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Adobe Releases Updated Creative Suite

jonknee writes "MacMerc just noted that Adobe has dropped the motherload and updated most of its core non-video apps in a bundle called the Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, GoLive, InDesign and InCopy (a new product).It looks like Adobe PR popped the press releases a little early as not much is up on their site yet. The official debut will be tomorrow at a press event that looks to have a webcast."

307 comments

  1. * = no Ads when I don't want them by mao+che+minh · · Score: 2, Insightful
    These applications have historically been updated annually, or at the longest, every other year. Is this "news" supposed to be exciting?

    Couldn't Adobe have purchased traditional advertisement space?

    1. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Sphere1952 · · Score: 1

      Rather close to my reaction of "So what?".

      I used to hate Acrobat with a passion, but KDE's PS/PDF viewer acts like a normal app, and I just don't care anymore.

      --
      Big Brother Bush is doubleplus ungood.
    2. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0



      Don't worry about it too much. The whole article is a typo. Instead of Adobe has dropped the motherload is should have read A dope dropped his load on your mother.. But even that would be incorrect, unless you define "a dope" as every nigger in the town.

      Peace.

    3. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by njan · · Score: 1

      According to the webcast, it's the "only true cross-media solution". I think the emphasis is meant to be on the *suite*, not the products. Numerous people have posted comments to the effect of 'nothing's new'. I disagree. From the webcast, it looks like they've done a lot of work closely integrating these products; it's the integration that is the selling of the 'creative suite', and integration saves money and time for designers who are already on tight schedules. *shrug*

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    4. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      When you're a mac user, any software update is exciting.

      They have what, a whole 20 titles to look forward to?

    5. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Doesn't matter what platform or OS you use. All you need is:

      A web browser
      internet connectivity
      keyboard/mouse or some input device
      your right hand
      pants with a zipper
      lube (optional you may take it dry)
      tissues

      Fuck all that other shit, Photoshop and Gimp and SQL blah blah blah. Gimmie the tits and twat!

    6. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by jbottero · · Score: 0

      Man... I was snickering all the way until the end, then BAM, like a blow to the side of the head from a mugger in downtown Portland... The "N" word.

      I suspect that my post, too, will be modded "offtopic" and "flamebait" too, but then Slashdot is SOOOOO "PC". GNU/Linux PC, that is...

    7. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by mo^ · · Score: 1

      Strong racist tones were aired in responses to a previous story.

      I did get kinda shirty there too. Just wanted to speak up in support of your post. /. is not alone in this rampant racism displayed in groups and forums across the ostensibly global internet. sadly censorship, too leads to all kinds of complications. though i do feel if /. can prevent posts in ALL CAPS, then it could prolly present the more offensive words and terms being submitted.

      ho hum

      --
      bah!*@%!
    8. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by ShinmaWa · · Score: 1

      Mao --

      As much as I respect you and your posts, I have to question this one. Slashdot has LONG been used as an advertising forum via its articles. Do you also complain about the book reviews (which are even more blantant -- complete with the BN partner links)? The answer might very well be "yes" I realize, but my point is that it should come as no shock nor suprise anymore.

      --
      The /. Effect: Thousands of users simultaneously accessing a site to not read its content.
    9. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > They have what, a whole 20 titles to look forward
      > to?

      Ummm...now that OS X has a BSD base and X support, a lot more than twenty.

    10. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Waa. Waa. Mommy, I'm scared of words. Make the bad man stop saying them!

    11. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amen! I've been enjoying this site lately. Found it here, also a great site. Check it daily!

    12. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "These applications have historically been updated annually, or at the longest, every other year. Is this "news" supposed to be exciting?"

      It lights a fire under the Gimp development team, doesn't it? As for whether it's exciting or not, I'm willing to wager that a LOT of people here use Photoshop extensively at work. Sorry you don't like it.

      "Couldn't Adobe have purchased traditional advertisement space?"

      See previous point.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    13. Re:* = no Ads when I don't want them by Monkey+Angst · · Score: 1
      It lights a fire under the Gimp development team, doesn't it?
      Does it? I dunno. The GIMP can be used as a Photoshop alternative for a lot of tasks, but really isn't a Photoshop competitor. I don't generally see them scrambling to adopt all the latest and greatest features of whatever new Photoshop version Adobe has put out... nor should they. Their product is never going to be Photoshop, it should concentrate on being a really good GIMP.
      --
      stripShow - Where WordPress meets webcomics
  2. Is this with new DRM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I heard they were testing it out in Australia earlier this year and were considering putting it in all of their products.

    1. Re:Is this with new DRM? by BlameFate · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Yes, yes it is.

      I checked out the site and Photoshop CS requires activation a la Windows XP.

      Initially only the windows version will get the DRM, but it's coming to Mac soon according to the Adobe FAQ : here

      --

      --is not to be confused with user #672982 - Bame Flait

    2. Re:Is this with new DRM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Yeah, because Windows XP needs so much activation.

  3. Alternative news site by Sir+Haxalot · · Score: 1

    here ;)

    --
    I have over 70 freaks, do you?
  4. Not that amazing... by JanusFury · · Score: 3, Informative
    Photoshop CS - improved file browser, layer comps, text on a path (finally)
    GoLive CS - buffed up CSS and PDF features
    InDesign CS - improved cross-media support
    Illustrator CS - 3D Effects, Refined Typography and Lightning Performance
    This doesn't sound that amazing. What's newsworthy about this? Anyone in the know care to comment? The story's links seem to be extremely light on content.
    --
    using namespace slashdot;
    troll::post();
    1. Re:Not that amazing... by tonywong · · Score: 2, Informative

      There's a review of PS CS on dpreview.com

      Too lazy to link, sorry.

    2. Re:Not that amazing... by Otter · · Score: 0, Funny
      What's newsworthy about this?

      Besides the submitter's invention of the phrase "dropped the motherload", I suppose making InCopy available through retail sales is news.

      In any case, it exceeds the new threshold for newsworthiness set by Change of Makedev() Semantics on FreeBSD.

    3. Re:Not that amazing... by njan · · Score: 1

      As I posted in another thread, the emphasis of the webcast was on the creative suite being the "only true cross-media solution". Adobe are big on the integration between their products; one of the presenters emphasised the fact that the suite is backed up by these applications; from his phraseology, I'm guessing that the suite isn't simply a bundling of the software - it looks like they have actually done a lot of work integrating these apps, for what it's worth.

      --
      I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you
    4. Re:Not that amazing... by badasscat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This doesn't sound that amazing. What's newsworthy about this?

      This.

      It's not just individual application updates. It's groupware version management. Try having five different people in a team working on a file that's going to be used for both print and web with Adobe's current suite of apps. It's a nightmare. If things work the way they describe it in the above article, seamlessly letting all members of a team work on the same file, this upgrade will be a godsend.

      Don't forget, graphic design is not just freelancers working on small projects from home, or l33td00dz who just want the latest "professional" program to "design" wallpapers for deskmod.com. It's also part of every business out there, and in the corporate world it's generally teams of people working on the same documents. This upgrade should hopefully finally bring Adobe's products in line with that reality.

    5. Re:Not that amazing... by WatertonMan · · Score: 1

      Did GoLive only improve CSS and didn't improve their table handling? If so, that is too bad. Table handling, while still somewhat weak, was much better in Dreamweaver than GoLive.

    6. Re:Not that amazing... by Deluge · · Score: 1

      Photoshop CS - improved file browser, layer comps, text on a path (finally)

      That one surprised me - isn't that a feature that's been available in the Corel graphics apps for about 6 years now?

  5. Macromedia too by axlrosen · · Score: 3, Informative

    They released the MX 2004 versions of all their tools a week or so ago.

    http://www.macromedia.com/software/mx2004/

    For example Dreamweaver now supports CSS Layout.

    1. Re:Macromedia too by rolocroz · · Score: 1

      Anyone seen the generated CSS layout that Dreamweaver MX 2004 puts out and care to comment? In the past autogenerated layouts from programs like these have been really crappy code, but it'd be interesting to see what the situation is like today.

      Also, it'd be interesting to compare GoLive CS's output for the same kind of thing; it'd be interesting to see how it's matured.

      Personally, I still write all my code by hand, due to the lousy HTML and JavaScript from WYSIWYG programs like GoLive and Illustrator. This may have changed by now, though.

      --

      I meta-mod all positive moderation Unfair, because it's abuse of the system.

    2. Re:Macromedia too by ainsoph · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Luckily the Web Standards Project has been talking to Macromedia since before the first MX product line, and MM has complied rather well according to them.

      I am not sure how the auto generated code is, but I have used MX 2004 for a little tester, and the feature I saw was deeper integration with the CSS standard when making your pages, in the hand coding way. Which of course you can do with dreamweaver. I wouldnt even touch it if you couldnt.

  6. Re:Don't buy Adobe by iapetus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What's my Linux alternative to Adobe Illustrator, out of interest?

    --
    ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
    Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
  7. Turn off in preferences ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    What option would I deselect in my Homepage preferences to not have new product press releases from commercial-ware show up on the front page ?

    1. Re:Turn off in preferences ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anus.

  8. Great news by BTO · · Score: 0

    It's good to see a heavy hitter like Adobe finally opening up their business practices. I'm sure that this RFC on the secure PDF standard and their relaxing of their draconian licensing on Photoshop will really give Xpdf and Gimp a run for their money. We can only hope that the next step is open-sourcing Framemaker so that we can all have a Free (speech) desktop publishing tool like we have a Free Office suite in OpenOffice. Kudos to Adobe!

    --

    Banach-Tarski Overdrive
  9. Sorry. by cybermace5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't know what a "motherload" is. Is that about two toddlers, three bags of groceries, a purse, keys, coffee mug and cellphone?

    It also occurs to me that perhaps we're talking about a mother lode, taken from gold mining and referring to a specific area of rich quartz veins, and now used to indicate "striking it big" or discovering a wealth of materials or information.

    --
    ...
    1. Re:Sorry. by NihilSmurf · · Score: 1

      I noticed that, too. It's almost as bad as "for all intensive purposes".

    2. Re:Sorry. by cybermace5 · · Score: 1

      And don't get me started on that last sentence. Sometimes I wish I was ignorant, and none of this would bother me.

      --
      ...
    3. Re:Sorry. by mblase · · Score: 1, Funny

      I don't know what a "motherload" is.

      Nor do I, but it sounds awfully naughty.

    4. Re:Sorry. by cybermace5 · · Score: 1

      I just got an officewide email describing a recently-found bracelet, with someone's name "incraved" upon it.

      --
      ...
    5. Re:Sorry. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Motherload: (n) Neologism suggesting a cross between "mother lode" and "shitload"

      [Also in pornographic films meaning large semen deposit into female actress.]

    6. Re:Sorry. by CConkle · · Score: 1

      "Were"! "Were"! Don't make me hit you with the subjunctive mood!

      Honestly, if you're going to make such statements...

    7. Re:Sorry. by cybermace5 · · Score: 1

      "Was" and "were" are both acceptable for that usage, though "were" is preferred for formal writing. I probably don't have to tell you that Slashdot is pretty informal.

      --
      ...
    8. Re:Sorry. by forgotmypassword · · Score: 1

      that phrase still makes cents though

    9. Re:Sorry. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope. When you're expressing a sentiment contrary to fact, you HAVE to use "were." Otherwise, you're just wrong.

    10. Re:Sorry. by cybermace5 · · Score: 1

      That's more traditional, but not a hard-and-fast grammar rule. As I said, both are acceptable, but "were" is more commonly used in formal writing (probably so that someone brainwashed into "were" won't jump on you for it).

      --
      ...
    11. Re:Sorry. by kinnell · · Score: 1
      I don't know what a "motherload" is.

      The term "motherload" is derived from the words "mothership" and "payload", the motherload being the payload of the mothership. To clarify, adobe have opened the cargo bay doors of their mothership and jetisoned the entire cargo. There are as yet no reported fatalities, but the crater is still being searched.

      --
      If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
    12. Re:Sorry. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually:

      Remember the Shaft theme? The mystery of the "he's one bad mother-SHUT YO MOUTH!" has been solved.

  10. Here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    1. Re:Here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nothing like using Alpha/Beta stuff for work. Talk about hanging yourself.

    2. Re:Here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Based on my experience, there are some commercial products released that would still be under Beta in the OS world. Because there is no commercial reason to rush to production open-source software will sit in Beta until the product really is mature. This would be the equivalent of like version 3 or 4 of commercial software. Firebird is actually a good example of this.

  11. Re:Don't buy Adobe by howlinmonkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While I agree with the DMCA issue, please understand that you are comparing apples and oranges. Try doing alpha channels, and hexachrome separations from any MS product. You will find that for production work, Adobe products are the best, and pretty much the only, option.

    I would love to see a competitor come along that could challenge Adobe, but for now, we are stuck. But, their products are decent, and get the job done very well, so things could be worse.

  12. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Adobe Illustrator on Wine, of course.

  13. Application maturity by pubjames · · Score: 4, Interesting


    The interesting thing is that Abode is having exactly the same problems as Microsoft. That is, of application maturity.

    Photoshop as a tool is completely mature. It has been for quite a while now. For many people that use it, there is no reason to upgrade. This is also true of Microsoft Office, and to an extent some of Macromedia's tools such as Dreamweaver.

    The sad thing about all of this is that these companies are trying to find ways of forcing people to upgrade. Macromedia is especially guilty to this I think - it is trying myriad ways of squeezing more money out of the purchasers of their software. Well, I for one am not playing their game - I don't like being strong armed into purchases.

    In the long run, I think these companies are going to die out, because they can't improve their applications much more but OSS solutions are going to evenutally catch up and become equally mature. Still, they've got a few years yet. I give them a decade.

    1. Re:Application maturity by Felonius+Thunk · · Score: 2, Informative

      Along those lines, I see that Adobe has also started requiring product activation (web or phone) as well. Can forced upgrades via short-term licenses be in the near future as well?

