Snapseed
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Posts posted by Snapseed
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5 hours ago, Calv said:
I stayed with Windows for years only because of Affinity Photo. I shot film as a professional for about a decade until I switched to digital circa 2003. Then I shot digital until a few years ago when I retired and opened an unrelated business. Having laid the camera aside, I switched to Linux and was quite happy with it, but once the photography bug bit again I looked around and found Affinity still hadn't been ported to Linux! So what did I do? Switched back to Windows, of course!
Now here we are in 2025, MS is once again telling everyone to buy a new PC, and this time a significant number of people are making the switch to Linux. I will almost certainly be among their number, and it just kills me that it will probably mean giving up Affinity. (Incidentally, this is also why I have held off buying the full suite of products.)
I feel like my situation is probably very typical of a significant cohort of Affinity users. Porting the products to Linux would be good for consumers and good for Affinity. The Linux train is boarding at the station!
Depending on how recent a computer is and how much RAM there is, it is possible to, for example, run Affinity Photo on Windows 10 in a virtual machine on a Linux computer using software such as VirtualBox or VMware.
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5 minutes ago, Chills said:
No Linux does not emulate UNIX That is an over simplistic view. They are just both POSIX compliant. That is it.
The reason why Linux is dominant now is that the Regents at Berkley put off making any decision for 6 months to the following meeting. In that 6 months, Linux gained traction and was seen as a sort of "student rebellion". Otherwise, the free BSD UNIX would be where Linux is now. BTW there are lots of other very good POSIX OS and RTOS out there. Many of which are free. The reason why Linux took off is cultural, not technical.Now that does not surprise me at all given what happens in any large and established bureaucracy!
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4 minutes ago, Chills said:
Nowhere near close. Both are POSIX compliant but that is it.
Having checked withy people who know. Whilst UNIX is formally cleared for critical systems use, Linux is prohibited.
You can all moan all you like but with the people who matter (CCA, FAA, etc) and those who do the testing say Linux and UNIX are NOT the same in any shape or form other than POSIX compliance. I just got off the phone with a friend who is currently involved in aerospace and automotive (he has also designed a widely used POSIX RTOS), my involvement stopped 2 years ago so I thought I would double-check seeing the certainty from some quarters on this forum. BTW Linux is seen as inherently insecure by design.
There is no UNIX code in Linux and the architectures are different.
I think a safe way of putting things is that Linux is a UNIX emulant.
The only reason that we have Linux dominance now is because of the massive licence fees that IBM, HP, etc charged for the use of their UNIX operating systems and they still didn't get it even when Linux started making significant inroads into the UNIX markets shares.
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20 hours ago, wonderings said:
I also think it is interesting how Linux users think it will make Linux more popular first, like that is the real priority to make the OS bigger. After that you can grow the software developers.
"Affinity on Linux could very well be a game setter for both Linux becoming wildly more popular and Affinity gaining a huge new user base on it's tidal wave."
^ Absolutely this. Desktop Linux's market share must increase first before software corporations will consider porting over their softwares to Linux.
The end of Windows 10 and Windows 11 not working on perfectly good laptops and desktop computers provides an opportunity to increase Linux's market share. Instead of perpetually whining on this forum, Linux users should now instead go out and recruit more Linux converts.
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11 hours ago, Rob Seib said:
It's funny to me those saying "zero chance" or what not. Likely? No. But imagine if 10 thousand people would be willing to pay for it? (would it be enough? IDK! Is it likely to happen? IDK probably not!). All I'm saying is, you don't know until you try and that's what he Change petition is for. It's called getting data. So sign it if you want to, don't if you don't.
It is Linux's miserable 4.3% desktop market share that is the underlying problem and no amount of petitions, whining, etc will change that fact. That small market share makes it unviable for very many companies to make their softwares available for Linux.
It would be much better if you and others direct your attention to the wealthy Linux Foundation and lobby them to actively promote desktop Linux.
