[SoyMac]

If Adobe were to drop their Pro Apps (PhotoShop, Dreamweaver, InDesign, Illustrator ) support for Apple hardware, what would you do?

I've been following the discussion about the recent Adobe/Apple feud (is it a "feud" ?), and I have so far not seen any indication of what the Apple crowd would do in the event of Adobe completely dropping support for Apple users.

Perhaps you could also comment on whether you're a professional Adobe software user, or a fun-times Adobe software user.

 

[Chimpur]

I doubt it would ever happen. Though if it did, I could see people sticking with current adobe software till something better comes along, which i'm sure it will... Imagine Apple made graphics apps to replace all the cs5 apps?

 

[SoyMac]

... if it did, I could see people sticking with current adobe software till something better comes along...

Oooo! That would have been a good alternative poll option!

 

[bsenka]

I make my living from using Photoshop and Illustrator (as well as inDesign to a lesser extent). I love Macs, but PS and AI are far more important than what operating system they use. If they were not available for OS X, I'd switch to an OS that did have them, no hesitation.

I don't doubt that Apple could make suitable replacements, but I cringe to think of what they'd probably try to make us settle for. If they followed their current model, they'd strip out lots of the most critical features and tell us that we don't need them.

 

[groovetube]

I agree. Perhaps not so heavy pro users would consider other options, but despite me prefering to work in os x, if my main apps went windows, so be it. I think that'd be pretty universal.

However, it'll never happen.

 

[WestWeb]

I use adobe's software daily: but, am still a student, so I have to admit, I'm really not too attached to adobe yet.

If Apple and Adobe ever get divorced, I don't think I would even hesitate moving over to all the great, free, opensource software out there for Macs. Despite having to use windows still, here and there, the last thing I would ever do is rely on it as my main development platform. tptptptp HELL NO!

As much as I would like to believe that this is is just a smaller struggle in, what could have been, a great relationship, Steve probably isn't letting Adobe back in the house anytime soon. :lmao:

 

[Paradime]

Interesting thread but I think it's safe to assume that Adobe isn't going anywhere. They make too much money making Mac software...just like Microsoft does.

However, it wouldn't surprise me if Apple did make some sort of preemptive strike and develop or acquire a Photoshop alternative. After all, how many people here use Adobe Premiere for video editing? No one, largely because of Final Cut. Ok, maybe there's a few but Premiere vs. Final Cut is an example of what Apple can do when they decide to get serious.

That said, I know people like to talk about Adobe alternatives. If we're all honest with ourselves, we admit that there really aren't any creditable alternatives to Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. Heck, I've tried them all...everything from GIMP to Pixelmator. From Inkscape to VectorDesigner.

When people talk about Pixelmator as an Photoshop alternative, it's completely laughable. It's an amazing program, yes, but they'd consider themselves lucky to be compared to Photoshop Elements nevermind Photoshop CS and Adobe knows this as do the Pro's that use it for their livelihood.

Again, Apple could come along and change this if they wanted to but they have bigger fish to fry at this point and Adobe isn't going anywhere.

 

[groovetube]

This is true. Didn't final cut already exist to acquire? Same with logic.

What exists as a serious photoshop killer/competitor for apple to acquire? Or illustrator?

 

[kps]

I do some part-time photography as well as being a hobbyist, so I don't think I could live without Photoshop and Lightroom. That is based on having no currently available alternatives as far as I'm concerned. GIMP, Pixelmator, etc and Aperture just do not fit into my workflow. That is not to say that they won't work for others.

To answer the poll, I would get a standalone Windows machine set up as a workstation which would never, ever be connected to the internet and run only those apps which would fit my workflow. I'd probably dump the Mac Pro and go with an iMac or portable for surfing and everything else.

 

[Paradime]

What exists as a serious photoshop killer/competitor for apple to acquire? Or illustrator?

Not much.

I think the best Apple is going to get in terms of a Photoshop-killer acquisition is Pixelmator. With Apple's resources, they could certainly do a good job at turning it into more of a Pro application. Who knows, maybe Pixelmator 2.0 will surprise us.

 

[groovetube]

I think that's a stretch, you'd asking an entire industry to switch, not one application, but a number of them.

 

[i-rui]

i make my living from using photoshop and illustrator (as well as indesign to a lesser extent). I love macs, but ps and ai are far more important than what operating system they use. If they were not available for os x, i'd switch to an os that did have them, no hesitation.

