Pagemaker RIP: End of an Era
Adobe has announced that Pagemaker is being discontinued.
Pagemaker, along with the Apple Laserwriter, launched a desktop publishing revolution on the planet that has had repercussions in just about every field of knowledge known to man.
Pagemaker took publishing out of the exclusive hands of big money corporations, and let smaller publishers get a piece of the pie.
Those of you who enjoy the ridiculously large selection of magazines at Barnes and Noble or Chapters in Canada have the DTP revolution to thank.
My own life was changed the day I bought a copy of Aldus Pagemaker 3.1 along with an original Mac LC, and decided to launch my own publishing business in 1993.
Once Pagemaker was started, you instantly 'got' the paste up metaphor. Like a true Mac app, no training was necessary to start designing. It was much less intimidating than Quark, and launched tens of thousands of careers like mine.
It was the original Mac killer app. Nothing else has come close to its status as a software revolutionary. In my opinion, Adobe should have designed an OS X only 'iApp' with the Pagemaker name, so that future generations would have a great place to start off in DTP.
While I switched to InDesign a couple of years ago, I'm very sad to see this page turning in Mac history. Farewell, Pagemaker. And thanks to the software geniuses who could 'think different' enough to design the killer app that put the Mac universe into orbit.
Pagemaker, along with the Apple Laserwriter, launched a desktop publishing revolution on the planet that has had repercussions in just about every field of knowledge known to man.
Pagemaker took publishing out of the exclusive hands of big money corporations, and let smaller publishers get a piece of the pie.
Those of you who enjoy the ridiculously large selection of magazines at Barnes and Noble or Chapters in Canada have the DTP revolution to thank.
My own life was changed the day I bought a copy of Aldus Pagemaker 3.1 along with an original Mac LC, and decided to launch my own publishing business in 1993.
Once Pagemaker was started, you instantly 'got' the paste up metaphor. Like a true Mac app, no training was necessary to start designing. It was much less intimidating than Quark, and launched tens of thousands of careers like mine.
It was the original Mac killer app. Nothing else has come close to its status as a software revolutionary. In my opinion, Adobe should have designed an OS X only 'iApp' with the Pagemaker name, so that future generations would have a great place to start off in DTP.
While I switched to InDesign a couple of years ago, I'm very sad to see this page turning in Mac history. Farewell, Pagemaker. And thanks to the software geniuses who could 'think different' enough to design the killer app that put the Mac universe into orbit.
Comments
But you may want to check out InDesign CS Pagemaker Edition which was announced today.
We use it here at my job, however, and I absolutely HATE IT. Talk about unfriendly and "taking you around the bend to do a simple task".
Here's how lame it is: we HAVE InDesign 2.0, but the guy above me just doesn't want to budge from his PageMaker. So I'm stuck using this inelegant, 1996-era app to set all this type and do these layouts. Doing a type runaround is a 3-step process involving a modal dialog box. Totally lame. InDesign does it with a floating, real-time pallete. And don't get me started on the lack of multiple undos.
That ALONE is worth the price!
But yes, for all that PageMaker represented and began, it'll earn a place in the Mac Hall of Fame of Important Stuff. As it should.
InDesign is where it's at.
Originally posted by Frank777 In my opinion, Adobe should have designed an OS X only 'iApp' with the Pagemaker name, so that future generations would have a great place to start off in DTP.
THANK you!
Check out my thread from a month or so ago, where I say the EXACT same thing!
There is, currently, no afforadable, OS X native, consumer-oriented DTP app. It's InDesign for $650 or QuarkXPress for $800-900.
And no, I don't count Microsoft Word as a DTP app, so don't even suggest it.
Something intuitive and semi-full-featured that OS X native and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. These small companies and churches can't be flinging around $600-900 on pro-level DTP apps, sporting tons of features they'll never use.
IMO, this is a GLARING, wide-open hole begging to be filled by someone.
All these new Macs being sold, with Panther as the default OS, to newbies and Switchers? WHY in the hell should they have to learn TWO operating systems so they can work in Classic or - gasp - boot into 9, just to use a 4-year-old version of PageMaker.
Instead of killing PageMaker, I would've liked to have seen Adobe simply make it OS X native, realize its a niche app that actually serves a valid purpose and sell it for about $99-129 for those not needing - or unable to afford - the pro-level features of InDesign.
They would sell the living crap out of a X-native PageMaker priced like Photoshop Elements!