Linux Version?

getsatisfaction link is broken.

Now, when Editshare broke the ice with their Lightworks will Adobe shareholders still be nervous about porting to Linux or will they be nervous about loosing marketshare because Lightworks becomes no.1 NLE for milions of PC's running Linux at home and in studio.

This is a great thread and as Adobe seem to be looking for a bigger prospective market before considering porting CS to Linux, I thought I'd come in and add my name to the 'yes please' column.

I've worked as a VFX artist for a few years using mainly After Effects and now NUKE. I currently work on a Mac but used Windows XP at my last company but I've been running Fedora at home the last few years.

We all know how unstable running AE on XP is and quite frankly running it on OSX 10.6 is only slightly better - the massive pauses while it completes 'background processes' is a real joy. Plus we are massively limited with GFX card options on Mac. I can't help but think that a Linux version of After Effects would be so much more efficient purely though my experience in using the same software across multiple platforms ie NUKE, Mocha, Maya - each and everyone is far faster and more stable running on Linux.

I work for a small post house employing a few ops. We have After Effects, Maya, Smoke and Final cut seats and are currently considering switching to Premiere from FC. If there was a linux version of CS, I can guarantee we would all switch platforms overnight - as I am sure many other post houses would. We are serious video professionals, not graphic designers, we aren't bothered about the prettiness of our OS, we just want speed and reliability which linux would give us. I run NUKE on my Mac at work, not because I want to (it's awful compared to linux) but because it's impractical for me and not to mention cost effective to have two machines.

I know there is a massive argument about linux only being for 'techies', well I think you'll find that most video artists, operators etc are fairly competent on a computer as they work on one all day and everyday, I'm sure it wouldn't take most people long to figure out how to install an RPM...

All the big post houses choose Linux for their Maya/NUKE workflows and of course Autodesk use it for their high end systems. Our Smoke ops would kill to have Photoshop/After Effects right there on their system. There IS a huge market out there for this, it may take a while to grow but eventually it would get there.

I'm sure this must have been mentioned before but how about an 'Adobe OS'. Take the Red Hat source and stick some Adobe branding all over. It could be a completely customised environment for CS. Adobe could completely own Apple. Imagine turning on a brand new super-fast linux HP box and big Adobe logo coming up on the OS splash screen with CS pre-installed.Heaven. Apple could not compete.

I know this post is old, and probably already beaten into the ground, but reading through the string was certainly interesting and enlightening!

Has anybody noticed how vociferous supporters of Mac and Linux appear to be, especially in contrast to Windows guys? Maybe it's just me, but it seems that most Mac and Linux gurus have some pretty tight blinders on... probably preventing them from seeing the snakes in their OS's... but I digress. And perhaps delve too much into sarcasm.

Anyway, to the OP: It's been so long since I've used CS3 that I don't remember the minimum specs, but I can tell you for sure that 4GB of Ram and a firewire HD are pretty sad specs for editing video--especially if its HD. I'm kinda surprised none of the other guys jumped on that, but maybe its because those specs are fine for CS3 and I just don't remember that.

Also, in regards to Windows platforms, I had no end of crashes with CS3 on XP. When I moved to CS4 on XP, everything ran smoothly with crashes only once every couple months. I skipped the Vista world (intentionally) on my editing machine because I had read so many horror stories of CS3/4 on Vista. However, I can also say that CS4/5 on Win7x64 runs like a dream. I've not had one single crash or hangup. I ran CS4 on 7 starting the week Win 7 was released to the public. And I've been running CS5 since the first week of October, with no issues.

In my office I have one system running XP Pro, one system running Vista x64, one system running 7x64, and one system running Ubuntu Linux (whatever was the latest release as of October). My XP Pro system almost never gets touched (it's only for accessing the corporate network here at my workplace), my Vista system gets grudgingly used on a daily basis (my laptop), my 7 system is my editing machine and I use it on a daily basis as well, and love it. My Ubuntu system has sat, dead as a door-nail, for three weeks now because I can't seem to keep it running and I don't know why. From the usability standpoint of an OS, it's not very good, and from a stability standpoint it sucks (at least my install does, and it was put together by a Linux guru who can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it).

