Freehand users sue Adobe

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  • raf

    http://www.digitalartsonline.co.…

    I said it many times here: it's Adobe, not Apple or Microsoft whose monopolistic practices screw the industry most. There are people here who have no Microsoft product and ones who don't need anything by Apple for work.
    There is no way around paying Adobe their inflated prices.

  • detritus0

    Likewise — I've been syaing for years that Adobe needs competion.

    .

    And then along came Boz.

  • fyoucher10

    Heh. You know how much it would suck if there was competition? You'd have to learn multiple programs to do the same thing. If you work with different companies/ad agencies, you'd have to purchase multiple applications in case your clients are using something different. "Oh, you use Photocart? I was using Photoshop. Can you save me out a Photoshop document?". It would be a major pain in the ass. I think Adobe products are great, albeit not perfect, but get better everyday. My career is based around their software when I come to think about it. I'd say a lot of folks here are too.

    Those folks need to stop whining and get something better to do. Why would Adobe make upgrades to software when they have another piece of software that does the same thing? Do you think Adobe purchased Macromedia for Freehand?

    • you wouldnt have to learn multiple programs, as long as you can deliver the same final product. also your last point proves you have no clueeficks
    • proves you have no clue.
      eficks
    • They do daily updates now?kalkal
    • and finally, how did an adobe product get better today? or yesterday?eficks
    • Doesn't seem to bother the 3D industryanimatedgif
    • Didn't bother us when Macromedia was still around all of 5 years ago.CyBrainX
  • kalkal0

    Hang on a minute, who the fuck says there's no competition?

    • I take it you've not used CorelDraw?detritus
    • Of course I have. About 15 years ago!kalkal
    • It's not like they haven't had enough time to play catchup :Pkalkal
  • fyoucher10

    Oh yeah, inflated prices...if you think their software is expensive. Look at what the 3D community has to spend....

    3DS Max (1 app) = $3500 - $6500
    Maya (1 app) = $3500 - $6500
    Smoke = $15,000
    Flame = Cost of House

    • movies generally make a lot more money than a flyereficks
    • Advertising makes a ton of loot. Last year for WEB advertising alone was $26 Billion.fyoucher1
    • per project, comparatively.eficks
    • They also spend more time making moviesfyoucher1
    • there's a way around paying their inflated pricestimeless
  • fyoucher10

    @eficks:
    "you wouldnt have to learn multiple programs, as long as you can deliver the same final product." ....
    - Okay, how do you work together with someone else if they're using different software than you? Doubt they'd work together. I'm talking about collaboration.

    @eficks:
    "also your last point proves you have no clue"
    - Please enlighten me :) I believe they purchased it because of Flash. They had a competing product called LiveMotion which couldn't compete. So they purchased Macromedia before anyone else would, like Microsoft for example. That's a good thing for Macromedia by the way, not a bad thing. They knew Flash was going to have a huge audience, and it did. Other products like Dreamweaver and Fireworks were like getting some nice extras.

    @eficks:
    "and finally, how did an adobe product get better today? or yesterday?"
    - Time for an upgrade? Lol. If you've been working in the industry for a while, you'd know. Their software has been doing leaps and bounds over the years (Photoshop, AE, Flash, etc).

    • @fyoucher1 dont designers complain about having to share projects as it is?eficks
    • @fyoucher1 2nd point was about anti competitive behaviour. sure buying flash may have been their goal.eficks
    • Of course. I'm talking about specialized company to specialized company collab though.fyoucher1
    • @fyoucher1 last comment was more sarcastic (taking your comment literally :p)eficks
    • I wouldn't call it anti-competitive. Companies purchase other companies all the timefyoucher1
    • freehand customers don't agreeeficks
  • detritus0

    Quite why I'd have to learn different programs to do the same thing, I don't know. Presumably, if there was competition , I'd try demos of a couple of competing programs, then settle on one.

    Then, when dealing with clients using different software, we'd swap in a universal or interstitial format - PDF, SVG, BMP, EPS, whatever.

    There is no argument against competition in this sphere that doesn't come across as entirely fatuous and unthought.

    I'm just pissed at Adobe doling out essentially the same product as ten years ago, except that they've fixed existing problems (font-tracking in PS~6?) lumped sub-par 3D into photoshop (which is useless and something I'll never need anyway - threre are 3D programs for that) or.. well, I'm struggling to think of any 'major feature' beyond Smart Guides that has been introduced to Illustrator in the last few versions that I find of use.

    Don't get me wrong — I've loved Adobe for years.. I just seeing them sitting fat and complacent on the back of their cash cows these days, following 90's Microsoft model of fucking everytone else over, sitting in their patent palace, adding little beyond their realm.

    • The 3d sphere seems like a healthy software environment, full of competition and competing file standardsdetritus
    • tbf, I've seen a lot of good come out Adobe's JS fiddling. But that's teh other side of teh coin.detritus
    • ..and only after they realised how much the rest of the world hates Flash.detritus
    • look at you, always putting thoughts to characters properly.eficks
    • bmp = tiff there. don't know why i put that. Unless bmp's can suddenly do layers..detritus
    • look at me, always blabbing on self-importantly :)detritus
  • kalkal0

    I won't deny it, some viable alternatives to certain Adobe apps would be ok in my books.

  • Peter0

    "Oh, you use Photocart? I was using Photoshop. Can you save me out a Photoshop document?"

    The rivals to software like, say, ms office all have option to save to classical word or excel format. Technically I don't think psd layers would be; that hard to; export to.

    Besides
    whether it happens or not is up to us. Should a hefty sum suddenly switch to an alternative they, Adobe, would have no other option but to conform and adapt.

