“Warnock believes the days of proprietary solutions are
numbered.”
“John Warnock, CEO of Adobe Systems Inc., granted a rare
one-to-one interview with ZDNet UK Editor Richard Barry. He speaks
frankly about Quark Inc.’s failed takeover bid; his plans to launch
a portal Web site; open source; and just like the celebrity guest,
he has two new product launches to plug — InDesign and a new
version of Photoshop.”
“‘I think organizations like Quark, who are fiercely
proprietary, will suffer at the hands of those who use open
standards and invite help from the open source community.”
“‘Would we put up the source code for Photoshop?’ Warnock said.
‘Not in a million years. … Well, maybe sometime in the future.
But something like that is so horrendously complex, it is just not
feasible — the build mechanics are just too horrendous. But sure,
if we needed help and the open-source community could provide it,
absolutely.'”
“Instead of viewing the open-source phenomenon as an irritation
or a threat, Warnock said he sees it more as a comrade to be called
upon when extra heads are needed to make a product work.”
“‘If it works, you’ve done good,’ said Warnock. He recently
intercepted a move to upgrade Adobe’s network to Windows NT in
favor of Linux, which he describes as ‘a perfectly viable
alternative to NT — almost. “
“‘I want to pay for an operating system from a vendor with a
contractual relationship that gives me recourse if things go
wrong,’ Warnock said. ‘Some people who have this utopian view that
everything should be free don’t understand the necessity for
governments or corporations. … To embrace open source, they have
to have the economic foundation to do that. They need to improve
their understanding of basic economics.'”