So, I would say without hesitation that I would not pay for Adobe apps on a Linux box. And after my experience over the last couple days with Adobe apps on the Mac, I also wouldn't pay for them on OSX, either. No, Windows isn't the answer to the world's problems... (I know what is, but I'd probably get accused of prosyletizing...) but Windows is the best OS for running Adobe apps, and Adobe apps are the best apps for people who do what we do. Of that, I have been convinced through hours of work myself with different NLEs and on different systems, and from reading forums on all the major NLEs and systems.

Wow, it looks like the "switchboard" is lighting up here on this topic.  This is good...healthy open discussion going on here.

Here's an interesting article about a Mac user who decided to switch to Ubuntu Linux, and why:

http://www.salon.com/technology/dan_gillmor/2010/06/20/from_mac_to_linux/

People are getting sick of Microsoft, and now especially of Apple's "walled garden".

"You will likely be ignored if you choose to swear at us; it will  probably also get you banned."

In the words of Sheriff Buford T. Justice from Smokey and the Bandit, "I apologize to all the friendly folk who are listening."  Whoops, there, now I've done it, I've violated copyright law too.  (Not trying to be smart-alec.)

To others' questions, I chose Windows mainly because we could easily download upgrades from our office computers, which our IT department dictates shall be Windows machines.  Also, at the time of our purchase, Ultra was still made by Serious Magic and was available only in Windows format.  I love the fact that it was a low-cost way to get a variety of virtual sets (which is now missing in its integrated form with Premiere CS5, thank you so much Adobe).

Also, when we purchased these systems (3 in all), we had a budget of $16,000 for each system - including the monitors, accessories, and furniture.  I was just able to squeeze in what I thought we needed for a speedy, reliable system.  If we had gone with Mac, we would have gone over budget, because everyone knows, their hardware (even though it's still Intel-based hardware, nothing special or "magical" about it) is more expensive for the same capability.  It's nuts.  I'm sorry, I still think we're all in computing heck (see, I didn't swear!) with both the Windows and Mac strongholds, and Linux needs to become mainstream IMHO.  Thank goodness Canonical is trying to break the chicken-and-egg cycle of Linux.  If/when Linux gains real momentum and market share, then perhaps would you consider further development in that area?  I mean, look at what's happening out there already with Android.  Ubuntu isn't going to be in the closet for long on the desktop.  It's only a matter of time.

As an alternative, what are the prospects for developing cloud-based versions of CS software?  Imagine the asset-sharing capabilities when we get there!  We'll need to have a much bigger, faster, more secure internet than what we already have, though.  Have you considered partnering with Google?  Maybe they can help propel your products to either Linux or the cloud.  Windows needs to die.  (Sorry, is that last statement too aggressive?)  Maybe 7 is better.  My experience is just with 32-bit XP (we county govts. are a bit behind with technology).

Dale

..and:

Disparage Windoze, Windork, and whatever else you want to call it all you want. Nobody here cares. Windows sucks, Mac sucks, that's just the way it is. I'm sorry you have issues with your Windows XP system. That's not Adobe's fault. We've managed to get something like 15 versions of Premiere out the door, and if everyone had the issues you're having, do you think we'd still have a market?

What is this scientific research you're talking about? We ask our users, we ask users of other NLEs, we ask the community as a whole, and we are informed generally by market share. It's too late to ask for space in the Census.

You will likely be ignored if you choose to swear at us; it will probably also get you banned. We are happy to have a rational conversation with you. There are a bunch of geeks here who would engage in a Linux debate with you.

Hey Adobe,

If you're reading this, and you don't believe there's demand for a Linux version, try this just for starters:

http://getsatisfaction.com/adobe/topics/produce_creative_suite_for_linux

Dale

You make very good arguments, especially the chicken-or-the-egg scenario.

If the amount of resources that the porting to OSX of CS3 took is any indication, it will take an entire development cycle to port any single app, much less the suite, to Linux.  If the port to Linux is the only feature of a new release, it is likely that sales of that version will plummet significantly compared to other cycles.  Adobe would have to be willing to eat the costs in hopes of future returns.  That, in turn, might make the shareholders nervous and unhappy.  For a publicly-traded corporation, that situation is a big no-no.

If you can make the business case for porting to Linux in language that investors and shareholders can understand, then maybe it will come to pass.  Until that time, well...you know.

-Jeff