      Looking at the new features list, I have to agree with there be little reason to upgrade. While this may mean the products are mature in their scope, it doesn't necessarily mean OSS is going to catch up and pass them soon. It just means that if they keep the tools limited to their current scope, they have little room to grow. A few years ago Adobe tried to sell ImageReady as a separate product, a Photoshop for the web, and fairly quickly realized their customers wouldn't go for it. They folded it into Photoshop. They may be forced to integrate some of their products in the future, too, (Golive and Indesign?) though not until competition forces them to. Their current products may also undergo some drastic change from new technology (semantic markup or copyright enforcement beyond watermarking or whatever), like the web before.

    2. Re:Application maturity by tonywong · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Photoshop may be mature, but it is not feature complete. Some things that have been included in PS CS have been long awaited. 16-bit editing has been very poor in PS before CS and now it looks like you can actually apply filters without having to go down to 8-bit.

      Someone mentioned non-destructive filters and better digital camera RAW support (even than what's in CS) would be appreciated.

      Besides, no one is forcing you to upgrade PS. I'm still using 5.5 and 7.0 on various locations on client sites and I'm not telling they must upgrade, or even should upgrade.

    3. Re:Application maturity by clontzman · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The sad thing about all of this is that these companies are trying to find ways of forcing people to upgrade. Macromedia is especially guilty to this I think - it is trying myriad ways of squeezing more money out of the purchasers of their software. Well, I for one am not playing their game - I don't like being strong armed into purchases.

      I've always had trouble getting the notion of being "forced" and "strong-armed" into upgrading a product. How do you feel like someone is trying to force you into buying an upgrade to Photoshop? Adobe's offering it and you have a choice as to whether to buy it or not -- your old version doesn't time out or stop working; they're just trying to sell a new version. "Squeezing money out of the purchases of their software," a.k.a., making an upgrade that has functionality that people think is worth buying, is how most software companies make money, and I'm not sure there's anything nefarious there.

      Not trying to pick any kind of argument here; I just hear people say things like that and I've never understood what kind of pressure they feel under from these companies to upgrade.

    4. Re:Application maturity by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 1

      The biggest victim of application maturity is Autodesk. AutoCAD has had nowhere to go for a long time now.

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    5. Re:Application maturity by pubjames · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've always had trouble getting the notion of being "forced" and "strong-armed" into upgrading a product.

      Well, I know Macromedia's products better, so I'll talk about those. They have started to make lots of components for them, and to sell them individually. Prevously these would have been considered part of the application product.

      The components in Flash MX for instance had small faults in them (which Macromedia never corrected) and now they've just released Flash MX 2004, which needs completely new components so I have to buy essentially the same thing twice. And they have released a "professional" version of the product with just a few additional elements to the main one, thus bumping up the price again.

      The fact of the matter is that companies can "force" money out of you in the short term by exploiting your long term investment in them.

    6. Re:Application maturity by jedrek · · Score: 1

      Photoshop as a tool is completely mature. It has been for quite a while now.

      Uh... no. The problem with Photoshop is that it's developers are lacking in imagination. There are a lot of things that can be done to speed up the workflow, a lot of things that could be animated. There are still no symbols, no sub folders. There's only very basic grouping of layers and elements. You can't change the font of more than one text object at once. There's no multiple redo, etc.

      There are a lot of functions, small, easy to implement functions that will make Photoshop a lot easier to use for the people who use it everyday. That's what'll push me to upgrade.

      The next logical step would be to combine Photoshop and Illustrator. There is no non-technological reason that these programs are apart. 'But they have different uses' you say. The end effect is that I spend wayyy too much time shuttling rasters and vectors back and forth. It was necessary in '97, it's not necessary any more. There's much to be done, I just wonder if Adobe has the balls to do it.

    7. Re:Application maturity by darien · · Score: 1

      Photoshop as a tool is completely mature. It has been for quite a while now. For many people that use it, there is no reason to upgrade.

      Agreed, but - and I know this doesn't actually contradict your point in any way - Illustrator still has a way to go. There are loads of things I wish I could do in Illustrator. Just straight off the top of my head, I wish I could: apply layer effects in the same way as Photoshop; automatically trace around bitmaps in a remotely intelligent way; apply spherical gradients without having to screw around with meshes; slice items in two by extending a line across them; press a key to select the point directly above or below the selected one; create a wider range of more complex graphs and charts; fill vector objects with bitmaps; click in a contiguous area of colour to make a new object that shape (God that would be bliss)... the list goes on and on.

      I mean, don't get me wrong. I adore the program to bits. But there's so much that could be improved. When you use Photoshop you get the idea that the people who designed it really do do serious print production and know what you need to do the job efficiently and effectively. With Illustrator sometimes you're left wondering whether the designers are really just programmers trying to guess what graphic designers want. The new 3D effects stuff looks promising, but I think there were rather more pressing improvements that could have been made.

      (IAAGD)

    8. Re:Application maturity by realmolo · · Score: 1

      I agree absolutely.

      Photoshop and Illustrator should be one application. In fact, almost every "new" feature in Photoshop over the past few version has simply been a "raster" version of something already available in Illustrator. It's ridiculous.

      The only reason they are still separate is because Adobe knows that they can sell you both for twice the price.

    9. Re:Application maturity by Zapman · · Score: 1

      I'd love for the GIMP to catch up to photoshop. I'd love for the GIMP to just catch up enough to use CMYK (iirc) pallets rather than RGB. I'd love for the GIMP to grok enough about the propriatary RAW formats from digital cameras.

      The GIMP hasn't had a significan't update in forever. I love it as a tool, but it can't compete with photoshop.

      Blind faith in OSS sollutions won't help you. When YOU contribute to the software (documentation, user education (not user flaming), code, test cases, bug reports, etc) OSS gets better, and might be able to start competing.

      --
      Zapman
    10. Re:Application maturity by Ashetos · · Score: 1

      The only victims in the AutoCAD place are the chumps that have to use it. And have to upgrade to overcome the deficiencies of the previous versions.

      In my experience AutoCAD is the epidamy of bloat-ware, legacy-bogged, and monopoly-driven software. It is entirely incomplete and quite bug-ridden despite almost 20 years of development. I find myself dreaming of the day when Microsoft gets hungry enough to decide to take that market away from Autodesk.

      I can not think of a less-deserving company or product than AutoCAD. Unfortunately, market conditions and the consevative nature of the industries it pretends to serve make it quite a smug and uncontested "killer-app."

    11. Re:Application maturity by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 1

      Yeah. I didn't mean to pay it any compliments.

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    12. Re:Application maturity by clontzman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I guess that makes sense... although if the components were buggy in the first place, why buy them again? Why not just keep using the ones you're using now and not upgrade?

      And while the Flash Professional thing is kinda silly, you do still have the option to buy the lower-priced version.

      It still seems to me that if Dreamweaver MX (for example) is doing the job for you, there's no reason to upgrade to MX 2004. If you need the functionality in 2004 (that's not in MX), then Macromedia is doing its job and providing additional value-add(-edness?) in its new product.

      "Forcing" you to do something by releasing an improved product isn't strong-arming in the way I typically would imagine it. But I do understand where you're coming from.

      In Adobe's case, the cost of the RAW plugin they were selling for $99 -- and now including in the CS upgrade -- is almost as much as the cost of the upgrade itself. Doesn't seem such a bad deal if you want that functionality.

    13. Re:Application maturity by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "Someone mentioned non-destructive filters and better digital camera RAW support (even than what's in CS) would be appreciated."

      It won't be too long before it's hard to tell the difference between Photoshop and After Effects.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    14. Re:Application maturity by Doctor+O · · Score: 1
      Along those lines, I see that Adobe has also started requiring product activation (web or phone) as well.

      Actually Photoshop on the Mac has been phoning home since 5.5. This can be simply avoided by not installing the Adobe Online stuff which is completely useless anyway. Don't know about PS7 though - I'm still working with 6.0 and won't be upgrading to 8.0 anyway. There's no need to.

      They may be forced to integrate some of their products in the future, too, (Golive and Indesign?)

      Please, don't mention anything like this again, they might actually think it is a good idea to do so. But it's not. It's nuts. I don't want to talk about the stupidity in putting print and web together, as the design principles are completely different. But when they do this, they will support all those professional designers in advertising agencies who think print and web is the same anyway and produce unusable eye-candy prone shitsites without any content. But another point is, that it would also be a stupid idea to do anything with GoLive other than dumping it and quickly forgetting it was there. I mean, have you ever looked at this pile of shit it outputs and calls HTML? Have you ever had to work on GoLive HTML without using GoLive and doing something more complex than changing some text?

      Just to balance this a bit, Dreamweaver generates big piles of shit if you let it. But at least you *can* avoid it in Dreamweaver. It's a great prototyping tool.

      --
      Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?
    15. Re:Application maturity by Jordy · · Score: 1


      I've always had trouble getting the notion of being "forced" and "strong-armed" into upgrading a product. How do you feel like someone is trying to force you into buying an upgrade to Photoshop? Adobe's offering it and you have a choice as to whether to buy it or not -- your old version doesn't time out or stop working; they're just trying to sell a new version.


      Well, they can pull the old MS Office trick. Change the format of the standard save type and get enough people to upgrade that everyone with older versions of Office are annoyed into upgrading because some percentage of the doc files they get in email can't be read.

      --
      The world is neither black nor white nor good nor evil, only many shades of CowboyNeal.
    16. Re:Application maturity by Josuah · · Score: 1

      Photoshop as a tool is completely mature.

      One of the new software features provided by the Creative Suite is Version Cue. The article (for those who didn't read it) implies a sort of groupware for graphic designers. I certainly think that's something new and exciting.

      I've been using Photoshop for a long time and while I haven't had a need or desire to upgrade every single time, the current version has many useful, productive, time- and money-saving features that are not available in the old versions. It sounds a lot like you are not Adobe's target customer, which is why you don't see any need for further product improvement. But Adobe is adding features that its customers are asking for.

  14. You must be new here. by Skyshadow · · Score: 1
    What's that? Slashdotters complaining about a company/organization's abusive practices in one thread and then shamelessly whoring themselves to said company/organization's products or services in the next? Be still my beating heart.

    The sad fact is that most of the folks here have a powerful capacity for outrage that stops *just* short of actually depriving themselves of anything. We all still go to movies and support the MPAA, we all still buy software from corporate bullies, and hell, a whole lot of us still recommend MS product at work rather than battle the status quo.

    Anyhow, I've been around here for a while now, and I can tell you: It ain't worth getting worked up over. It'll never change because the bulk of the geeks here are too in love with their lifestyle to mess with it just to make so puny a point as "we should have the rights the Constitution grants us" or "having big companies blatently buy our elected officials is a bad thing".

    (sigh) Ignore me, I'm feeling especially defeated today because I'm heading into a three hour "status meeting" in a little while...

    --
    Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    1. Re:You must be new here. by proj_2501 · · Score: 1

      "The sad fact is that most of the folks here have a powerful capacity for outrage that stops *just* short of actually depriving themselves of anything. We all still go to movies and support the MPAA, we all still buy software from corporate bullies, and hell, a whole lot of us still recommend MS product at work rather than battle the status quo."

      No, the sad fact is that the Slashdotters who scream about company X may very well NOT be the Slashdotters who keep their mouths shut and go support company X.

      I realize that the text-only nature of this site filters out a lot of the things we use to recognize individuals, but it's important to realize that Slashdot (nor any other collective without a manifesto or something) is NOT a homogeneous mixture of opinion.

    2. Re:You must be new here. by proj_2501 · · Score: 1

      Oh, I missed the "Ignore me" part. Never mind.

    3. Re:You must be new here. by Jameth · · Score: 1

      Wait, I spoke out about Adobe? Hmmm...I don't remember that. Oh wait, I didn't. Why? Because I don't have a problem with them?

      Oh, yeah...that's what it was.

      You see, 'I' am not 'Slashdot'. If 'I' were 'Slashdot', I'd be a rampaging monster ripping apart poor websites without the bandwidth to handle me, and multiple-personality disorder to boot.

      But, as it turns out, 'Slashdot' is not an individual, nor are 'Slashdotters' one being. See, not being an individual, 'Slashdot' does not function as an idividual.

  15. Apple links from first page by remahl · · Score: 2, Informative

    Apple's first page points to this article about the new tools.

  16. Adobe and Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So we will finally have Photoshop and Illustrator for Linux? I much as I hope this is true I doubt it will ever happen. What is the problem with Adobe? Or is it a problem with the Linux community.

    While I'm wishin' and hopin' here, I'd also like to see Macromedia's products in Linux. Mod me a troll if you must but I genuinely do want to see these Linux support for these programs.

    1. Re:Adobe and Linux by The+Lynxpro · · Score: 1

      "While I'm wishin' and hopin' here, I'd also like to see Macromedia's products in Linux. Mod me a troll if you must but I genuinely do want to see these Linux support for these programs."

      Why would Macromedia support Linux? Macromedia is too in-league with Microsoft to jeopardize that by releasing their products on the Linux platform. You have more chance of seeing the myriad of Symantec Norton programs on Linux before anything from Macromedia...hmmm...a modern version of Norton Desktop for Linux....interesting...

      --
      "Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
    2. Re:Adobe and Linux by Kyouryuu · · Score: 1

      Both Adobe Photoshop and a few of Macromedia's products such as Dreamweaver are documented to work via Wine.

    3. Re:Adobe and Linux by The+Lynxpro · · Score: 1

      Both Adobe Photoshop and a few of Macromedia's products such as Dreamweaver are documented to work via Wine.

      That is not the same thing as offering actual Linux editions of the software. That is using a cheat to run Windows-based software on a Linux setup. Yes, several Hollywood studios are implementing that solution, but nothing beats having native support. Emulation is lazy support.

      --
      "Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
  17. Silly by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 2, Informative

    Don't be painting *Microsoft* as clean either!

    Microsoft abuses it's power in order to attempt to invade new markets.

    Microsoft believes strongly in vendor lock; good for them, not for the customer.

