Photo: fidelramos / Flickr

Adobe has announced that it will abandon its Flash mobile initiatives, providing developers with tools to turn flash application into native app formats for the major mobile OS platforms. The company will instead accelerate its efforts on HTML5. While the move seems dramatic, some deem it a necessary concession on Adobe’s part, and it speaks to much of Adobe’s future.

How will this affect Adobe materially

Monetarily, the abandonment of Adobe Flash mobile is not expected to make a significant impact on the company’s bottom line, with Flash only accounting for 7 per cent of Adobe’s revenue as per 2009, reports Dan Frommer on SplatF. Instead, the company may lose in terms of control, since the future of the web is the mobile web, forcing the company to rebuild one of its most important competitive edges.

Apple victory?

Many have said that Adobe abandoning Flash mobile initiatives is a victory for Apple, and a personal posthumous victory for Steve Jobs. In an open letter, the former Apple CEO wrote: ‘In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it.’

No, industry victory

On the contrary, other voices agree that the abandonment of the Adobe Flash mobile initiatives is beneficial for the entire industry. With Adobe now backing HTML5 with full force, the entire platform will benefit. What is prudent for the company to do from hereon, argues Frommer, is to deliver the very best HTML5 authoring tools in the world. He writes: ‘This is an opportunity for Adobe to play a major role in the future of the web — desktop, mobile, and in areas we haven’t yet imagined — by making amazing software.’

We’re big fans of Adobe’s creativity tools, but Flash mobile has been a memory hog and battery drain for too long. We won’t miss it.

Photo: Adobe

Adobe has reaffirmed its commitment to meet its fourth quarter full year 2011 revenue target, but in doing that the company plans to lay off 750 Adobe staff members. Other big changes happening at the company are an increased focus on Digital Media and Digital Marketing initiatives, as well as a reduction in how much the company invests in its enterprise initiatives.

750 laid off

In the press release where the company reaffirmed commitment to its fourth quarter full year 2011 revenue target, the company is aggressively investing in digital media and digital marketing initiatives, but these plans would result in Adobe staff being laid off.

The press statement reads: ‘In order to better align resources around Digital Media and Digital Marketing, Adobe is restructuring its business. This will result in the elimination of approximately 750 full-time positions primarily in North America and Europe. We expect to record in the aggregate approximately $87 million to $94 million in pre-tax restructuring charges.’ The company predicts that $73 million to $78 million of these restructuring charges will be for employee severance.

Moreover, at the end of 2010, Adobe had 9,117 employees on the book, so that’s a steep 8 per cent headcount reduction.

Enterprise reduction

The reallocation of resources to Digital Marketing and Digital Media products means that other parts of Adobe’s business will have to give way, with the company announcing that it is reducing some of its enterprise solutions. In a separate press statement, the company said: ‘In order to drive increased Digital Marketing bookings, which are recognized as recurring revenue, the company will reduce its investment, and expected license revenue, in certain enterprise solution product lines. These changes will reduce FY2012 revenue growth by approximately four to five percentage points.’

Hopefully the Adobe staff who have been let go of land on their feet soon.

Photo: And all that Malarkey / Flickr

Yesterday it was announced that Adobe acquired Typekit, the web typography pioneer. While the immediate ramifications of the deal are unclear, the Typekit team insist that the service will remain a stand alone product, while also becoming ‘a vital part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud’. While the immediate future is clear, what that means for the long-term future of the thousands of Wordpress and Tumblr blogs that run on the platform remains foggy.

Unsurprisingly thrilled

In a blog post announcing the deal, which Adobe itself unveiled at its annual MAX conference, Typekit co-founder Jeffrey Veen writes: ‘We are thrilled. There honestly is no better place for us to continue building our platform. But perhaps even more significantly, this represents a huge step forward in bringing fonts to the web.’

The blog post, which serves to explain what the Adobe Typekit deal would mean as well as detailing how Typekit came into being, goes to pain to reassure customers that things will only get better under Adobe’s watch. Veen writes: ‘From the start, our vision has been to make the web more beautiful, readable, and fast. Joining Adobe will give us the opportunity to do that at an even larger scale. This news doesn’t mean we’ve crossed the finish line. Actually, we’ve really only just completed the first lap. The race to improve the web will only get faster. I hope you’re enjoying the ride.’

