“Folks a lot smarter than I have wondered over the years about potential Apple mergers and acquisitions driven by Steve’s bloodlust. Apple-Disney, Apple-Google, Apple-TiVo, even Apple-Sun come to mind, but the only one that makes any sense to me at all is Apple-Adobe,” Cringely writes.
“If such an acquisition were to take place it would have to be in 2008 while Avid and Microsoft still present credible competition to keep the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission from opposing such a merger. It would go easier, too, on W’s watch. I knew he was good for something,” Cringely writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ve long hoped that Apple would buy Adobe and, since we love the ruthless Steve, begin phasing out Windows versions of applications a la Shake. At the very least, Mac users would get much more timely updates from Apple than from Adobe. That interminable wait for a Universal Photoshop really soured us on Adobe.
I still don’t see it happening. Apple is a hardware company. They don’t want to dabble in software unless they have to. The majority of Adobe’s products are well written enough, Apple doesn’t have to do it for them. (Excluding a little crossover with iPhoto & Aperture). And Apple would have no interest in continuing to strenuously support Adobe products for Windows or fight the ensuing lawsuits if they pulled the plug. Besides, as long as MS Office exists, Apple needs MS support, at least indirectly.
Yes, I’ve been suggesting this for YEARS. The biggest problem comes if Apple doesn’t buy Adobe.. and someone else does!
Microsoft, for example?
And if I were an advisor at MS (clearly, they have none), I would be advising just that. Buying Adobe would be tremendous leverage over Apple.
And MS is going to need all they can get.
Right on Mr. Reeee!
“Bring back Freehand!
Or at least fold some of the Freehand into Illustrator, too.”
Freehand had so many more intuitive and simple features!
Cringely is a twat – Apple never brought any of those companies (disney, google etc) they simply partnered with them to create better products. Apple likes to partner, they generally don’t buy.
Apple won’t buy Adobe, Apple doesn’t need Adobe… I don’t even see Apple partnering with Adobe as such. Unless Adobe falls flat on it’s face these companies with remain solo.
As for the Adobe Software being Apple only, keep dreaming, as if Apple or Adobe would cut out 90% of their market…
I just wish Apple was allowed to buy FreeHand from Adobe and add it to their iWork apps. People talk about monopolies, what do they think Adobe is now? After buying Macromedia, what other options are out there? And yes, I know Macromedia had stopped updated FreeHand almost five years ago, but it still kicks the crap out of Illus-gaytor today.
If Apple could at least get ahold of the existing FreeHand code, Universal-ize it, put some Apple-spin on it and release it to the world, hallelujah, we’d have some competition in layout world again. InDesign at least has Quark.
NOOOOOO!!!!
Buying a big, fat, bloated, overweight, has-been, boat anchor company is not what Apple needs.
disagree. best M&A;deal is that ballmer at microsoft buys apple and has he good grace to fire the lot at microsoft, including himself, and lets apple do for us users what we really want.
Apple buying Sun? That would be the deal of the century!
What an incredible way to enter into the enterprise world!
Please don’t.
Adobe is terrible bloatware.
Long live small developers who can deliver inexpensive software that can deliver
What’s with all the goonage re: “sitting on a pile of cash”…. you don’t need cash to buy companies, you need stock. High-flying stock. But why buy Adobe just to get all that spaghetti code? Further, folks, why kill off a huge chunk of value by stopping production on windows products? So what if Vinnie Vista can run Photoshop.
Apple will corner the market if they can pull this off. They’ll own the complete web/publishing suit along with thier superior video editing software. Is ther anything else like Flash? Other than Director/Authorware? Features from Fireworks could be blended into Photoshop. They just need to tweak Microsoft office to run more Mac like. No good designing a Mac office, unfortunately MS Office is entrenched, best to get along rather than buck.
HMCIV
Whos them? I assume Adobe would carry on as Adobe with thier current staff and just be under new management. Apple.
Any (and it’s a lot) windows users who want Photoshop will have to buy it from Ad.. Apple.
It’s taling a while but eventually people willrealise the Mac is the superior machine. And the option to run windows is there if you realy need it.
Adobe is the software giant that should be tackled.
Micosoft is certainly a threat, yet software is very important to an OS. Adobe makes many more applications then MS – I think. More applications requires time. Adobe knows Windows is the dominant OS in numbers of users. So it sold-out to the masses leaving Apple to wonder off on it’s own.