    Microsoft encourages a monoculture as well as a monopoly, and in doing so weakens and damages all of us.

    If you want an alternative to Adobe, even if slightly crappier, there is Macromedia, Quark, and Corel. Microsoft is the *last* company I would willingly invest with my cash and give any more power than they can force out of me.

    1. Re:Silly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft is not clean either. However, no one went to prison yet for publishing a Windows exploit.

      So in this narrowly defined field of companies that abuse DMCA Adobe, RIAA and Disney belong to one camp, while Microsoft is still the "good guys".

  18. Re:Don't buy Adobe by American+AC+in+Paris · · Score: 2, Funny
    The GIMP, a couple dozen sheets of overhead transparencies, some markers, a compass, a protractor, and tape to stick the overhead sheets to your monitor.

    No, really, it's just as good as Illustrator!

    --

    Obliteracy: Words with explosions

  19. Re:Don't buy Adobe by josquin00 · · Score: 1

    The Microsoft products might be cheaper, but they are also much more limited. I thought "price-effciency" was a measure of function for the price? IANAGD (I am not a graphic designer), but I haven't seen anything that comes close to the Adobe suite of editing products. I also disagree with your comments that someone would need "two years at a community college learning Adobe toolset". Of course, I have a four-year degree, so I might be exempt from your categorization...

  20. I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop... by EnglishTim · · Score: 2, Insightful

    One of the areas that Linux has gained a lot of ground is the VFX industry. It's a right pain having to have NT/Mac boxes around just for the texture artists - it'd be a lot easier if we could just run Photoshop on Linux natively.

    Adobe don't seem to be interested though.

  21. Re:Don't buy Adobe by kgarcia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Please provide me links to a product that provides press-ready output in CMYK, with consistent color management, support for postcript fonts, and that can provide files that are supported by most printers, and I will gladly give up Adobe's tools. In the meantime, as a graphic designer, i'm stuck using them. Believe me, I'd switch to linux and drop the PC as a graphic design platform, but until those issues are resolved, I'm stuck in the adobe/macromedia/quark vortex...

  22. Re:Don't buy Adobe by twocoasttb · · Score: 1

    Why do you say "Hate to say it", when you don't mean it?

    I don't agree that there's a close link between the "current spread of viruses and worms on the Internet" and "the fact that Adobe tried to jail the developer who publicized security weaknesses of a commercial product". Was the guy who broke Adobe's security just trying to publicize a weakness? I'm not sure about that...

    And, Microsoft's tools don't come close to competing with Adobe's products, unless you're making grandma's newsletter or making stupid banner images.

  23. Cripes, more ABC versioning by mblase · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Office XP. Dreamweaver MX. Mac OS X. And now Photoshop CS. I miss the days when version numbers let you know exactly how long it had been since you upgraded. It gets worse when they have to add numbers to the letters, a la "Dreamweaver XP 2004" or "Mac OS X 10.2". You practically have to hire a geek just to know if you still need to upgrade or not.

    What's the next version of Windows supposed to be called, again? Is it "Windows XP 2005" or "Windows XP 6.0"?

    1. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by jared_hanson · · Score: 2, Informative

      I wouldn't think of the "X" in "Mac OS X" as a letter version. Mac OS X is the whole name of the operating system, as I understand it. The 10.2, 10.3, etc. denote the version. I'm sure, given enough time, you will see a Mac OS X 11.1.

      --
      -- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
    2. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by Malc · · Score: 0

      You don't use Emacs do you? They've had no fear of high version numbers.

    3. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by EvanED · · Score: 1

      What? He's not complaining about high version *numbers*, he's complaining about the lack of numbers. If you were to go back 10 years and ask someone "Will Windows XP or ME" come first, you'd almost certainly be at chance. If you were to go back and ask the same question of Emacs 18 v. 21, you'd have near perfect.

    4. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would think you are a retard. OS X is, as you alluded to, Apples 10th release of thier OS. Ready, here comes the tought part, the X is the Roman numberal for 10. Do you see the correlation yet. If they were to continue this scheme, the 11th version would be OS XI. Wow you are a fucking moron for missing this. Assfuck.

    5. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by rmohr02 · · Score: 1

      If I'm not mistaken, the "X" in "OS X" refers to 10, as "X" is the Roman numeral for 10.

    6. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by Malc · · Score: 1

      He said: "I miss the days when version numbers let you know exactly how long it had been since you upgraded." I responded indicating those days weren't over. Some platforms, e.g. Debian, do a very good job of maintaining version numbers. I just happened to pick Emacs because it has a higher number and so made the point better. It's funny, it probably existed before any of those products that he's complaining about.

    7. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by rawg · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't Mac OS version 11.x be Mac OS XI? I thought the X was for version 10.

      --
      The above is not worth reading.
    8. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by infestedsenses · · Score: 1

      You practically have to hire a geek just to know if you still need to upgrade or not.

      At least they'd be working instead of hanging out on websites all day whining about version numbers. ;-)

    9. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by Zak3056 · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't think of the "X" in "Mac OS X" as a letter version. Mac OS X is the whole name of the operating system, as I understand it

      The X in OS X is the roman numeral for ten (which makes quite a bit of sense, as OS X followed OS9.)

      --
      What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
    10. Re:Cripes, more ABC versioning by kingLatency · · Score: 1

      In the case of XP and MX, they are just random numbers meant to sound cool. Macintosh Operating System 10 actually means something. Photoshop Creativity Suite actually means something. They're acronyms, unlike a Nissan Maxima GXE.

      --
      "I've got to stop masturbating! It makes me too lazy! Stop it, Albert. Stop it." -- Albert Einstein
  24. Interesting Info by Davak · · Score: 1

    The price of the new software will rise 13% with the new versions. Upgrade prices for individual copies of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign will be $ 169, up from $149 for the previous upgrade. The premium suite will sell for $749 to customers that use Photoshop. The standard suite without Acrobat has a $549 price tag.

    The new Photoshop will include features to make it easier to match colors among photos and to store more information about photos, making them simpler to retrieve. Illustrator will include technology to make it easy to create 3D effects.

    Well, once again new upgrades equal higher costs... mo money, mo money.

    I thought matching colors within photoshop was pretty easy already... I love the idea, however, about storing more information within the photos. My complicated sets sometimes really need documentation. I've be looking for a plug-in that would do something similar for quite a while. Anybody?

    Davak

    1. Re:Interesting Info by robertchin · · Score: 1

      How about going to the file menu -> File Info

      You can enter in a lot of textual information there.

  25. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about Macromedia products, no?

  26. Re:morons recommend against payper liesense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    when will the big flash occur?

  27. The Commodification of Software Continues... by Schlemphfer · · Score: 1
    and in a predictable manner at that.

    Remember when most people bought Microsoft Word as a standalone app for $400 or so? And way back in the early-1980s, I think the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet alone went for $595.

    Years ago, competition from Corel and others forced Microsoft to bundle Word with their other apps, and sell the whole thing for about what they used to get just for Word.

    Graphic apps aren't used by nearly so many people as office apps, so it makes sense the trend of bundling graphic apps would lag. But it seems the time has come that Adobe can no longer make a killing selling their graphic apps as standalone products.

    I'm sure that Adobe will still be having a nice business selling this suite, long after OpenOffice.org has finished eating Microsoft's lunch. But this latest development really shows the trend that software takes: high priced single app, followed years later by mid-priced bundled apps, followed by steep discounts as open source competition commodifies the sector.

    --
    I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
    1. Re:The Commodification of Software Continues... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Corel had a Graphic Suite first.
      Even though Corel Photo Paint was sold separately, less than 5% bought it separately they purchased the suit. It was a much better deal.

      If anything made Adobe decide to put the apps together in a suit it was because of Corel's Graphic Suite or at least the same reasons as Corel.

      By providing everything as a suite, people might end up with a few apps they would normally not have purchased. Now they will try then and might find they cant live without them. People tend to stay brand loyal. ... The first one is always free.

  28. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Quarters · · Score: 5, Insightful
    First off, to address your assumption that all creative professionals "spent two years at a community college". My bachelor's degree from a Big 10 school is testament to how utterly ignorant you actually are.

    Now on to the meat of the matter, as has been discussed here numerous times before (albeit with the GIMP). Show me the CMYK and spot color handling (with licensed PANTONE libraries, no less) in these MS applications. Show me the fast super-high resolution image editting that these apps provide. Show me the strict adherance to the PostScript Level 3 file specifications. Show me a job house that will be able to take output from these consumer level applications and do anything worthwhile with them.

    waiting...

    Thought so...

    And that is just for a replacement to Photoshop. Now provide me with software on par with InDesign. After that go find equivilents for Premiere Pro, Audition, After Effects, and Encore DVD.

    Some Russian company built a circumvention device for Adobe's (arguably laughable) eBook encryption, yes. They sold it in the US. They got called on it. They were acquited. They stopped making it. If I were to catch someone using my copyrighted works in improper/illegal ways I'm pretty certain that I would pursue the matter to the extent of my abilities. Stealing is stealing. The DMCA, as written, gave Adobe the powers they used. Are the circumvention and reverse engineer portions of the DMCA wrong? Probably. Is that Adobe's fault? no. Your anger should be directed at the lawmakers that passed the DMCA and yourself for not asserting yourself to your representatives and ensuring that they understood that you didn't want it passed.

    Care to tell us how many letters & phone calls you made to your senators and representatives against the DMCA?

  29. Re:Don't buy Adobe by mrycar · · Score: 1

    Have you tried the products listed to accomplish professional quality photo editing? While not an Adobe lover, I find myself hard pressed to find equivalent pieces of software that does what theirs do in convenient bundles. I have tried the tools that you mentioned and more. None of them stack up to Photoshop and illustrator. If you are doing light weight editing the applications you list will do, but the serious stuff at the moment requires Adobe products. Maybe Somday The Gimp will have a enough features to be useful, until then I will be handing Adobe money for an upgrade.

    --
    Gator/Claria is Spyware.
  30. Product Activation by Geeky · · Score: 2, Interesting
    It would appear that the Windows version will have product activation as per Windows XP. This technology has apparently been bought from a third party.

    Sadly, I still think Photoshop beats the Gimp for high end photo editing. Is there anything available for Linux that uses colour profiles and allows on screen proof previews using those profiles?

    --
    Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
    1. Re:Product Activation by sinergy · · Score: 1

      The proofs have nothing to do with copyrights.
      Why don't you learn more about the subject before posting?

      --
      ...
    2. Re:Product Activation by Josuah · · Score: 1

      Send Adobe feedback on their new product activation scheme. I am someone who uses a single copy of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign on multiple machines. I have probably purchased a few thousand to several thousand dollars worth of software from Adobe over the years.

      I do this because I am the only one using those many machines, and except for very rare occasions, only one copy is running at any given time (seeing as how I only have two hands and one head). Product activation preventing me from working under this setup, or preventing me from reinstalling for any reason, is likely to make me think twice about upgrading my software.

  31. Product Activation by mattso · · Score: 5, Informative

    Now with Product Activation
    http://www.adobe.com/activation/main.html

  32. OUCH by ryanw · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I tried to watch the presentation on my work supplied Windows XP Pentium 4 laptop thinking it'd best to view a 'Windows Media' presentation on it's own. Talk about a piece of trash. Windows media blows so hard. I have VDSL, I have seen countless Apple Keynotes without loosing even 1 frame .. where as this one would crap out every few seconds, flicker, and eventually crashed. I got about 1 minute of audible info within about 3 minutes of playing until it finally just crashed.

    I'm pleased to hear adobe has a new suite of products, but I see them drifting more and more to Microsoft. I think it'll catch up to them in the end to hurt them, like it has everyone else.

    I know graphics shops used to be 90% or more Macs, is that still true today? Adobe has really pushed to show that Windows computers are just as fast if not faster then the G4 line of computers.

    1. Re:OUCH by Politburo · · Score: 1

      Did you ever think that the stream did not have the bandwidth to support you? No, it's easier to just jump to conclusions and blame Microsoft for what is clearly a bad codec.

  33. Adobe Graphix Apps Rock by KermMartian · · Score: 1

    I for one think that most of the Adobe graphics-editing applications are among the best on the market. As an avid user of PageMaker and Photoshop, with some occassional ImageReady for animation, I think that this a smart move. By combining these core apps in a single package, Adobe has a better chance of appealing to the corporate enviroment. Keep up the good work!

    1. Re:Adobe Graphix Apps Rock by tubadood · · Score: 1

      The previous post was brought to you by Russell Brown, Adobe Systems Inc.

  34. Here by CausticWindow · · Score: 1
    --
    How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life
  35. Try Artstream by Trigun · · Score: 1
    1. Re:Try Artstream by justsomebody · · Score: 1

      Not to be trolling, but...

      NOTE: Due to demands of other projects, Mediascape has temporarily suspended development of Artstream-Linux. Consequently, these distributions may no longer be compatible with later Linux kernels. Please feel free to register, and we will send email notification when an update is available. In the meantime you may find Sketch a useful alternative for illustration on Linux.

      Was looking at this long time ago, but project state was already in stand still

      --
      Signature Pro version 1.13.2-3 release 83.5 beta3try7 after-breakfast edition
    2. Re:Try Artstream by Trigun · · Score: 1

      Didn't read that far. I am not a graphic designer, so I have had no real need for a vector art program.
      I can get by with the one in Gnome's office suite.

      It's too bad really. It looked promising.

    3. Re:Try Artstream by justsomebody · · Score: 1

      Didn't read that far.

      It's on top of the page, and one can wonder how far did you read;)

      I can get by with the one in Gnome's office suite

      Actually Sodipodi is far better, the only thing I wait for coders to implement are boolean operations between polygons. After that I got all I need (I us sodipodi even now after I switched of Illustrator, just as I switched to Gimp from Photoshop), but my needs are very specific and limited (I only do handdrawn RGB illustrations) so I can tell only for me

      It's too bad really. It looked promising

      Yep, here you really hit the bullseye, I tlooked more than promising

      --
      Signature Pro version 1.13.2-3 release 83.5 beta3try7 after-breakfast edition
  36. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by What+is+a+number · · Score: 1


    see Photoshop in Linux thanks to disney

    ---
    I type this every time.

