Adobe cofounders Dr. John E. Warnock (left) and Dr. Charles M. Geschke (right).

To celebrate their 25th “Silver” anniversary, Adobe has launched a mini-web site that looks back over the last 25 years. The site includes an Interactive timeline and a 25th Anniversary Newsletter.

See About Adobe/History

Strong Adoption of Creative Suite, Acrobat and Enterprise Solutions Drives 23 Percent Annual Revenue Growth

Press Release: SAN JOSE, Calif. — Dec. 17, 2007 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2007.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, Adobe achieved record revenue of $911.2 million, compared to $682.2 million reported for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 and $851.7 million reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2007. This represents 34 percent year-over-year revenue growth. Adobe’s fourth quarter revenue target range was $860 to $890 million.

Adobe is celebrating its 25th year in existence. Started in December of 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, Adobe has grown to become a $2.5 billion-a-year-company. Not bad for a couple of refugees from the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center–the same place Steve Jobs went to visit to “discover” the GUI and the computer mouse.

From the book Inside the Publishing Revolution: “We were prototypical scientists in that we wanted to have an impact. We weren’t in it for financial gain” –Chuck Geschke
In 1985 it was Apple that licensed PostScript and helped Adobe form the backbone of the desktop publishing revolution. In the middle 1980s Adobe broadened their horizon by entering into the professional design software market by releasing Adobe Illustrator. Announced in 1989 and shipping in February 1990, Adobe took a leadership position in digital imaging with the release of Adobe Photoshop.

Also from Inside the Publishing Revolution: “When we all saw that first sheet of paper come out of the LaserWriter, we knew we were going to hit it out of the park.” –Steve Jobs
In 1993 Adobe created the PDF file format and offered Acrobat Reader in June of 1993 for the Mac and later for DOS and Windows.

Extending its leadership role, Adobe acquired Aldus in 1994 primarily to get PageMaker and eventually After Effects was released. About a decade later Adobe acquired Macromedia and all of that company’s technologies which, with the release of Creative Suite 3, further broaden Adobe’s software and technology portfolio.

Also from Inside the Publishing Revolution: “If anyone had told me 20 years ago that we would have a fundamental impact on the publishing industry, I wouldn’t have believed them.” –John Warnock

To get a better inside look at the first 20 years of Adobe, check out Inside the Publishing Revolution: The Adobe Story written by Pamela Pfiffner. Available on Amazon.

Chizen will be a tough act to follow. Can Narayen, with an ambitious plan to remake how we gain access to the Web, fit the bill?

Source: BusinessWeek
Written by Sarah Lacy

A little more than a year ago an exhausted Bruce Chizen was just landing in Barcelona. He’d been on a plane all night and, despite the rigorous travel schedule associated with being chief executive officer of Adobe Systems (ADBE), he’d never gotten very good at sleeping on planes. As the plane taxied to the gate, a groggy Chizen checked his Treo and was jolted by bad news. The son of Adobe India’s CEO had been kidnapped. “This is hell,” he thought to himself.

Source: USA Today

Narayen takes over as Adobe, best known for Photoshop photo software and Acrobat and PDF digital document tools, is shifting many of its wares from boxed software to online services.

Interactive Design Drives Expanded Award Categories

Press Release: SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nov. 13, 2007 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the call for entries for the eighth annual Adobe® Design Achievement Awards (ADAA). The awards honor talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, developers and computer artists from the world’s top institutions of higher education.

Adobe Systems CEO Bruce Chizen found the right moment to leave.

Source: CNET
Written by Martin LaMonica

The company continues to rack up double-digit earnings growth as it rides a very successful introduction this year of its media-authoring package, Creative Suite 3. Looking forward, the picture looks good as well, financially and strategically.

Company Expects Q4 Fiscal 2007 Revenue Near High End of Targeted Range; Targets 13 Percent Revenue Growth in Fiscal 2008

Press Release: SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE – News) today announced its Board of Directors has appointed current president and chief operating officer Shantanu Narayen as its president and chief executive officer, effective December 1, 2007.

Narayen will also join Adobe’s Board of Directors at that time. Narayen replaces Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen, who will serve the remainder of his term on Adobe’s Board of Directors through the Spring of 2008 and continue in a strategic advisory capacity through the end of fiscal year 2008.

Bruce Chizen at the Creative Suit 3 launch in New York City on March 27th, 2007. Photo ©2007 by Seth Resnick

Source: Forbes
Written by Rachel Rosmarin

LOS ANGELES – Folk wisdom says to quit when you’re ahead. Bruce Chizen seems to be listening.

On Monday, Chizen said he will step down as chief executive of Adobe Systems (nasdaq: ADBE – news – people ) on Dec. 1, to be replaced by the company’s president and chief operating officer, Shantanu Narayen.

Source: CNET
Written by Stephen Shankland

MONTEREY, Calif.–Adobe Systems has committed to shipping a beta version of its online image-editing tool, Photoshop Express, this year, and said it will be complete in 2008.

