Slashdot reports Adobe buys Macromedia for USB$3.4 billion. Do I smell the monopoly for the graphics productive software? And we will see further domination of Flash for the interactive websites. I wonder what will Microsoft and the Open Source world will react to it.
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Faith, Technology and Randomness in Life, According to Scott
Apr 19 2005
I think it is a good news for graphic designers.
Just imagine the combination of their products: an Adobe Creative Suite that contains Macromedia Director and Flash and Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, etc.
What a great package to own!!
Amanda, I shudder at the thought of how much that will cost.
I’m sure CS2 and Studio MX are nice cash cows, but there’s probably not a lot of growth left in them. I think for Adobe, the purchase was really just so they can get their hands on Flash. Flash as a distribution method for web content has a lot of potential in the mobile and desktop markets, and that’s just what Adobe needs to compete in those areas.
As for Microsoft and open source… I’m not sure what to think yet. Microsoft is definitely pushing for XAML as a next generation application model for Windows, so this puts them head-to-head with a much tougher opponent with a good penetration level now. For the opensource world, or perhaps the open standards world, I think one of the biggest concerns is Adobe dropping all their progress into SVG for a purely Flash solution for it’s lineup of software.
Thanks starvingartist.
I also have the feel about Flash, as it is now the defacto for the next generation RIA (Rich Internet Applications). It would take forever to wait for Microsoft’s XAML, and Open Source equivalent, which I guess is Mozilla’s XUI, will probably never gain enough momentum to become the “mainstream”. Most developers will be happy with Flash, as it is “open enough” in terms of file format.
Thus the monopoly…