[pdftex] [FYI] Adobe & Linux

[Martin Schröder]

http://www.pdfzone.com/news/1882-PDFzone_news.html

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PDF and Adobe's embryonic Linux initiative possibly tied
By Matt Hicks,eWeek

Signs are pointing to a growing interest in desktop Linux and
open-source software at Adobe Systems Inc., the maker of popular
imaging and graphics software and the standard-bearer of PDF.

While details of its Linux and open-source plans remain scarce,
the San Jose, Calif., company has joined a major Linux-advocacy
group and is hiring engineering and business development
employees focused on desktop Linux.

An Adobe spokesperson on Thursday confirmed that Adobe joined the
Open Source Development Labs in July.

OSDL, based in Beaverton, Ore., is the home of Linux creator
Linus Torvalds. The non-profit group focuses on increasing
enterprise adoption of Linux and runs testing facilities. Its
founding members include computing heavyweights such as IBM,
Hewlett-Packard Co. and Intel Corp.

Also this week, two job postings have surfaced on the company's
Web site that point to more aggressive Linux plans at Adobe.

One opening is for a director of Linux market development, who
would examine desktop Linux and open-source strategies and work
with leading Linux distributors.

The other posting hints at plans for Adobe to run open-source
projects itself. It is for a senior computer scientist/Linux
desktop architect in Adobe's platform strategy group. Along with
guiding Adobe's desktop Linux work, the person would "become a
maintainer and/or architect for one or more Adobe-sponsored open
source projects," the job posting stated.

In an interview Thursday, Pam Deziel, Adobe's director of product
marketing for Acrobat, said she was not aware of Adobe-specific
open-source projects but that the company was involved in OSDL
projects.

She downplayed indications of a major Linux and open-source shift
at Adobe.

"What we're trying to do is to make sure we have a good picture
and roadmap for the Linux market overall," Deziel said. "Right
now, what we see is a bigger business opportunity on the server
side, but we're looking to hire resources to keep abreast of
Linux market overall."

News of Adobe's OSDL membership and Linux-oriented job postings
were first reported on CNET News.com.

Adobe's enterprise business offers Linux versions of many of its
server products under its LiveCycle brand, which launched in
June. Deziel said Adobe's Intelligent Document Platform server
products are moving under the LiveCycle umbrella and will support
Linux, but she did not provide a timetable for the move.

Interest and demand for Linux on the desktop is growing, said IT
analyst Amy Wohl, who was not surprised that Adobe could be
working on a firmer Linux strategy.

"There's enough activity at the desktop level that ISVs have to
start thinking about what they want to do," said Wohl, president
of Wohl Associates, in Narberth, Pa.

Adobe, for the most part, has not embraced Linux for its desktop
software products, such as popular imaging, graphics and design
products like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Deziel said
the business opportunity for Adobe desktop products on Linux does
not yet exist and that the opportunity in the future is "tough to
predict."

For now, Adobe may still view the desktop Linux market as too
young to port its desktop software to Linux, Wohl said. But the
company could find opportunities in emerging markets for Linux
desktop software such as overseas and in the education field, she
said.

The PDF standard itself could be propelling Adobe into a desktop
Linux and open-source strategy, Wohl said. As Linux gains ground
on desktops, Adobe will want to maintain PDF's importance and
dominance there.

"They're always very concerned about maintaining their
standards," Wohl said.

The company's flagship Adobe Reader is available for Linux as
well, but the Linux version lags releases for Windows and Mac OS
X. Linux is available with Adobe Reader 5.0 but not for the most
recent release, Adobe Reader 6.0.

Deziel said Adobe is working on an updated version of the Adobe
Reader for Linux but declined to say when it would be available.

Adobe has made past Linux overtures. In 1999, the company
released a beta version of its FrameMaker authoring and
publishing software for Linux, but never launched a commercial
release.

More recently, in June, Adobe announced plans to extend its PDF
standard and the Adobe Reader software for reading PDF documents
to consumer devices running embedded Linux. It said that Sony
Corp. would be the first to use the embedded Linux support for a
car-navigation system in Japan. 
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The jobs are JS100402(http://tinyurl.com/677x6) and
NA090402(http://tinyurl.com/6lqen)

Best regards
        Martin
-- 
               Martin Schröder, ms at artcom-gmbh.de
     ArtCom GmbH, Lise-Meitner-Str 5, 28359 Bremen, Germany
          Voice +49 421 20419-44 / Fax +49 421 20419-10
                    http://www.artcom-gmbh.de