Adobe to Buy Macromedia

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Just saw this on the Adobe site. Anyone out there with any real insight into the near term effects on the respective software packages?



Edit: Here's the link:

http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/invr...acromedia.html
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    telekontelekon Posts: 54member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Esteban

    Just saw this on the Adobe site. Anyone out there with any real insight into the near term effects on the respective software packages?



    Edit: Here's the link:

    http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/invr...acromedia.html




    Well, GoLive is rubbish so Dreamweaver should take centre stage there. As for Illustrator, I'm not so sure, as I know a few designers who prefer Freehand (as I do).. as for Photoshop, InDesign, Flash etc. I think they'll simply remain as they are with Adobe branding, as there is really much to touch them at the moment.

    I think this is squarely Adobe hopping on the "pro web design" train. We'll have to see I suppose. \
  • Reply 2 of 28
    >_>>_> Posts: 336member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Esteban

    Just saw this on the Adobe site. Anyone out there with any real insight into the near term effects on the respective software packages?



    Edit: Here's the link:

    http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/invr...acromedia.html




    The whole graphic industry in one company. Gee. How terrible can that be?



    - Xidius
  • Reply 3 of 28
    Quote:

    Xidius wrote: The whole graphic industry in one company. Gee. How terrible can that be?



    Amen to that



    more here

    http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index...e&NewsID=11340
  • Reply 4 of 28
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Great...now we will see macromedia gouge prices as much as adobe, the *MX package was a great bargin when compared with things like Adobe studio CS.



    I love photoshop but I cannot afford even the student version (299.99)and PS elements is a fucking joke!



    look for adobe to triple prices because they will have a monopoly - or at absolute best one hell of a monopolistic competition in the arts...want new adobe or macromedia software? better mortgage the farm
  • Reply 5 of 28
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    I wonder what Quark are thinking at the moment?
  • Reply 6 of 28
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiah

    I wonder what Quark are thinking at the moment?



    I forgot about Quark...maybe they could make a web design tool...hummm...and a photoshop wannabe?
  • Reply 7 of 28
    newnew Posts: 3,244member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by telekon

    Well, GoLive is rubbish so Dreamweaver should take centre stage there.



    GoLive has some thing going for it... a fusion is more likely, but in an Adobe interface?



    I can't really picture Dreamweaver in an Adobe interface.
  • Reply 8 of 28
    jlljll Posts: 2,713member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by New

    GoLive has some thing going for it... a fusion is more likely, but in an Adobe interface?



    I can't really picture Dreamweaver in an Adobe interface.




    I think that DW fits better in an Adobe interface than GoLive does. After all that time GoLive still doesn't feel like an Adobe app.



    Hopefully Adobe will use collapsable palettes in their apps in the future.
  • Reply 9 of 28
    kedakeda Posts: 722member
    I don't like the idea of one company owning all my critical apps.



    Besides that, this is a good thing. MM's products are horrible on the Mac. Flash is a dog compared to the PC version, DW too. Hopefully Adobe will improve performance of these apps across platforms.



    I wonder what Adobe is going to do w/Cold Fusion. Any chance of seeing a dev/server package for the Mac?
  • Reply 10 of 28
    In one year...



    Apple buys Adobe



    One Apple to rule us all!



    I for one am looking forward to our new Apple? overlords.
  • Reply 11 of 28
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by blue2kdave

    In one year...



    Apple buys Adobe



    One Apple to rule us all!



    I for one am looking forward to our new Apple? overlords.




    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO



    Then there would be no creative apps at all for windows! If you already have a powerfull PC and want to edit video, you can buy premere, page layout - indesign w/pagemaker plugins, web - studio mx, and so on, but in this senario, one would need not only the software - but a rediculously overpriced mid-tower computer to run the damn thing - I LOVE mac, and wouldnt trade my mini for anything but lets face it, the baseline 2000$ mid tower is a friggen joke - a laughing stock when the $500 bestbuy weekly special has double the ram, more hdd and a dvd-r,



    Now lets look at what the fanboys say about MS, "they buy weaker smaller companies and use their tech then lock apple and linux users out!!! WA WAAA I WANT THE SOFTWARE TOO!" if apple does this, it makes them as bad as Microsoft - buying up everything and destroying the cross platform stuff - look at Logic - didnt that used to run in windows?
  • Reply 12 of 28
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by blue2kdave

    In one year...



