GIMP -- the GNU Image Manipulation Program -- is about to be upgraded to version 2.4 Presently available as 2.3.4, the program that makes digital image editing easy on a Mac, Windows, and Linux, is about to see major positive enhancements.

GIMP is comparable to Photoshop, the industry standard for digital photo editing. GIMP is freeware, released under the GNU license, whereas Photoshop has a hefty pricetag for a lot of power. Photoshop is the superior product, but people should not discount the power of GIMP.

GIMP 2.4 features three new tools: the Align tool, the Foreground Extraction tool, and a Rectangle Selector. I am very pleased to see the Foreground tool, a method of moving an object out of one picture, and into another, without having to trace around a complex shape (such as a person's body). Such a tool can save lots of time, especially if your hand is not steady on the mouse.

GIMP 2.4 also sports a new interpolation method called Lanczos for scaling operations. Instead of using the old interpolation methods, this new process makes the images more clear and accurate. I did research this new method, but most explinations are large words and math that I am not going to replicate here.

Perhaps the largest enhancement of GIMP 2.4 is the introduction of Color Management. Inside 2.4, you can now define the environment you are working with, such as your color monitor calibration, and settings for your printer. You may have heard of Apple's ColorSync... this is the GIMP implementation of it.

I look forward to seeing 2.4 out for downloading in the near future.

Christian