  37. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You went to a 4-year college to learn Photoshop. Heck of the program it was then, how's your 2-year course on Microsoft Word moving along?

  38. Re:Don't buy Adobe by LordNimon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I know a dozen professional graphic designers, each of whom had a 4-year university degree. Every one would think you're an idiot if they read this. You really have no idea what you're talking about. Someone please mod the parent as a troll. He is definitely not insightful.

    --
    And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
    To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
  39. Info on InCopy CS by mblase · · Score: 1

    ...direct from Adobe, natch. Not sure exactly who it's for, but it looks like a cross between InDesign page layout software and a creative word processor.

    1. Re:Info on InCopy CS by jasonbw · · Score: 1

      InCopy isn't new (goes back at least as far as InDesign), but being apparently available as a consumer product is (Previously, you had to buy it through a systems integrator.)

      It's designed to manage text for newspapers/magazines, especially those with multiple editions, and to provide text editing capabilities.

  40. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by reiggin · · Score: 1

    Riiiiiiiight. Adobe has a hard enough time keeping the program work correctly across two platforms. Imagine what kind of seizures they would have if you added in all the Linux flavors out there. I prefer my Adobe products without dependency issues.

  41. SVG Viewer 6 by listen · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But when will they actually release an updated SVG Viewer?

    The currently released version is just wbout 2 years old. The preview of version 6 is better, but won't get installed anywhere until its actually released officialy and bundled with Acrobat reader.

    And corporate muppets won't roll out preview releases.

    I have to wonder how commited Adobe is to SVG. Their preview release of ASV6 is good enough to discourage competitors (it would take quite an effort to match it in a ~2 year timeframe), but won't get installed anywhere until release. Are they scared that SVG will eat PDF as well as Flash?

    1. Re:SVG Viewer 6 by rmohr02 · · Score: 1

      FYI, the preview is available at http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/betaframed .html, and it is only for Win98-WinXP. I hadn't known it existed until this comment--thanks.

      Also, there is one person working on a native implementation of SVG for Mozilla. I hope he gets more help and stabilizes the SVG code soon so that I won't need Adobe's SVG Viewer.

    2. Re:SVG Viewer 6 by FFFish · · Score: 1

      Corel has an available SVG viewer. No idea whether it works.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    3. Re:SVG Viewer 6 by listen · · Score: 1

      It works, kinda, but its shite. Not even as good as ASVG6.

  42. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by Quarters · · Score: 1

    Adobe did a version of Photoshop 3.0 for IRIX in the mid-90's. Even though SGI was the king of VFX back then, and *everyone* doing VFX had SGI's, it never sold.

  43. how about "Version Cue" by What+is+a+number · · Score: 1


    I think the part that this crowd (read "geeks") might be most interested in, is "Version Cue" - some type of version control for your graphics files.
    Probably pales in comparison to most/any source control, but maybe that's not what it should be compared to - compare it, instead, to what other graphics apps have (ie probably nothing).

    ---
    I type this every time.

  44. Not everything has to be done 60's style. by AllenChristopher · · Score: 1
    When China abuses human rights, we must pursue other options than the U.S. did with Iraq or Bosnia because invading China simply isn't an option. It isn't the appropriate solution. Instead, we try propoganda and cultural imperialism, which although detestable in, say, Coca-Colanizing France, may be appropriate in teaching the Chinese the advantages of free speech and safety from the police.

    Similarly, a boycott isn't an option with Adobe. The populace can't just decide that no magazines will be printed, no billboards created, no illustrations of any kind produced on the computer because Adobe had a conflict with a fellow over the DMCA. That isn't a good way to convince companies to treat programmers fairly. It's just about impossible, and the message is pretty fuzzy.

    Instead, we attack the DMCA. Lawyers in any organization will always take advantage of the laws available to them. It is our reponsibility to ensure the laws are just instead. That's a hard task, but it is far easier than transforming the entire face of world publishing without a software alternative.

  45. Re:Don't buy Adobe by kgarcia · · Score: 1

    Thank you. While some of their business practives are dubious, that was an acrobat ebook security issue. Not a graphics editing issue. Now, while for web editing and light image editing GIMP is good enough, it cannot compete professionally on the same level as Photoshop. Not even microsoft with publisher comes close to even pagemaker (ugh) not to mention InDesign or Quark. This are industry-standard, mature applications, that, while overkill to produce a small newsletter, are invaluable for real press jobs.

    As for some of the pricing issues that are likely to be commented on (oh, is so overpriced, etc). You need to put things into perspective. $800 for photoshop is relatively cheap compared to most advertising agency revenues. Most magazine ads run $2500 to $15,000 (much more for big magazines), excluding production costs (model, design time, concepting, design etc), of which most agencies get 10-15% comission... $800 for photoshop? that's pocket change in the industry, which is for whom the tools are designed for. Let me not even get into packaging, television, book manufacture, etc...

  46. Also worth checking out. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is gimp 1.3.20. It is a million times better than gimp 1.2. Complete with easier to use GUI, more filters, CMYK support and support for more image formats..

    If you wanted to switch to linux but you couldn't because the gimp sucked, try it again. You will be inpressed. Its a development version, so its not included in most distros, but its well worth a look.

    1. Re:Also worth checking out. by chegosaurus · · Score: 1

      I haven't had the chance to check 1.3 out for a while, but last time I looked I couldn't find dynamic text. That's a killer for me. Is it back yet? Or reimplemented in some other way?

    2. Re:Also worth checking out. by justsomebody · · Score: 1

      yep, now it's default text tool. And extremely nice

      --
      Signature Pro version 1.13.2-3 release 83.5 beta3try7 after-breakfast edition
  47. the upcoming big flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    talk about excitement? the lights are coming up now.

    in order to survive/benefit from the power such as has never been seen, must be denied by the fauxking greed/fear based execrable, it would be advisable to pay attention (to yOUR environment, for example), which is quite affordable, & can lead to insights on howto participate in the planet/population rescue initiative.

    as the newclear power plan becomes self-evident, there's bound to be more inf. available here&there about using less/not wasting anything/being less frivolous.

    get more oxygen on your brain. seek out others of non-aggressive/positive behaviours/intentions, then you'll see the light?

  48. The most significant new feature is: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    this...
    Now no one can freeload and us legit user should get some price break soon now. Just like Windows XP. No?

    1. Re:The most significant new feature is: by Gannoc · · Score: 1
      Q: What happens if the product is discontinued?
      A: Adobe is fully committed to honoring the terms of its product license agreements. In the event that a product is discontinued, Adobe will enable automatic approval of all activation requests for that product or provide a means to remove activation outright. In either case, the customer will not experience any change in software capabilities.

      No worries, Adobe. We'll already have it off usenet.

    2. Re:The most significant new feature is: by rawg · · Score: 1

      Maybe large software companies should stop using the MS Windows platform because 90% of it's users are thieves.

      I guess, all the thieves would just move over to Apple or Linux then.

      --
      The above is not worth reading.
  49. ZZZZZZ BORING!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft Office has had a "cross-media solution" since OLE was launched in Office for Windows 3.1. This is the most boring story I have read on slashdot in weeks.

    1. Re:ZZZZZZ BORING!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, because MS Office supports paper, paper, and, uh, paper. Quite the cross-media solution.

  50. Re:Don't buy Adobe by gouldtj · · Score: 1

    There's a few. Karbon and Sodipodi seem to be the most popular, but are not the only by far.

  51. More precisely about photoshop.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Alot of people have animosity towards Adobe, myself included over various issues, but there is one thing that Adobe has that nobody else can hold a candle to:

    Photoshop.

    This one software package is single-handedly keeping me from migrating to Linux. For those who say "But what about Gimp? It's just as good..."

    Those people have also never done professional graphics for print, video or even the web. The toolset within Photoshop is unrivaled, it's color acuity precise, and it's workflow caters to multiple mind sets. For every one way to do something there is a handfull of other, equally successful methods to achieve exactly the same result. It is an artist's tool.

    Mature? Nope. There are dozens of features that the community has been begging to have integrated for years, and slowly but surely Adobe has listened. I can understand not implementing every little widget and gizmo that has been suggested by crackpot users over the years into their flagship product line, and each new upgrade offers something useful that can either save me time or opens up a new realm of creative flexibility. Photoshop has many years to grow, become better and more refined. Most people just don't see it because a histogram is this wierd spikey deal that screws up an image, filters are normally reserved for creating 'L3nZ FL4r3s', and the layer effects were the perfect time saving device for all those bubbly drop shadowed graphics with glowy mouse-overs your client is begging for.

    There is no alternative, and by glancing at the top 10 new features, it seems that Adobe has not forgot that Photoshop is not a toy program. I didn't see any "Improved Applesque Button Creation" feature.

    (yet)

    1. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you tried Gimp 1.3.20? Eveybody knows that gimp 1.2 sucks, but Gimp 1.3.20 is actually very good. Its got CMYK support now, and many other advanced features. Ive know several PROFESSIONAL graphics designers that are concidering changing to it. So before badmouthing gimp please try the Bleeding edge version, and if you need a feature thats not included, add it to the Wish list.

      Download it from the gimp site. You WILL be impressed.

    2. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      Photoshop. This one software package is single-handedly keeping me from migrating to Linux

      Penguin Moves to Disney

      Disney, along with two other motion picture animation studios ... decided to jointly fund the development of a Windows-to- Linux porting solution ... using the Wine emulator to run Adobe Photoshop on Linux.
    3. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by Jameth · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Alot of people have animosity towards Adobe, myself included over various issues, but there is one thing that Adobe has that nobody else can hold a candle to:

      Photoshop."

      That's not 'all' that they have. Many of their products are out there on their own.

      Freehand has something, but it's not Illustrator by a long-shot (and the opensource solution, SodiPodi, is good but not even playing the same game)

      Ever want to actually edit a PDF, or add notes to it, or give it a working index? What does that besides Acrobat Writer? (No, really, I know of not one other piece of software that does)

      Does anyone else have a fully working SVG viewer (that won't be much longer for Linux, but it still doesn't render everything right). Likewise, their PDF reader is the only one with full support. Yes, those are both free, but they are also using completely open formats.

      Also, since PhotoShop Elements (I think that's what it's called) they just got the best mid-range graphics suite out there.

      Streamline is still the best Raster-to-Vector convertor on the market, even if those aren't much in demand.

      Photoshop might be their best, but it's not their only strong point.

    4. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by ainsoph · · Score: 1

      bzzzt.

      Sorry. It doesnt even come close. Gimp is nice and all. It just aint photoshop. Even the developers readily admit this.

    5. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by penguin7of9 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      This one software package is single-handedly keeping me from migrating to Linux. For those who say "But what about Gimp? It's just as good..." Those people have also never done professional graphics for print, video or even the web.

      Bullshit. Use whatever you like, but stop holding up you particular tool as a mark of professionalism. You are like those people who buy Hasselblads and think they are professional photographers because of it.

      Personally, I think anybody working with images who actually needs more than what the Gimp provides either has bad photographic technique or a bad workflow. If anything, the Gimp actually still is overkill for day-to-day imaging work.

    6. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by rmohr02 · · Score: 1
      Mature? Nope.
      Photoshop is very mature. That doesn't mean it can't add more features, but it is stable and almost completely bug-free (i.e., I don't know of any bugs, but every program has at least one).
    7. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by jason0000042 · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think anybody working with images who actually needs more than what the Gimp provides either has bad photographic technique or a bad workflow. If anything, the Gimp actually still is overkill for day-to-day imaging work.

      You optimize your graphics for the Lynx browser, don't you?

      --
      i don't like my old sig.
    8. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by ChaosDiscord · · Score: 1

      For those who say "But what about Gimp? It's just as good..."

      Those people have also never done professional graphics for print, video or even the web.

      Oh really?

      I think you overestimate both your readers ability to discern carefully color corrected imagery that the requirements of your fellow professionals creating graphics for the print and the web.

      The most telling example was when I was showing some of my personal photos to a friend. I had just uploaded them off my camera, so many were dark, had odd color tints, or rotated. My friend said she was familiar with Photoshop and asked if I had something like that. I showed her how to load an image in the GIMP. Within a few minutes she was happily playing with the photos, well beyond what was necessary to just look at them. She was enjoying messing with them. All this without any help from me (well, I did show her how to find the image menu, which is a cryptic to new users). Surprised at how quickly she got going I asked about her previous experience. I knew she was a reporter for several small town newspapers, but I didn't realize that the newspapers didn't have a dedicated graphics guy, so the reporters correct and crop their own images. I asked about color correction and discovered that they had never enabled it, no one bothered. It just wasn't important. As far as she could tell in the fifteen or so minutes she played with the GIMP, it did everything she needed for her job.

      Similarly for web page graphics. Anyone doing careful color correction for the web is misleading themselves. In the real world monitors are wildly miscalibrated. Each user is going to see their own personally mangled image. Perfect color matching is pointless, as long as you're "good enough" you'll be doing as well as anyone else.

      (I can't speak to video, it's not an area that I know much about. But I expect for local television level quality, it's equally irrelevant. Again, you're fighting cheap home televisions with the brightness, contrast, and hue tweaked by each person (or perhaps their curious five year old).)

      This is not to say that the GIMP is a perfect replacement to Photoshop. Heavens no, Photoshop is great. If you're making high quality prints the color correction is unmatched. (My father, who has been retouching and printing his photos for years using Corel PhotoPaint recently switched to Photoshop. He loathes the interface, prefering the flexibility of PhotoPaint, but is willing to suffer because Photoshop got the colors on his print Just Right, Out of the Box, something PhotoPaint never accomplished.) The GIMP definately lags in a number of areas. But to suggest that the GIMP is completely unusable for professional work is silly. Lots of professional work is done to much lower standardsthan you expect.

