| 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)
|
|
|
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.
Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.
Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.
Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.
Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.
Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.
Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.
Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed