A new wave for Seashore
It must have happened while we weren’t looking. Seashore — long a favourite of those needing a free Mac image editor — has been bumped to version 0.5.0 after languishing for years at or below 0.1.9.
It’s not yet considered stable, but we had no trouble putting 0.5.0 through its paces. The first thing you notice is the unified interface:
Compare it with the cluttered old one, which is spread across four windows:
It’s much easier to use the new way. The tool options are conveniently positioned across the top, and the layers are displayed logically on the left.
A feature comparison at the Seashore site shows that the program stacks up well against Acorn, Pixelmator, Photoshop Elements, GIMP, and even Photoshop.
But there are still a few crucial items missing. The developers are calling for help with full vector support, effects layers, performance, scripting, localization, and file formats — notably PSD, which would bring it in line with GIMP.
It’s good to see they would also like help with high-resolution icons. It may seem superficial, but many people base their first impression of a program on its looks.
The goal set for Seashore is to make it a good free alternative for the average user. This means we can forget about a free version of Photoshop, but it also means expectations for the app are realistic.
About all we can do here at thriftmac is cheer from the sidelines. If you’re a programmer, though, here’s your chance to help with a worthy cause.
Posted Sunday, July 11, 2010 in Updates
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