The problem though, this made Mac users second class citizens when before the softwares were first on the Mac. The recent move for Adobe to sell Suites was a clever move at attempting to out do Quark. However, Quark leapfrogged and did Q7 natively in Coco for OSX before Indesign did. Smart on Quarks part.
Still Adobe keeps us waiting – long wait times for software updates. One each year. It basically runs like Microsoft. And has many ex-Microsoft employees. Sure they do a great job but they develop first for Windows and use the old MS strategy. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Saddly, there are many bugs still, many computations and errors that Illustrator CS2 and 3 still have. It’s not perfect. And I would imagine Apple to hamper themselves with fixing all this. It’s an interesting concept. To buy out Adobe. But then Apple becomes a huge software co. When I believe post-pc and embedded OSX is Apples future… a happy blend of OS and Hardware.
I do not believe Apple will do so. They can still compete in software where they are. And with Server Sharing Applications like Google Docs… this is the way Applications will go.
Never update a software again. Rent the use of it online. Or for free. Open-source applications… all these make sense… not the other way around.
Ken Johnson
Oh and games are a mute point. I’m almost 40 years old. I don’t need games.
I’m a graphic artist and love Adobe gear, I’m assuming most knockers of this idea are young non graphic type people. People who use their computers for games, web, tv, music, movies and ripping – Entertainment. That’s all great. You don’t have to buy or download anything you don’t need. But some of us actually use our computers. What other company (especialy now Adobe has Macromedia) makes things like Illustrator or Photoshop. I’m aware of Gimp and Quark and Freehand etc. But Flash is unique surley. Seriously a quick list of what equals what would be apreciated.
I’m running Adobe CS1 on a 233mhz 2core Macbook Pro 10.4.8. I don’t know if it’s UB or what but it runs and runs well. We have CS2 at work on an old G4 pinstripe tower from the 90’s it runs OK its just the machines so bloody slow these days. Hard to believe it was banned in Lebanon when it first came out. ‘Super’ copmuter, not now. Anyway I’m just saying is it realy nesessary to have the absolutest uptodatest software. If things work they work, right?
I soured on Adobe when they unceremoniously dropped development of Premiere–just after I had purchased the “video suite” for 2 grand–and left the app stagnant in classic hell.
Andrew K,
“233mhz 2core Macbook Pro”
Huh?
Thomas,
“Oh and games are a mute point. I’m almost 40 years old. I don’t need games.”
They might be ‘moot’ also. But that is beside the point. You (or we) don’t NEED music, movies, beer or Victoria’s Secrets either. But life would really be boring without them.
You need to try a good FPS (first person shooter) game. Nothing better to relieve your aggression and hostility than fragging a bunch of mutated, gory monstrosities. Or, on the lighter side, some of the Nintendo Wii sports games. Age has nothing to do with it. It’s a state of mind.
If they’d do it, it will be hostile take over. Adobe’s products are aging. Apple can make a better Photoshop with their core technologies. Adobe’s products are also clearly suffering from cross-platform code. More and more Adobe’s products are feeling “non-Mac”.
I’m afraid that Cringely is totally WRONG! I just don’t see Apple investing a huge chunk of change on Adobe. And it would be a very hefty price to buy Adobe. Apple has typically gone after the little guys not major companies like Adobe. I think Steve would rather invest his money in Apple’s R&D;for great new products then buy a company like Adobe. I don’t think it makes financial sense in this case at all. My feeling is this won’t happen.
I hope Apple never will buy Adobe. It is a very bad idea. Adobe is the MS for the graphic design software. If you ever have used Illustrator or Photoshop in a serious way, you know what I am talking about. It is first class bloat ware and the worst is that there are no serious alternatives. Macromedia Freehand have been killed. Apple however made the mistake not to buy Macromedia in the past.
@ LorD1776
I beg to differ, my friend…
I *need* beer.
ChrissyOne,
“I beg to differ, my friend… I *need* beer.”
I hear ya darlin’. If you were here I would give you one. Or more, as needed.
I like trying different brands and types myself. I go for quality, not quantity as in my younger days. Sure can’t handle that anymore.
What are your favorites? Mine are Amber Bock and Blue Moon draft right now. Had some Dos Equis and Tsing Tao this week. Not bad stuff. Full Moon is nummy too.
LorD1776
Two Hearted Ale or Saranac Imperial IPA for a full, hoppy flavor. Blithering Idiot or Old Stock for a Barleywine. Duck Rabbit Milk Stout for a meal. Utica Club for a domestic Pilsener.
And all-time favorites: Schlitz for a Lager and Mickey’s for Malt Liquor!
MDN word “water” – What???