Photoshop Project Manager Clarifies Position on Creative Suite 3 Compatibility With Snow Leopard

[benpatient]

Pft.

InDesign CS3 still has several serious issues with 10.5, not to say anything of 10.6...

You can't reliably print spreads, for one thing, on certain expensive production printers. every spread after the first sheet is turned 90 degrees. Doesn't happen with 10.4, and doesn't happen with CS2 or 4 in 10.5, but people stuck with CS3 never got a fix for 10.5.

Same setup has other printing problems (documents with too many linked images (like more than 5 per page) drop the postscript for those images and render blank squares instead).

These are known issues that have been documented since 10.5 was still in developer preview mode, and they remain unfixed to this day. I have little faith that Apple or Adobe will support CS4 as well as they claim they demand that it be supported. Several bugs will pop up from 10.6/CS4 combo, and they will be "known issues" and people will be told which hoops to jump through to get around the problems, being told that engineers are working on a more elegant "fix" for the issue that will come in a later release, etc etc. And then CS5 will come out and those issues will be solved, and people who don't upgrade from CS4 will be left holding the bill. Again.

It's already happened twice. It will happen this time, too.

It's waaaay too lucrative for them to do anything else. We're stuck. There is no real replacement for their software.

 

[blubox]

So CS2 is definitely not going to work?

 

[JFreak]

Adobe should have accepted the fact that not that many Mac people were upgrading to CS4 to begin with. And because CS5 is not out yet, they should've just bit it and support CS3 until they have a worthy upgrade for Mac people.

Good if it continues working, but not that good to be left without support.

 

[DMann]

So CS2 is definitely not going to work?

Very likely, it will work - so far, CS3 seems to be working just fine.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Nack notes that only two minor issues remain that his Photoshop team is aware of: window highlight rings in Exposé and text field nudging in Japanese versions of Snow Leopard.

Nack sounds like a moron. There are no "Japanese versions" of Snow Leopard. Every copy is the same and includes Japanese localization no matter where it's sold.

 

[Matek]

I don't want to be mean, but Apple mostly stops updating their OS as soon as a new version is out as well (security updates excluded, of course). Adobe seems to be just following the lead...

 

[mnb]

blah, blah, blah, not supported because we want you to buy an upgrade you don't need to fund our porsche payment.

Thank you,

Adobe

 

[nostaws]

Adobe is a money grubbing corporate monster. And I am still bitter about Freehand.

However, I think all the people who freaked out at the previous story, and are still peeved at Adobe for not "fully supporting" CS on Snow Leopard are lame.

Of course CS3 is going to work with Snow Leopard. And if CS3 is that important to your workflow, and it doesn't work, then don't upgrade to Snow Leopard.

Any company has a finite number of resources, and they need to focus on current and future products.

It seems like we have this conversation anytime Apple updates the OS, or Adobe comes out with a new suite.

 

[RebootD]

Apple drops PPC support for Snow Leopard = Good! You should have upgraded to Intel by now and tossed your perfectly workable machine already!!

Adobe is forced to drop support for PPC coded apps (CS1 & CS2, unofficially CS3) = How dare Adobe not update 7 years of legacy PPC apps to work with Snow Leopard!?!

When Adobe made Cs3 they suddenly had to make it 'universal' mid-development because Apple switched platforms to Intel. (and my what a mess CS3 was with 10.5) Now they have to pull out any legacy PPC code for CS5 (and dropping support for PPC coded apps like EVERY OTHER VENDOR!!) and we still expect them to pay, out of their own pockets, to ensure 3-7 year old apps work? Lunacy.

Apple = Perfection and Untouchable....?

 

[nostaws]

Nack sounds like a moron. There are no "Japanese versions" of Snow Leopard. Every copy is the same and includes Japanese localization no matter where it's sold.

You sound like a moron. Of course he is talking about the Japanese localization, and when nudging a text field with Japanese text in it.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Adobe is a money grubbing corporate monster.

Like Apple ? How much is $30 billion in the bank Apple charging for the formerly free remotes.

 

[JFreak]

It seems like we have this conversation anytime Apple updates the OS, or Adobe comes out with a new suite.

No. At least we shouldn't have. It is common knowledge that most design professionals skip Adobe releases, IOW only upgrade 1-->3-->5 or so. And usually two versions have been throughly supported, but not this time. Adobe naturally wants everyone upgrade every major revision, but if that's the case then there should be something substantial in the major upgrade!! This was not the case with the CS4 Mac suite, therefore people not upgrading, and thus Adobe's decision to drop support from CS3 makes people angry.

CS3 was major, it introduced Intel-native binaries. Lots of people bought that because it was really huge release, only to find out later that there still are bugs left alone, and now this.

Adobe should get a benefit of the doubt, though. Let's see the not-so-distant past. First the OS9 -> OSX transition: PS6/PS7, during that time everything went fine. Most professionals stuck with OS9 until forced to buy new hardware. Then there was OSX to play with, and Adobe upgrade as usual. No problems, no complaints, everything went fine. Then dropping OS9, again, nobody complained as OSX was here to stay. Good riddance with the old, welcome the new. Predictable business decisions. Then came the PPC -> Intel transition, which was huge in so many ways. There were lots of complaints because Adobe did not make Intel-native CS2, even though CS3 was not yet released and the CS2 was considered current software. Luckily CS3 was right around the corner so it was not that big of a deal, really. Only that Adobe took a serious hit in customer satisfaction, but because CS2 worked just as slowly through emulator than it ran natively on older hardware, there was little to complain about and lots to look forward to. Then came the Intel-native CS3 and most people upgraded. Now most people feel angry about Adobe's business decisions, because not many were ever considering the CS4 upgrade which is honestly a very half-assed release on Mac.