Skeptical eye

While the Adobe Typekit deal is a well-deserved payday for the founders of the web typography platforms, there’s an air of admittedly unsurprising skepticism around the deal. Adobe have fallen out of favour in recent years, coming under severe criticism for being too slow in updating and developing its products, and for coding bulky, resource intensive apps. There are fears that the resourceful team at the web typography firm will be impeded by the acquisition. We’ll see in due time if there are any merits to these fears.

Photo: Tricia Wang / Flickr

While Adobe Photoshop is an incredibly powerful tool for all creative people who work with digital imagery, it can also be dangerous. So say governments around the world, who are taking an increasingly stronger stance against the act of ‘photoshopping’ – a term used for the practice of digitally manipulating photographs to an extremity. Governments and medical associations around the globe say it puts unrealistic pressure on image conscious women to want to look like the models they see in photographs.

British government takes a stance

A short month after the American Medical Association came forth to speak out against photoshopping of models and actors in advertisements, the British government and Advertising Standards Authority has begun voicing its discontent about the practice, as well.

Jo Swinson, a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament who previously attempted to get extreme digital manipulation in ads banned, complained that two ads for major make-up brands Maybelline and L’Oreal were ‘not representative of the results the products could achieve.’ The Advertising Standards Authority agreed, deeming them too retouched for use, and having the ads retracted.

Getting involved

Speaking to the BBC [via GOOD], Jo Swinson said: There’s a big picture here which is half of young women between 16 and 21 say they would consider cosmetic surgery and we’ve seen eating disorders more than double in the last 15 years.

She added that ‘There’s a problem out there with body image and confidence. The way excessive retouching has become pervasive in our society is contributing to that problem.’

Spot on

While this post may seem misplaced on a tech site, given that technology and tools like Adobe Photoshop and other visual manipulation tools are so prevalent in contemporary society, we’re fast reaching an age where the ethics of technology use will become a mainstream concern at government level.

How far is too far? In this case, it is for the Advertising Standards Authority to say, but as designers and users of the technology, it’s probably in our best interest to be mindful of how far we should be attempting to push the practice, especially with the psychological byproducts of photoshopping being potentially harmful.

Photo: BasBoerman / Flickr

With over a million Apple users upgrading their computers to Mac OS X Lion, the company has seen an unusual amount of backlash regarding its latest operating system release. Beyond the backlash, though, it seems the desktop operating system does not play nice with Adobe software, with the update resulting in a number of Adobe’s products performing badly – or not performing at all.

Long list of problems

While Apple’s problems with Adobe are well documented, especially in the great iOS versus Flash standoff, the issues this go around are not that straightforward. The list of problems is so extensive – you can see them on Adobe’s site here – that it’s best delaying upgrading to Mac OS X Lion until you’ve first cross-referenced to make sure your Adobe software will work.

What caused the problems?

A big contributor to the list of problems Adobe software on Lion is experiencing is Apple’s decision to drop support for the old PowerPC software, meaning any CS2 software you have installed may not work at all. This major issue is accompanied by several smaller issues, blogged Jody Rodgers, who is a senior product manager at Adobe.

Though not blaming Apple directly, Rodgers wrote: ‘The cat is out of the bag! Mac OS X 10.7 aka Lion is roaming the streets and you brave Mac IT admins have been deemed Lion Tamers by the public at large. Or at least by me. I’ve managed a few OS compatibility assessments in my past and it is no easy task to gather up all the necessary info from the software publishers that are used in your environment, run/coordinate testing, etc.’

What’s scary for designers who rely on Adobe for their work is that Mac OS X issues are present in prominent Adobe software, most notably Flash, Photoshop, and Premier Pro.

When things go bad

For years Apple and Adobe have had a close relationship, with many considering Apple the desktop creative’s computer of choice. In fact, the relationship between the two companies was once so close Apple owned a significant stake in Adobe at a point.

That relationship has soured in recent months, and though one prays that Apple would not be so malicious as to deliberately jeopardise Adobe, things aren’t looking good.

Photo: Chandra Marsono / Flickr

This year’s fantastic D9 Conference, which brought with it several major product announcements and tidbits from tech leaders all across the world has come to a close. Yet before its end, there were one or two more interesting interviews worth dwelling on. One was the discussion the team at AllThingsD had with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.

