...Microsoft, they're a $40bn software company that has a monopoly and unfortunately we do butt heads. What we try to do is to stay focused on what we do well.
As you prepare for your September planning meeting, does Google figure into your thinking as a possible rival down the road?
Google is interesting. They are a potential competitor. They compete a little bit in the visual photo area, but the reality is where they're focused is much different than where we're focused. We're not focused on the lower end consumer, but they certainly have the resources and their business model is such that they don't have to charge the user for applications.
Fortunately for Adobe, because our users have content and their need to manipulate that content and enhance that content is so great, they need client applications to do that. I also like to think that as broadband does become faster and faster and faster, Adobe will be able to provide those host-based applications in a much better way toward our customers than what Google is able to do. I think Google will be successful for the nonprofessional or the nonenthusiast that aspires to use the same tools as the professional, but as long as we do our job, I think we'll continue to be successful against Google. Today, we don't compete.
Will eBooks ever break out of its niche?
Yes.
In our lifetime?
Absolutely. I've always said the problem was the value proposition of the book versus what was being delivered electronically. What's been limiting has been the devices... knowing the hardware manufacturers, I would be willing to bet that two or three years from now, you will have a dynamite eBook device for $199 or less.
Let's talk about Apple. What is the early word about moving Mac apps over to work on Intel-based systems? Not so easy?
No, it's not... If you look at most testing cycles, that's three or four months until the product's out. You can't just turn a switch and get an [Intel-based Mac] product... and Steve [Jobs] knows that.
So when do you think Adobe will be ready to take Photoshop to the Intel Mac?
I haven't given a date yet... there's just a lot of work to do.
What's your opinion of where Microsoft is with Vista? It isn't quite there yet.
What do they still need to do? It's just not complete. I can't get into the features per se. Conceptually it's there, but when you play around with it, you know they just have a lot of work to do. If they expect to get it out in 2006, it means they have to ship in the summer to meet [manufacturers'] requirements. There is not that much time between now and then. So, it's going to be really interesting to see what they deliver at the Professional Developers Conference in September.
If you look across the venture capital community, are you still seeing much interest in terms of the real heavy-duty software investment? Or is it pretty much over?
Not in the traditional sense. I still see investments going into security, and I see some investment in low-end apps. I think Salesforce.com has proven to a lot of people that you don't need a $10m solution to satisfy a simple problem. It's a much different world than it was five years ago. It's also harder to compete. It's not just about the product any longer. The big guys have gotten bigger and R&D budgets are big. It's just a tough market.
