cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/2219446
TL;DR:
Semple, a multi-disciplinary British artist, promised to build “a brand new suite of world-class design and photography tools, with an uncanny similarity to the tools you’ve been indoctrinated in.”
“There’s a really urgent need for a suite of creative tools for creators that they actually own rather than rent. In a way, this first started when Adobe and Pantone decided to paywall the Pantone colors and I created Freetone — which was a free color plugin so creators could continue to access their palette,” he says.
“I have lawyers, and I’ve taken advice. We have solid plans in place. I would also point out that nobody has seen the final branding and no software that infringes on any of Adobe’s trademarks has been produced,”
“I have successfully challenged IP owned by Tiffany and Co, Pantone, Mattel, and others over the years. I feel we have a good and thorough understanding of where the legal line is and an ability to get as close to that as possible without overstepping it.”
Creating an Adobe-equivalent suite of tools with less than $300k? By November 2024? I’m not sure they realize the work required to build such complex software.
I’m all for alternative to Adobe products but these folks are delusional. I think it would be more productive to donate that money and those developer hours to projects like GIMP and Inkscape.
Based on the TLDR, it seems like this isn’t the first time he created free-tools to replace Adobe-equivalents.
Not to say it looks much brighter, but he has some track record I guess…
Yeah, he created free tools alright
A photoshop RGB color set
That’s it