[lsb-discuss] [Desktop_architects] The reason Adobe does not want to port, Photoshop?

[Matt Taggart]

Nerazzurri writes...

> Though the photoshop developer has some misunderstanding,
> bug as a ISV developer, his opinion about linux is worth for
> our attentions.

Adobe likes the Windows/propriatary ISV model and they are very good at it 
and have been very successful with that model. The open source model (even 
if you are a propriatary application on an open system) is quite a bit 
different and it is unclear if they are able and willing to use that model 
as well.

Free software API developers and standards efforts such as freedesktop.org, 
LSB, etc. should strive to make it easy for application developers (free, 
proprietary, etc.) to create/build/port/deploy/support our platform. But we 
are not trying to recreate the Windows/propriatary model and we should 
resist any attempts to turn Linux based systems into Windows (regardless of 
how many commercial applications it might bring to the platform). Not that 
any one effort would be able to make that happen anyway, that would 
probably just get you ignored by the rest of the community. Adding things 
that make life easier for developers is good, adding things soley to copy 
an inferior model is not. (For example: giving developers and users an easy 
way to install applications is good, copying the crappy Windows 
InstallShield method to do so is not).

Adobe's existing model it working well for them and supporting the open 
source model(in addition or as an alternative) represents risk and possibly 
reduced revenue for them in the near term. I suspect they won't embrace the 
new model until the old one goes away, which it probably how the Adobe 
shareholders like it (but see Innovator's Dilemma). There is some truth to 
the technical excuses we are hearing, but clearly it's possible to create 
quality applications for Linux based platforms, even of the type that Adobe 
specializes in, we've got plenty of examples.

As you pointed out, the Adobe developers has some misunderstandings. The 
LSB workgroup would love to help them understand how to develop on LSB 
platforms and we've love to hear concrete suggestions about interfaces they 
need and how things could be made easier. They are really good at what they 
do, and I'm sure they have some great ideas. But comments about how Linux 
isn't like Windows isn't going to help anyone.

$0.02,

-- 
Matt Taggart        Open Source & Linux Organization R&D
taggart at fc.hp.com   Hewlett-Packard