He insisted that stories of his company beefing with Apple are greatly exaggerated, but insisted that Google will again eclipse Apple with tablets the same way it did with smartphones.

Inflection point is inevitable

Narayu said: ‘What you saw with smartphones hitting an inflection point with Android, you’ll see it again with tablets.’ Incidentally, Google Android on tablet PCs supports Flash, while iOS continues to not support the dev format.

iPad won’t win enterprise

He was also insistent that, as we have seen in the past, enterprise will shun Apple’s tablet PC offerings in favour of those from other manufacturers. He said that RIM and HP were two companies he expects to do well in the enterprise space. Incidentally, HP and RIM on tablet PCs support flash, while iOS continues not to support the dev format.

He said: ‘There will be another 20 tablets that will come by the end of the year that will push the industry in different directions.’

Clearly enthusiastic about the tablet PCs space – and where his company fits into the mix – the Adobe CEO strongly believes that incoming devices will cater to Adobe’s strengths, such as video production and illustrations, through the return of the stylus. Incidentally Apple is dead set against the stylus, which is fine for Adobe since iOS continues to not support the dev format. Hmm.

The Adobe CEO told the crowd at the conference that ‘the community is vibrant’ and that he is ‘really excited.’ I’m really excited about the prospect of a fully-fledged built-for-tablets version of Adobe Photoshop. Not being the only one who clamours for this, fingers are crossed that the company doesn’t take too long in delivering the software.

Photo: Adobe

Adobe’s image editing software is arguably the most important consumer software suite in the world, behind only Microsoft’s Office. All forms of design, from graphic to industrial and interior design, rely on the software the company makes to do their work. Even with this universally entrenched love for what the company does, Adobe has come under significant pressure in 2010, especially with regards to the efficiency and necessity of its Flash platform. We explore how things came to be this way.

And it bloats

Adobe has come under stick in recent months/years for neglecting their software. Or, to be more specific, for allowing their software packages to become exceptionally bloated and resource intensive. The negative effects of running Flash in a browser are well documented, and are the cornerstone of the creativity software maker’s very public falling out with Apple.

But in that period, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs also lodged a similar accusation at the company’s Creativity Suite of products. In short, he thinks that Adobe Creative Suite 5 and its flagship software, Photoshop 5, are bloated and ill-managed, too. In many ways, this is evident by simply booting the software up, but because there hasn’t been a viable alternative for some time now, it’s been a problem that’s gone mostly unnoticed.

Weakened base

All of the negative attention surrounding the package resulted in analysts and tech observers thinking the company was significantly weakened, both internally and in investors’ eyes. So much so that what in hindsight seems a routine visit by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was thought to be the basis for acquisition talks. In short, 2010 really wasn’t a good year for Adobe.

Turning a corner?

Regardless of all this Flash-related pressure Adobe has been under, they do have one shining light. And that is, for our money, Adobe Creative Suite 5 is the most comprehensive and polished creative software package ever released. More importantly, Photoshop CS5 is the best release of the image editing software since the timeless Photoshop 7, and that’s saying something. Even Flash has gotten a thumbs up, in recent weeks, with Conde Nast showing Adobe some love on the iPad.

As long as Adobe show signs of their ability to craft fantastic software packages, the company could still turn flash around, while also retain significant relevance even if a company as powerful as Apple refuses to play nice.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 is available now, and the Adobe Photoshop CS5 image editing software is every bit as good as we’ve let on.

Photo: Adobe

Not only have Adobe had to fight a painful, and no doubt expensive, war with Apple, they were also recently speculated to be in talks with Microsoft for a complete takeover. Very little positive has been going their way since the release of the unquestionably brilliant Adobe CS 5. Now, however, they’ve been shown some love in a big way with magazine publishing giant Condé Nast revealing that it will use Adobe software to roll out all of its tablet magazines – and that is one huge shot in the arm for magazines for the iPad.

Why it’s a particularly big victory

It’s a particularly big victory since Condé Nast had developed its own homegrown version of iPad publishing tools, against Adobe’s publishing tools, and opted for the latter. An interesting extract from the press release reads ‘The innovative work our in-house team at Condé Nast Digital did made us first to market with replicas on iPhone and iPad and has allowed significant learnings,’ before continuing, saying ‘Our team considered many factors to ensure we had a platform that could be continually enhanced to meet the needs of our consumers and distributors.’ Understand the enormity of this. The publishing company abandoned its own platform for magazines for the iPad, opting for Adobe’s instead.