      The toolset within Photoshop is unrivaled,...and it's workflow caters to multiple mind sets. For every one way to do something there is a handfull of other, equally successful methods to achieve exactly the same result. It is an artist's tool.

      Interestingly, my father has found Photoshop very frustrating and less customizable than Corel's PhotoPaint. PhotoPaint made it easy to tweak the interface to his particular needs and mind set. As for "more than one way to do it," I'm curious what you mean. Every significant graphics program provides more than one way to do lots of things.

    9. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by dsb3 · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think anybody working with images who actually needs more than what the Gimp provides either has bad photographic technique or a bad workflow. If anything, the Gimp actually still is overkill for day-to-day imaging work.

      I have three words for you ... accurate colour management.

      (Personally, I think you should start working with images yourself before passing comment on my technique or workflow.)

      --

      Slashdot? Oh, I just read it for the articles.
    10. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by ChaosDiscord · · Score: 1

      I overlooked something obvious. The success of CinePaint (born "Film GIMP") would suggest that the GIMP (or at least one of its direct children) is perfectly fine for use in video work. If it's good enough for "2 Fast 2 Furious, Scooby-Doo , Harry Potter, Stuart Little and other feature films," it's probably good enough for video work.

    11. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by penguin7of9 · · Score: 1

      I have three words for you ... accurate colour management.

      Color management is not primarily a function of the photo editing software you use, it's a separate part of the operating system. In fact, it's not clear that photo editing software should know anything about color management at all. Photoshop's integration of ICC is the usual bloated kitchen-sink approach of Windows/Mac programs.

      In any case, there are several color management solutions for Linux, and at least one of them works with the Gimp.

      (Personally, I think you should start working with images yourself before passing comment on my technique or workflow.)

      I have worked professionally with digital images for 20 years--far longer than Photoshop has even been around. Maybe you should start learning a bit more about digital imaging beyond Photoshop yourself before accusing people of being non-professionals just because they don't use Photoshop.

    12. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Ever want to actually edit a PDF, or add notes to it, or give it a working index?"

      Why just edit and index? The de facto standard for authoring PDF content also belongs to Adobe. Framemaker rules the publishing industry, and Pagemaker is unrivaled (contrary to the opinions of long-time Quark users).

      My own opinion is that the world would be nicer place if people would stop trying to author large documents using Microsoft Word, and even nicer if they didn't bother the rest of us with their "it didn't work right" laments.

    13. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by aderusha · · Score: 1

      so what you're saying is, gimp is fine for "professional work" so long as "professional work" is a newspaper without a graphics department who has never once bothered to color correct an image.

      i'd image mspaint.exe would be fine for that kinda work...

    14. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by ChaosDiscord · · Score: 1
      so what you're saying is, gimp is fine for "professional work" so long as "professional work" is a newspaper without a graphics department who has never once bothered to color correct an image.

      When possible, try to avoid using "scare quotes," it's a cheap way to discredit others instead of actually supporting your "argument."

      It's damn well professional work. Professional work pretty much just means "for pay," which this is. Even if you add in "college educated, salaried, creating printed material intended for mass distribution," it still qualifies. Anything more restrictive is just making up new definitions. This is the sort of work done across the world. Maybe it's not up to your high standards, but it's still professional. I don't look down my nose and claim that the hordes of code slaves cranking out Visual Basic aren't professional programmers. Like it or not, they are.

      And they most certainly do color correct. That's one of the key reasons they use Photoshop. They just never bothered calibrating their monitor and their color matching drivers. Yet they still manage to improve the image. They're going to have problems capturing subtle tones accurately, but apparently it doesn't matter to them or their readers.

      i'd image mspaint.exe would be fine for that kinda work...

      MS Paint is really crude for cropping, resizing, and basic brightness/contrast adjustment. However, yes, many minimal graphic viewers/editors lack any traditional "retouching" tools, but include color balance, brightness/contrast, cropping, and resizing. And they would do the job just fine. Certainly cheaper than Photoshop.

    15. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.codeweavers.com

      They sell crossover office which lets you run photoshop on linux. I've used it, it works.

    16. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by forgotmypassword · · Score: 1
      Likewise, their PDF reader is the only one with full support.

      1. It is slow as shit
      2. It wants to load inside a webbrowser, like that makes things faster and more stable?
      3. It won't let me print certain files if the author doesn't want me to.
      4. It won't let me read certain files if the author doesn't want me to.


      Maybe its not the worst PDF viewer there is, but it is way, way worse than gv and xpdf. Between the two, I have never found a file I couldn't read and print out. I cannot say the same for the big pile of ass that is acrobat. I hate that program 1/10th the amount that I hate realplayer!
    17. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by aderusha · · Score: 1

      if they haven't calibrated their monitors or the output (press/print/whatever), they aren't color correcting.

      twaddling about with the color levels until it looks pretty != color correction.

      on the other hand, it sounds like gimp does in fact do everything they want, so it should definately be looked at as a much cheaper alternative to paying adobe a few grand every couple years.

    18. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by Kyouryuu · · Score: 1
      I think people sincerely underestimate the power of the Paint Shop Pro series and I was surprised to not see it mentioned on this list of alternatives. Granted, it may be due to the fact that PSP doesn't work under Linux even with Wine.

      Sure, I've known many "graphics professionals" who insist on spending $600 for Photoshop, $400 for Illustrator, a grand for the suite. There has always been an irony to me about things such as this - so many starving artists in the world and yet you walk into an art store and everything costs an arm and a leg. Coincidence? Not likely.

      To me in art, beign frugal is a virtue.

      The professionals can say what they want. But I wield nearly equal power from this $15-on-sale copy of Paint Shop Pro 7. After all, it has the vector editing built right in, so there's no need to run out and buy a second program like Illustrator. And even not on sale, PSP is only $100, which is more than worth it for an app I find myself using everyday.

      So the "professionals" can scoff and laugh like they do. They can point out trivial "features" that make Photoshop so superior. They can only save face. After all, it's rather humorous to pay $1,000 to do something a $15 program can do. And even if Paint Shop Pro 7 is missing some oh-so-vital element from Photoshop, it seems comical for someone to use this excuse to justify paying $985 more. I've used both extensively and can't justify it myself.

      Not that I'm a "professional" or anything. >_>

    19. Re:More precisely about photoshop.... by chthonicdaemon · · Score: 1

      Check out multivalent. Still in early development, but it is coming along.

      --
      Languages aren't inherently fast -- implementations are efficient
  52. Well, for one thing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The limit on file sizes has gone from 30,000 to 300,000 pixels. Anyone working with hi-res satellite images will be pleased. And you can work in 16-bits. (OK, that's two things). And the integration with GoLive will mean the end of Dreamweaver for me. The way Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign all work together really is A Good Thing, if that's what you need.

  53. Adobe's site is up! by ProfessionalCookie · · Score: 3, Informative

    Look it's even easy to click!
    http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/

    Karma Eats

  54. Sure, unless you use a DSLR by neile · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sorry, but have you actually tried to use Photoshop 7.0 to process images from a digital SLR like the Canon 10D? I have, and I can tell you I'm eagerly awaiting Photoshop 8.0.

    Adobe has no built-in support for RAW image processing, you have to buy their $99 add-in, and even that doesn't support the Canon 10D without gross hacks. With Photoshop 8.0 this should now be included and cleaned up.

    Photoshop 7.0 still only has rudimentary support for 16-bit editing. Try going and applying the vast majority of the filters when working with a 16-bit image. Sorry, out of luck, need to drop back to 8-bit.

    Want to resize your picture to a specific inch dimension and resolution so you can print out your digital print at your favourite Costco or on your home printer? Sure, it's possible, but it's not exactly obvious how to do it.

    Photoshop 7.0 went a long way to helping web designers use Photoshop for web content. Hopefully Photoshop 8.0 will go just as far to make it a valuable tool for digital photographers.

    1. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by Chester+K · · Score: 1

      Want to resize your picture to a specific inch dimension and resolution so you can print out your digital print at your favourite Costco or on your home printer? Sure, it's possible, but it's not exactly obvious how to do it.

      Correct me if we're talking about different things here, but I'm of the impression that this couldn't be any more obvious in Photoshop 7.0 -- go to the Resize Image dialog box, use the dropdowns to change the units to "inches", and type in your desired size and DPI.

      --

      NO CARRIER
    2. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "Want to resize your picture to a specific inch dimension and resolution so you can print out your digital print at your favourite Costco or on your home printer? Sure, it's possible, but it's not exactly obvious how to do it."

      He's right, this part isn't very intuitive. When you try to change the DPI of an image, it alters the resolution of the pixels as well. You have to poke with the buttons a bit to figure out how to fix it.

      Go to Image/image size and uncheck the box that says "Resample Image". What that does is it says "Don't mess with the pixels, just change the DPI number" When you do that, you can play with the 'document size' field all you want.

      I can't wait until Photoshop supports HDRI imagery.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    3. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Correct me if we're talking about different things here, but I'm of the impression that this couldn't be any more obvious in Photoshop 7.0 -- go to the Resize Image dialog box, use the dropdowns to change the units to "inches", and type in your desired size and DPI."

      No, it's not so obvious. If you change the DPI, you change the resolution of the pixels. So if you have a 640 by 480 image at 300dpi, it'll print a 2 inch wide image. If you change that DPI down to 72 in order to print it larger, your image will drop down to 154 by 115. Not cool. What you have to do is turn off the 'Resample Image' checkbox so it'll avoid making the physical resolution change.

      This is something they could improve in the UI.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    4. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by JoshRoss · · Score: 1

      That is why adobe rolled out Photoshop for the Usability Impaired (Elements). The users of Elements are the same people who spill hot coffee on themselves, in the McDonalds drive though.

    5. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "The users of Elements are the same people who spill hot coffee on themselves, in the McDonalds drive though."

      Ugh. Photoshop's not exactly the hardest app in the world to use, but it still operates under concepts that are foreign to many people. They're not dumb. They're just not interested enough in it to grab Photoshop.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    6. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's worth noting that really the "resample image" question is unavoidable if you want to do digital imaging. I agree that it's not an intuitive concept for film photographers, but it's an absolutely basic part of understanding digital image imput and output. I know the checkbox is somewhat buried, but the top level interface is pretty full of tools already, somethings are bound to be buried.

      I hate to go elitest on people, but some things need to be learned. Someone who has blown a stash of money on a 10D hopefully knows a bit about photography (lenses, aperture, shutter etc.) image resolution and resizing is similarly basic knowledge for digi work, especially when you consider the stage he is at (output) is equivalent to colour darkroom work, which has never been idiotproof. Really, the OP sounds like he needs to read a little before he leaps in.

    7. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      You're right, however it would be relatively trivial to make the UI explain the resampling button a little more clearly. Heck, why not put it in the print options? "File/Print... how big do you want this image to be printed?"

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    8. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by JoshRoss · · Score: 1

      The biggest problem is that photoshop does a lot of things. In order to work with all these things and still be within two or three clicks, something has to give.

      Adobe does an excellent job with their Classroom in a Book books. The people who work with photoshop are either professional graphics people or people aspiring to become professionsls.

      Photoshop is a trade; a trade that has to be aquired through months or even years of hard work.

      If there has to be something like a microsoft office assistant in photoshop, it should be able to be disabled.

    9. Re:Sure, unless you use a DSLR by neile · · Score: 1

      Actually, I've used film cameras for years (my 10D is actually a replacement for my old Elan IIe), and definitely do have a grasp of the items you mention. And while I'm not an expert at Photoshop, I've used it for about as long. My point is simply that the original post said "there's nothing left to improve in Photoshop". I simply pointed out one area that could be improved to make Photoshop more immediately useful to a wider group of digital photographers.

  55. Software is dirt cheap for professionals by benwaggoner · · Score: 5, Informative

    Those who think that Adobe software is overpriced clearly are hobbyists, not professionals. If you bill by the hour, this stuff pays for itself in a couple of days.

    For example, one single feature of Photoshop CS would make it worth the full purchase price for me, let alone the upgrade price, let alone the other new features:

    Native non-square pixel support!

    Since video doesn't have square pixels, it's always been something of a pain to author graphics in Photoshop. Getting this to work right will save me 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there. At $300/hour, I only need to use this feature three times for it to pay for the upgrade!

    For those who aren't professionals, the cheap Photoshop Elements is a great alternative at fraction of the price.

    1. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by ichimunki · · Score: 1

      Um, if you bill by the hour, saving 10 minutes here or there won't help you at all. You're getting paid for those 10 minutes whether you're fighting the software or doing the next task.

      --
      I do not have a signature
    2. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by breon.halling · · Score: 1

      Dude, at $300/hour, I'd expect you'd want to take your jolly time! =)

      --
      "Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
    3. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by bluGill · · Score: 1

      Not nessicarly. If he is saving clients 10 mintues, they might like that enough to give him more buisness. Or maybe he bills like a lawyer, and the 10 minutes saves on a job is still billed, be he works on someone else's project which is also billed by the hour, thus making double for that 10 minutes, and also servicing the next client a little faster.

      Either way he wins. His clients might or might not consider it a win.

    4. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by rmohr02 · · Score: 1
      For those who aren't professionals, the cheap Photoshop Elements is a great alternative at fraction of the price.
      For those who aren't professionals, the Gimp is a great alternative for free. I know it isn't as good as Photoshop, but it has everything most users need.
    5. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by benwaggoner · · Score: 1

      Well, my customers wouldn't pay me so much if they thought I was milking the job. $300/hour is the price for "works fast with obsessive quality on brutal deadlines applying unique skills."

      That said, I wind up doing most of my work these days with per-project billing.

      I did the math a while ago, and figured that I'd only get half as much work if I increased by rate from $150/hour to $300/hour. Working half as much for the same money seemed like a pretty good deal :).

    6. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by Quarters · · Score: 1
      Not really true.

      10 minutes executing a work around for the non-square pixel issue is 10 minutes of lost creativity. That's 10 minutes that could've better spent making the project better, not just workable.

