Adobe Creative Suite to abandon PowerPC Macs
(Credit:
Dong Ngo/CNET)
It's probably time you said goodbye to your PowerPC-based Mac.
Adobe confirmed Tuesday that future versions of its Creative Suite will run only on Intel-based Mac computers. There will be no support offered for PowerPC-based systems.
The company's decision follows Apple's announcement in June that it was discontinuing support for the PowerPC in its new operating systems, starting beginning with Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). With Apple's future development focused on Intel Macs, Adobe is aligning its resources accordingly.
According to Adobe, existing customers who own Creative Suite 3 and Creative Suite 4 will still be able to use the software on either a PowerPC-based Mac or an Intel-based Mac without having to make any changes. However, Adobe will provide support for these two suites only to address critical issues that may arise.
Creative Suite is Adobe System's collection of well-known industry-standard graphic design, video editing, and Web development applications. These applications include Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Flash, and many others.
While Snow Leopard has not been released yet, and the new version of the Creative Suite hasn't been announced, either, Adobe decided to announce these changes now so its customers will have time to plan their migration strategy accordingly. This means you should go get yourself an Intel-based Mac if you haven't done so already.
For more information on the discontinuation of support, check out Adobe's FAQ.
Dong Ngo is a CNET editor who covers networking and network storage, and writes about anything else he finds interesting. You can also listen to his podcast at insidecnetlabs.cnet.com. E-mail Dong. 
Wonder how much the upgrade prices will be?
Probably about what they are now.
I went from CS2 right to CS4, jumped CS3, so it depends on features if I will upgrade to CS5 or not. We probably have a year before there will be a CS5. I wonder if they will do the same with Windows and require 7.
Wonder how much the typical HP/Dell "PC" aficionado has had to spend over those past five years just to keep up?
I bet you squealed and whined away about eeeeevil Microsoft dropping support for XP huh?
But in this case it's just forward thinking!
I spent $125 to get a thinkpad laptop that old. Works great. If my Dell hadn't broken...and Dell had not chose to refuse to honor the warranty I'd not need the vintage thinkpad. However given Every Dell computer I've owned has broken before it's time, even with vintage equipment I'd be racking up the bucks.
I don't think there will be any urgent need to upgrade anyway, as CS3 and CS4 will still do the job well in another 2 years. I am still using CS2 at work, and it is still very good to use! Using CS4 at home. I think by the time CS6 comes out and a major upgrade to Snow Leopard, say 18 months - 2 years down the track, it might be time to think about saying goodbye to the Power PC. It will have had a long and fulfilling life by then that's for sure :o)
I honestly think you are being just plain silly. It is a perfectly valid comment that it seems odd that the screenshot is of the Windows version of Creative Suite but yet the article talks about the Macintosh version. It's not a big deal but it is not as though such screenshots are not available and it therefore seems "out of place".
Quick question, Genius: How many 2005-era computers (let alone 2003) d'ya figure would actually be capable of running "the next version" of Adobe CS? Ah - only the certain Opteron models w/ mobos capable of stuffing 8GB onto one board, you say? The ones that can run 8GB back then would've cost you way more than a Mac... so who got the crap end of the stick again?
;)
You do know no one cares what you think, yes? I honestly don't know why you bother posting these inane comments since they aren't useful or interesting (much like this one, frankly). You don't like Macintoshes - we get that. No one is forcing you to buy one. Feel free to enjoy your selected platform but understand that not everyone likes Windows and we are as much entitled to choose our platform as you are.
Presented for your consideration, however, is the fact that some of us out here aren't doing all that well financially right now... that our paying work has dried up and we're trying to keep our heads above water, branching out in as many different directions as we can, picking up odd work that's pro bono just to keep our brains and skills active, and we really can't afford the casual aftershocks of the latest toys.
What do you think would happen if every single product on the planet had a 3-year lifecycle? If Volkswagen, for example, stopped servicing cars after only three years, or making parts that fit them so a non-VW service unit could keep them running?
Those who have scrounged to buy the last-gen equipment at the least cost (including craigslist and ebay listings), deserve better than a constant bait-and-switch from software and hardware companies.. who together require either a brand-new computer system or expensive upgrades every nine months. Who can afford not even new, but upgrade, hardware or software these days? For some of us, that's a month's rent. For others, two months'. Or an equal amount of groceries. Or four dental appointments (no more dental insurance). Or this year's contribution to the Roth/IRA or Keogh.... which seems like a black hole sometimes.
It's wonderful how quickly technology is changing. I see the original Newton ad (and the mock Newton ad, great perspective on the iPhone) and marvel at the progress I've seen since 1984, when I bought my first computer. I mean, there's now a computer I can take with me in my pocket! But there's a silent downside to that: both hardware and software are updated so rapidly, and at such escalating costs, it stimulates the economy right into bankruptcy: who can afford to buy now, with credit so tight? And who can afford not to, and still keep up with industry standards - regardless of the industry?
Most importantly, to have a company - and both Apple and Adobe have now done this - "announce" that it will abandon support of a megabuck program, or suite of programs, or an operating system... to expect no outcry from consumers... and to get none other than "it is not unexpected" (from more than one poster here)... well, it's plain corporate oligarchy, one tiny step short of fascism, and I'd gladly explain either of these terms to those who don't "get" it.
Proud Apple user since Macintosh 128K,
Adobe user since PageMaker was launched...
now not so proud of either.
- by dominated4life August 18, 2009 8:31 PM PDT
- PowerPC users just got the shaft!
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