Adobe and Macromedia merger

In a recent press release Adobe has announced the
final steps towards a merger with Macromedia in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately
$3.4 billion. In spite of my cynicism towards two massive corporations
combining to form one commanding the most powerful physical and web authoring
programs, it does seem like an idea that could benefit consumers. Macromedia
have for recent times pioneered the benchmark software Flash, which has quickly
become the internet standard for web site design and animation. Couple that
with Adobe’s publishing tools Photoshop and PDF format eDocuments and an
integrated solution seems much more appealing. That said, dedicated Adobe and
Macromedia users might have to consider that there will be some ‘slimming’ of
the product portfolios: possible losses might be Macromedia Freehand or Adobe
Illustrator which perform very similar tasks There is also the web authoring
software Adobe GoLive or Macromedia Dreamweaver, although there has been no
indication of what the firms are planning for these similar products. The transaction
is expected to close sometime in the autumn.