    7. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by Jameth · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "For those who aren't professionals, the Gimp is a great alternative for free. I know it isn't as good as Photoshop, but it has everything most users need."

      The problem here is that users need something targetted at their usage range. GIMP and Photoshop are both High-Power tools, the only difference being that GIMP is worse and Photoshop is better.

      Photoshop Elements is a Mid-Power tool, more like Paintshop Pro. So, as it turns out, Photoshop doesn't compete with GIMP.

    8. Re:Software is dirt cheap for professionals by rmohr02 · · Score: 1

      Well, I still use the Gimp in the usage range that you seem to say Photoshop Elements fills. Maybe Photoshop Elements would be better than the Gimp for new users, but I already know the Gimp pretty well.

  56. Actually... by StringBlade · · Score: 1

    It's called Longhorn -- just so you don't have to deal with numbers at all. :-)

    --
    ...and that's the way the cookie crumbles.
  57. Adobe overhaul brings tools together by Bodysurf · · Score: 2, Informative

    Great article at http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5083087.html dealing with the issue a little more in depth than the listed ones.

  58. InCopy ain't a "new product" by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
    InCopy 1.0 came out in October 1999.

    InCopy 2.0 ame oout in June 2002.

    even if you don't do anything but regurgitate press releases, look at some of the older ones as well.

  59. How about a port? by DrCode · · Score: 1

    They could open a whole new market for themselves by doing Linux ports.

  60. Pro users are not happy! by iJed · · Score: 1, Informative

    According to Think Secret pro users are not happy with the small upgrades the new versions of the Adobe apps have got.

    Note that Think Secret is a rumor site but it has probably the best reputation of any rumor site.

    1. Re:Pro users are not happy! by demonbug · · Score: 1
      Note that Think Secret is a rumor site but it has probably the best reputation of any rumor site.


      Note that Think Secret is a rumor site, but rumor has it that it has the best reputation of any rumor site. No, really!

  61. Re:Don't buy Adobe by rowanxmas · · Score: 1

    I have yet to be able to open a complex postscipt file in either of these, and edit them like I do in Illustrator 8, on a PII.

  62. Re:Don't buy Adobe by The+Lynxpro · · Score: 1

    "Do not support the companies that abuse DMCA and make security research illegal. There's a close relation between the current spread of viruses and worms on the Internet, and the fact that Adobe tried to jail the developer who publicized security weaknesses of a commercial product.
    Hate to say it, but for the Windows platform Microsoft products are a much better price-efficiency alternative than Adobe. Unless you've spent two years at a community college learning Adobe toolset, Microsoft's PhotoDraw and Image Editor are easier to pick up and cheaper. Image Editor is distributed free with many Windows boxes, while PhotoDraw is part of the Office."

    Wait a second; did I just read you correctly? And if so, are you high? You take this philosophical and moralistic position about not doing business with any company [Adobe in particular] that uses the DMCA in such a way, and then on the other hand, you recommend using (ie "buying") Microsoft products? The very Microsoft that has been convicted as a monopolist for illegally bundling products into -- get this -- the operating system to drive out competitors? Wow, someone should nominate you for the Florida Supreme Court when the next opening comes up!

    --
    "Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
  63. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Paintshop pro definitely has alpha channels and masking, and may have cmyk separation.

    If you're a pro designer, you might need to use Adobe products. If you're not, consider a different brand. And bounce an email off Adobe and tell them you intentionally bought a different brand because of them abusing a law to harass a foreigner that was NOT actually breaking the law.

  64. I wish by Microsofts+slave · · Score: 1

    I wish i wish upon a star for this program! (and if your really generous another 512 module PLEASE!)

    --

    Tragek

  65. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nice troll. I'll bite.

    Do you actually know anything about graphic design? If you did, I'd venture that you would understand that what you're suggesting is implausible and downright foolish. What you're suggesting is akin to me walking up to a mechanic and saying, "You don't really need those wrenches. Here's a hammer. Use that instead."

    So just shut up.

  66. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Macromedia is for the internet. Adobe is for print. Print isn't the internet.

  67. Re:NEWS FLASH! CNN UPDATES WEB SITE! by jbottero · · Score: 1

    Arrogant slashbots at work. At least I have a life!

  68. Re:Don't buy Adobe by seichert · · Score: 1

    Some Russian company built a circumvention device for Adobe's (arguably laughable) eBook encryption, yes. They sold it in the US. They got called on it. They were acquited. They stopped making it. If I were to catch someone using my copyrighted works in improper/illegal ways I'm pretty certain that I would pursue the matter to the extent of my abilities. Stealing is stealing. The DMCA, as written, gave Adobe the powers they used. Are the circumvention and reverse engineer portions of the DMCA wrong? Probably. Is that Adobe's fault? no. Your anger should be directed at the lawmakers that passed the DMCA and yourself for not asserting yourself to your representatives and ensuring that they understood that you didn't want it passed.

    Actually by putting direct pressure on Adobe (by protesting outside of their offices) we were able to get them to back down from aiding the federal government in prosecuting the case. I did not see any reason to boycott Adobe products because of this.

    Care to tell us how many letters & phone calls you made to your senators and representatives against the DMCA?

    A few and more importantly I recently attended a townhall meeting with my representative in the house to let her know we wanted DMCA reform.

    --

    Stuart Eichert

  69. Wait for the crack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wait for keygen and crack on usenet.

    You'll save big on the ugprade costs, tool

  70. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by swb · · Score: 1

    With OS X versions, how hard could it be?

    You'd also think the intelligent thing to do would be to make as much of the code base as platform neutral as possible so you're not writing two versions for two platforms anyway.

  71. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What bundling? I run three Windows boxes and have yet to see where I was explicitly forbidden from using a third-party mail client, Mozilla browser, instant messaging tool and office suite. In fact, all of my Windows boxes currently run OpenOffice+Mozilla+Eclipse+etc. I have not paid anything to MSFT except that OEM Windows license. Bundling is for the same stupid people who go to the car dealer to buy the advertised car for $20K and then return home with a $35K car loaded with stuff that car dealer talked them into.

    And how many people did Microsoft jail on DMCA premises, by the way?

  72. A little slow on the uptake, aren't you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He meant that the article itself was, in effect, an Adobe ad.

  73. Missing the point by reptilicus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Everyone here seems to be missing the point of this release. This is Adobe's attempt to kill off Quark. With InDesign, Adobe has arguably a better product than Quark, but most design houses have been slow to even give it a look. By selling the products design houses already use (Photoshop, Illustrator) as a package, and as a reasonably priced package ($1200 whereas Quark alone is $1000), they're going to put InDesign on the desktop of every graphic designer. Most will at least take a look, and many will probaby switch over. The production flow management tools are also a bonus.

    1. Re:Missing the point by nomadlogic · · Score: 1

      i would not be so hasty and say the InDesign is "better" than quark. Working with serveral print designers, and living with one as well has had me discussing this topic at least a year.. While InDesign does have it's benefits of being closely coupled with Photoshop etc., the UI is still not as polished as Quarks. (one common complaint with Adobe products I hear is that the menus are just too crowded in comparison to Quarks). As always it is up to the artits to deside which tool they prefer, and from what I have seen here in NYC Quark is still doing pretty well.

      --
      God is real, unless declared integer.
    2. Re:Missing the point by reptilicus · · Score: 1

      You have a point, which is why I said in my original post that InDesign is "arguably" better than Quark. The features are certainly more advanced, but in the publishing house where I work, the idea of retraining our Quark-efficient staff is holding us back.

    3. Re:Missing the point by johnwroach · · Score: 1

      By selling the products design houses already use (Photoshop, Illustrator) as a package, and as a reasonably priced package ($1200 whereas Quark alone is $1000), they're going to put InDesign on the desktop of every graphic designer.

      I'm not so sure. I've dealt with the composition departments at a several newspapers, and, for the most part, they haven't upgraded to quark 6.0 yet, because 5.0 works. (They're also booting all nice, shiny, and new Macs directly into OS9, which kills me. 6.0 has native OSX support, dammit!)

      While print newspapers isn't the whole of design houses (or even a majority? I don't know) and most houses who are printed by newspapers use PDFs rather than native Quark files, I find it interesting.

      OT, but doesn't anyone know of, and have experience with, a GOOD OSS layout program which prints to PDF?

    4. Re:Missing the point by scribusdocs · · Score: 1

      In a word, Scribus

      It has very complete support for PDF 1.3,1.4 and PDF/X-3, including interactive PDF, bookmarks, color management via littlecms.

      Try it..

    5. Re:Missing the point by FFFish · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Kill off Quark? It'll never happen. Quark users have two distinguishing characteristics:
      - they are absolute masochists.
      - they refuse to learn.

      In support of the former point, I present the Quark UI. It is simply fucking awful. It makes it difficult to work quickly and efficiently, and holds itself to no known UI standard. Ugh.

      In support of the latter, I present FrameMaker, Ventura, and InDesign.

      In every domain, Quark is solidly trounced and thrashed by its competition: FrameMaker and Ventura for long, structured documents (Quark has fuck-all support for the things that are absolutely required to do long document work efficiently); InDesign for short, "artsy" documents (Quark's traditional domain, though it needs a shitload of plugins to accomplish anything useful).

      Why do Quark users keep on using such a lousy program? I reiterate my points: undying masochism and steadfast ignorance.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    6. Re:Missing the point by speter · · Score: 1

      the UI is still not as polished as Quarks

      Maybe, maybe not, but the font output and paragraph rendering are miles ahead, and that counts far more for me.

      However, as an early adopter of InDesign, this new pricing structure does nothing for me. Thank God for TeX (and no, I don't design magazines, I do books.)

  74. Re:Don't buy Adobe by uunh+haun · · Score: 1
    After that go find equivilents for Premiere Pro, Audition, After Effects, and Encore DVD.
    You apparenly forgot to add the 'ignore apple software' premise on this last one.
  75. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by jpsowin · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can run Photoshop easy in WINE... It works great too! Seems to run just as fast in most areas, I was very impressed!

    (It should also be noted that I tried it with Crossover Office, haven't used it with the regular version of WINE)

  76. As if there was a difference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "spent two years at a community college". My bachelor's degree from a Big 10 school

    Bachelor's from a Big 10 school = two years at a community college

    The only thing you need to get into a Big 10 school is a pulse. Remember it was Ohio State's football team that cut a guy (starting defensive back) for studying.

    1. Re:As if there was a difference by xluserpetex · · Score: 1

      enrollment requirements for athletes are completely different at all schools. getting into a Big 10 school is far easier if you are an athlete.

  77. What about the other ACs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you deselect those options in your Homepage wouldn't everybody else logging-in as Anonymous Coward be unable to see those stories?

  78. motherload/motherlode by quadong · · Score: 0, Redundant

    That's "motherlode", not "motherload".

    http://m-w.com
    Main Entry: mother lode
    Function: noun
    Date: 1874
    1 : the principal vein or lode of a region
    2 : a principal source or supply

    The idea here is that you just found a lot of ore in one spot. It's the mother of lodes, not the load of your mother.

  79. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by GutBomb · · Score: 1

    i see this a lot. OS X is not linux. It is OS X. completely different. OS X and Linux are both UNIX based but that is where the similarity ends.

    that is like saying "photoshop runs on windows, windows runs on x86 and linux does too, so shouldn't photoshop run on linux?"

  80. This news is scary by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 1

    Updating all your design apps at once is a huge project. It looks like Adobe might be taking advantage of developers overseas.

    Hopefully Adobe's software doesn't become a huge bug-filled mess like Macromedia's (especially Macromedia god awful Mac ports).

    --
    "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
  81. who says? by bluGill · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've heard many claims that GIMP is trying to be just as good as photshop, but not there yet. I've heard claims that there are one or two things GIMP does better, while overall it is worse. I've heard that it is a good start, but still not there yet. I've heard that "EVERYONE", or "a friend of a friend" claims it is better. I've never actually heard someone claim it is better.

    If you are an artist, you should check it out, it might do one or two things that you need. It might be something to put on your todo list for one year from now to see if it is better. Because it is free (beer) you can check it out anytime. Don't do it when you have a big deadline, but most artists are having a hard time finding work now, if you have downtime with no leads check it out.

    1. Re:who says? by Jameth · · Score: 1

      I say. I'm an artist who uses GIMP and Photoshop. When directly comparing GIMP to Photoshop, it's like comparing a smoking pile of horse crap to a bar of gold. I can honestly say that I have only ever twice found something in GIMP that I couldn't do in Photoshop, and that went away when I tried Photoshop 7.0.

      GIMP is great, but it is so far away from Photoshop that it boggles the mind.

      Disclaimer: I am trying GIMP 1.3.x tonight, but have not tried it yet, so some of it might have improved, but not that much.

    2. Re:who says? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GIMP 1.2 sucks...

  82. You ain't billing for $300 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    "At $300/hour"

    In your dreams.

    Nobody bills at that rate. Nobody.

    Maybe in '99, but in '03, maybe half if your name is Bill Fucking Adobe. But 25% of that rate for everybody else.

    Graphics flunkies are literally a dime-a-dozen.

    1. Re:You ain't billing for $300 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's probably some ad agency somewhere padding their billings with $300/hour graphics work. However, our computer slave here probably only sees a tenth of that.

  83. dropped the motherload? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    What strange language is this? You can hit the motherlode or find the motherlode. But drop the motherload?

  84. Fair point by benwaggoner · · Score: 1

    Fair point, actually, in the short term. But from the economic perspective, we really charge on the project - if you can get work done in half as long, you get to charge twice as much per hour.

    Of course, as others get access to the same tools, overall productivity will improve, so that instead of making more money, I'm really keeping even. But the price of keeping up is cheap relative to the cost of the software. You don't find many folks doing professional retouching with Photoshop 4, certainly.

    1. Re:Fair point by ichimunki · · Score: 1

      Right. I would still support upgrading. The cost of this software is probably less than 1% of your annual billings. You wouldn't even notice this expense.

