Adobe Photoshop 6.0 [OLD VERSION]

If you are a pro, you need Photoshop.

But the Photoshop user base is changing. The Web has boosted the demand for bitmap graphics, and created a new breed of multimedia developers who use a huge range of tools for content creation and publication. And the rise of digital cameras and scanners has opened bitmap editing to consumers.

So Photoshop is changing from its traditional position as part of Adobe's imaging solution, a tool to be used alongside Illustrator and Web-aware tools like ImageReady and ImageStyler. Now it's eating features from the rest of Adobe's imaging line.

* Photoshop eats Illustrator: Photoshop 6.0 has sprouted serious text-editing tools. They end the old routine of importing Illustrator text to Photoshop. Decent control of letter spacing and justification appears for the first time. And Photoshop text is now editable on the page, a mere six years of so after the under-rated and now sadly wasted Corel Photo-Paint first performed this trick.

* Photoshop eats ImageReady. The new ImageReady 3.0 is bundled with Photoshop 6.0, just as its predecessor was biundled with Photoshop 5.5. And Web tasks such as JavaScript rollovers and animations still require you to jump to ImageReady, an inconvenient process. But ImageReady 2.0's simple shape-creation tools have made it to Photoshop this time around. ImageReady's on track to disappear completely into Photoshop at about Photoshop 7.0.

* Photoshop eats ImageStyler. ImageStyler 1.0's slightly gimmicky but sometimes useful "styles" appear in Photoshop 6.0 too, letting you create buttons and, um, more buttons. There's little chance of a separate ImageStyler 2.0.

So Photoshop now does most of what a Web developer would want it to do. It has garnered mostly laudatory reviews, both for its continuing power and for implementing features that other programs already had. But there are prices to be paid. There's the money: at these prices, Adobe gives the Mastercard a beating it won't soon forget. There's the speed; version 6.0 runs slower than any before it. And there's the famous Photoshop learning curve, which is becoming a problem as Adobe aims Photoshop at that wider audience.

The loyalists won't acknowledge it, but Adobe has an interface problem. The program works like Unix, letting power users into an exclusive club while alienating everyone else. It has added a new context-sensitive toolbar to version 6.0. Yet it still buries powerful features and eschews basic interface devices like a Save button in favour of memorable keyboard combinations like Control-Alt-Shift-S (that's the command for saving a Web-ready graphic, so Web developers should keep their fingers flexible). The new shape-creation tools have aspects that are obscure even by Adobe's standards. So an increasing number of mid-level Photoshop users - especially Web development shops and individual users - are paying for power they can't access. They've bought a BMW, but they can't get it out of second gear.

This interface problem, though, seems unlikely to end Photoshop's dominance. The program's new audience is following the high-end professionals' lead. They want industry-standard tools. And amongst bitmap graphics professionals, Photoshop remains the industry standard.

If you do Web development, own fast hardware and you're currently with version 5.0 or earlier - or if you create substantial amounts of bitmap text or simple button-like shapes - Photoshop 6.0 is an important upgrade. And if you're entering serious bitmap graphics, it's the one tool to have. As long as you can afford it, and as long as you're prepared for its sometimes unnecessary difficulties.

How wrong I was!!! In the first place, when I upgraded to Windows ME, I was surprised to find that Photoshop 5.0 didn't work and support couldn't help me at all. Their only suggestion was to upgrade to 6.0, which definitely had ME support. Wait, so spending $500 means that I can't upgrade my operating system without paying $200 for an upgrade? No patches?

I'm not a real fan of Paint Shop Pro or Gimp (both have deficiencies and usability problems), but they offer comparable features at a fraction of the cost. Plus, you're more protected in the event of OS upgrade or Adobe's failure to deliver free patches. Unless you think only 2 years of productivity is worth $600, your interests might be better served by buying a cheaper product and learning it inside out and out.

Also, I want to comment on the speed complaints. I am running a P3 700 with 320mb of ram and the upgrade is faster than 5.5. Don't believe the requirements on the box. To get maximum speed out of Photoshop you need at least 256mb of ram and more if you work on large images. RAM is dirt cheap as of this writing,... a 128mb dimm. RAM is the most overlooked speed bottleneck in computers. Go for the RAM...it will increase system and stability more than just adding a faster processor.

One main intent here is aimed at the home imaging crowd. Adobe Photoshop is a "household name" in photo imaging software, and for that reason, people run out and buy Photoshop to take home and "have fun" with their pictures. Unless you have a considerable amount of disposable income, a lot of time on your hands for learning purposes, and do a lot of image editing and web work, this probably isn't the program for you. I know a few people that bought Photoshop because they always heard "Adobe Photoshop is the best", and though it very well may be the best, these people were heartsick when their frustration level peaked and the buyers remorse set in. And once it's opened, you know as well as I do that you probably can't return it. This is a program with a Jekyll-Hyde personality and one that can promote a love/hate relationship. I don't think it's a fair statement to say that "nothing compares with Photoshop". There really isn't any other image editing program out there that costs $..., so comparing is a bit difficult. Photoshop truly does stand alone. So for you weekend editors, get a fuctional program that allows you to do what you want and need to do and has a straightforward user interface that won't take an eon to learn to use. Use the extra money for a better digital camera or a vacation to take more pictures. At least if I decide I really don't want to use Photoshop 6.0 as much as I should to make it worth the investment, I can write it off my taxes....can you?