Microsoft axes Digital Image Suite

Microsoft is discontinuing one of its products, and I'm bummed.

Having one less piece of software to write about is no big deal, but this particular program happens to be one I actually used--a lot. Microsoft's Digital Image Suite served as my introduction to photo editing and photo manipulation. I've since taken to using both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, but just this week I installed Digital Image Suite on the Windows portion of my iMac so I could keep using it as well.

A picture of some orangutans I took at the San Diego Zoo, after some magic with Microsoft's Digital Image Suite

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

Microsoft noted the change with a terse statement on its Web site.

"Microsoft has discontinued its line of Digital Image Suite products," the software maker said. "Many of the digital imaging features and tools that have been enjoyed for years now can be found in new Microsoft titles and services including Windows Vista."

Windows Vista's built-in photo organizing program does mirror some of the album features of Digital Image Suite, but offers few of the program's editing abilities. The move should be a bit of nice news for Adobe, whose Photoshop Elements now has a little less competition, though Microsoft is stepping further on Adobe's toes in plenty of other areas.

As for Digital Image Studio, Redmond says it will continue to sell the copies that are already in stores and will support the product through April 30, 2010.

For more photos, click here.

[Bink1162]

Get Painter.

If Microsoft has a product, you can bet its a knock off of a better
product. Get yourself a copy of Corel's Painter (Which Corel sucked
the heart and soul out of, but...) and see where Microsoft came up
with all of their "innovations".

[krushyou]

Newsflash!

everyone borrows from everyone its how you stay competitive, the difference is the experience of said software. Suppose someone was the first but the program was an absolute mess to work with and was very difficult for the average user. Company B comes out with their version incorporating the features people want into a simpler interface and experience.

We call this competition.

[shycelticwitch]

Microsoft should stick to Office software

And leave the high end graphics to Adobe. Nobody can touch
Adobe software for digital imaging. Microsoft Publisher is a joke,
our high volume printing company does not even accept Publisher
files. Or Corel Draw for that matter. Those programs are fine if
you're making a scrap book at home. But if you want professional
results in digital imaging of ANY kind... stick with Adobe.

[krushyou]

Flame just to flame?

WOW, did you even READ the article?

Its a BEGINNER PROGRAM and not meant for the professional, it costs roughly 75-100 dollars to purchase compared to adobe's professional products which are hundreds of dollars more expensive.

There is no contest nor should there be as this is geared towards the home user.

[dumbcottoncandy]

adobe shill?

well obviously you are not aware of anything your rep does not tell you. Normally that would be the finger I'd point at someone using a MS product but in this case maybe your are the rep, since most digital artists are at least aware of the other programs. Photoshop has its place and it is one of the nicer progrmas but to say programs like paint shop pro, Oc, painter, photoimpact, cinePaint / gimp, are not used by professionals suggests you don't work in the industry. Or are an adobe rep, or just a troll. Microsoft image studio is not a big deal to lose but more crap getting added to the OS as overhead is not good.

[ethana2]

Use the GIMP.

Microsoft lets go of you, and instead of using the opportunity to embrace your freedom, you use other proprietary software? Nevermind. I just don't get it, that's all. Naturally you're free to do as you please.

[jelloburn]

Ugh... GIMP

I can understand why one would stray away from the GIMP...
perhaps because like most of the open source offerings
(especially anything Linux-related) it is overly complex and
non-intuitive. Using the GIMP is a pain in the butt when
compared with the relative ease of Photoshop or Corel. True,
they actually cost money, but sometimes you might actually
have to pay for software. Free doesn't equal quality. The GIMP
CAN do a lot of what Photoshop does, but most people that use
photo editing applications are about saving time and being
efficient, and that is where the GIMP stumbles.

Open-source is a great movement, but it is still far away from
completely replacing all of the commercial products or even
being on par. The only product that really comes to mind is
Firefox, and beating IE wasn't exactly a challenge! :)

[Maccess]

Another category killer...

..that killed itself.

DIS was really nothing more than a cheap shot at established digital image suites.

To succeed in production markets, the users need to have reasonable confidence the product will be around for generations (i.e. Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, etc.) to justify investments in training, hardware accelerators, etc.

MS uses that strategy for Office, why can't it seem to apply the same common sense to its other products.

[quasarstrider]

Good riddance. GIMP and Paint.NET are better anyway.

Not to mention free.

[cbcalvin]

Microsoft kills its own young

My kids used to play with a silly but fun animation editor, I think it was called MovieMaker. Moviemaker survives in name but it nothing like the creative tool that the animation maker was.
The ImageSuite is not the best picture maker but it was good enough and a lot of people liked it.
I use Excel every day (at work) and version 10, or whatever the current version is, is not nearly as good as version 4 or 5 say. The graphics are so dumbed down as to be useless. All user control is gone.
Thank goodness there is software that works, is supported, and cannot be bought from Microsoft.
If it is really good, they will kill it.

[smilin:)]

It wasn't about the editing

There are many better editors out there. The beauty of the digital image suite is the organization. I have thousands and thousands of pictures and if a given image is not rated and tagged it ceases to exist because it will never be found. Digital Image suite has an awesome tag painter. It takes just a couple minutes to tag a camera's worth (1-2gig) of imported images.

Bummer. :(

[THERENAISSANCEMAN]

A BIG MISTAKE

Microsoft really made a big mistake in discontinuing future developments/production of its Digital Image Suite. I have used this product with excellent results over the years especially employing its filter editing tools with great results. One only has to visit my site at Multiply.com THERENAISSANCEMAN ( Digitalia section ) where I have posted quite a number of my "digital paintings" showing how powerful this software is in creating painterly effects.
Thank You

[rootsmusic]

Remember, Microsoft also axed MS Photo Editor (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827740).

[ewelch]

They had an imaging Suite?