This is The Thirty Sixth Episode of the Visual Scholar Podcast - With Tim Mcburnie. Let's talk Adobe... There is a lot of drama and outrage aimed at Adobe. I normally stay away from this stuff on the Visual Scholar... But people often ask for my opinion as I do use Adobe products, and teach people how to use them. So this episode is dedicated to my thoughts on the future of Photoshop. But as you know if you have been following this show, it won't be simple, and I will weave in some more interesting topics. I want to walk though: 1 What we should expect from Software as artists2 What can we learn by looking closer at Adobe Inc3 What Ethics, Morality, Publicly traded companies... and AI say about the future of Customer/Product Symbiosis. So yeah... This is a long form essay. That no one really asked for. But if you want to rise above the noise and outrage FUD... strap in! 00:00:00 Intro00:03:03 Welcome00:03:28 What's My Take On This?00:07:07 What Good Creative Software Needs To Be... The Dangers of Switching00:08:45 That Time I Gave Up Photoshop For Corel Painter...00:14:56 Reliability...00:15:33 Learning & Community00:16:55 Different Artists Need Different Features... Pro Vs The Rest00:19:06 Professional Features (That Most People Don't Care About)00:20:06 Production Integration00:21:16 Chameleon: Photoshop Can Be Many Things00:23:27 Extensibility00:26:51 Real Professional Reliability00:30:03 Speeed00:32:03 TLDR: Bugs And Tech Hurdles Can Ruin Your Art Flow00:33:11 What About Adobe As A Company (Evil INC)00:33:50 The History... Aggressive Monopoly00:35:22 Adobe The Dinosaur (Legacy Software and Legacy Attitude)00:38:19 Adobe Is Struggling To Be A Modern SAAS Company00:39:15 Publicly Traded Companies Can't Take Care Of Their Customers.00:39:58 The Silicon Valley Hype Cycle00:41:17 Symbiosis: How Good Software Is Made00:43:24 The Protopian Ideal00:44:58 Incentives: It's Not A Matter of Good Or Evil.00:50:37 What Does The Future Of Software Look Like?00:52:51 The Community Matters00:53:58 The Photoshop Interface Built Adobe00:55:06 Piracy Helped Build The Monopoly00:56:00 No Free Version = No One Uses It... Or Cares.00:58:57 Adobe In Trouble?01:02:40 Has Adobe Forgotten How To Make And Promote Software?01:03:32 The Street Price Of Creative Cloud01:05:58 Adobe Actually Has A Great Deal...01:09:10 The Traps Large Companies Fall Into01:10:58 Business Models And Functionality Are Linked!01:14:03 Photoshop IS Unique01:17:34 The Real Issue? (AI)01:19:25 The Hype Train01:22:11 If AGI and Superintelligence Are Coming... Why Is Adobe Putting AI In Photoshop01:24:51 The Double Speak Of Generative Imagery and LLMs01:25:59 The Real Reason I Want OFF The Adobe Train Now01:29:17 Takeaways!01:30:14 The Analytical Takeaway01:35:15 Marker 301:35:26 The practical Takeaway01:37:27 The Philosophical Takeaway ---------------------------------   This Podcast is designed to help you demystify the world of Art, Productivity, and Creativity. So you can get better faster, and enjoy your Art Journey. We discuss Drawing, Painting, Illustration and Entertainment Design. Along with Productivity and Career Advice. Learn more about Tim Mcburnie: Learn Drawing and Illustration at The Drawing Codex: www.thedrawingcodex.com Check out this podcast with video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Tim-Mcburnie Spotify Link: open.spotify.com/show/6VbdwbiZqy8nqb90ruKQCX?si=21b9c1d02c85419f Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-visual-scholar/id1678505411 www.thedrawingcodex.com/podcasts/the-visual-scholar Check out The Drawing Codex Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDrawingCodex Portfolio: www.timmcburnie.com www.artstation.com/tim-mcburnie www.instagram.com/timmcburnie twitter.com/timmcburnie