Adobe Intel Support: October at the Earliest
Adobe Intel Support: October at the Earliest
by , 7:35 AM EST, February 2nd, 2006
Adobe has detailed its road map for Intel-based Mac native support, and it won't be releasing Universal Binary (UB) updates for its current applications. Instead, UB versions will be released as part of Adobe's regular 18-24 month product cycle. Since Creative Suite 2 (CS2) was released in April of 2005, that means October 2006 is the earliest we can expect to see upgrades that support Intel-based Macs.
In an FAQ that lists Adobe's plans, the company stated that is is committed to supporting Intel-based Macs with most of its existing Mac products, and that it is transitioning its code development to Apple's Xcode so that it can build UB compliant applications.
Adobe's document states "Adobe does not plan to re-release current products as Universal applications that can run natively on both Intel- and PowerPC-based systems. This applies to Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Studio 8, as well as individual applications such as Photoshop CS2, InDesign CS2, Illustrator CS2, Acrobat 7.0 Professional, Dreamweaver 8, Flash Professional 8, and After Effects 7.0. Instead, we are focused on delivering the next versions of these products as Universal applications that will run natively on the new Intel-based Mac computers."
The applications that Adobe is currently working on, or evaluating transition plans for includes:
-
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe GoLive
• Adobe InCopy
• Adobe Acrobat Professional
• Adobe After Effects
• Macromedia Studio
• Dreamweaver
• Flash Professional
• Flash Basic
• Fireworks
• Contribute
Based on tests in January, Adobe feels that its applications are Rosetta compatible, which means they will run in Apple's PowerPC emulation environment on Intel-based Macs. Performance, however, is an issue. The company states that you may see a noticeable performance hit, but that installing at least a gigabyte of RAM on your Mac does help.
The one exception to Rosetta compatibility is Version Cue Workspace (Server). It does not run under Rosetta, but Intel-based Macs can connect to a Version Cue Workspace. If your workflow relies on this tool, be sure to keep a G4 or G5 Mac to use as a Version Cue server.
Adobe is offering limited Rosetta technical support for its current applications, stating that it may not be able to "address installation or compatibility and other issues that arise from running under Rosetta."
In fact, the report recommends that you run the current crop of applications on a PowerPC-based Mac, and wait for the UB versions to ship before upgrading to an Intel-based model.
Another problem for CS2 users involves plug-ins: Adobe has not tested any third-party plug-ins for InDesign CS2, Photoshop CS2, or Illustrator CS2. Even if these core applications function acceptably in your environment, the plug-ins that enhance your workflow may not. That means users need to contact plug-in developers to confirm Rosetta compatibility.
The Adobe Technical Support Knowledgebase is the resource that Adobe is referring its customers to for additional information about Intel support. As new information arises, it plans to update the online articles available there. If you encounter bugs while using Adobe's applications in Rosetta, you can report them through the bug report system.
Although Adobe is committed to supporting Apple, the product cycle time frame could be a problem for designers transitioning to the new Intel-based Macs. If you are using a PowerMac G5, the performance hit when switching to an Intel model might be more than you want. G4 users, however, may not notice the degradation, since Rosetta may run the CS2 applications at the same speed they are already accustomed to.
Adobe's 18-24 month product cycle usually makes it easy to plan for hardware and software upgrades, but this time around it's a bit more difficult. Apple's early Intel release may be good news for most users, but it has put Adobe, and designers, in a tight spot.
Observer Comments
Could this be Adobe's answer to Apple's agressive entry into their "turf" with FCP, Motion, and now Aperture? Also, how many Photoshop Elements sales were lost because Mac buyers get iPhoto for free? Does anyone know if there're any open source alternative to InDesign (as GIMP is to Photoshop)? 
QuoteGuest wrote:
Could this be Adobe's answer to Apple's agressive entry into their "turf" with FCP, Motion, and now Aperture?
Probably not since this is ALWAYS how Adobe handles these things.
This is exactly how the OS 9 to OS X transition went, so no big surprises here.
Given the complexity of Photoshop I'd much rather wait for an update then get some buggy patch quickly that has all sorts of problems with it.
QuoteGuest wrote:
As long as it runs under Rosetta just fine, happy.
Not according to the MacWorld tests.
Comparing Photoshop on the most-recent iMac G5 to the Intel iMac, the Adobe app ran at about half speed under Rosetta.
If you're upgrading from a G4, you probably won't notice a difference. For those on an older G5, you're not going to be happy ... at least that's the early report.
