Adobe

Adobe is very likely one of the most popular software makers in the world today, at least when it comes to graphics and photo editing. However, they offer far more than just their premier program Photoshop - which has become as much a verb as a noun in recent years. Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American multinational located in San Jose, CA. They have been around since 1982 when founders John Warnock and Charles Geschke left Xerox PARC to develop the PostScript language. After the development of PostScript, which they eventually licensed to Apple, they started to get into the field that most people know them for today - graphics and photos.

The History of Adobe

The first product they developed after PostScript was a specialized font format called Type 1 and later Adobe Type Manager. Type 1 turned out to be quite popular with the graphics field and in publishing, but times changed and TrueType, a competitor from Apple and licensed to Microsoft, eventually won out.

It was in the mid 1980s that the company really started to embrace the graphics field and this was when they created the very popular Adobe Illustrator. The vector program was, at the time, specifically for the Apple Macintosh. Apple had their own program that worked for graphics at the time, called MacDraw. However, Illustrator was the better of the two products, as it allowed for better and more precise drawings. This program proved extremely popular with the graphics community, and just a few years later, in 1989, they would launch the program that would make them - or at least their product - a household name.

1989 brought about the development of a graphics editing program called Photoshop, and it was not long before it became the dominant program in the field. Over the years, they have built onto the features and options of this and all of their products, making them extremely powerful and versatile. The programs are no longer Mac only either. PCs are just as capable of running and using the software.

1993 saw yet another innovation in the world of computers. Adobe create the Portable Document Format, more commonly known as a PDF. It was a common medium, a way that all computers would be able to view electronic documents, and it was another innovation that helped to change the industry.

Adobe has always been a company that has innovated and brought about new and better technologies in a variety of different areas. They created Premiere, a video editing software, which they started calling Adobe Premiere Pro in 2003 when they rebranded. Over the years, they've also bought other companies and their technologies. They added Adobe PageMaker, Adobe After Effects, FrameMaker, and more.

In one of their biggest purchases, they bought one of their biggest competitors, Macromedia. When they bought the company in 2005, it added a number of new products to their line including Flex, ColdFusion, Dreamweaver, and the very popular software called Flash.

The Controversies

Adobe has always had a good reputation as a company where people enjoyed working, and they have always appreciated creativity. In fact, the entire company seems built on the foundation of creativity. However, they have had some issues and criticisms over the years.

One of the issues they've had has been with the pricing of their products. While they are certainly costly in the United States, the cost for buyers out of country was far higher. In addition, in 2013, they had a security breach at their company. Source code from the company was stolen and placed online. In addition, records of 150 million customers were made available online, as well.

Adobe Was Early to the Cloud

One of the interesting things about the company is that they were one of the early adopters of cloud technology. They are currently offering their products online and through the cloud through their Adobe Creative Cloud. Some customers prefer this option, as it gives them more ways to access the software.

Most people, even though they might not all know the name Adobe, certainly know the word Photoshop, and that's a testament to the power of the software, its widespread use, and their branding power.

Resource: https://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/history/