The graphics software of choiceChances are, Adobe is part of your everyday life and you don't even realize it. Many of the graphics you see in today's newspapers and magazines are created by Adobe programs like Illustrator and Photoshop. The opening scene of the blockbuster movie Men In Black was created using Adobe's After Effects application. When you surf the Net, many of the web sites you see were created using Adobe software and offer Adobe Acrobat portable document files (PDFs), which are universally readable. Even the PostScript inside your laser printer was also created by Adobe.
Finding their calling
Cofounders John Warnock and Chuck Geschke first met at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Together they developed PostScript, a computer language that translates code into printable pages of type. After failing to convince Xerox to market the application, the two left to start their own company, called Adobe. But Canon came out with a cheap laser printer before they could, so they were forced to alter their path. Luckily, Steve Jobs approached them and convinced them to develop the PostScript technology for the Apple's Macintosh. The result was the Apple LaserWriter - and the desktop publishing revolution.
A visual portfolio
PostScript quickly became the industry standard for desktop publishing, and Adobe later developed the software that would become Internet standards - including Adobe Acrobat, PageMill, and its WebType Fonts. Scan the employment ads of any newspaper, and the name Adobe will come up on just about every listing for a desktop publishing or web design job. Another of the company's major products, Photoshop, allows users to create designs and manipulate digitized photographs. The company also makes Adobe Premiere, an application used for video editing. Adobe offers applications that are completely compatible across platforms, allowing files to be moved easily between systems.
Heeeeere, PC-PC-PC
Adobe's products weren't always so compatible. In the 1980s and early 1990s Adobe established a strong relationship with Apple, but basically ignored the PC market. The company changed its tune after an $11.8 million loss in 1995, caused largely by the problematic acquisition of software maker Frame Technology Group. By 1996, with Apple floundering, the pressure was on for Adobe to tap other markets to improve its software's compatibility with other systems, particularly Microsoft Windows. Adobe expanded its software line with in-house development and aquisitions of other companies. It also made successful efforts to promote its brand in Windows-dominated corporate and government arenas. Today, 64 percent of Adobe revenues come from sales of Windows applications. Though Adobe has concentrated its efforts on wooing the Windows user, the company insists that its ties to Apple remain solid.
Economizing their bricks
With a firm foothold among graphics professionals and in the corporate world, Adobe's latest target is the home PC consumer - a larger, more lucrative market. The company has developed user-friendly imaging software like PhotoDeluxe, and bundles its products at reduced prices to entice buyers. PhotoDeluxe retails at $49, versus $609 for Photoshop. Adobe plans to release more "consumer versions" of its professional software in the near future. In March 2000 Adobe increased availability of its e-commerce products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat in Japan. These are now offered in both English and Japanese versions.
Face this!
Two of the biggest problems Adobe has had to face are software piracy and copyright infringement. It won a landmark case (for typeface designers, at least) against Southern Software in 1997. As a result of the judgment, fonts are now classified as intellectual property, and subject to the same copyright laws. Adobe won a similar lawsuit against Southern Sofware in 1999.
Gearing up for a comeback
After sustaining losses early in 1998, Adobe's profits increased with the introduction of several upgrades and new products. Adobe acquired GoLive, a company that makes web publishing tools. The company also released two major new products in 1999 - a page-layout technology called InDesign, and PDF Merchants for eBooks. InDesign has been labeled the "Quark-killer" because its functions and features far exceed the capabilities of Adobe's formidable rival in desktop publishing software, Quark Xpress, and sells for less than a Quark upgrade. Quark actually made an offer to buy Adobe in November 1998, only to withdraw it later.
Starting off the millennium
Adobe has already received several prestigious awards this millennium recognizing its exemplary software and web site, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit of CTO John Warnock. These new awards nicely complement the 1999 Inventor of the Year Award won by Mark Hamburg, lead developer of Photoshop.Adobe's new LiveMotion software was granted the Best of Show Award at the Spring Internet World 2000 conference, and is one of several products introduced in 2000. LiveMotion is used in creating interactive graphics and animation, while Acrobat Messenger is expected to become standard in the corporate world for editing and distributing files via e-mail, Internet, or fax. Also new from Adobe is CoolType, which the company claims improves text resolution on LCD screens by as much as 300 percent.
E-books - the Next Big Thing?
In March 2000, best-selling horror novelist Stephen King released a new book. What makes this newsworthy is that it was available only on the Internet. The overwhelming customer response resulted in overloaded servers. This is good news to Adobe, since Adobe Acrobat software is used to display the text and art for e-books. Adobe is anticipating increased electronic distribution of content in forms such as novels, how-to guides, and business reports, and has the software to make it possible. PDF Merchant is used for encrypting and selling files online, and Web Buy inhibits piracy by allowing authors to control the distribution of their works that are downloaded. These applications together enable publishers, distributors, retailers, and consumers to acquire and transfer content online with greater security.
More legal problems
In fall 2001, Adobe faced more legal trouble, this time a lawsuit brought against it by Trio Systems. The suit claimed that Adobe's InDesign 1.5 and InCopy 1.1 included components that infringed on Trio's copyright for its C-Index software. However, the two companies reached a settlement in December 2001, and Adobe announced that it would release InDesign 2.0, including the C-Index component, in early 2002.
2002: Off with a bang
Adobe weathered the 2001 downturn better than most software companies, and in late 2001 many analysts saw it poised to turn in a strong performance during 2002. Adobe began the year by acquiring Accellio, a business-forms maker, which will allow the company to expand its epaper business significantly. Accelio's various electronic form solutions will be combined with the Acrobat and PDF technologies, allowing businesses to move more of their form-processing operations online. Adobe expects the acquisition to net more than $30 million for 2002. And in February, eight of its typefaces received prestigious Certificate of Excellence awards from the Association Typographique Internationale.
