source and still be the best.
So why doesn’t Adobe open source their creative suite?

Stephen offers a good opinion here

UPDATE: mizmo’s got some things to say.

Here’s what i tried to post as a comment on Adobe’s busted moveable type installation
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One of the many defining reasons I have now committed my career towards open source creative software was that it took less than half the time of learning the proprietary alternatives that I already knew.

Tell me, what else can open projects like Inkscape do to remove that fictitious barrier of ‘wasted time’ that is invested in learning a new creative tool.

Honestly I do not see it.

The only wasted time I see is bookshelves brimming with Adobe-related technical books. Those things have made an entire market around attempting to explain the non-intuitive quirks of many proprietary software offerings.

Free software most certainly expands someones creative potential and pushes creative works to entirely new audiences thanks to (but not limited to) the wide accessibility of software with no cost or platform dependency. Any idea how many clients I’ve been able to hand over the source files along with the software I used to create their assets with? I’ve lost count!

So what is it that helps you out more during a tight deadline with a client?

• Spending the time and money learning a mediocre proprietary work-flow that lets you down on feature X when you needed it yesterday ? (wait 6 months and hope you are part of a large audience for your vendor)
• Or can you download something intuitive, new and free that allows you to break new ground and puts you directly in contact with the people who actually created it.

By investing your time producing with any tool, be it a pencil or a piece of software, you are helping the manufacturers of that tool. The pencil manufacturers get more orders or the software makers see more attention put on their products.
With proprietary vs open source software you have a story of two vendors: one wants your money whereas the other is only happy you are using their work and would appreciate your feedback.

I am happy to share the experience of using free software because I know I won’t have to pay later for a product built on my feedback, a product that I cannot change.

- Andy

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Please revise your revenue model Adobe, nobody can live on bullshit forever. We’re not mushrooms.

To a user its not always about the price, its also about how its made and how its used. Free software offers less limitations.

Let the flood of remixing begin!

The latest awesome addition to the Inkscape tool arsenal is the warp tool.
It enables ability to select a bunch of shapes and bend, pull, grow/shrink and even add a grunge noise effect.
If are anything like me (an iwarp junkie for mates photos in the gimp) you’ll love this tool and its creative potential.