'font-size:
12.0pt'>

What's new:

Adobe has joined a prominent Linux consortium and is launching efforts to
improve the operating system.

pt;
font-weight:bold'>Bottom line:

Adobe isn't committing to bring its graphics software to Linux, but the
company's more direct involvement reflects the growing significance of the
operating system for desktop computers.

Arial'>In
addition, Adobe seeks a senior computer scientist who will "become
maintainer and/or architect for one or more Adobe-sponsored open-source
projects." Hosting open-source projects has become a rite of passage f=
or
companies--IBM, Sun Microsystems and even Microsoft--hoping to sample and
perhaps take advantage of the collaborative programming philosophy. =

Arial'>Adobe
has joined the href=3D"http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.osdl.org%2F&=
siteId=3D3&oId=3D2102-7344_3-5435397&ontId=3D7343&lop=3Dnl_ex">=
Open
Source Development Labs, the industry consortium that employs Linux fou=
nder
and leader Linus Torvalds. Adobe is active in OSDL's href=3D"http://news.com.com/Linux+powers+throw+weight+behind+desktop+versio=
n/2100-7344_3-5106119.html?tag=3Dnl"
title=3D"Linux powers throw weight behind desktop version -- Tuesday, Nov 1=
1, 2003">desktop
Linux working group, according to a source familiar with Adobe's effort=
s.

Arial'>The
San Jose, Calif., company confirmed its OSDL membership but wouldn't commen=
t on
most of its Linux desktop software plans. However, Pam Deziel, an Adobe
director of product marketing, did say the company doesn't think there are =
enough
customers today to justify selling Linux versions of its flagship Photoshop=
or
Illustrator graphics programs.

Arial'>"From
a technical maturity perspective, the (Linux) platform is robust," Dez=
iel
said. "From a business perspective, the platform has probably not achi=
eved
a scale that is aligned with most of Adobe's markets." <=
/p>

Arial'>Although
Linux has caught on for some workstation applications such as programming o=
r
processor design, Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg doesn't see Linux as a
good idea for graphics software sellers today.

Arial'>"I
would see it being very difficult to sell those applications. At the low-en=
d
side, there are simply too many free apps with similar functionality, and a=
t
the high-end side, the market is very small," Gartenberg said.
"People willing to pay $500 to $800 for an application usually have no
problem running Mac OS or Windows."

Arial'>In
one more limited area, Deziel said, customers are interested, though: an
updated Linux version of Acrobat Reader, which is used to view Portable
Document Format (PDF) files. "We would like the version of the Linux
reader to be updated from 5.0, and we're working on that," she said. A=
dobe
offers version 6.0.1 for Windows users today.

ly:Arial;
font-weight:bold'>Linux rising>style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>

There is growing activity in the desktop Linux market. Hewlett-Packard, the=
No.
2 PC seller, shipped about 200,000 PCs loaded with Linux in its most recent
quarter, a rate that's double what it sold a year earlier, said Jeffrey Wad=
e,
HP's manager of worldwide Linux marketing.

Arial'>"The
success on the server side has been so great that these customers are looki=
ng
for opportunities on the desktop as well," Wade said. HP predicts that
desktop Linux will outship Mac OS in 2004, though it won't come anywhere ne=
ar
Window's market share of more than 90 percent, he added.

Arial'>Red
Hat, the top seller of Linux, has chiefly focused on selling the operating
system for use on powerful networked computers called servers. However, wit=
h
growing interest in alternatives to Windows for PCs, the company this year =
href=3D"http://news.com.com/Red+Hat+aims+desktop+Linux+at+Microsoft/2100-73=
44_3-5205117.html?tag=3Dnl"
title=3D"Red Hat aims desktop Linux at Microsoft -- Tuesday, May 4, 2004">l=
aunched
Red Hat Desktop.

Arial'>No.
2 Linux seller Novell views desktop versions of its href=3D"http://news.com.com/Novell+offers+legal+protection+for+Linux/2100-7=
344_3-5139632.html?tag=3Dnl"
title=3D"Novell offers legal protection for Linux -- Tuesday, Jan 13, 2004"=
>SuSE
Linux software as a means of gaining an edge over Red Hat. This month, =
the
company is expected to begin selling href=3D"http://news.com.com/Novell+to+release+enhanced+Linux+in+fall/2100-7=
344_3-5300555.html?tag=3Dnl"
title=3D"Novell to release enhanced Linux in fall -- Friday, Aug 6, 2004">S=
undance,
a version that merges SuSE Linux features with software from href=3D"http://news.com.com/Novell+snaps+up+Linux+company+Ximian/2100-1016_=
3-5059400.html?tag=3Dnl"
title=3D"Novell snaps up Linux company Ximian -- Monday, Aug 4, 2003">Ximia=
n,
another Linux software company the Waltham, Mass., company acquired. >

Arial'>And
buying trends are changing. Previously, most desktop Linux interest was in
Asia, but new growth is cropping up in the West. About 35 percent of HP's
desktop Linux shipments go to Europe and 15 percent to North America, Wade
said.

Arial'>Dell,
the top PC seller, is less eager about the desktop Linux market. Among Dell
customers, interest on desktop Linux is "very limited, but we are gett=
ing
some questions on that," said Steve Felice, vice president of Dell
America's corporate business group.

Arial'>But
there are barriers to people interested in making the switch: Software,
training and support are expensive, Felice said. "For companies with t=
ens
of thousands of employees, migrating them all is a costly exercise," h=
e
said.

Arial'>Adobe
has products that run on servers, such as its LiveCycle document management
applications that are available for Linux. But Adobe is noting the fact tha=
t
the operating system is spreading more broadly to smart phones and other
devices.

Arial'>"Linux
is an interesting and emerging platform in a number of form factors, from
servers to mobile devices," Deziel said.

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