Quick, what do you call software that is written by the lowest bidder? If you answered Adobe Illustrator, you’ve just won a prize. Screenshot after the jump.

Since the dawn of computing, there have been various attempts by man to squeeze 10 lbs. into a 5 lb. bag. With this, we have the zip compression algorithm, JPEG, MPEG, MP3, tar gz, OGG and many many others. Most of these compression algorithms tend to be very efficient and effective. Recently, while using the console zip command to zip up some files on my workstation at work, I discovered that Adobe must write their own shoddy compression algorithm as well as their own shoddy software.

As a result of my need to use Illustrator to complete a project at work, I have been trying to find faster ways to work around their software. Yes, you heard right. You do not use Adobe software, you merely work around it. One of my workarounds has been the result of their new text engine for Illustrator CS2 that slows everything down immensely. What I am trying to do is splice together broken text blocks (again, thanks Adobe for breaking up text when converting to PDF) and then add the spaces.

It is no secret that Adobe Systems makes some of the most popular graphic design products used in the industry today. But despite their “popularity”, it is popularity by monopoly. Consider the idea that their software is extremely expensive because of the fact that they have absolutely no competition to keep the price of the software in check. I, for one, am absolutely sick and tired of shelling out $850 for every upgrade only to discover that the software does not perform as expected and/or that there is some issue with my files that I’ve created in an older version of their software.

Over the weekend, I have updated the Wordpress CMS (Content Management System) on my blog to reflect the latest release by the Wordpress community. My apologies if anyone was having trouble viewing the site.