[quote="dux5"]
QuoteGuest wrote:
If you're upgrading from a G4, you probably won't notice a difference. For those on an older G5, you're not going to be happy ... at least that's the early report.
Yeah...it depends on who you are. My dad's using a 667 MgHz G4 Powerbook. I'm betting Photoshop at half speed on a Macbook Pro will STILL be a step up for him!
[quote="Small White Car"]
Quotedux5 wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:
If you're upgrading from a G4, you probably won't notice a difference. For those on an older G5, you're not going to be happy ... at least that's the early report.
Yeah...it depends on who you are. My dad's using a 667 MgHz G4 Powerbook. I'm betting Photoshop at half speed on a Macbook Pro will STILL be a step up for him!
I'm guessing Rosetta is a step up for anyone moving from a PowerBook to a Mac Book. But it's a downgrade for anyone moving from a G5.
[quote="Small White Car"]
Quotedux5 wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:
If you're upgrading from a G4, you probably won't notice a difference. For those on an older G5, you're not going to be happy ... at least that's the early report.
Yeah...it depends on who you are. My dad's using a 667 MgHz G4 Powerbook. I'm betting Photoshop at half speed on a Macbook Pro will STILL be a step up for him!
I'm guessing Rosetta is a step up for anyone moving from a PowerBook to a Mac Book. But it's a downgrade for anyone moving from a G5.
-Dux5
Quotedeasys wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:
Could this be Adobe's answer to Apple's agressive entry into their "turf" with FCP, Motion, and now Aperture? Also...Photoshop Elements
Could be.
My answer to Adobe is to adopt FCP. Motion, Aperture, iPhoto, and Quark among others.
Fsck 'em...
Go for it. Seems like most others have. (Well, except for After Effects and Photoshop...they don't have replacements.)
Thu Feb 02, 2006 6:31 pm Subject: Have G5, going to 'trade up' to an iMac???
Come on guys; what sort of pro is going to go from a G5 with huge monitors to an iMac anyway?
Apple breathe a sigh of relief because now they've got months to sort the G6 (??) and their pro apps - no point releasing an intel tower till Adobe are sorted, and not many pro pros are going to bother with an iMac anyway.
OH no! We've got a year of solid, dependable work ahead without buggy hardware or x.0 version Adobe releases!!! what a tragedy...
No surprise on this one.
The "Pros" have been waiting on a notebook for years...they still have to wait.
Apple will come out with the tower Intel sometime this year. That will be the system that your high end apps will want to run on.
We all need to be a bit patient. New platforms take time to shake out. I think it is VERY smart of Adobe to not deviate from their development cycle. They were probably one of the first to have to sign an NDA about the intel processors going into Macs.
QuoteDrGroove wrote:
Come on guys; what sort of pro is going to go from a G5 with huge monitors to an iMac anyway?...
i have a Dual G5 tower at work and I'm condidering a Dual Intel iMac for home.
If I get this new iMac should I even bother with the Adobe Creative Suite, or should I wait 6 months?
Does Adobe have it in them to release an update when they release as Universal applications?
Will Adobe offer any kind future updates for those who have sprung for the suites in the past. i mean, it's not technically an upgrade, so would they charge?
I have been operating CS2 suite professional on an old 550mhz titanium powerbook and on a new intel core duo 1.66ghz with rosetta. The performance is in fact far inferior on the intel right now. Usual features don't operate properly at all and opening more than one app at a time is futile because the other justs quits.
Such a shame...
Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:29 pm Subject: Re: G4 vs. intel/rosetta
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
I have been operating CS2 suite professional on an old 550mhz titanium powerbook and on a new intel core duo 1.66ghz with rosetta. The performance is in fact far inferior on the intel right now. Usual features don't operate properly at all and opening more than one app at a time is futile because the other justs quits.
Such a shame...
Just for sake of comparison, CS2 runs worse on my G5 than it does on my PowerBook. I have yet to isolate the problem, but I wouldn't be so quick to pin it on the Rosetta layer.
QuoteGuest wrote:
I have been operating CS2 suite professional on an old 550mhz titanium powerbook and on a new intel core duo 1.66ghz with rosetta. The performance is in fact far inferior on the intel right now. Usual features don't operate properly at all and opening more than one app at a time is futile because the other justs quits.
Such a shame...
As an amusing side note to this post. There are'nt any 1.66ghz intel macs. 1.83 was the lowest released
Mod note: There is a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo chip shipping in the Intel mini. The Guest who posted the above-referenced quote didn't specify the Intel Mac being used. - DT
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