I don't doubt that apple could make suitable replacements, but i cringe to think of what they'd probably try to make us settle for. If they followed their current model, they'd strip out lots of the most critical features and tell us that we don't need them.

+1

 

[ldphoto]

I think that if Adobe tried to pull this off, they're be just asking for a hostile takeover by Apple. I'm pretty sure Apple has more then enough case to outright buy Adobe. It would be a great selling point to attract people to Mac if they priced the Mac version lower (or at a big discount when buying a new Pro-level Mac)

 

[MannyP Design]

To answer the OP's question: I'd run the apps in virtual mode on my Mac. I have the Adobe Master Collection and there is nothing that can compare. Say what you will, no company makes a suite of tools like Adobe.

Everything else seems like it's trying to be Photoshop or Illustrator. Why would I bother with second-best?

Hypothetically, if Apple did buy Adobe they'd do it for Adobe's patents. They'd likely keep Photoshop, Illustrator, and maybe Acrobat, but kill Soundbooth, Premiere, and possibly absorb AfterEffects (although AE is far more popular, so who knows).

Not sure if they'd bother with Flash and InDesign. I think Apple would kill Flash outright—make it an example and terminate it right then to make a point, and strip mine the technology for other things. InDesign would either become Pages Pro, or sell it to another company.

In a nutshell, the whole thing would suck. I'm not a fan of Apple's pro offerings. Apple's Aperture team still seems to have QC issues with their software.

But honestly, seeing how Apple is more interested in their iPhone OS, I don't know if Apple would bother with Adobe. Apple's future-focus is the iPhone OS. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Don't be surprised if you start seeing a gradual change where Mac OS X becomes more and more like the iPhone OS.

 

[irontree]

I chose "other" because I don't rely on Adobe products in any way since I'm into audio arts and not visual... and as for Flash... oh my I won't be able to play "Farmville" whatever am I to do??

 

[polywog]

I've become less and less reliant on Adobe over the years. While it would be a big change to see them go, I'd be quite interested to see what comes in to fill the void.

 

[screature]

...To answer the OP's question: I'd run the apps in virtual mode on my Mac...

+1 I already do this to run an old (PS7) version of photoshop just for one of the old plugins that aren't made any more (Terazzo). If it ever came to that I would just fire up Vmware Fusion and away I would go. I will never own another PC... ever.

 

[Paddy]

Adobe would be insane to drop support for Apple over the Flash squabbles. Although I can find no figures on the percentage of Mac vs PC users of the Creative Suite (which is about 55% of Adobe's business, BTW) I'm pretty sure that the Mac side is substantial and it would be an extremely foolish business move to stop development for it.

As for Apple buying Adobe - and doing what? Abandoning support for the PC side? Supporting the PC side? Doesn't make sense, unless Apple wants to be a software company instead of a hardware company...

Re: InDesign - even if Apple did acquire it (which is doubtful), I very much doubt they'd kill it off. It IS the software that an awful lot of newspapers and magazines and ad houses use these days. Many have made the switch from Quark XPress. And Pages doesn't hold a candle to it. And it's cross-platform, which takes us back to my second point.

 

[screature]

Adobe would be insane to drop support for Apple over the Flash squabbles. Although I can find no figures on the percentage of Mac vs PC users of the Creative Suite (which is about 55% of Adobe's business, BTW) I'm pretty sure that the Mac side is substantial and it would be an extremely foolish business move to stop development for it.

As for Apple buying Adobe - and doing what? Abandoning support for the PC side? Supporting the PC side? Doesn't make sense, unless Apple wants to be a software company instead of a hardware company...

Re: InDesign - even if Apple did acquire it (which is doubtful), I very much doubt they'd kill it off. It IS the software that an awful lot of newspapers and magazines and ad houses use these days. Many have made the switch from Quark XPress. And Pages doesn't hold a candle to it. And it's cross-platform, which takes us back to my second point.

I agree, it would be stupid on Adobe's part, I can almost guarantee this will not happen, if it did and you had any Adobe shares, expect a HUGE drop in the share price.

 

[andreww]

Just never going to happen. I believe I read that something like 40% of Adobe's business comes from macs. When you consider that Apple only has about 5% market share, that means an awful high percentage of designers use macs.

It would kind of serve apple right though, it was us designers that have supported apple through the lean years, and now it seems that apple has turned its backs on us now that things have turned around for them. When was the last major revision to the Mac Pro line? That G5 case has been around for 7 years for cryin out loud!!