(from an existing full time Linux user)
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On 6/17/2025 at 3:08 PM, MmmMaarten said:
This one just to add another support for the original request: to have a Linux version of the Affinity suite. This is now more relevant than ever because of geopolitics where one powerful person isn't shy nor ashamed to use Microsoft and Apple as tools for blackmail to other countries and instances and already practised this on the ICC in The Hague, The Netherlands where personel couldn't use their office accounts no more from one day to another. This means that Windows mostly, but perhaps also Apple can't be 100% trusted no more and when we can't use these OS's no more because one person feels like it, we have a huge problem.
The only viable realistic option these days is Linux. So Serif, being a European company, please make a Linux version so we have a way to continue working when s*** happens.
The major problem is desktop Linux's small market share of 4.3% that makes it unviable for software companies to make Linux versions of their softwares.
Until that market share grows, it is possible to use the Affinity softwares on Linux via a Windows VM, which works well, or there is the alternative Bottles/Wine route to try out.
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17 hours ago, Chills said:
Most MS Windows users don't care one way or the other. The corporates certainly don't. The same is true for Mac's Though in my view both are a nightmare. However, Linux is w a lot worse than both in so many ways. Let's face it, Windows (after Win98) was VAX based, but that is long in the tooth. OSX was way better, being UNIX based, but you come under the non Jobs-Wozniak Apple which is worse that MS.
What is needed is a new Desktop OS Starting with a clean sheet. Preferably a POSIX based. Micro kernel system.
I have to say this. What you are asking for sounds remarkably like Andrew Tanenbaum's Minix.
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13 hours ago, Carl bach said:
Thank you for your advice. I’m still looking into which distro to go with, and I will give Mint a further look. Do you run Affinity using Mint?
No, because I use other native Linux equivalents. I use Pixeluvo for photo/image editing and I have used VivaDesigner in the past. The alternativeto.net website lists potential option equivalents.
While the makers of PhotoLine, an Affinity Photo equivalent, don't make a Linux version, they do make the effort to make it compatible with Wine. There's also the online Photopea to look at.
While I always recommend Linux Mint Mate to new arrivals from Windows, I use Ubuntu Mate.
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On 6/16/2025 at 5:10 PM, Carl bach said:
You may well be right, but in the meantime I may well give Linux a try. At least most of the distros appears independent and ethical.
Just for the record, I am a full time Linux user and I left Microsoft with the arrival of the misguided kludge that was Windows 8. I would never go back.
For anyone coming from Windows, I always suggest starting out with Linux Mint Mate which is easy to use:
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19 hours ago, Carl bach said:
Thanks I will; but it won’t stop me trying with Affinity.
Serif Europe and other major software companies won't start to take an interest in making their softwares available for Linux until Linux's desktop market share (currently 4.3%) starts to approach macOS' market share (16%).
That said, if CodeWeavers could successfully get Affinity Photo, etc to work with CrossOver then they would get a boost in CrossOver sales so it is worth them making that attempt.
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2 hours ago, AeJoo6 Quee8s said:
It would be better for Affinity to contact CodeWeavers about their PortJump product/service. It's a top-down, not a ground-up situation, both technical and legal.
That is highly unlikely to happen and so CodeWeavers ought to make the first move. Why not head over CodeWeavers' forums and make that constructive suggestion of yours?
- Chills and AeJoo6 Quee8s
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On 1/18/2025 at 3:02 AM, pipet said:
A few weeks ago, I made Linux my main OS. I'm still dual booting into Win10 mainly to use a couple of photo editing apps, Affinity Photo among those. I read at a good number of threads on this topic, but it seems like a Linux-native version of AP is out of the question. I have looked into ways to make AP work under Linux, but the Wine/Bottles approach didn't work, CrossOver (a commercial Wine branch) apparently works better, but at $700 for a persistent license is out the question. I tried a VM, but without GPU support that's not a great option either (bare-metal pass-through requires two GPUs , which I can't accommodate and vGPU support doesn't yet work with Window hosts on Qemu/KVM).
