Mac Installs - *not* VM

[Drone-55]

Hello,

Is there likely to be a Mac install of Framemaker coming in the near future?

Please don't suggest virtualisation; I'm aware Windows may be run in a VM on Mac, but that is not a solution that works for me. There are all sorts of issues on that road; not to mention the added expense of Windows.

Seems obvious that a mac version would be available for all the TCS apps, I'm wondering why not and when/if the situation will be corrected?

Thanks

[Barb Binder]

Hi @Drone-55:

Several of us, including myself, are avid Mac users, and would love to have a native Mac version of FrameMaker. However, best I can tell, Adobe has no intention of releasing a native Mac version of FrameMaker again. (It was available back in the 80s/90s.) In addition, although I used a virtual machine for years to run FrameMaker—and would be happy to continue—that's no longer a reliable option on the M1 and M2 Macs. See details here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/framemaker-discussions/any-success-running-tcs-framemaker-on-m1-mac/m.... 

I ended up buying a Windows system just for FrameMaker, and rely on my Macs for everything else.

Please note that these are my opinions and observations based on my interactions with Adobe as an Adobe partner. I do not work for Adobe.

~Barb

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

My gut suspicion is - don't hold your breath!

I've never heard any whisper of a Mac version coming back.

[Bob_Niland]

For further context, there has been a "winarm64" directory in several recent install ZIPs, and it's still empty. It would appear to be the next platform to be supported.

And frankly, if I were in ADBE Marketing, a cloud version of FM might make FM more widely available than a specific re-port to MacOS, Linux or any other requested hosts.

[Stefan Gentz]

Maybe you overestimate the power of a marketing team, even if I sometimes wish you were right 😉

Regarding a "cloud version of FrameMaker": In a way, yes, Adobe has done that, even if it goes far beyond a "cloud version of FrameMaker": With Adobe Experience Manager Guides, Adobe offers a cloud-native CCMS for all kinds of long-form knowledge content including technical documentation, help & support content, knowledge base content, policies & procedures, legal content, reports, etc.. It’s a comprehensive, cloud solution for authoring, managing, reviewing, translating and omni-channel publishing structured content.

[Bob_Niland]

re: Maybe you overestimate the power of a marketing team…
Are they using AI to generate the content-free content?
I started to look at AEM, but several levels in, still can't figure out exactly what it is, nor any implications for FM therein.

And speaking of AI, I got an ADBE email today about Firefly, which email likewise provided no useful clues as to what the product might be, other than satisfying any buzzword deficiency one might have.

I had to check tech news sites to discover, putting it concisely, that it's apparently a ©-indemnified AI content generation tool (and I could see that being valuable, although what happens if the customer wants to then claim © on the interim or resulting work, might require further digging.😉)

[Barb Binder]

Hi Bob:

I know the answer to your last question—you can't copyright AI images generated from text prompts in the US.

I'm having a lot of fun playing around with it—there's no end to what you can create. As a Community Expert, you have access to myriad Firefly discussions, challenges and the ability to request access on the influitive site.

~Barb

[Stefan Gentz]

Hi Bob,

This short video about AEM Guides gives a quick overview: https://youtu.be/j0X5fh0KUMU

This short video gives a quick impression of what Creatives will be able to do with Adobe Firefly: https://youtu.be/DvBRj--sUMU

This page hopefully answers some first questions about copyright questions regarding Firefly: https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/firefly-faq-for-adobe-stock-contributors.html

Hope that hellps. Happy to anwer any questions about AEM Guides.

[livingtext]

Stefan,

So if I am on a Mac as an individual and want to use Experience Manager to create PDFs like I did with Frame, what tool do I use? I think there are different "parts" of Experience Manager?

[frameexpert]

I remember when Mac FrameMaker was being dropped and thought it was strange because the new Intel Macs were gaining market share. I started out with Mac FrameMaker back in the early 90's and thought it was the best of the FrameMaker platforms.

[livingtext]

I really wish they could move it to the cloud so we could access it in the browser. At least a light version. If done right, it could be a killer app.