Best freeware alternative to Paint Shop Pro?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Latter
  • Start date Start date
| Any idea where I can find out if the patent is still valid
in the UK?

The patent is still in force in Canada, the U.K., Japan, Germany,
Italy, France an their dependencies. It will finally expire in July
2004. It is illegal to use or distribute to these countries unless
either the software is under license or unless you obtain a license
directly from Unisys Corp.

I know of no generally available freeware which is under license,
though a great number of programs which pirate the gif/tiff
compression exist. And I've heard from someone who should know that
Unisys intends to enforce their patent (though whether we'll see any
great surge in cases until after the patent expires completely and
maximum damages can be claimed, is open to speculation).

More than you asked, but there is a good, patent-free alternative to
..gif in the .png format, which is supported by nearly all recent
browsers.

Hi, John, PhotoPlus,
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/serif/ph/ph5/index.asp, is a very
good application. It does not have the publicity it should. You can
download version 5.5 free. When I ordered ver. 7, I got ver. 7 and
four other apps for $17.95. I don't remember now what they were. I'm
getting ready to upgrade to ver. 8. You can now legally use the gif
format. HTH
--
 
| And ty for the info re png but is there any drwabacks to using jpg
| images?

No, unless you want to do non-rectangular images which have a
transparent background. That was one of the big reasons to use .gif,
and the .png format does similarly support making areas transparent.
Png has a lot of fancy transparency, and as "Blinky" pointed out, not
all browsers support any but the basic transparency (and gif files
never had anything but basic transparency anyway). But .jpg is fine
for normal rectangular images.
Click to expand...

Thanks Danin, I don't want to do anything too complicated at first, I
just want something that I can use more or less immediately. GIMP
would take me forever to learn particularly as I've abandoned AOLPress
and am now using HTML-Kit. I appreciate your help!

--

John Latter

The 'Socially Acceptable Violence' website:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/sac.html

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html
 
| Any idea where I can find out if the patent is still valid
in the UK?

The patent is still in force in Canada, the U.K., Japan, Germany,
Italy, France an their dependencies. It will finally expire in July
2004. It is illegal to use or distribute to these countries unless
either the software is under license or unless you obtain a license
directly from Unisys Corp.

I know of no generally available freeware which is under license,
though a great number of programs which pirate the gif/tiff
compression exist. And I've heard from someone who should know that
Unisys intends to enforce their patent (though whether we'll see any
great surge in cases until after the patent expires completely and
maximum damages can be claimed, is open to speculation).

More than you asked, but there is a good, patent-free alternative to
.gif in the .png format, which is supported by nearly all recent
browsers.

Hi, John, PhotoPlus,
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/serif/ph/ph5/index.asp, is a very
good application. It does not have the publicity it should. You can
download version 5.5 free. When I ordered ver. 7, I got ver. 7 and
four other apps for $17.95. I don't remember now what they were. I'm
getting ready to upgrade to ver. 8. You can now legally use the gif
format. HTH
Click to expand...

Hi Faye,

I downloaded Photoplus but because I've also started to use other
programs (non-graphic) the learning curve looks too high for me at the
moment!

--

John Latter

The 'Socially Acceptable Violence' website:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/sac.html

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html
 
do search on google for PIXIA
Click to expand...

Someone else mentioned Pixia, I downloaded it last night and was
actually able to produce something within a minute or two so I'm going
to persevere with it for now - I've only got modest ambitions at the
moment * GIMP & Photoplus are too difficult for me!

--

John Latter

The 'Socially Acceptable Violence' website:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/sac.html

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html
 
Hi Faye,

I downloaded Photoplus but because I've also started to use other
programs (non-graphic) the learning curve looks too high for me at the
moment!
Click to expand...

Most graphic or photo editor applications will have a descent learning
curve...

Once you learn one you will find most are the same with minor differences


--
----------------------------------------
Quantum Illusions: http://quantum.2ya.com
Pegasus Mail Support Site: http://pegasus.quantum.2ya.com
Freeware Site: http://freeware.quantum.2ya.com
DATA Solutions: http://datasolutions.quantum.2ya.com

If you truly want to contact me click the link
http://quantum.2ya.com/email.htm
 
Hi Folks!

Are there are any good freeware alternatives to Paint Shop Pro?
Click to expand...

Thankyou to everyone who replied to the above post! :)

I've downloaded and tried a number of the suggestions people have made
both in this thread & in another ("Best freeware alternative to Paint
Shop Pro?" dunno how to link with it) and am currently persevering
with Pixia although I might give Image Forge a try too.

Gimp & Photoplus are too difficult for someone of my capabilities to
learn easily - particularly as I'm also trying to get up to speed on
other non-graphic programs. And I can always come back to them later!

Thanks again!
--

John Latter

The 'Socially Acceptable Violence' website:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/sac.html

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html
 
Thankyou to everyone who replied to the above post! :)

I've downloaded and tried a number of the suggestions people have made
both in this thread & in another ("Best freeware alternative to Paint
Shop Pro?" dunno how to link with it) and am currently persevering
with Pixia although I might give Image Forge a try too.