So, I'm pondering to substitute AP with Gimp 3.0. I have read many claims that AP is far superior to Gimp 2.1, but I'd be interested, if that is still true for Gimp 3.0. I have started to explore Gimp (the 3.0 RC2 release), but I don't know enough about Gimp at this point, to judge, if it can be a viable alternative to AP, and if it would be worth investing more time in? Apparently, the new version of Gimp now has some non-destructive editing capabilities, which in the past was the main point of contention. It can't handle a CMYK workflow, but that's not something I need. I do the bulk editing in a raw developer (C1, but am switching to RawTherapee) and need AP for either compositing, or selective edits that the raw developer can't handle. I was wondering, if someone can offer an informed opinion on Affinity Photo vs. Gimp 3.0?
If you or anyone else wants to try Gimp 3 then I recommend trying the PhotoGimp patch that civilises Gimp's layout:
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5 hours ago, Carl bach said:
I also would be willing to pay a little extra for a Linux version.
This is not going to happen and Serif Europe have made that crystal clear. It would be far better for everyone to head over to CodeWeavers' website and ask them to make the Affinity range a priority for their CrossOver product.
In the meantime, using the Affinity softwares on Linux via a Windows VM works well or there is the alternative Bottles/Wine route to try out.
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On 5/30/2025 at 6:08 PM, j3rry said:
It has become pretty quiet around Affinity and its products, reminds me a bit of the last time with Aperture... I'm afraid something not so nice is coming our way
I am not sure that is the right way to read things. What has happened is that the Affinity range is now no longer the exciting new upstart challenger and it is now a more mature option to the rival products offered by Adobe and Corel.
I don't think that the comparison with Aperture works well either. When the creative genius that was Steve Jobs died, the bean counters took over hence the deprecation (like Aperture) and simplification of other assorted Apple softwares. That said, those people who are still missing Aperture might want to look at what Gentlemen Coders are doing right now.
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22 hours ago, cyberlizard said:
let's compare the prices as well...
quark express: £559
indesign: £1318 (over five years)
affinity publisher: £67.99
xara page layout: save your money
scribus 1.7.1: if you're broke, best value - NIL
There's one product missing there - VivaDesigner. I have used it and I think that it's pretty good.
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On 5/29/2025 at 3:28 PM, SpartakLeonidas said:
Could you plese check this QuarkXpress 2025 bold comparison with other DTP softs and find out what you (Xara Designer Pro+) are lacking in terms of vital features. I am send ing this for the sake of your Xara Designer Pro+ health and growth.
It seems that Affinity is now lagging behind QuarkXpress and Adobe Indesign. Please see and click the comparison link made boldly by QuarkXpress below:
content.quark.com/QuarkXPress_2025_Features_ComparisonI have to say this - if Quark is making comparisons like that then they fear that Affinity Publisher will potentially take customers away from them.
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On 5/28/2025 at 10:49 PM, Stella Schwankl said:
I'll toss my name in the ring here too. At the end of the year I will be moving from Windows 10 (EOL) to Linux, likely Fedora.
While I likely will do my best to make Affinity work as I am a fan of the software as a previous Adobe Suite user, I am unwilling to use Windows 11 to continue doing so.
I would be happy to pay for a separate license or some other fee to have a supported Linux installation, but otherwise Suite V2 will likely be my last purchase of this software package.
I understand that there is a sense that the Linux market is less worthwhile, but with Holo (SteamOS), proton compatibility, and the steady worsening of Windows, I believe it is becoming a more and more promising segment, and being the first professional grade suite would place Affinity in a uniquely forward position for that.
Have a nice day!
But it is Linux's current low market share that is holding everything back. Relatively few companies want to go to the expense of altering their products for just 4.3% of the desktop market share (Statcounter, April 2025). What you could try is using the Serif Affinity products via Wine/Bottles or in a VM.
That said, I wish that Codeweavers could try to put more effort to make their CrossOver work well with the Affinity software range (and yes, I am a full time Linux user).
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Just out of interest, has anyone tried out the combination of Gimp 3 + PhotoGimp 3.0?
