Apple software strategy under fire

By May Wong
Associated Press

A customer test drives an Apple PowerBook G4 at the Apple Store in Schaumburg, Ill. Apple's practice of developing and bundling its own software is alienating some third-party software companies. Bloomberg News Service library photo

Intentionally or not, "Apple is pursuing a strategy that locks out their third-party software vendors," said Avi Greengart, analyst with Jupiter Research.

In the latest instance of an outside developer abandoning the Macintosh platform, Adobe Systems Inc. announced yesterday that the latest overhaul of its flagship video editing program Premiere would no longer work on Macintosh computers. Adobe said the software version will only be compatible with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system.

Adobe's new Encore DVD-creation program, due to ship this summer, will not have a Macintosh version, either. Both programs will be part of a Windows-only software package called Adobe Video Collection.

Apple and Adobe have long shared a customer base of "creative professionals" — Adobe's release last year of Photoshop for the Mac OS X operating system, for instance, helped boost sales for both companies.

But the Cupertino-based computer company has been introducing more and more of its own software in recent years, some of which competes with Adobe's.

"If Apple does it, there's no room for a third-party developer," said David Trescot, senior director of Adobe's digital video group. "Why do it when the (operating system) provider could give it away for free?"

In the video editing arena, Apple offers Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro. Also, in the past three years, it has introduced consumer-friendly digital media applications such as iMovie and iDVD, and included them for free on most Apple computers.

Analysts say companies like Apple that offer the operating system, the hardware and the software have the advantage of making their products work seamlessly together and bundling them so they are free or cheaper than if sold alone.

Outside software vendors have voiced similar complaints about Microsoft in the past, saying Microsoft's access to a vendor's underlying code gave it an inside track on making its own add-on products run more smoothly than others.

Two weeks ago, Microsoft said it would stop making its Internet Explorer Web browser for Macs, citing Apple's recent introduction of its own browser called Safari. The Apple browser, though only in beta testing, has gained attention for its speed and features.

"Apple has access to functionality in the (operating system) that Microsoft doesn't," Jessica Sommers, product manager for the software company's Macintosh Business Unit, said at the time.

"They can do things because they're developing on their own (operating system) that we as a third-party programmer can't do," Sommers said.