Why OS X Has No “Paint” From Windows
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It’s no secret that I’m a fan of OS X, and having a forum like this to discuss what’s going on with the operating system is something that I truly enjoy. Although there are plenty of positive things to talk about when it comes to Apple’s OS, I’m not so blinded by fanboyism that I can’t see the shortcomings. The other day, actually, I had a negative realization about OS X that surprised me, and I thought I’d share it with you.
For a long time, Macs have been the de facto standard for graphic designers, and although I’m not a graphic designer in any way, shape, or form, I can understand why designers are drawn to the platform, and since my wife is one of them, this is made even clearer for me. To be honest, I’ve only done some image editing on Macs that had the full Adobe suite on them, so manipulating graphics was a piece of cake even for someone like me because I had the right tools at my disposal.
With that said, I’ve never really needed to install any graphics programs on either one of my Macs, so when I had to do a little work on a particular image of mine, I looked around my installation of Leopard to see if I could find anything that was at least close to being an equivalent to Microsoft’s Paint program. I’d never really seen anything like this before, but I figured that there might be something buried beneath the surface in this latest version of OS X. I searched and searched for some basic tool beyond iPhoto, but much to my chagrin, I just didn’t find anything. Here I was using an operating system for graphic designers that didn’t even include a basic image editing application. There’s something wrong with this picture.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this ridiculous? I’m sure many of you have been aware of this for years, and in the back of mind, I knew it to be true as well, but the fact that it’s still this way is completely beyond me. I know a lot of real graphic designers already have all of the expensive applications and wouldn’t bother messing with an inferior application, but for users like me, there should at least be something decent included with the operating system.
Whether they like it or not, Apple has to face the music and understand that designers are drawn to their computers, and when it comes time for one of their retail representatives to show off the design capabilities of OS X, they shouldn’t just have to launch one of Adobe’s bloated applications. Last time I checked, Macs were about simplicity and power, so where is that fantastic, yet simple, native image editing application that the platform demands?
I know there are some free and open source alternatives, but I shouldn’t have to track a third-party application down when Apple could have easily bundled their own solution with their OS. The Paint program that’s a part of Windows may not have changed very much over the years, but you realize how much you miss it when you’re using OS X.
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10 Comments
mura
February 1st, 2008
at 10:22pm
sooo the total of the OS for a editers or just editing out of the box is 130-150 U$D ?
one more reasen not to get a mac “for me”. last thursday I used OS X on a PC (that uses a AMD64 monocore) and it worked… sort of…
but all in all the gimp is the best haha :P
Svend-Erik Eriksen
February 2nd, 2008
at 11:51am
I would agree with you that it would be nice if OSX had a simple paint program, but I would hope it would be much more elegant and up to date than that old (and I do mean old…) relic that still resides in Windows….Windows paint is almost useless, unless it is meant to be a diversion for children.
zeppelin
February 2nd, 2008
at 5:28pm
Well, MacPaint is available from the Apple website and is endorsed by them. I don’t think there is a need for a OS X “Paint” because anyone who is a designer or is interested in design already has graphic apps installed.
Eduardo, from Brazil
February 2nd, 2008
at 6:39pm
Agreed in full. I’ve been around computers since 1978, and I just don’t get this religious behaviour about Apple and its products. Mind you, I moved to Mac almost two years now, and I got a 160 Gb iPod, so I know my onions about this subject.
What about iTunes? It’s the most straight way to make a mess out of your music library. If you (like me) has any respect for your files and the info inside them, get a copy of Tag & Rename. Them you’ll see more than just pretty covers floating… you will learn about your music.
Myles
February 2nd, 2008
at 9:55pm
I think it would make sense to include something as simple as MSpaint, but of course Apple would want to do it better. But, if they did do it better they would compete with all the other image editing programs, and they see no need to.
:P
Anonymous
February 3rd, 2008
at 6:11am
Core Image Funhouse works, and Preview has become far more developed as an image editor.
M L
February 3rd, 2008
at 6:34am
Brandon,
You can’t find paint… well I can’t find anything on my OSX… I am a windows user who found a big clear blue thing with an apple on it at the GoodWill for 25 dollars and thought WOW that would be great for the grandkids… I got it…. It has been cleaned of most personal things I suppose. I have managed to find how to make a document and how to add a contact… that is IT. No calendar, not that I would know how to work a mac calendar, if I could find it. I suppose my major problem is that it is password protected..
I know that there must be something I can do to utilize that 25$… as the mac is only 3-4 years old and has potential as a machine that will fit the needs of my grandchildren… I did find a dummy book… but for OS9… but bought it to give myself a headstart… HELP how do you get rid of someone elses passwords…
Linda
Ms. Wahala
February 3rd, 2008
at 2:22pm
That’s true, Mac should have some sort of basic program installed. That was one of the first things I didn’t like about it, but then I wouldn’t have found out about things like Picnik online.
Still, this is basic stuff that shouldn’t be missing that irks me the same way it did when Microsoft took Photo Editor out of the XP line. I used that on my 98 machine every day.
I’m a Huge fan of the MacBook Pros and I bought two last year, one for me, and one for my business partner. But like you, I’m not so much of a fan that I can’t see flaws. Like the power cord issue. Wrote a whole article about that.
Mike
February 4th, 2008
at 6:14am
When was the last time I used MS Paint? Genuinely can’t remember - probably on a Windows’95 machine. There are way too many alternatives out there to be stuck with something so useless.
Pye
May 4th, 2008
at 9:00am
I use MS paint all the time to do simple stuff like add text and highlights (i.e. circles highlighting something I want to point out). These are valuable functions, not “distractions for children” as one poster suggested. I use these kinds of functions at work all the time. I’m not a graphic designer thus I have no need for expensive and complicated software that could perform this function.
I’m new to the Mac and over the last few months have found that it’s a pretty wonderful machine. But when I ran across this “need” and found no simple way to fulfill it I was simply flabbergasted at the depth of this oversight.