> Initially, Paint.net was released under a modified version of the MIT License, with the exclusion of the installer, text, and graphics. However, citing issues with the open source code being plagarized by others that had rebranded the software as their own and bundled user content without their permission, the availability of the source code was restricted, in December 2007 Brewster announced his intent to restrict access to components of the program (including its installer, resources, and user interface). In November 2009, the software was made proprietary, restricting the sale or creation of derivative works of the software.[1]
For me Paint.Net is like foobar2000 or Mp3Tag: they make Windows great.
I miss this tool now that I switched to macOS for work. Is there something similar to Paint.Net for macOS?
My go-to editor was Paint.Net on Windows too, it's really good. When I switched to macOS, I found Krita which is pretty nice. I have really basic needs and Krita is free, so your mileage may vary. It's presented as a painting app on the official website (and the specialized UI looks really good), but you shouldn't be lost on the default GUI configuration. It's available on Windows and Linux too (and I just saw there's a Steam version, but it's not free).
It's geared towards designers but https://inkscape.org/ is FOSS for macOS. As feature-rich as it is, I still prefer the simplicity yet effectiveness of Paint.net which allows non-designers / engineers to edit images intuitively.
For free? No. If you're willing to pay 20 to 40 euros (depending if it is on discount or not) you can get pixelmator pro which is a lot more capable than paint.net.
It is sad that apple provides some decent office apps, music app, video editing app for "free" (as in bundled in the OS you paid for along the very expensive hardware you paid for) but no drawing tool...
Nice! Btw, does anyone know a plugin which can pipe the selection as png into another app and then read png back from its stdout? Something like :'<,'>!app in Vim, but for graphics.
Paint.NET is by far the Windows program that I miss the most. Krita is for drawing rather than editing, Pinta just crashes constantly. Such a shame Paint.NET doesn't even work in wine.
Paint.net is in my collection of programs that I always install right after a fresh Windows installation :) Great app for basic editing needs. I use it in conjunction with IrfanView.
17 comments
[ 68.7 ms ] story [ 883 ms ] thread[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint.net#History
That't why Microsoft used Freebsd TCP/IP utilities in Windows.
And for a time the actual TCP/IP stack!
if you're more interested in painting/drawing, krita
It is sad that apple provides some decent office apps, music app, video editing app for "free" (as in bundled in the OS you paid for along the very expensive hardware you paid for) but no drawing tool...
There are plugins, but they could be better.
EDIT: Forgot GIMP. But that UI is unusable