Source: Investor’s Business Daily delivered by Newstex

Adobe Systems wants to blur the line between Web and PC applications with a new computing platform that aims to change the way digital information is presented — and perhaps give Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows some future competition.

Adobe has posted a PDF outlining Adobe application compatibility for Creative Suite 3 apps as well as a host of other Adobe applications. The six page, 120KB PDF can be downloaded here.

First weekend reports around the net indicate most Adobe apps such as Photoshop CS3 and Bridge are working with no significant issues. Issues have been reported for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom version 1.2 which will be addressed in an upcoming update.

Also due for compatibility updates are Premiere Pro CS3 and Soundbooth CS3. Earlier versions such as Creative Suite 2 and former Macromedia apps are listed as being “Not Designed for OS X Leopard” and users are warned that these versions are “likely to encounter issues for which there is no resolution”.

Apple only made the final GM shipping versions of Leopard available to ADC members late last week so all sorts of software developers are scrambling to double check Leopard compatibilities this week.

Source: CNET
Written by Martin LaMonica

People are taking a serious shine to Adobe Systems’ Creative Suite 3.

Creative professionals are buying the most recent version of Adobe’s flagship product, released in April, much faster than the previous suite, according to retail data compiled by NPD Group.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA’s Web site received a significant multimedia award this week when Adobe Systems Inc., of San Jose, Calif., honored the interactive International Space Station Reference Guide with a 2007 Max Award.

According to Adobe first year operation results Russia has been called one of the most priority countries. By QIII FY 2007Adobe sales in Russia grew by 260%. The company’s local Representation Office has got its development plan.

Source: cnews (Russian IT Review)

The company Adobe has announced its results of being present in the Russian market for a year. Adobe most demanded product is currently Creative Suite 3, then goes Adobe Photoshop and Acrobat. Pavel Cherkashin, Head of the company’s Representation Office in Russia, states product packages are in greater demand than separate programs.

Dave Story shows off a multi-lens array.
(Credit: Audioblog.fr)

Source: CNET
Written by Stephen Shankland

Today, if you want to trim all the distracting background out of a picture–say, the crowd behind your daughter playing soccer–you have to do a lot of artful selection with high-powered software such as Photoshop. But what if your computer understood the depth of the image, just as you did when you took the picture, and could be told to just erase everything that’s a certain distance behind your kid?

Source: eWeek’s Microsoft Watch
Written by Joe Wilcox

Once close partners, Adobe and Microsoft increasingly vie for the same enterprise customers. A colossal collision is inevitable.

Source: CNET
Written by Martin LaMonica

CHICAGO–Adobe Systems detailed a number of technology projects and products at its Max 2007 developer conference on Monday and gave glimpse of how it intends to make more money from online services.

The newest issue of Adobe Magazine has been released and is available for download from the magazine web site at www.adobemagazine.com

Vendor expanding software-as-a-service offerings via acquisition, new online app

Source: ComputerWorld
Written by Elizabeth Montalbano and Eric Lai

October 01, 2007 (IDG News Service) — At its Adobe MAX 2007 North America conference in Chicago this week, Adobe Systems Inc. will expand on its strategy of helping developers create desktop and Web applications that provide similar user experiences.

Source: Newsweek via MSNBC.com

Oct. 1, 2007 issue – When you think of software-application giants, you think Microsoft. For Web giants, it’s Google or Amazon. But aside from so-called creative professionals, not many folks think of Adobe.

Adobe’s Creative Suite 3 programs are not fully tested with ‘Leopard’.

Source: PCWorld via Reuters
Written by Jim Finkle

BOSTON (Reuters) – Adobe Systems Inc’s Photoshop, Illustrator and other Creative Suite 3 programs have not been fully tested with the latest version of Apple Inc’s operating system due out next month, which could lead to incompatibility issues.

On Adobe’s anniversary, execs consider accomplishments, choices, and opportunities.

Source: PCWorld
Written by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld

Adobe is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007. Adobe executives took some time to reflect on its accomplishments, its relationship with Apple and what lies ahead for a company that has done so much in the industry.

Source: Business Wire via Yahoo Finance

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE – News) today reported financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2007 ended August 31, 2007. Adobe achieved record revenue of $851.7 million, compared to $602.2 million reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 and $745.6 million reported in the second quarter of fiscal 2007. This represents 41 percent year-over-year revenue growth. Adobe’s third quarter revenue target range was $760 to $800 million.

Press Release: DALLAS and SAN JOSE, Calif. — June 6, 2007 — FedEx Kinko’s, an operating company of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), and Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE) today announced their collaboration to extend the reach of FedEx Kinko’s Print Online application to users of Adobe® Reader® and Adobe Acrobat® software.

Both of the popular Adobe software applications will feature a connection to FedEx Kinko’s Print Online functionality, which provides a fast, convenient way for sending documents for print production to any FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Center in the United States.