Photofocus

Steve Jobs recently made it clear that he doesn’t want Adobe’s Flash on iPhones, iPads, etc. The two companies have had an up and down relationship for a long time. Depending on what each needed from the other, they have been anywhere from great coopetition to enemies.

Apple is partly still Apple because its products have long been favored by graphics professionals, including photographers. If Adobe didn’t make Photoshop for the Mac, that might have turned out differently.

There’s lots of synergy between the two companies but also, lots of competition. Obviously, Lightroom v. Aperture comes to mind. Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere compete directly in the video space. After Effects is heavily relied on by many graphics professionals in the video space. What would happen if Adobe stopped making these products for the Mac today?

The ramifications would be far less devastating to Apple. Adobe’s had some significant financial problems over the last three years. They’d laid off a significant percentage of their workforce. The truth is, they probably can’t afford to NOT sell their products to Mac users. But if they did, my guess is that somewhere deep in the bowels of the Borg division of the Apple skunkworks, there is a Photoshop competitor that can be brought to life if needed.

I have also heard rumors of Apple developing a competitor to Flash. Whether or not this is even necessary is debatable.

What is certain is this. Photographers benefit from both Adobe and Apple being big players in the photo marketplace. If you’re young, you may not have the perspective I do. But I remember when there was no Photoshop or Lightroom or Aperture or World Wide Web for that matter. The things we can do now thanks to these technologies are simply amazing. We have more power, more options and can make more exciting images because of both Apple and Adobe.

So here’s my simple message. Don’t root against either Apple or Adobe in this fight. Root FOR both of them. If one of them drops out, the result will be slower or less innovation for photography.

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This post sponsored by Ray Flash – Ring Flash Adapter