Photoshop CS4 to Favor Vista for 64-Bit

Shakil published 06 Apr 2008, 15:50 in main - 323 views

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For graphic design professionals it's that time again. Adobe is readying a new version of its Creative Suite, the software bundle that includes Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and other applications for print and Web design. Only this time there's a twist: The new version of Photoshop will support 64-bit memory addressing for the first time -- but only if you're running Windows.

Simply put, more bits means you can access more memory, which means you can work with bigger files. By taking advantage of 64-bit CPUs, Adobe is making it possible for designers and photo manipulators to work with really, really big images at high resolutions. Think posters, advertising displays, or even billboards.

It won't be the first time that Mac-based graphic designers have looked to Adobe with unease. Illustrator 7, released in 1997, was the first version of Adobe's drawing software that offered the same feature set on both Mac OS and Windows. Given Apple's troubles at the time -- Gil Amelio was still CEO, and Apple had wasted untold millions on repeated, failed attempts to reinvent its aging OS -- many in the graphic arts community wondered openly whether the PC port of Illustrator 7 signaled a wholesale move to Windows as Adobe's platform of choice.

It didn't, of course, and in hindsight the idea sounds a little crazy. Designers like their Macs, period. Adobe would be nuts to shoot itself in the foot by abandoning the platform, no matter how fragile Apple's market position appeared to be.