Comments on: So long, and thanks for all the pixels

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:53:53 +0000

Just wondering if the corrections would have been noticed had there not been the watchful eye of people like John and Jeff and others (*grin*) to point these things out to those who “just got busy”…

By: Mary Jo Foley

Mary Jo Foley — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:28:40 +0000

Hi, again, John.
I didn’t say Hamburg was “bailing on Lightroom) to go compete with Lightroom.
[You wrote, "Microsoft’s competitor to Adobe Lightroom gets another champion... My bet is Hamburg will be instrumental in helping Microsoft bring to market its Photoshop Lightroom competitor." Were you not saying that Mark is leaving the Lightroom team in order to go compete with Lightroom? --J.]
I am not quite sure why the pro-Adobe folks took my post as a slam against Photoshop or Lightroom.
[I didn't take it as a slam. I took it as baseless speculation. --J.]
If I intend to slam something, I try to make that point as unambiguously as possible.
Thanks. mjf
Thanks. mjf

By: Mary Jo Foley

Mary Jo Foley — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:11:18 +0000

Thanks for the proofreading corrections, John. I have fixed them now. [Thanks, Mary Jo. --J.] Just in case you didn't know, SmartFlow (yes, that has a cap F in the middle, from what I've heard) is also a David Vaskevitch project. So Hamburg is working for/with the guy doing the competitor to LightRoom, as well as research into new UI efforts. Mary Jo [I have no knowledge of unannounced Microsoft imaging products. All I know is that Mark said he wanted a change, and that if he'd wanted to keep working on digital imaging he would have stayed at Adobe (as he did in 2002 when he wanted a change after 11 years on Photoshop). Let's be clear, then, that the suggestion that Mark is bailing on Lightroom (still no capital R) in order to go compete with Lightroom is entirely inaccurate. --J.]

By: yet another steve

yet another steve — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:38:50 +0000

I actually worked with Mark in his job before Adobe (on a once famous Mac word processor). Mark was not only a real talent, but he was the kind of talent that actually makes things work. I absolutely believe what he says, and I hope the MS isn’t so dysfunctional as to not let him make an impact.
[Selfishly I hope they are, so that he comes back. We have a Seattle office, after all. ;-) --J.]
As I’m not an artist or a photoshop user, so I’m just learning how well known and respected he is. Makes me happy to see a great talent get his kudos.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:13:53 +0000

Of course Mary Jo Foley is a Microsoft astroturfer of the first order. I doubt it was laziness that caused the article to be so primed for ridicule.
This kind of tech “yellow ” journalism fits right in with the likes of John Dvorak, Rob Enderle and Paul Thurrott. They say outrageous things to draw hits to their web pages, not to mention boost their principle patron–Microsoft.
I was taught in my first day of journalism school at Mizzou, “Your mother says she loves you? Check it out!”

By: Greg Wostrel

Greg Wostrel — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:06:03 +0000

I should have added: I love Lightroom. Started with the beta program and am sticking with it. Great job, Mark. I deeply appreciate you, and your team, looking at the problem from a new perspective and coming up with a unique solution. Bravo.

By: Greg Wostrel

Greg Wostrel — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:02:54 +0000

I would say that MS can sorely use the help. A little bit more of Mac UX DNA injected there can only be good in the long run. But, (OT for the original post) speaking of Photoshop…maybe you, John, might have some secret info about this: I have CS3 Design Premium installed. At some point, Bridge stopped launching. I re-installed CS3 – still no go. It works in a different User account, but not mine. Obviously a complete re-install of my system will work, but that isn’t really a “fix.” Any wisdom? This is a very annoying problem.
Thanks!

By: Steve Laskevitch

Steve Laskevitch — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:08:17 +0000

If Mark’s coming to Seattle, the winter will be adequate punishment for his “defection”. But to be fair, we’ll put out a warm, if damp, welcome.

By: Charles

Charles — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:49:29 +0000

Could MS finally be realising the importance of a brilliantly designed UI/Ux? Vista, while ok-ish in terms of looks, is a complete mess in terms of overall Ux. If I were in charge of Windows, I’d certainly be in the market for the best of the best when it comes to Ux, and Mark Hamburg fits that bill nicely. It bodes well for “Vista 2″ if that is indeed where he’s headed.

By: Scott Valentine

Scott Valentine — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:30:51 +0000

I saw this on Jeff's site first, and am glad for Mark, though I don't think M$ actually deserves him. On the other hand, maybe this is the dawning of a new age for M$ - let's hope they put him to good use (and LISTEN to Mark). Perhaps they will actually combine function and user experience in a good way! As for ZDNet... :| I have to wonder why, after Martin and Jeff both pointed out the errors (and Martin politely failing to mention his name), there is no offer of correction yet? No retraction, apology, nuttin'. Does having a blog mean never having to say you're sorry? [Not in my book. --J.]

By: Jim Monaco

Jim Monaco — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:13:36 +0000

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1370 It looks like she's got the real scoop this time--I guess journalism is like weather forecasting. I've got to get into that business :D -Jim

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:27:02 +0000

John,
Thanks for thee honest post
Ken

By: Ixian

Ixian — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:59:09 +0000

At the bottom of her post in the subscribe to RSS section, “Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 20 years.” I expect much better work from someone with 20+ years of experience. Then again I’ve also seen enough junk reporting on ZD Net to realize I shouldn’t expect anything more from them.

By: shangara singh

shangara singh — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:39:51 +0000

I’ve only just started to “discover” Lightroom. I played with the v1.0 beta and then the demo and didn’t think much of it. This time, I had to learn it and have taken to it in a big way. Great work, Mr Hamburg. Good luck with your new venture.

By: Niklas

Niklas — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:21:48 +0000

John, true. I meant to say “inconsistent product names in regard to how Photoshop, Lightroom et. al. are capitalized”, here’s hoping you got the semantics despite lacking syntax.
And yes, I haven’t much to say for what they choose to call “journalism”. I have seen threads on 4chan with more journalistic integrity than some ZDNet articles.