      --
      I do not have a signature
  85. Mod parent up! by grantsellis · · Score: 1

    The next logical step would be to combine Photoshop and Illustrator.

    Right on. There's no reason to approach vector and raster art through different programs. Jumping is innefficient and kludgy and leads to a "when my only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" approach instead of using both tools for what they do best.

    (Adobe seems to realize that things need to be further integrated. That's why they have the stupid 'CS' tacked on to the end of program names.)

    The only reason I see that Adobe sells the two seperately is that they'd lose revenue combining them.
    1. Re:Mod parent up! by nullard · · Score: 1

      Right on. There's no reason to approach vector and raster art through different programs.

      This is one of the things I loved about Canvas. It gained alot of missing raster features with version 5, but it also lost a lot of stability. They stopped checking for out of memory errors, leading to some nasty crashes.

      I wish someone would take the good features of Fireworks (symbols, slices), Photoshop (almost everything), and Canvas (sane object manipulation, awesome text handling, exact object placement, awesome object tools) and make one good, stable, fast application.

      --


      t'nera semordnilap
  86. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Thurn+und+Taxis · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh, that's easy:

    cat > important_graphic.eps
    %!
    0.5 0.2 0.7 0 setcmykcolor
    100 100 moveto
    200 100 lineto 200 200 lineto 100 200 lineto closepath fill
    showpage
    ^D

    What could be easier than that? :-)

    --
    On stereophonic equipment, the monaural sound obtained through multiple channels will enhance your listening pleasure.
  87. Photoshop Mac maybe by caveat · · Score: 1

    it's color acuity precise

    On a Mac with properly set up and calibrated ColorSync yeah, but I have yet to meet a graphic designer who's had any real luck with color management on Win (if they dont' know about ColorSync, I show them mine...gets them every time.)

    --

    Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
  88. That would be... motherLODE by CatOne · · Score: 1

    which originially referred to a large find of gold.

    MotherLOAD... well that's what I give back after a good strong cup of Peet's. Very different ;-)

  89. Re:Don't buy Adobe by gouldtj · · Score: 1

    I have yet to be able to open a complex postscipt file in either of these, and edit them like I do in Illustrator 8, on a PII.

    Yeah, I wouldn't say either is as good as Illustrator yet for all tasks. But I would say there are many tasks for many people that can be done with either of them. For most people they both have more than enough features.

  90. Photoshop CS and digital camera support by arsinmsn · · Score: 2, Informative

    a good rundown of the impact of Photoshop CS on those using it to tweak digital camera photos is at DPReview
    http://www.dpreview.com/news/0309/03092903photos hopcsreview.asp
    a generally useful site for digital photography news

  91. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by chegosaurus · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure I once installed it on Solaris too. Would have been version 3 at the latest. Of course, I could be wrong...

  92. True, but... by Svartalf · · Score: 1

    One can write code that will work correctly and cleanly in both, and retain all the look and feel of both environments. There's even three different toolkits under Linux that also work under MacOS X. In fact, LGP is wondering what to do with our Ballistics port once we get PPC Linux support working- it's just a VERY small hop over to MacOS X from there for the codebase.

    Just because they're UNIX based but "different" is NOT an excuse for needing or even doing two different codebases.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
    1. Re:True, but... by GutBomb · · Score: 1

      ok the real reason adobe won't port it to linux is simple. there is no money in it. the hobbyists won't pay because they are used to getting stuff for free, so it will be widely pirated in that group (as it is on windows/mac). this wouldn't be a big deal if linux had a large share of desktop users in corporate environments. but it doesn't. they would not be able to recoup the losses suffered for porting it or their percieved losses (a completely different discussion) for the hobbyist users pirating it.

      so there are the reasons. adobe doesn't see any money in making their software work on linux.

    2. Re:True, but... by WatertonMan · · Score: 1
      I don't think saying that Linux is for hobbyists is correct. There was a story a few weeks ago about Disney (I think it was Disney?) switching to Linux boxes running Photoshop under Wine. If there were a native version of Photoshop running under Gnome, I'm sure it would be very appreciated by many people. Further I think Adobe would make enough to pay for the port. And, assuming Linux for the desktop ever gets past its RSN status it would position Adobe quite well.

      Having said that though Adobe might not want to do this since it really has no competition to Photoshop beyond Gimp. And I just can't see Gimp reaching the status of Photoshop given the nature of its development.

    3. Re:True, but... by GutBomb · · Score: 1

      i have been taken the wrong way twice here. I said that the hobbyist linux users won't pay for photoshop however there arent enough corporate users of linux that would be interested in using photoshop for adobe to port photoshop to linux. sure linux is being used by governments everywhere, but not every one of those installations 9and in fact very few) would actually be using a photoshop-like application.

      sure adobe would make enough money to pay for the port, but still it is not in their best interest to port and manufacture software that a very small portion of the market is going to buy.

      As for the special effects houses, I am sure there is a mac or a pc there so people can use photoshop. not EVERY machine there is a unix workstation. and adobe knows that. if there is a pc there they can use photoshop on, why port it?

      again i don't agree with this stuff in any way (except that linux is extremely far from being a viable desktop OS)

      It would be nice if adobe would have made photoshop for linux. if they had, i would not have switched from linux to OS X. however if they had the downside would be that I would not have switched from linux to OS X ;)

    4. Re:True, but... by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      I find it funny that ppl think that just because theft occurs on MS systems, that it occurs over on Linux. I have seen that most of the music and movies that my friends grab, are MS users. Those of my friends that are into Linux do not steal. In fact, most of them pay for their fav. distro if they are buyable (some use debian, and several were unemployed; needless to say, they did not buy them). I know ppl who have bought and used WP. Some, including myself, bought games. But I have never had anybody ask for a free copy of commercial software.
      More important, the space that Adobe is targeting is the VFX/FX/CG arena, which has very large corporations who will buy rather than risk being nailed by BSA.
      If Adobe holds off porting, they run the risk that by the time they do try to switch, the OSS world and other companies will hold the market.
      Study the history of mainframe companies who held off porting to MS until it was too late. Then they died.
      No profit in that for most of them (Novell being the only exception).

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    5. Re:True, but... by WatertonMan · · Score: 1

      I guess my whole argument is that many corporations are turning to Linux on the desktop. I agree that at this point Linux desktops are a bit "not ready for primetime" unless you have a dedicated IT guy. But clearly Disney's running Photoshop under Linux is nothing to sneeze at.

  93. Adobe? by haggar · · Score: 1

    Aren't they evil, for some reason? I know that I am boycotting them, but I forgot why. It was something outrageous, that I am sure.

    Anyone care to remind me what was the issue?

    Electronic books and their decription? Am I close??

    --
    Sigged!
  94. Usability? by benwaggoner · · Score: 1

    I know people love the GIMP, but man, is that UI confusing to a new user. It can do everything, but is a lot harder to use than Elements for Elements' sweet spot of consumer photo retouching and manipulation.

    That said, there is a ton of stuff that GIMP can't do that isn't possible in Elements. It really depends on the need.

  95. Re:Don't buy Adobe by The+Lynxpro · · Score: 2, Interesting

    *What bundling? I run three Windows boxes and have yet to see where I was explicitly forbidden from using a third-party mail client, Mozilla browser, instant messaging tool and office suite.
    And how many people did Microsoft jail on DMCA premises, by the way?*

    The better question is, *why are you posting as an anonymous coward on a subject relating to jailing people on DMCA issues?* Are you afraid Microsoft might make you a test case? And how can you deny the bundling issue after years of the antitrust case? Do you not remember how many times Microsoft has updated Windows to cripple competing software? I seem to remember several times where Netscape was cripped versus performance gains by IE, and it wasn't because of shoddy Netscape coding. What about people fined and jailed for modding their Xboxes because of DMCA prohibitions on reverse-engineering?

    And please do not equate a grandmother running internet access on a 56k dial-up as one of your "stupid people" examples when it comes to bundling. For the longest, Microsoft prohibited OEM manufacturers from bundling competing web browsers and plenty of older folks who didn't know better used Internet Explorer instead of checking out the competitors because it came standard on the PC they purchased. Do you expect your own grandmother (if she is still alive) to build her own PC and install all the programs independently? For gosh sakes, if it wasn't for the Antitrust Case, Windows XP wouldn't run Quicktime or AIM... Are you oblivious to this or are you typing from a cubicle located in Redmond, Washington?

    --
    "Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
  96. Windows only - for now by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    One nice perk of being a Mac user is that the Mac version of Photoshop CS still has no activation. That will not last forever though, as in that same link they say that it's being tested on Windows to "strike the right balance with users", and then will be rolled out to other platforms and products.

    It will be interesting to see if activation which prevents casual piracy will help or hinder products like XP and CS. Sure they have more sales now, but also a smaller user base that will look for other products if it becomes difficult enough to pirate them. It's a way of growing your competitors customer base...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  97. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Jameth · · Score: 1

    "Hate to say it, but for the Windows platform Microsoft products are a much better price-efficiency alternative than Adobe."

    Yeah, that'd be true, if they even tried to do the same thing. Have you ever used Photoshop? No, really used Photoshop? I mean professionally?

    See, that's what Adobe makes. Professional quality tools. Microsoft makes silly little end-user products that do a couple things you might want.

  98. Dreamweaver has a LONG way to go. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and to an extent some of Macromedia's tools such as Dreamweaver.

    Dreamweaver is compltely immature. The way it renders CSS internally is beyond a joke, and everyone knows that the "HTML" it spews out is a hand coders nightmare.

    Whats worse, it has single handedly created a generation of "web designers" who know nothing about how a web page works, making life for people like me more of a living death than life. "I think youre overcomplicating the need to use CSS in this (Movable Type) template; why can we just use the code straight out of Dreamweaver? it looks ok on my Mac!"

    Thanks Macromedia.

    There is alot of room for improvement with Dreamweaver, and the latest version MX 2004 addresses some of the problems of the previous version, most of them to do with CSS. Credit where its due, Dreamweaver is a fantastic tool, and if they manage to fix the way that CSS controlled pages display internally, then they will have taken a great leap forward indeed. These improvements are worth paying for, as are improvements in performance and stability.

    AC rant off.

    1. Re:Dreamweaver has a LONG way to go. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go Live is just as shit !!!

  99. Adobe activation by PhilipPeake · · Score: 1

    Fighting the incredibly slow response of Adobe's website, I managed to read the Q&A they provide on activation. It starts by saying that it doesn't change the license agreement in any way. Well, the obviously didn't read the Photoshop 7 license agreement they sent me. It allows me to make a copy on a portable machine, and use that copy - as long as both are not being used at the same time. Activation locks the binary to a single machine, so, since they say they are not changing the license terms, how are they going to honor them? Send me a free copy to register seperately on my laptop?

    1. Re:Adobe activation by tubadood · · Score: 2, Informative

      According to Adobe's product activation information page (emphasis mine):

      What happens after I activate Adobe software?
      Q:
      What effect do you expect activation will have on Photoshop customers?

      A:
      Most users will see no change in their ability to use the software the way they always have done. Adobe recognizes that software license activation systems can create a few more steps for the user and has worked hard to minimize customer inconvenience. The Adobe activation process supports installation on a primary and secondary PC as well as most system upgrades (e.g. operating system, motherboard, memory or processor). In most cases, customers can change computing environments without needing to contact Adobe Customer Support or needing to re-activate any installed Adobe software.

    2. Re:Adobe activation by ZoneGray · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that's an especially serious issue for Photojournalists, who are mostly self-employed (read: not exactly dripping dollars) and who need to use a laptop as well as a desktop. On the other hand, I doubt Adobe is ignorant of this, and suspect they have a policy that wasn't stated in the FAQ.

      I have a friend who was doing some marketing consulting for Adobe, and about a year and a half ago, she mentioned that Adobe was really wrestling with the activation issue. She said they were aware of just how much people dislike it... on the other hand, they've been getting burned so badly on copying that they were (at the time) considering it.

      The thing about product activation is that it tends to be effective only when you have a product for which there's no practical substitute. Photoshop users aren't going to suddenly switch to Corel Draw, just as Windows users weren't driven to Linux by activation. On the other hand, Intuit had to drop it because it simply drove people to Tax Cut or other alternatives.

    3. Re:Adobe activation by user+no.+590291 · · Score: 1
      The thing about product activation is that it tends to be effective only when you have a product for which there's no practical substitute. Photoshop users aren't going to suddenly switch . . .

      In other words, successful use of product activation by a company is prima facie evidence of that company's holding an illegal monopoly. Someone at the Justice Department should be looking hard at Adobe right now.

    4. Re:Adobe activation by ZoneGray · · Score: 1

      Well, there's really no such thing as an illegal monopoly. To be sure, it's illegal in some circumstances to employ a monopoly position to impede competition.

      But in this case, Adobe's actions actually weaken their market position, by giving users an incentive to switch to a product that doesn't use activation. Obviously, they feel the increased revenue gained by reducing piracy will compensate for the loss of potential customers.

    5. Re:Adobe activation by user+no.+590291 · · Score: 1
      Fair enough--the monopoly itself is not illegal. However, imposing product activiation is pretty crappy, given that they do have an effective monopoly, and, as you stated, users are unlikely to switch to alternatives. The network effect of filters alone is enough to keep people using Photoshop.

      I know this is a tired argument, but honestly, how many people does Adobe think have copied PS who will be buying it now that there's activation? It'll be cracked, and soon--are they doing to pull another Sklyarov? Call the FBI then back off when the bad PR kicks in and let the feds take the heat for the prosecution? If they can even find the guy who cracks it?

    6. Re:Adobe activation by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      [Adobe] were aware of just how much people dislike [activation]... on the other hand, they've been getting burned so badly on copying that they were (at the time) considering it.