A nice collection of titles

Furthermore, in the realm of high-end, cutting edge magazine titles few publishers are more dominant, or more respected than Condé Nast. Some of the big deal magazines the group publishes are Wired, GQ and Glamour. In addition to that, some of these magazines, such as the aforementioned GQ and Glamour, that have already been released on the iPad will go through something of a ‘re-launch’, giving Adobe some much needed publicity and goodwill.

As stated, outside of Adobe CS5, the creative software company has been having a rough time of it, but seems to be turning a corner. And what’s more, Adobe may successfully do it without Apple’s approval or support. Perhaps the magazines for iPad push could be the beginning of a new dawn for Adobe. Who knows.

Photo: Adobe

Some rumours are super juicy, and then you get rumours like the following. Microsoft is reportedly looking at purchasing creative suite producer Adobe. The implications of a Microsoft Adobe are colossal for the entire software industry.

Ballmer and Entourage show up at Adobe

Steve Ballmer and a group of key staff members showed up at Adobe to hold a meeting with the company’s CEO, Shantanu Narayen. According to the New York Times, the meeting ran for more than hour, covering numerous topics, with a big focus being Apple’s control on the mobile phones space. The point is, Microsoft and Adobe were trying to develop a plan for combating Cupertino’s growing influence. And what’s the best plan when you’re a colossal company in the fight for your life? Oh, acquisition, of course. Apparently Microsoft discussed buying Adobe to stave off the Apple assault.

Thine enemy of my enemy is my acquisition target

This acquisition square dance comes in a tumultuous time for the mobile phones industry. Apple has just revised its app store restrictions, thus encouraging Adobe to resume its iOS development platform built into Flash (a notable change of heart from the go screw yourself days). Microsoft, for its part, is about to launch its big hoorah into the mobile OS game, with Windows Phone 7.

Courtship over the last decade

Adobe and Microsoft have previously been competitors with their web tools Flash and Silverlight going head to head. How things change. According to the NYT’s sources, Microsoft were flirting with the idea of acquiring Adobe back in 2007 already, but shirked on that plan out of fears that it wouldn’t get regulatory approval. In a post Apple dominated software world, a Microsoft Adobe partnership will likely not move regulators all that much.

Personal feelings

From a business stand point, a Microsoft Adobe union makes some sense. My only concern is what it means for Adobe Creative Suite, which, with its Adobe CS5 release, has got back to it’s brilliant best.

Photo: Stock.Xchng

Remember when Adobe told Apple to go screw itself? Yeah? Seems Adobe may have had a change of heart, on the heels of Apple announcing how it approves its app store applications, uhm, applications.

The App store approval policy unmasked

The Internet has been all-a-flutter about Apple finally revealing its app store approval policy. The humorous document outlines policy changes, as well as approval considerations. Oh, and Apple says that ‘we don’t need anymore fart apps’.

On a more serious note, the app store approval policy reveal has promising implications for various big – and small – companies vying for space on Apple’s burgeoning iOS ecosystem.

Okay, Apple, unscrew yourselves

One of the first thoughts was that it paved way for Google Voice to finally make its way to the iPhone, and the other was how it would impact Adobe’s strategy on iOS devices. Remember Adobe abandoned developing.

Adobe’s position has since changed. Writing in their blog, the company revealed the following:

Photo: Adobe

Apple’s announcement today that it has lifted restrictions on its third-party developer guidelines has direct implications for Adobe’s Packager for iPhone, a feature in the Flash Professional CS5 authoring tool. This feature was created to enable Flash developers to quickly and easily deliver applications for iOS devices. The feature is available for developers to use today in Flash Professional CS5, and we will now resume development work on this feature for future releases.

What does this all mean?

Apple will likely come under less scrutiny for rejecting applications that contravene its app store approval policy since the process is significantly more transparent than it was in the past. The converse of that, however, is Apple will come under heavy pressure for rejecting high profile apps that, on surface level, do not contravene any of Apple’s rules. Ultimately, the hope is your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad will continue to see more good applications submitted.