Adobe
I accumulate many blog topics but rarely find time to write. I have a number of Adobe-related topics, and I may as well write about all of them in a single blog post.
I have used Adobe software for a long time. I have used it at work, on both Windows and macOS. I have also used it for my own work as well as personal projects, first purchasing boxed disks over many years, and later paying the yearly subscription fees. I dislike Windows, so I used Adobe software on macOS for a long time. After having terrible experiences with expensive Apple hardware failures, however, I purchased a Windows computer in order to run Adobe software. In this blog, I have previously referred to that computer as “my Adobe computer,” mostly complaining because I find Windows to be very painful to use.
The hard drive on that computer failed near the beginning of this year. I did not lose any data, but I had to replace the drive. The computer ran Windows 10, however, which was EOLed in October 2025. The computer hardware is not supported by Windows 11. (FWIW, I have used Windows 11 in virtual machines and find it even more annoying than Windows 10.) Microsoft provides “extended security updates” for Windows 10 since so many people are not upgrading to Windows 11, impossible with many computers, but I decided to not go that route. I terminated my Adobe license and installed Linux. Linux runs much better than Windows on that computer, and I am confident that it still has many years of use ahead.
While I prefer open-source software, I am not against paying for proprietary software that I find useful. If I get a project that requires Adobe software, I will get a new license. I feel that it is too expensive for my current usage, however. One factor is the exchange rate. Adobe sets prices based on US dollars, but Japanese yen is currently weak. Compared to local prices, Adobe software “feels” very expensive. My last bill was over 100,000 JPY, which feels like about 1,000 USD to me.
After my hard drive failed, I had no way to run Adobe software. I have been using various open-source software for my personal projects. This generally involves a fair bit of frustration, since I am accustomed to using Adobe software. Some things that are very easy for me to do in Photoshop or Illustrator can be surprisingly difficult in open-source software that is often recommended as alternatives. For example, many basic tasks are simple in Illustrator because you can move the origin of the coordinate system, to the middle of the artboard, for example. In software such as Inkscape, the same basic tasks are much more difficult. Perhaps I will blog about how to do such tasks in Inkscape sometime.
I think that Illustrator is far superior to software such as Inkscape because it does basics much better. The basics are much more important than the fancy features, in my opinion. That said, Illustrator is far from perfect. I have used 3D CAD and 3D graphics software where the basics are much better than in Illustrator, for example. Illustrator has a lot of room for improvement, and I have often wished that I could “pause time” and develop a graphics application myself.
I must admit that I was pretty intrigued when I heard about the ArtCraft Craft Apps, clean-room reimplementations of software created by Adobe and other companies, developed using LLMs. Perhaps there is no need to pause time? The projects are managed very well, and releases distribute binaries for Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, and WASM!
I tried VectorCraft, the vector illustration software that reimplements Illustrator. I tried it on the same hardware that I used to run Adobe software on, now running Linux. VectorCraft starts much faster, and it runs faster as well. It lacks polish, which is to be expected of alpha software. I tried moving the origin of the coordinate system and found that it was not supported yet. There was a PR implementing it, though, and there has already been a new release that includes that PR.
We shall see how these applications evolve. I have been impressed with LLM output, but I also see poor design and many bad decisions. I have not had time to look at the implementation of the ArtCraft Craft Apps yet, so I do now know how the code looks. Will issues be resolved so that the applications have better and better quality over time? Alternatively, will there be stagnation or even diminishing returns? Most software work is in maintenance, and I will watch this project with interest to see how the quality varies over time.
Some people are questioning the morality of straight up copying the design of existing software. I will write about such topics in a separate blog post. Specific to this software, however, the developer states that Adobe cancellation fees were a motivation for the project. I find that amusing, as I really dislike Adobe subscription payments and cancellation fees. Though I like many Adobe products, I have definitely felt gouged ever since they started subscription pricing.