      MS Windows and Office are universally used in countries where bootleg software is the norm. MS is actually happy about this, (or they should be) because it locks individuals, companies and governments into their software due to it being the only thing people have any exposure to. Eventually, when the local economy advances to the point they have money and can afford to buy software, and are forced to go legit due to US govt pressure on trade issues (you can't export your sweatshop goods unless you "respect IP") they sign up with MS.

      A similar mechanism works for Adobe. Anyone with a PC can buy Photoshop on a $1 CDROM. Why use the cheaper PaintShop, PhotoPaint, let alone GIMP when you can have the industry standard. It's irrelevant what the retail price is. Now those few who progress to real jobs in graphics are already trained in PS, they sneer at everything else (lots of examples of that in other posts here); result is hardly anything else is used in professional environments where the software has to be bought. A lot of this network effect would be lost if casual users had to choose software and pay the real price.

  100. Ah, now we get closer to the truth here... by Svartalf · · Score: 1

    Nice brush you're tarring people with. Keep in mind that Linux users aren't just hobbiests any more. They're the Fortune 1000. They're the S&P 500. They're Munich. They're other cities in Germany and elsewhere. They're Japan. They're Korea. They're ILM. They're Dreamworks. None of these users are pirates- most of them are the CORE customer group for Adobe in the first place .

    I hope you get the point by now. That part's WRONG.

    Now, as to the real reason, you've got it dead-on. Adobe's got the same erroneous perception you have about things and they don't see any money in it.

    However, they'd better be careful as the customers are working on tools (Film GIMP, etc.) that pretty much render them irrelevent at some point in the near to medium future. Why are they doing this? Because Adobe won't sell to them- and they're just going to do it on their own. And don't discount them- the people in question doing the work are the people at the bleeding edge of computer graphics, whether it be 2D or 3D (After all ILM, Pixar, Dreamworks' sole purpose IS computer graphics...). They'd rather have someone else do the work for them so they can spend their efforts on other tasks- but if they can't find someone willing to do it, they'll do it themselves ANYWAY.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
    1. Re:Ah, now we get closer to the truth here... by GutBomb · · Score: 1

      keep living in that dreamworld dude. linux is not and never will be a viable desktop operating system no matter how many governments choose to use it.

    2. Re:Ah, now we get closer to the truth here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, Munich -- the people who run MS Windows under VMWare. If they want Photoshop, they'll just buy it. No port necessary.

  101. What's a motherload? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    whatever it is, it's gotta be less messy than a fatherload.

  102. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by WatertonMan · · Score: 1
    I had a friend who ran the IRIX version of Photoshop. He hated it. In his words it was basically emulating the Mac version. (I don't mean that literally -- just that they wrote a compatibility framework and then had the Mac sourcecode call this instead of the Mac API) It wasn't really a port and did a lot of things in a very strange way. He also said it was slower than other equivalents available for the SGI.

    Given how poor the port was, it isn't surprising how few people bought it.

  103. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They dropped Premiere for Mac because only 10 percent of their Premiere users where using a Mac.

    Ok, that is what the say on their website and it might be far from the truth but how much market share would Linux need so that they will offer a Linux Photoshop?

  104. Re : Gimp IS close by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I sometimes help develop for the gimp, and the 1.3 series IS very competitive to photoshop! I have a lot of spare time right now for gimp development, and I'd love to add some more features.

    So tell me what features you want, and I will see what I can do to implement them. Remember to add them to the wish list. Don't forget to check the wish list from the grandparent.

  105. Re:Don't buy Adobe by demonbug · · Score: 1
    I'd switch to linux and drop the PC


    Dude, what are you gonna run linux on if you drop your PC?

  106. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Photoshop 7.0 is running fine here with WINE 20030813 without any Windows installation whatsoever on Gentoo 1.4!

  107. color proofing on linux by pixel+fairy · · Score: 1

    nope. linux is lacking two things before the software can support that.

    1) profile support for the display

    while an app alone could concievably be calibrated at the mercy of the display device, its better to have this in the X server since that can adjust the hardware (gamma etc)

    2) support for calibration hardware

    (spyder,ione etc) after that were just a cinepaint plug in away.

    we do have scanner calibration thanks to scarse, and thus, theorectially we can calibrate a printer depending on the quality of the scanner, but that still leaves the monitor out.

  108. Bittorrent Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i thought we had gone over this already...
    if you're going to point to a large data package, it would be courteous to provide a bittorrent link to save everyone time and spare the slashdotting victims some bandwidth.

    so, who's got a torrent up of adobe creative suite? a product activation crack would be nice too.

  109. Adobe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So they actually do stuff besides sending people to jail?

  110. umm...what? by KermMartian · · Score: 0

    wtf are you talking about? My name is Russell Brown? I think not.

  111. Mod parent up! by Augusto · · Score: 1

    I'm worried about this too. This activation stuff is getting on my nerves, in this case, I rather they check everytime your start the app. But then you wouldn't be able to use the app offline.

    Grrr.

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    - sigs are for wimps.
  112. This shouldn't suprise you. by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

    At least, it doesn't suprise me.

    Photoshop has to be one of the top five applications that gets stole^H^H^H^H^H installed without authorization. That, and Adobe being an active member of the BSA makes this very easy to see coming.

    Hell, look at the back of any Adobe CD case (if you actually have one for that software that is on your drive, you bad bad individual! No ice cream for you!), you will see at least two logos: Clearly Adobe Imaging, and Business Software Alliance member.

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  113. Re:Don't buy Adobe by 2muchcoffeeman · · Score: 1

    What's the open-source equivalent of InDesign (or Pagemaker or QuarkXpress, for that matter)? What's Microsoft's high-end page layout software? Publisher? That's laughable.

    And assuming something open-source exists, will it be able to export documents into something that a professional print shop can use?

    I don't know what the answer to the question about the Linux equivalent is, but I would be surprised if the answer to the export question was something other than, "No, it can't. But home users won't need anything else!"

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  114. Naysayers, read the dpreview review by kingLatency · · Score: 1

    Naysayers, read the dpreview.com review and then post. Clearly, this upgrade has more new stuff than meets the eye. As a Photoshop 7 user and digital photographer, it looks like I will definitely be upgrading.

    --
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  115. Free PDF suite for Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go here: http://www.templatezone.com/downloads/download.asp ?download=1&pid=133&CID=.

    Use mailinator.com e-mail for getting the download link.

  116. Oops... by Galvatron · · Score: 1

    I had been planning on buying Photoshop this year, to take advantage of my educational discount before I'm kicked out into the cold cruel world. But if I have to buy seperate copies for my desktop and tablet, forget it. The ONLY way it makes sense for Adobe to do this is if it's accompanied by a price cut. If you eliminate casual copying, you've effectively doubled or tripled the price of your product to people like me who have multiple computers. Frankly, the GIMP does all I need anyway, and I think Adobe is making a BIG mistake by making Photoshop effectively unaffordable to groups that buy a single copy, and casually pirate it maybe 3 or 4 times. Not only will they no longer get that one sale, but they'll also start making alternatives, such as the GIMP of PSP more standard among the low end.

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  117. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have an MA in art and graphic design. And any respectable printer (read: everybody but Kinko's) will laugh at you if your bring in a document done in PhotoDraw and Image Editor.

    And there's a huge difference between 'press ready PDF Generation' and 'my app can save to a PDF'.

  118. Learn to read by bluGill · · Score: 1

    I had to go back and re-read my post. I think it clear enough. I suggest you re-read it, and then re-consider what you wrote in reply. I hope you have enough sense to feel like a fool.

    I hate to be that harse, but your reply only makes sense if you didn't bother to read what I said.

  119. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Was the guy who broke Adobe's security just trying to publicize a weakness?

    Nope. He was trying to make a buck by illegally reverse-engineering somebody else's product.

    But this is Slashdot. Don't let the facts get in the way of a good rant.

  120. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by forgotmypassword · · Score: 1

    I had heard that it was so ignorantly written that it rendered it's own fonts and widgets.

  121. But now people know when to download from Kazaa by hajejan · · Score: 2, Funny

    Alternatively, you might consider that not everybody knows when to start looking for their new software on Kazaa.

    Y'see, media professionals and photographers, the main target group for Adobe's lines of software, such as myself, are probably already on Adobe's mailing list.

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  122. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As someone who worked for three years at Kinko's while going to school, I feel I must interject. If you bring a document created in PhotoDraw or Image Editor to Kinko's, they may not laugh in your face. But trust me, as soon as you walk out the door, they are laughing at you.

  123. Re:I wish they'd get on and do a Linux Photoshop.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just like StarOffice and a hundred other X11 apps.

  124. Here's a review of the photo features by neile · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Courtesy of Digital Photography Review. They go into all the new features that apply to digital photography, and have samples of how they work with real-world photos.

    http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/adobephotoshopcs/

  125. I won't happen anytime soon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Adobe and other software makers have very little interest in doing commercial titles for Linux, for one simple reason: Linux users are still, as a general rule, the cheapest people on the planet.

    I've spoken with many people at software companies, and their to biggest gripes are 1) X is a huge pain in the ass, and 2) Linux users won't pay for software.

    1. Re:I won't happen anytime soon by EnglishTim · · Score: 1

      Well, all the big VFX companies are quite used to paying out vast amounts of money for software licenses. When you're paying out in the order of $3000 each for 400 Renderman licenses, $650/license for Photoshop doesn't seem too bad.

      I guess though that the few thousand sales you're going to make to the VFX industry ends up not paying for the work you've gotta do to make Linux version...

  126. No, I'm New Here by New+Here · · Score: 0

    No, I'm New Here

  127. No, I'm New Here by New+Here · · Score: 0

    No, I'm New Here

  128. Actually... by filmsmith · · Score: 1

    Longhorn is just the Codename. You know...like Panther.

  129. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Quarters · · Score: 1
    Yeah, whatever, My sarcastic rant at the infalibility of Apple zealots to claim any innovation as a derivative of their works got marked as a troll. I take that one of two ways; Either it came across as troll-like, or Apple users are as I portrayed them and they didn't like the mirror being shown to them.

    I'm not sure what a "crapflooder" is, but I did have Mexican food today.

    It would be pretty easy to search the posting history of anyone with a registered user name here on Slashdot and find at least one example of a negative rating. Does that mean the poster is nothing but a troll? No, it can as easily mean that what they thought was interesting/funny/etc... wasn't taken the same way by the community.

    You sure are hypocritcal, standing up for Slashdotter's rights while hiding behind an "Anonymous Poster" tag.

    If you really want to penis measure here on Slashdot, go ahead. I'll sit back with my five digit user ID and excellent Karma rating and continue to enhance the experience around here by speaking my mind, sharing my opinions, and knowing that the modding of my posts by other intelligent people will give me proper feedback on how my ideas are being received.

  130. Re:Don't buy Adobe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, for Premiere Pro, I can wholeheartedly reccomend Sonic Foundry's Vegas 4.0. It out-final-cuts Final Cut. It leaves Premiere so far behind it's not even funny. For a few more bucks you can master DVDs with it too.

    It is without a doubt the best prosumer editing application available.

    It was also recently bought by Sony and will likely be rebranded and emasculated like Apple did with Astarte's DVD mastering suite a couple of years back, so get it quick.

    Oh, and a replacment for After Effects? Give me a break. Combustion, Digital Fusion, and Shake are all more powerful and easier to use (although Shake has that pesky buyout problem as well).

  131. InCopy is not new by n8_f · · Score: 1

    While it is new as a consumer product, it isn't new. I believe Adobe provided it as a workflow component for their VARs. It has been around since at least 2.0 and I think 1.5. Someone else can confirm. As I understand it, it is a pretty basic text (or "copy") editor with some nice integration with InDesign. I was sorely disappointed to learn that it was not a Word (or better yet, FrameMaker) replacement. Because knowing is half the battle.

  132. Re:Don't buy Adobe by kgarcia · · Score: 1

    heh... I submitted without previewing... I meant "switch to linux and drop windows", although I would almost venture to say this days pc=windows, (you don't call macs "pc's", although they ARE "personal computers"). Yes it's a technicality, but it makes little or no difference this days. You knew what i meant...

  133. Comptetition by theolein · · Score: 1

    Photoshop is by far, by very far, the best tool for digital image manipulation. There is nothing else even close to it in the market. My personal experience with Photoshop goes back to version 1.0.5 in 1990 and what I discovered is that Photoshop was then and up untl around version 5.5, conservative. The keyboard shortcut combinations (zooming, dragging etc) combined with an incredibly responsive screen update and precise colour is what professionals needed, not a multitude of flashy coloured rollovers. If anything, while versions 6 and 7 have added many useful features, I feel that Adobe's virtual monopoly in this market is perhaps not such a good thing.

    There are no other applications that have the features, and only one competitor, Painter, that specialises in natural media simulation, which PS doesn't have, yet which doesn't offer the ease of use of PS.

    The case of Illustrator is similar. AI always had a strong competitor in Freehand and Adobe really messed up AI in a couple of later versions in a mad panic trying to catch up and surpass Freehand in the gimmick department. Now, since Freehand has lagged behind for a couple of years, being ignored by macromedia who bet the farm on web products, AI has once again been left to wait it out until the next round. (The differences between version 9.0 and 10.0 are minimal, and 10.0 was even slower on the same hardware).

    In summary, while I like Adobes products, I think that it would be incredible if someone like say, Macromedia, to take Painter and Freehand and make decent competitors to Adobe's flagshups again. Macromedia's Dreamweaver is vastly better than Golive in ease of use, and they could heat up the competition with Freehand and a programme like Painter as well.

  134. Re:Adobe activation... another one bites the dust by 3dvideo · · Score: 0

    this activation nightmare is terrible. I used to hold up adobe as an example: see they trust us just type in a serial and get to work... that's why your company shouldn't have activation for your cheaper software.. It's becoming a battle just to use software you buy. I upgrade hardware very often and also usually install a copy on my main workstation, a laptop, and a machine in the living room... I only use one machine/copy at a time.... I bet my frequent upgrades (like changing motherboards cpu's etc..) will break the activation scheme... guess it's back to DPaint on the amiga :) d

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