Gimp & Photoplus are too difficult for someone of my capabilities to
learn easily - particularly as I'm also trying to get up to speed on
other non-graphic programs. And I can always come back to them later!

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Oops -this should have gone to another thread!

9.14 am and the day's already going pear-shaped

'sigh'

--

John Latter

The 'Socially Acceptable Violence' website:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/sac.html

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html
 
======================================================

Really .. this is kinda like asking 'which is the best car' to substitute
for a Ford?

It all depends on what you intend to accomplish with it. If you are looking
for
just another paint program that has all the same functions as PSP .. why
bother?

I saw in the thread where somebody was talking about .GIF support. The PSP
version 4.14 I use (and this was freeware off the surface of a computer mag
some
time ago... [izzat free?] ) ... and it supports .GIF It does not have an
auto-enhance
feature like some other programs, however, and it does not deal with
layering.

On the other hand, except for the freeware, yet exotic GIMP and Pixel
programs,
there will be few paint programs that provide near the same features as PSP.
Ultimate Paint used to freeware, and that version can still be found.
Others still
available include MSPAINT, ZPaint, Dog Waffle, and TuxPaint... all freeware.
Dog Waffle is probably the most for freeware genre. (IMHO)
 
Hi, John, PhotoPlus,
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/serif/ph/ph5/index.asp, is a very
good application. It does not have the publicity it should. You can
download version 5.5 free. When I ordered ver. 7, I got ver. 7 and
four other apps for $17.95. I don't remember now what they were. I'm
getting ready to upgrade to ver. 8. You can now legally use the gif
format. HTH
Click to expand...


Gosh! You mentioned the "$" word! Now the ACF gods are gonna curse you
an your ancestors!


SIAOGU

Girls when they went out to swim
Once dressed like Mother Hubbard
Now they have a bolder whim
They dress more like her cupboard
 
Gosh! You mentioned the "$" word! Now the ACF gods are gonna curse you
an your ancestors!
Click to expand...

Yes, the thunder is deafening. Seems like your troll attempt is the only
thing it managed to stir up. Now, back under the bridge with you...
there's a good boy.
 
John said:
Are there are any good freeware alternatives to Paint Shop Pro?
Click to expand...

Note for Aussies: This month's "PC User" magazine has PSP5, full
version, free on the cover CD. So buy the mag for the articles,
and get the software as a bonus. :)
 
Paul said:
Note for Aussies: This month's "PC User" magazine has PSP5, full
version, free on the cover CD. So buy the mag for the articles,
and get the software as a bonus. :)
Click to expand...

CDware isn't freeware unless it's available freely on the internet for
everybody to download. Do you have such a link? I looked at:

http://www.pcuser.com.au

but couldn't find one.
 
Gosh! You mentioned the "$" word! Now the ACF gods are gonna curse you
Yes, the thunder is deafening. Seems like your troll attempt is the only
thing it managed to stir up. Now, back under the bridge with you...
there's a good boy.
Click to expand...

********************************

You can get PhotoPlus 5.5 at http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/
Registration Key (which you need to activate your product): 479329

********************************

You can get PhotoPlus 6 (free) instead of version 5 from the following
site. I have downloaded it, no problems at all. However, it is 19MB

http://www.sandylee.net/webhosting/tools.html#software

Installation#: 1142366851
Code: PHP001
Your registration key is: 94021

********************************

Pixia ver. 2.8 is also now available as freeware at
http://www.ab.wakwak.com/~knight/

********************************
 
John said:
CDware isn't freeware unless it's available freely on the internet for
everybody to download. Do you have such a link? I looked at:

http://www.pcuser.com.au

but couldn't find one.
Click to expand...
John,
Since when has the definition of freeware included "must be available on
the internet?"

Cheers,
Gary B-)

P.S. I bought the mag just for the legal copy of PSP5.
 
Gary R. Schmidt said:
John,
Since when has the definition of freeware included "must be
available on the internet?"

Cheers,
Gary B-)

P.S. I bought the mag just for the legal copy of PSP5.
Click to expand...


Then *you* have your free software on CD.
*We* do not have access to that freeware online.
 
Since when has the definition of freeware included "must be available on
the internet?"
Click to expand...

How do we get it for *free*? You're suggesting we steal the magazine?

Free does not mean cheap, see.

Or does your license include distribution rights, and you'll be putting
it up on a site, somewhere?
 
CDware isn't freeware unless it's available freely on the internet for
everybody to download. Do you have such a link? I looked at:

http://www.pcuser.com.au

but couldn't find one.
Click to expand...
John, the AU Pcuser mag does not make the CDs available for download
or sale separately. To get a desired CD you have to order the mag
from their back issue page (the mag is not available in US).

I've been there - done that.

Ted
 
Bebop & Rocksteady said:
Personally I don't use Gif, never have and never will, for this very
reason, it is also dated technologly and the pantent issues and has shot
itself in the foot...

The open source equalivalant PNG
Click to expand...

PNG is not "open source", it's an open standard (endorsed by the W3C).
(An open source reference library to decode PNG images exists, but as a
programmer you can write your own PNG code if you wish...)
 
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