I think GIMP was written by Linux type people with that mindset and they do like it a lot; I think it's a lot like old DOS stuff I used to see in pre-Windows days, a roll-your-own type user interface that, if you take the time to learn, isn't too bad and the program itself is pretty powerful. It isn't, by any stretch, Photoshop, but it isn't bad for the price. A proper shell for it makes it more useful!