More than a month into his campaign, Linux server admin Gao Nagy has persuaded just 124 people to join him in petitioning Adobe to make Linux versions of its most popular products. However, Nagy hopes that a little media attention will kick-start his petition efforts and result in an outpouring of support. "It's really hard to reach people," he noted.
What if commercial software developers for popular Windows products sold Linux versions to a waiting market of open source users? Think in terms of paying a subscription fee to use a Linux version of Adobe's Photoshop image manipulation software, for starters.
Is porting commercial products like Photoshop as a licensed -- that is, paid -- product for Linux a viable idea? That is precisely what one Linux server administrator wants Adobe to find out.
The idea to create a groundswell of support for paid access to Linux versions of some Windows workhorse programs began several weeks ago as an Internet petition on Change.org.
"I think Adobe would think about it if we can show them that there are thousands of people around the world who don't like Windows anymore and can't buy a Mac. For me, the only reason [for] installing Windows is Photoshop," Gao Nagy, a Linux server administrator living in Budapest, Hungary, told LinuxInsider.
If Adobe executives have been considering such a business move, they haven't been champing at the bit to let the world know. Company officials for more than two weeks ignored LinuxInsider's requests to discuss the merits of offering commercial versions of their software for the Linux desktop.
Adobe finally provided a written reply to our queries -- but only to decline to discuss the issue.
"Adobe doesn't have any specific plans to share at this time, but is constantly evaluating new hardware and software capabilities, and designing and building features to take advantage of the latest technology," wrote spokesperson Deane Allie.
The desire to unite Linux users worldwide on a software support campaign led Nagy to start his Internet petition drive. He hoped word would spread like wildfire via social networking.
So far, it has not. More than a month into the campaign, he has persuaded just 124 signers. However, Nagy hopes that some media attention will kick-start his petition efforts and result in an outpouring of support.
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Dear Adobe: Make Software for Linux Too