    Do it.

    • exactly. 3d software usually can export to the defacto "industry standard"eficks
  • fyoucher10

    @Detritus
    - Exactly my point. If two pieces of software came out, you'd choose the one that you like best. Most people would. Most companies would too. During that in-between time, it would be compatibility hell (think Windows/OSX). Eventually, there would be a dominating piece of software and we'd be in the same position we're in now -- A software maker making a piece of software that EVERYONE uses and it would be considered 'anti-competitive' until we repeated that process. Now if software makers were making software that worked across all platforms and other competing softwares (similar to open source), that'd be a different story...but I doubt that'll happen simply because people like money.

    • The only hell I see between Windows and OSx is in font definitions - all other shared assets seem to work finedetritus
    • sry, i think i mistinrepreted your pointdetritus
    • that eventually dominating software would only happen with competition.eficks
    • Only reason I want competition is to keep things moving forward. I'll be fucked if I ever buy in to another Corel product!detritus
    • eh i didnt explain that well. i think its all about innovationeficks
  • detritus0

    Given the nature of the work I do these days, I use Illy more than any other software... and I'd love for Adobe to create a version that was a bit more CAD-leaning.

    Smart Guides are an amazing addition and have allowed me to totally avoid having to ruin my 'creative workflow' by relying on engineer-centric CAD software.

    I guess whatever update to 'Illustrator' i'm looking for would be better called something other than 'Illustrator', being a technically-oriented vector design program.

    Just a thought, in case anyone from Adobe happens to be reading...

  • detritus0

    It's a shame that all software isn't somehow magically modular, so you could buy by the option and mix and match.

    Maybe with the internet...

    • Yeah, that would be perfect....in a perfect world.fyoucher1
  • Amicus0

    wow... I found a competitor

    https://www.cdearth.com/scribus-…

    lulz

    • Scribus ? that's page layout not vector illustration.ciream
    • I mean to Adobe, not Illustrator specifically.Amicus
  • fooler0

    I haven't used Freehand in about a decade but it was my preferred program at the time but right now I am super pissed off at Adobe.
    I was still using my legal copy of CS4 when we got some CS5 indesign files from a client on Thursday. Of course I couldn't open them (if there is a work around please let me know) so I decided it was about time to LEGALLY upgrade. After dropping the $399 and downloading I went to put in our old SS # but couldn't find our install discs. WTF! I just saw them a few weeks ago in the storage closet but someone must have "borrowed them". I thought that was OK since I had all my SS written down in a spreadsheet. Well those numbers didn't work so I called the customer service #. After being on hold for an hour I had to listen to someone who barley spoke english (thanks outsourcing) tell me I needed to buy the full $1800 version even though they have our company on record but its registered to a designer that no longer works for us. Now I have to jump through some hoops to get a refund and repurchase since they wont tell me our SS #'s. I wasted almost a full day of billable time trying to sort this out and they wonder why people would rather pirate software.

    • that's bullshit. ring back and pretend you are that guy.Amicus
    • IDK his adobe user name and password, they even said we have every number but 4 digits. those 4 digits are going to cost me $1400?fooler
    • ljust steal it, fuck emanimatedgif
  • chris_himself0

    • LOL @ girls facepillhead
    • FreeHand was developed on NeXT as Virtuosociream
    • I'm not even sure. Is this FreeHand? God, I always hated it.CyBrainX
  • ciream0

    Adobe and Macromedia duked it out for a decade during the FreeHand vs Illustrator competition. But before that it was Adobe and Aldus slapping each other around over FreeHand and Illustrator except Adobe bought out Aldus in 1994. The Feds said 'no' to taking Aldus FreeHand and put a 10 year penalty on them trying it again. EXACTLY ten years later Adobe buys MM, finally gets FreeHand, and ends its life.

    Yep, Adobe had its eyes on Flash but what a perk it got to also bury that thorn in its side called FreeHand. Wanna bet they would grab and kill Quark if they could?

  • vaxorcist0

    I loved freehand and hated illustrator..... I can see why....

  • pressplay0

    I‘m with fyoucher1 here. Maybe the reason - to begin with - adobe got so big was not they were making the best software but the necessity of an industry to settle to a certain standard. Imagine being a freelancer and getting to work at an agency for some time, exchanging files constantly between co-workers... you use "adobe InDesign", they prefer "Anomee OnDesign" which renders, let it be only drop shadows (or some other minor detail) differently... you‘d be fucked!

  • faxion0

    Too little, too late I'm afraid.

    My beloved Freehand is about to "draw" it's last breath.

  • animatedgif0

    "you use "adobe InDesign", they prefer "Anomee OnDesign" which renders, let it be only drop shadows (or some other minor detail) differently... you‘d be fucked"

    3D industry manages to cope fine, 5/6 different packages and then on top of that you have different render engines.

    Tend to think lots of designers are just lazy fuckers

  • ian0

    Well I still remember the switch from Quark to Indesign. For that alone I'd let the CEO of Adobe fuck me without buying me dinner first.

    I can fully see the issue with multiple programmes doing the same thing, a PDF for print is great but if you have to work on the source files and its in another programme you've got to either buy & learn that prog to make the changes or re-do it in the format you're familiar with and hope the client doesn't need it in the other format you haven't made the changes in.

    That being said, competition is a good thing. Keeps the applications lean and useful and not bloated to fuck with useless shite. But what the fuck do I know, I'm still using CS2.

    All I can say is, fuck you Quark. Fuck you.

    • quark 3.2 was great... quark began to suck when the bloated it up with useless shite later...vaxorcist