[MW Forums]

Adobe will release an update to Lightroom, making it compatible with Intel-Macs. Creative Suite is also being worked on. more

[OM_user]

No offense, but I don't see anywhere in this article or Adobe's statements anything that says that the current version of Creative Suite will go Intel native. Rather, they seem to imply that "future" versions of CS will be Intel native, as in Creative Suite 3, most likely. Which is pretty "duh!" I think most of us took that for granted.
Anyway, the article title seems to imply that CS2 (current version) will go universal. I'm not sure that's the case here. If it is, I'd like to see more specific comments that back this up.
I don't hold any allusions that Adobe will not use this to their advantage to extract more cash out of their customers by intro'ing the "all new and improved CS3, now Intel Mac compatible". Hopefully I'm wrong about that though, and they'll offer a reduced cross-grade price. That would be unexpected and nice.

[Photonerd]

While the details about Lightroom are probably correct, MacCentral has zero information on CS2 or CS3 development efforts. I'll just leave it at that. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Not to say that other publications DO have information, but rather, none of them do. And any who say they do are misleading people.
Adobe doesn't release development information to news publications except when release is imminent. Rest assured, release is not imminent.

[iJavaJoe]

I noticed the same problem. "Adobe said they are currently testing performance and compatibility of its Creative Suite" does not mean "CS2 coming".
Like many, I have CS2 apps and adobe/macromedia Studio 8. I don't mind a "small fee" for the intel versions of CS2/Studio 8 but to have to upgrade with CS3 and Studio 9 in a year or two is not going to work. That is not to say I won't upgrade when new apps are available, but to wait for the new apps before I upgrade to a professional intel Mac just won't work. Adobe, "Help out your users".

[Jim Dalrymple]

The comments here are correct and I have changed the headline to better reflect what I said in the story. I certainly didn't intend to be misleading, I just referred to it incorrectly as CS2 instead of Creative Suite.
Jim

[mshuang]

I was pretty sure that Adobe has said in the past that they wouldn't be doing Universal Binary upgrades for CS2. The future versions of CS that Adobe is referring to is in regards to CS3, not to future versions of CS2.
Because Adobe was not expecting the release of Pro-level Macs until June they didn't expect to have to make any Universal Binary version of CS2 because they expected Rosetta to handle it until CS3 was released.
Because most of the Pro apps were not programmed using Cocoa but rather Carbon, the transition to Universal Binary for a pro-level app like CS will not be easy, hence they have good reason to transition directly to CS3.

[splinter]

I'm not a programmer and really have no idea what it takes to create a universal version of existing software. I've noticed that developers are bringing out universal versions of smaller apps on almost a daily basis, but I would imagine that the task gets much more complicated with something the size of Photoshop. Can anyone fill me in?
As for me, I'm using Adobe CS and Studio 8 (just upgraded), still on a 450mHz G4. So I need some speed, but what to do now? Can't make the jump to an Intel Mac without the universal apps (and Rosetta doesn't sound like the answer), and I'm not sure I want to invest in a pre-obsolete Dual.

[Photonerd]

While it's not nearly as hard as the original OS X port from OS 9, it is not the "flick of a switch" Jobs makes it out to be. There is real work and testing involved for major apps.

[adobephile]

The article said Adobe is testing Creative Suite in Rosetta. This may be so that they can determine the urgency of converting the apps to Universal Binaries. They may also report on how the apps run in Rosetta. If they run well, they may reassure current owners that they can safely run them on new Intel Macs.
Since you say you're still using CS on a G4, that implies you're not a power user, so you may be OK running your apps on a new Mac. You may need or want to upgrade to CS2, though.
I'd really want to see what Apple does for its new high-end Intel Mac before I bought a G5, unless we learn that those new Mac will be a ways off for delivery.
Though call. Glad I don't have to make it now.

[iJavaJoe]

Actually from a G4 450 to a core duo running CS2 in rosette you would probably notice a significant improvement. However, if you can hold off a little while longer (for the dust to settle so to speak) you might be better off seeing if Adobe changes it's mind or if Rosette gets a speed boost from Apple. Since Apple is not yet selling much in the way of intel Pro Macs, I would guess they will be working to get some speed improvements with CS2 and Studio 8 apps or they may have a hard time giving away intel pro machines. Artists and Art departments won't stand for productivity loss due to "new" slower machines (slower in that the applications used Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, etc run slower). I'd say about June the picture of what's to come will be more clear.

[tomtom]

I still have a G3 B&W 450 MHz hidden away and use it from time to time. It amazes me that programs such as the Macromedia Studio 8 apps., Photoshop and MS Office still work quite well. I use 10.3.9 on this machine. I was unable to load iLife 06

[whitedog]

I think Adobe was just trying to reassure their Mac customer base that they were not asleep at the wheel in regard to Universal Binary versions of their apps. Lightroom is a natural first candidate since it is still in beta and will soon be, if it's not already, in direct competition with Aperture - which is also due for a universal upgrade soon.
However, considering the serious work involved, I don't anticipate a CS2 crossgrade. Apple has to provide universal updates for their pro apps in order to support the market for their new hardware. Since they have set an early release date for these, I think it's fare to say the desktop Intel Macs will not be far behind. The pressure is not so great on Adobe - accept for InDesign, with Quark XPress promising a universal conversion with XPress 7 - already in public beta release as a non-universal app.
In fact, the conversion process will probably delay the time line for CS3. Besides Universal Binaries, there will have to be major feature improvements to entice existing CS users on Power PCs to upgrade to CS3. It would simply not be economically viable to target Intel Macs alone. The market share won't support it. If they really want to enhance performance, they should also leave the Carbon code behind. If they do so, this will take even more time.
I could be wrong here (it wouldn't be the first time) but I think, all things considered, Adobe CS3 is a long way off - say the end of the first quarter of '07 at the earliest. Adobe would do well to take as long as they need to get it right; we don't need a repeat of Illustrator 9.

[pairof9s]

I think the obvious thing everyone is forgetting in this discussion is Microsoft. My opinion is that since Windows users account for a significant portion of Adobe's market (if not a majority if memory serves me), CS3 is not going to see the light of day until Vista is released. CS2 may see tweeks to improve Rosetta performance like was done for Photoshop 6 upon the G5 release, but it will not be the version earmarked for MacTel computers.
Adobe has prepared their most recent major product versions for dual OS release. CS3 development will thus need to have both a Universal and a Vista version upon delivery. So with that in mind, I would not expect CS3 until at least December to coincide with Vista's launch, or more probably late Q1 next year.
All that this was about was PR to Mac news centers to appease and tease Mac users to stay patient. Where there are direct threats (Appeture v. Lightroom), Adobe will aggressively respond; otherwise, you better sit back for the next year. Which stinks!

[b_baggins]

So, buy a close-out G5 PowerMac. You'll get a great deal, and a wicked-fast machine. Remember, the machine is only obsolete when it won't run the software you need. That won't be until companies STOP making PPC versions. That's not going to happen for years.