Interesting Developments in Gimp on OS X
I was looking at the latest from Gimp for OS X this morning and I realized that it requires an updated X11 install for OS X. While I might not mind that, I just ordered a new box, and with Snow Leopard on the way it's just not something I'm going to hassle with and put my box in an odd state over.
So I went back to the GIMP.app site which has the native port of Gimp for OS X. This is interesting to me because I think that the native port beats the X11 one because it fits in better with the rest of the applications on the box. Not that I have anything against X11 - it's just that if I had a choice, I'd go native.
Well... with the move by the Gimp on OS X folks to use the non-standard X11, the native port is getting my attention. While it's on 2.6.0 and the other is 2.6.4 (the most recent stable cut), there's a lot that can be done in 2.6.0, and it actually runs on my box without the new X11 libraries.
I'm wondering if the GIMP.app guys have given up, but if that's the case, then the only long-term way to get Gimp on OS X is to use the non-standard X11. Maybe they'll go back to the 'standard' one with Snow Leopard, but if they diverged once, they'll do it again. We'll just have to wait and see.
For now, the GIMP.app runs just fine on 10.5.6. I can do all the things I need to do and while that's not much (I use Acorn much more these days) it's nice to know it's there if I need it. Also... it's less than half the size of the X11 port. Wow! that's a big difference.