Oscar Trelles

Adobe to acquire Macromedia

I’m still trying to make my mind: is this good or is it bad? As everything in life, nothing is completely black or white, and the merger of Adobe and Macromedia is no exception. There are always trade-offs. For example, the concretion of this merger would mean that Flash and everything Flash-related would have the support of a bigger institution, however I wonder how will that affect Macromedia’s company culture and relationship with their developers.

Marketing wise, Adobe feels to me like a dinosaur whereas Macromedia has a more fresh and innovative attitude. I don’t know about you, but the only Adobe product I use on a regular basis is Photoshop, and then a little Illustrator every now and then, ever since Macromedia left Freehand to die of boredom. In the other hand though, Adobe’s print products are second to none and their video products have an important market share too; it almost seems like they where preparing for the merge since while ago, ever since Adobe realized their web products were inferior.

There are lots of questions we probably won’t get answers to any time soon. All we can do for the moment is speculate and hope for the best. One thing is for sure though: the world is not gonna change because of this merger.

But, what about the name? Adobe Flash MX 2006 anybody?

More reading
Macromedia’s Press Room: Adobe to acquire Macromedia
About Adobe: Adobe and Macromedia