    Apple buys Adobe



    One Apple to rule us all!



    I for one am looking forward to our new Apple? overlords.




    I for one welcome our new overlords at Apple. One Hardware+Software Package to rule them all, indeed.



    Okay, here's my run down on graphic/web design Pro Apps line, IMHO



    Photoshop: Undisputed heavyweight champion of the world

    Illustrator vs Freehand: I suspect Freehand will be axed within 1 year, Illustrator becomes undisputed heavyweight vector champion of the world

    Flash: Adobe may tinker with this but the core Flash developers will be treated like Gods when they move into Adobe... lets face it SVG didn't really catch on, did it?

    GoLive: Adobe will drop this within 1 year because, yes it is rubbish, and clearly Dreamweaver kicks azz.

    InDesign: Will continue to dominate, Quark will hang around but be niche

    Macromedia corporate products eg. Breeze and Contribute :: will be given the marketing leg-up by Adobe



    All in all, monopoly concerns aside they're going to combine their marketing efforts to stave off open source and the little guys from nipping at their heels, and eliminate overlap, namely 1. illustrator replaces freehand (some designers will be crushed emotionally, i know, i sympathize), and 2. dreamweaver replaces golive (most designers will rejoice).



    At least it's not bloody Microsoft



    APPLE ~!!! BUY ADOBE!!! YEAHHHH !!!111!!!



    Too many designers have defected to the dark side... Sad is the day when a designer chooses a PC over a Mac...



    .............

    .............
  • Reply 13 of 28
    sam damonsam damon Posts: 129member
    Freehand is the one Macromedia app that could be spun off if the FTC gets involved. I for one, would like to see Freehand around to keep Illustrator honest.



    Don't forget, the Macromedia guys are the ones who sold off Randy Ubillios and Final Cut.



    Macromedia's managers weren't the brightest lights on the tree, folks.
  • Reply 14 of 28
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Just for the record, I believe that Adobe, especially now, is way to big for Apple to swallow. I'm pretty sure Adobe dwarfs the fruit company. Wouldn't be a good idea or a good match anyway IMO.



    And yeah, Macromedia didn't make the greatest strategic moves.



    Quark is irrelevant at this point, no matte rif all those old graphics and publishing shops still prefer it. There's no growth there. They're just rearranging deck chairs while Adobe surely and steadily passes them by.



    I'm pretty sure this will kick Apple in the behind with regard to their software strategy, how much to get into still/web graphics, even if it's just Pages Pro or Fun House Pro.
  • Reply 15 of 28
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BuonRotto

    Just for the record, I believe that Adobe, especially now, is way to big for Apple to swallow. I'm pretty sure Adobe dwarfs the fruit company. Wouldn't be a good idea or a good match anyway IMO.



    And yeah, Macromedia didn't make the greatest strategic moves.



    Quark is irrelevant at this point, no matte rif all those old graphics and publishing shops still prefer it. There's no growth there. They're just rearranging deck chairs while Adobe surely and steadily passes them by.



    I'm pretty sure this will kick Apple in the behind with regard to their software strategy, how much to get into still/web graphics, even if it's just Pages Pro or Fun House Pro.




    http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ADBE



    Adobe Market Cap = 14 billion



    http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl



    Apple Market Cap = 30 billion.



    No way they spend half of their company to buy Adobe so you are correct there.



    I'm afraid Adobe just checkmated Apple here. Apple's grip on the graphics market has just slipped even further as Adobe still has a love affair with the PC. Sad day if you ask me but we'll see how it plays out.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    sam damonsam damon Posts: 129member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ADBE



    Adobe Market Cap = 14 billion



    http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl



    Apple Market Cap = 30 billion.



    No way they spend half of their company to buy Adobe so you are correct there.



    I'm afraid Adobe just checkmated Apple here. Apple's grip on the graphics market has just slipped even further as Adobe still has a love affair with the PC. Sad day if you ask me but we'll see how it plays out.




    It's too early to say Adobe's checkmated Apple. Maybe in a month or two.





