Apple and Adobe

I’m not usually one to write an opinion post, but as I have been thinking about the whole Apple and Adobe thing I can’t help but to involve myself in some capacity. To start, I am both a FanBoi of Apple and of Adobe, and have been since the days of Photoshop 5, and the iMac G3 that I began my professional journey on. Both companies have not only allowed me to paint my own professional future, but they have made it possible to get here, and a load of fun along the way.

The Issue

The obvious issue at hand is the lack of Flash Player Support on Apples mobile devices, and the recent buzz I have read about the iPhone SDK developer agreement being changed coincidentally (or not) about the same time that Adobe announced the capability to compile flash apps for the iPhone.  Truly disappointing.

My Personal Issue

Rumors of Steve Jobs blatantly calling Flash a dying technology and comparing its future to that of Floppy drives really hits home. He is not only calling out Adobe with supposed statements such as these, but he is ripping on the livelihood of tens of thousands of creatives who have dedicated their life’s work and unparalleled passion to bringing enjoyment and the consumption of content to the masses. This is a passion I used to think I shared with Apple and their always groundbreaking new technologies and products. But now, instead of helping me to reach more people, they are intentionally putting up a road block to stop me. If Apple cared about any of us in the trenches, they would talk to Adobe and at least let them know what needs to happen for to make the Flash Platform accepted.  Instead it’s just a bunch of bad press and more distraction from moving forward.

We all want to make money, I get it. However, it seems lately that core fundamentals of my two favorite brands have been separating. Adobe is looking out for me, while they look out for themselves. What’s good for me is good for them and vice-versa. I absolutely would recommend Adobe products to anyone that will listen. Not only because of the fantastic product offering, but because of how I am valued as a customer. Simply put Adobe makes me feel they are there for me as well as their shareholders. It wasn’t long ago that I would have said (and did say) the same about Apple.

What can I do about it?

Like any great American issue, it can seemingly be solved by putting my money where my mouth is. While Apple has been going increasingly corporate, I am feeling the need to go increasingly creative. With the release of CS5 and the need for a hardware upgrade, I am now in the market for a new computer. I’m currently writing this entry on a PPC Imac G5 and have been waiting to upgrade it to the 27” Imac in conjunction with my Creative Suite software. I have a hunch that I’m not the only one out there either. The bottom line is that I do not NEED an Apple to create my designs, and all of this drama is really making me step back to figure out if I even WANT one at all. How can I support a corporation that is hell-bent on making my life more difficult instead of helping me reach my goals? Instead, here I sit, not getting excited about new possibilities, but writing a blog post about how I wish my two besties could just work it out. I’m only one sale, but morally I’m finding it harder to support the company I have been in love with for 10 years as a creative professional.