GIMP 3.0 Just Made Photoshop IRRELEVANT in 2025
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On 4/27/2025 at 10:44 AM, Frozen Death Knight said:
Pewdiepie made his own video about moving over to Linux and what benefits and downsides there are for doing so. One such downside being Photoshop, since he actually has a background in graphics design before he became a prominent YouTuber. More and more people are going to start trying Linux out in the coming years and having big content creators starting to promote the OS is showing signs of growth.
He did show some shots of the customisation options that he used to civilise Gimp (PhotoGIMP 3?) and I wish that he had been able to go into more detail there.
In that one video, he has done more than the Linux Foundation has ever done in its 25 years of existence to promote Linux to a wider audience and yes, that does reflect badly on the Linux Foundation and its billion dollar donor company members.
We ought to be sharing that video with others to promote Linux including our Windows-using friends (some of whom are annoyed by Windows 11 and its equipment specifications).
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25 minutes ago, Iltirtar said:
Yes. That is true if they have interest in the Linux market outside of China. But, although it might seem strange, there is a chance that they don't have interest in that market. What seems logical to us is not always what's logical from the marketing perspective — especially in China.
PS. But maybe they will release an English version for Linux soon. I have no idea.
I very much hope that they do that because many of us here would like to try it out!
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17 minutes ago, Iltirtar said:
That makes sense from the outside. But maybe precisely because there is no competitors on Linux, it's not their interest to have a Linux version in English.
Given that the English language is the most widespread language on the planet, it would be entirely logical to have such a version especially since their Windows version already comes in an English language version.
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2 minutes ago, AeJoo6 Quee8s said:
The Kylin package is Ubuntu-compatible, but there's a peculiar geo-blocking mechanism: the UI is in Chinese, despite traces of English and German localization strings in the config file. It needs either reverse-engineering or communication with the tech support team. Only Windows/macOS versions are marketed for the non-local market.
Well, I hope that the developers can start off with an English language version for the Linux version since it would be in their interest to do that as there are very few competitor products on Linux unlike macOS and Windows.
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1 hour ago, AeJoo6 Quee8s said:
There's no need. The Chinese market is self-contained and hard to penetrate. E.g, they have PhotoSir/himirage , including Linux and HarmonyOS Next versions.
Look around this exact feedback subforum. Serif has enough pressing issues at their hands at the moment. There are indirect signs of bad technical debt situation and hard to fix without re-engineering from the ground up dead-ends (like RTL language support, which is important for markets where Canva is expanding).
Now that is really interesting. The developers say that it can do 90% of what Photoshop can do and that it not based on Gimp. It is available with Deepin Linux and, given any set of necessary dependencies, a flatpak/snap/appimage version might be very useful.
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5 hours ago, AndyMac said:
As it appears that Corel (Alludo) might have stopped any further development of PaintShop Pro (2023 being latest version, released 2022), Affinity has an opportunity to step in with the lower price point/lifetime licence offer for a comprehensive photo editing tool.
To make this clear as an objective, and to help those who want to be able to migrate completely, some level of PSPIMAGE file import would be a really great addition - even if it were a separate, stand-alone utility (even better, with batch capabilities).
To make this an even easier decision for PSP owners, it would also be sensible to add the sorts of AI capabilities that PSP had since 2020 for e.g. upsampling, denoise, artifact removal, background removal as well as some of the AI assistance that Photoshop Elements now offers like AI assisted object removal, etc.
I know that the whole AI question seems contentious on this forum (and with Affinity), but many people editing photos simply want a tool that helps them do their work effectively and quickly - although I understand that some people want to continue to work completely manually.
I think that is a fair question to ask and would using .PNG format as an intermediary option in the meantime?
Please consider Linux as a viable platform - Microsoft is bleeding users to Linux because of their choices.
in Feedback for the Affinity V2 Suite of Products
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As we can see from someone else who has used the VM method, it does work:
I can get by with native Linux applications such as Nomacs and Pixeluvo for my needs.