If GIMP is not available through Synaptic in 10.04, that will be the
point where Ubuntu and I part ways. Ubuntu is not the only distro
available, it is merely the most famous. If this article is correct, I
see myself trying to make Gnome work in Mepis. Hopefully Mepis will see
the gaping hole that Ubuntu is leaving in the market and put out a Gnome
distro.

As long as you can still get it from the install menu, I dont think its
a big deal. I know with all the installs I have done, most dont know its
there - along with some other things. As long as you have access to
install it - I dont see the problem.

If the access exists to it through the package manager, there is no
problem. My problem would start if it becomes unavailable.

It is not installed with Kubuntu and I just install it. It's no big deal.
The real issue is probably disk size. I have heard the same thing about
Rhythmbox. IMO, they should start with Mono and applications that depend on
it. If it is anything like .NET it has to suck size wise.

Some people on Brainstorm even want Amarok and Digikam installed. Both are
KDE applications. It seems that lots of Ubuntu users are running mixed GNOME
and KDE systems.

Gimp will not be dropped from the repositories, just not included in the
install disk.

They needed the room for the operating system while still keeping the size on a
CD.

Something had to go.

I dont see anything wrong with that. Really, so a certain degree, Im
kinda in favor of, put the OS itself on a cd so I can install it and
then through either the setup screen or later on, I choose all the apps
that I want to install. In my case, for the most part, the stuff that
came with the OS wouldnt hardly be used and most of my menus would be
empty. The apps I use, I use all the time and the rest - I hardly know
about.

See: Planned Changes to Next Ubuntu Version 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)
http://ur1.ca/g8nh

<http://ur1.ca/g8nh>The issue of disk size always comes up. After each
release it is reviewed and hard choices are made. It is a no win situation.
Brainstorm always has people voting for a DVD release, but that is easier
said than done. As the distribution size increases servers need to be
expanded to keep up with the increased demand and that costs money. So far,
Canonical has managed quite well to walk a fine line.

I use GIMP just about every day. It does not bother me that I will have to
install it separately. It also does not trouble me that I have to uninstall
Evolution and install Thunderbird. Tailoring things to your own
specifications is half the fun!