    The question on my mind now is, "How quick will Uncle Steve react to this, and how?" I'm not sure what options Apple has are realistic ones.
  • Reply 17 of 28
    dwsdws Posts: 108member
    Obviously, this move represents one of the biggest shakeups in the creative industry in many years. I expect that the next year will see adherents to individual software packages upgrading to the most recent offerings; and then everyone waiting for the dust to settle. For Adobe, this won't be good news. The purchase of Macromedia is expensive ($3.4B). When you include the $1B stock buy-back Adobe also announced, they will need to generate lots of income; in an environment where everyone will be waiting to see whether or not their particular favorite program (Dreamweaver vs GoLive, etc.) will live, die, or be mashed together into a (possibly) awful mess.



    My predictions: Dreamweaver lives, GoLive dies. Illustrator lives, Freehand dies. Fireworks dies; and optimization becomes a problem that will last for years (Photoshop can do it, but it's so hard, people won't bother). Flash lives, but Macromedia's ambitious plans for the future get scrapped. The big loser in all of this will be the Cold Fusion folks; since I cannot imagine Adobe having the time, energy or money to focus on server software.



    The possibilities for mistakes are everywhere. The Macromedia community is particularly involved with itself; so if Adobe doesn't offer them the same benefits, disaffection will dominate. Everyone who loves a particular 'killed' program will be pissed; even if the new offerings might be technically better. It is important to remember that the learning curves on some of this software are huge; and people who see years of time and effort lost to Adobe's ambition will not be terribly forgiving.



    Oddly, Apple and the smaller Mac development houses might benefit from all of this. It will take Adobe 2-5 years to create a software package that will be sufficiently interoperable to satisfy everybody. If you assume missteps along the way, the time frame could stretch out by a couple more years. This leaves a good chunk of years for Apple (& the other houses) to leverage the incredible Cocoa Core Image and Core Data APIs. They could create software that would leave the older Carbon applications seeming paltry by comparison. Since there will be a pervasive atmosphere of disaffection, Apple won't seem like a bully if it comes out with software that competes. It will look more like a savior.



    Innovation is the key to success. While Adobe spends years simply attempting to make a package that satisfies the current needs of a hugely-divergent community, with malcontents on every side; I foresee that others developers will be able to carve out niches for themselves, including Apple.
  • Reply 18 of 28
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    ~

    Rest In Peace

    Cold Fusion

    1995-2005

    ~



    Here Lies A Web Application Platform:

    Before PHP

    We were young ones

    Starting out in the world of

    Dynamic Webfangled Sites

    No ASP for me!

    One would cry

    And CFML would answer

    No Perl for me!

    (I'm too lazy to figure it out)

    And CFML would answer

    I can do HTML!

    And CFML would answer

    You can do CFML too...

    Then Microsoft

    Had ASP and ASP.NET

    Free with their

    Windows servers

    Gain momentum

    Like Bill gained personal nett worth

    And PHP and MySQL

    Stormed out of the gates

    And the anti-Gates crowd

    Stormed out of the gates

    And the

    Intranet-in-a-box

    Websites-in-a-box

    Offerings flowed like

    Pale sludge down a hillslope

    After a storm

    And paying a few thousand

    For a Cold Fusion server license

    Became a thing of the past

    A hallmark of a dream borne

    Of Allaire

    Then Macromedia

    And put to rest by Adobe

    2005 will be the year

    Cold Fusion starts to fade

    From memory

    Just like the

    Bogus scientific phenomenon

    It is named after

    Faded away many years before

    .........................
  • Reply 19 of 28
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dws

    .....

    Innovation is the key to success. While Adobe spends years simply attempting to make a package that satisfies the current needs of a hugely-divergent community, with malcontents on every side; I foresee that others developers will be able to carve out niches for themselves, including Apple.




    For Apple to come out with a significant Pro Graphic/Web Design Suite of any sort within 1-2 years would be a major coup in the software industry. Remember that Shake and Logic were industry players Apple bought out... IIRC Final Cut, GarageBand, and Motion are predominantly developed in-house though.



    Steve would truly be the iLord if he brings something out that rivals Adobe and Macromedia in the pro/design/corporate apps area.



    Game on. But I honestly sympathise with longtime users of (x) application(s) that is/are gonna get axed by Adobe within 1-2 years.



    Wow. What a f8cking flash in the pan the whole dot-com thing was. For a while it seemed like a whole new world, a whole new economy, a whole new lifestyle. But life goes on... *sniff*
  • Reply 20 of 28
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    I'm much happier that Adobe purchased Macromedia rather than Microsoft purchasing Macromedia. Who knows what lock-in MS would have installed!
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