Adobe earlier this week announced FrameMaker 7.1 for Windows and Solaris, but did not announce an update for the Mac or even a Mac OS X-native version. The software currently runs on Mac OS 9 or under classic in Mac OS X. Adobe told MacNN that it had not announced plans for Mac OS X version, while PrintIQ reports that the company "has no plans to port FrameMaker 7.1 to Mac OS X." Version 7.1 is due later this month and will offer enhancements to its XML and graphics functions and will be able to import PageMaker and QuarkXpress files more easily.
"Adobe will continue to sell and support FrameMaker 7.0 for Mac OS 9 and OS X Classic. We have announced no plans to release FrameMaker 7.1 on the Mac OS X platform. As is routine, we don't comment on future product plans."
Is this their little snit, a snit that may result in serious printshop usage loss for Macs, are they just missing the point, or do they have sommething else in mind?
Maybe something will step in to fill their shoes across the boards . .
Just digging themselves a hole they will find they can't get out. This is a great opportunity for some new innovative company. Maybe Apple will have to do with FrameMaker what Adobe cannot do. Then it WILL be a FCP replay. Adobe isn't endearing themselves to the GROWING Mac aware community. Just DUMB.
...that Framemaker is the best app for long techincal documents (if true). Every time I have had to use it I'm amazed at what a slow, clunky, user-infriendly piece of crap it is.
It ALREADY runs on UNIX
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This is a real surprise. True, it is not a perfect application, but it is great for large documents.
But the real question is why they don't port it as a X11 app? Since it already runs on Solaris, this should be TRIVIAL. There must be some obtuse business reason for it...
Uhm... are you joking. FrameMaker is a great app for long documents, and it's stable and doesn't choke on cross references, numbering, styles, etc. list Word does. It could use some updating. It's unfortunate that Adobe has their head up their a** about this.
Apple may have only 5% of overall computer usage, but it's a much bigger slice of Adobe's pie. I heard that ~50% or more of Photoshop users have a mac.
The problem with Adobe and the mac platform lately is actually surrounds Acrobat. Adobe is pushing Acrobat onto the business world that is mostly Wintel because that is where the big money resides. Adobe will cut costs one by one by dropping mac support and concentrate on Acrobat sales. The management at Adobe sees all the Wintel machines in the business world and assumes that is really the only way to go. They often forget that the mac is their "bread-and-butter" platform. By the time they alienate and loose the mac platform, they'll probably regret getting pigeoned-holed into being a company with only mediocre Wintel products and Acrobat. (or maybe they won't regret it since they will be blind to their loss of product quality.)
Adobe isn't going to drop Photoshop for the mac anymore than MS will drop Office for the mac. They both make money on that software. It's the other smaller products, like GoLive, Illustrator, Framemaker, etc., that we have to worry about. These can't be the big money apps so Adobe will eventually try and cut costs. Just some thoughts.
I used FrameMaker for years for long academic documents using footnotes and cross-references. I preferred it much more than MS Word and it always seemed more stable. In 1998 when I started using a Mac, I switched from the Windows version to the Mac version without a hitch.
But I have not upgraded since v. 5.5.6 because I use OS X now and I hate having to use any classic program in OS X. So except for the occasional project that just begs for me to use it, I stick with MS Word. I am sure I am not alone. I would upgrade to an OS X version in a minute, but I won't upgrade to a classic program. Adobe should get a clue. They are losing money here.
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