So, if we break this story into two, we can clearly see that Adobe was rather different company up until CS1. The respect was gone after CS2 introduced activation schemes and was not completely supported, and now CS3 is not supported either because Adobe rushed the CS4 that's now called current.

At least this is how I see it. My respect towards Adobe as a creative company was totally on a different level pre-CS2 than it is now, and plenty of people I've talked about this here in Finland feel the same way.

 

[Webhamster]

The great news is that CS4 is compatible with Snow Leopard. Too bad that it never worked in Leopard but I'm looking forward to a working version of CS4.

Most likely however CS4 will still be filled with bugs no matter what OSx version. I'm surprised to read that Adobe claims to do some testing.

 

[Macinposh]

It is one of the industrys mysteries how adobe is still in the business,considering their attitude and lack of innovation.


As a user of their products for the last 16 years (ps 2.5..) I still can not fathom why there is as little competition. The underlying engines/systems are not that complicated,even if you have to support a large variety of legacy formats.


Especially why apple hasnt crushed the photoshop is weird.
They would have the oomph and expertice to do it,and it sure as heck would not diminish the Macs aura of a "pro platform".
Taking control of the photo segment of the indurstry,they propably could quickly diminish adobes marketsegment into a design program segment.
And then buy it for a fraction of a price.
Let alone destroy flash and start to market their own solutions in that area.



I know,I know,the reason is apples shift in the market/growth strategies that might be the main reason of not stomping the obese,bloated corporation called adobe into a bloody pulp.

 

[McBeats]

wheeeew

 

[Bjohnson33]

This seems reasonable. Great to see the company jump on this issue and clear up any confusion before the rumor mill gets too out of control.

 

[avidmacuser]

PS CS3 works fine on Snow Leopard.

Is this a surprise? Interesting! Isnt it Snow Leopard that is supposed have mainly under-the-hood refinements which would make incompatibility issues unlikely? This is of course the reason why we should not be expecting too many problems with current software no?! However it seems that we should still be crossing our fingers, hoping for the best. In that case I might expect a few glitches with some other apps as well during this transition and hoping for more developers to confirm full compatibility on SL as soon as possible?!

Here's to .x's, updates, bug fixes, and patience.

 

[scottishwildcat]

some versions of CS3 cost $1000+. to expect users to upgrade to EVERY new version just to keep pace with the changes in OS is bad form

But anyone who's paying that sort of money for applications knows far better than to upgrade their operating system on a whim whenever a new version is released. If Leopard+CS3 works fine for those users today, it will continue to do so indefinitely.

 

[Master Chief]

still ridiculous that they won't do extensive testing. some versions of CS3 cost $1000+. to expect users to upgrade to EVERY new version just to keep pace with the changes in OS is bad form

$1000 is cheap.

A Dutch version of Creative Suite 4 Design Premium is € 2.639,00 ($3015) compared with the only $1,799.95 US customers have to pay!!!

Anyone here tried Inkscape as a free Illustrator replacement?

 

[*LTD*]

The Sims Reference?

Nah, just in general.

 

[twoodcc]

that's what i thought. it still works fine on snow leopard

 

[niuniu]

Reading his statement makes me feel like my CS3 is some old piece of software antiquity. As far as I'm concerned it's an expensive and cutting edge bit of kit and deserves testing to ensure full compatibility and a patch released to fix any issues.

I won't be getting CS4, not for a long time, I'll probably skip and go to CS5 or 6 further down the line.

 

[geeves]

Yup, I'm sticking with my CS3....

Sorry to be such a bore: but until photoshop is rewritten to take advantage of the modern frameworks in OS X - I'm never upgrading again...
CS3 was forced upgrade from 7 when I went to leopard.

It is a shameful piece of bloatware that is slow - I compare it to windows 7 really, based on the same old technology as last time, and the last time it was the same - this song is like the last song.

 

[geeves]

Reading his statement makes me feel like my CS3 is some old piece of software antiquity. As far as I'm concerned it's an expensive and cutting edge bit of kit and deserves testing to ensure full compatibility and a patch released to fix any issues.

I won't be getting CS4, not for a long time, I'll probably skip and go to CS5 or 6 further down the line.

I FULLY agree with this sentiment. Adobe are suffering from 'bloampany' - that is a company that has become too big and bloated to give a damn.

By the time I upgrade there will be a viable modern alternative for less than half the price - reward innovators, not shareholders...? You decide.

 

[LEStudios]

Who cares? If you're using CS3 for paying work and you can't afford CS4, why are you getting Snow Leopard? Don't break your workflow. That's "Pro Use 101."

That what pissed me off about Adobe right there. They should have thought before putting their foot in their mouths. I wish they would confirm in public I don't know how many people have CS3 but this would definitely slow the Snow Leopard Upgrade rate if the CS3 not verified. I seen prices of CS4 Retail and Academic. That is some high prices on Design Premium CS4! I hope this works out but I hope Adobe make CS5 release faster! That's probably when I get Adobe Design Premium CS5.