Gripes about Gnome

I want to upload a file to flickr. My father has, for some strange reason, sent me huge files. I'm in Ubuntu right now.

1. I go to gmail, and download the photos.


2. Firefox prompts me to open or save. I open it with Eye of GNOME 2.18.1


3. I can... zoom and unzoom. Hurray. This isn't what I want. How do I edit? Right click? The file menu? No, there's no way I can go from viewing to editing. This has been fixed in 2.19.1


4. I minimize all of the windows (I still have to configure my preferences to let me windows key + d), and right click on the file. Open with, GIMP image editor


5. I sort of fuddle my way through GIMP. I want to crop the image. I find it under the tools menu, after accidentally drawing black lines all over my photo. Why is the default tool a pen, not a selector?


6. I hit ctrl shift x. This, in paint.NET, is the 'crop it' shortcut - it feels very natural. Instead, the GIMP asks me "Enter a name for this buffer", and name my 'cut'. WTF? If this is common enough to warrant a shortcut, why isn't it common enough to warrant some explanation or intuitive design!


7. I try the help menus in GIMP to find a version number, while writing this. Apparently, I don't have gimp-help installed, so I can just get fucked. Thank you, default installation option. apt-get fixes it, but I'm still cranky.


8. Do I even want to know what script-fu and python-fu are? No.


9. I manage to do my cropping, and choose to save it. It started life as a JPG, I cut, I started a new image, I pasted. Surely, it would default to choosing a JPG? No. I try the file type picker, and hit the save button again. I've picked jpg. There's an annoying rendering bug in my way, too. I realise, after a moment, that all I've done is select a filetype filter, not what kind of image I'm trying to save. WTF.


10. Finally, I get it - I must type the file extension, and save.


11. I go back to flickr, and fight a file upload dialog. I have "type a location" on by default, but I look at the highlighted files. I try to type a filename, and it doesn't find it. I hit the down arrow, and manage to gain focus, after which I can type a filename. I can't do any of my windows tricks of wildcard matching - *.jpg for instance would be 8000 times more useful than the file type picker, which, in this particular dialog, shows me an option of "All files" and... "All Files". Why even let it render as a button I can click if all it's doing is showing me "All files".


12. I try to type *.jpg, of course, and hit enter, only to have it try to upload /home/clockwerx/*.jpg


13. I give up and try to use the mouse


14. Success! I have made an upload. In 14 steps.