Adobe trimming Expo budget, 600 jobs [updated]

CS4 is pretty average not worth the upgrade for most users.

There must be more to it than meets the eye. I'm not even sure what Adobe will save by backing out @ this point? Let's think about it: we are 30 days away from the show. A Fortune 500 company doesn't wait til the last minute to prepare booth materials. Most everything would have been prepared and ordered by now. So the booth materials, construction, graphics and prep work are sunk costs already. The only money they can save is the cost of renting the booth space which is not even $100K (I'm not sure how they would back out of their contract but let's say that Macworld gives them special privileges). Since Adobe is local, they don't have any travel costs. Nor do they have any hotel costs. Unless they have no one left in marketing, they shouldn't have any extra employee costs either. What does it say about Adobe's finances when they can't afford to spend $100K to exhibit @ Macworld? Business must be really down if they have to resort to such cost cutting measures...

I have purchased Adobe products for so many years. Clear back to their beginning. I have been very frustrated with their upgrade costs. Also, several times in the past they have dropped support on their product far too early in it's life cycle. Recently, I was going to upgrade and found I had waited too long. I then downloaded Pixelmator and found it did what I was needing. I gave it a very hard test. Multiple large files open many other large programs open at the same time. I performed doxens of undos and redos. Applied filter after filter and then undo each. It did not break and no wierd things left over. I have been saying for years Adobe was in trouble. Now others are agreeing with me.

This is how recessions and depressions work.

Spending goes down.
Jobs get cut.
Spending goes down more.
More jobs get cut.

ad nauseum.

Now you all feel bad for pirating CS3 and CS4?

:)

They could always lower thier prices and make the suite not feel like a windows port. It might stimulate sales. Just an idea.

"considering laying off a significant fraction"

I love that. I know we all understand what's being said is phrased in a nice, politically correct way, but that sentence could also mean, "A sufficiently great tiny amount."

That's like the time I read on CNN, "Scientists have discovered the first concrete evidence that there might be life on other planets." ;-)

What is happening to the traditional MacWorld hype from Apple? I expected to hear/read some notice by e/m or mailed form this year, and now I have missed any "early bird" deadline (12.01.08).
Aside from Adobe, how many other exhibitors have changed plans? Enquiring minds need to know...

I'm guessing that Adobe figures they're preaching to the converted at Macworld, so in really tight economic times, why bother spending a bundle on people you already have in your pocket? I don't think anyone's going to think, Hey, I'm not going to upgrade to CS4 because Adobe didn't show up at Macworld.

Once the dust settles, Apple should buy them. They have plenty of cash.