The talk of a Linux resurgence has been echo’d for many years now, but year after year it never comes true. While Linux does grow a tiny bit each year no doubt, it hasn’t achieved the commercial success of Windows or even Mac OS just yet and Adobe is mostly to blame.
As a developer who isn’t wooed by Apple’s brushed aluminium rubbish bins, I use Windows. I was running a Windows/Ubuntu hybrid setup for a while but after issues with getting file sharing to work between the platforms and trivial things like running a web server in my Linux VM and being able to access it via a web browser in Windows I reverted back to plain old Windows.
My bread and butter job is a front-end developer who works closely with designs provided from designers who then expect them to be cut-up and made into real websites, these files are usually Photoshop PSD files or Fireworks PNG files (both Adobe products). Linux purists love to tout the fact that they have GIMP and while GIMP is pretty impressive for an open-source project, it is no where near a viable replacement for Photoshop nor Fireworks and this is the reason adoption of Linux is slow.
Could you imagine what would happen with Adobe announced a Linux version of even just Photoshop? Developers would be moving in droves to the platform. But there is a bigger issue here in regards to the attitudes of Linux users: price.
Adobe have considered the Linux platform on quite a few occasions and the number one reason there is no Photoshop in Linux is because people who use Linux are supposedly less than likely to purchase software and it would not be economically viable for the company to explore a Linux version. While I can somewhat see where they’re coming from, I personally know I would pay as would many others who’ve been wanting to change to Linux but need Photoshop to do their jobs properly.
We have WINE which worked with older versions of Photoshop albeit with buggy behaviour, but last time I checked CS6 will not run in WINE under Linux. It’s Window or Mac, or hit the road.
Not many people like to admit it, but Adobe are one of few roadblocks to Linux’s success.
