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October 6, 2008

huh

New Yorker cover artist can’t quit Photoshop 3.0

Posted Oct. 6, ’08, 1:34 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Huh?

newyorkercover.jpgAs tech writers (and, perhaps more important, fans), we’re accustomed to constantly clamoring after the newest, shiniest devices. I can name at least two members of my staff who sell off their old laptops and buy a brand new one pretty much every time Apple releases a new model.

But maybe there’s something to the idea of not fixing what ain’t broke. Take, for example, the cover for the latest issue of The New Yorker, by illustrator and author Bob Staake. Staake has a rather interesting artistic method which involves creating basic shapes and refining them into more complex ones. Even more interesting from a technology perspective is that the primary tool he uses to do so is Photoshop.

Photoshop 3.0.

No, that’s not a typo. I don’t mean CS3. I mean 3.0. The version that was released in 1995. Says Bob on his site:

I continue to work in the program even although I have Adobe Creative Suite 2 on my G5. For me, the familiarity of Photoshop 3.0 keeps me locked into the program, even though my son says the days are officially numbered given that the classic program won’t physically run on the new dual processor Macs (and being an Apple employee, he should know).

You can watch the process Bob uses to create his drawings, where you can see him at work on his thirteen year old version of Photoshop. I’ve embedded the video of the above cover creation after the jump. (Note: I believe the Gizmodo and Boing Boing stories are incorrect in their statement that he runs Photoshop 3.0 on MacOS 7, since at least one post on his blog suggests that he’s using OS X—presumably, he runs Photoshop 3.0 via Classic, which I believe requires OS 9.)

I feel like this is the kind of thing Merlin Mann would approve of: consider it a reminder that tools can be a distraction; instead focus on the work the tools let you do. Heck, I wrote two novels in AppleWorks.

What about you, readers? Got any vintage software that you can’t seem to let go of?

[via Gizmodo]


16 Comments

VMR said:

AppleWorks? Until I switched to an Intel Mac I did all my writing in ClarisWorks 4.0. None of it is novel-quality, or novel-length, or particularly novel in any way, but good old ClarisWorks would have been right there with me if it had been. I also did all my image editing with ColorIt. That was a loyalty that perhaps was less well earned.

October 6, 2008 2:26 PM
Donn Author Profile Page said:

I'm too new to the Mac to have really old legacy apps that I rely on, but there's always Boot Camp. On the Windows side, I can't get away from a freeware FTP client called LeechFTP. It's no longer supported, but you can still find it for download out there. And my favorite game of all time is still Ultima V.

October 6, 2008 2:40 PM
wesg Author Profile Page said:

My staff

Nice, Dan. In all seriousness, I'm living completely in 2008, with the oldest program I'm using is CS1.

October 6, 2008 4:44 PM
Andre Da Costa said:

I still use a discontinued Microsoft Office program called PhotoDraw 2000 v2.

October 6, 2008 5:38 PM
Bill said:

I only wish Paint Shop Pro was offered for the iMac. It was much better than Photoshop Elements.

October 6, 2008 7:25 PM
Fairlington blade said:

Hear hear! I wrote my thesis using WriteNow and still miss that little program. Sure, updated cross-references are nice, but I miss that little program.

BB

October 6, 2008 7:40 PM
jsk said:

How about VirtualGibbs?

In my case, it's not a case of not letting go. It's a case of no OSX equivalent. Period.

In case you ask, VirtualGibbs is CAM software that lets you program CNC milling machines that was last updated when OS 8 ruled the roost. The only way to run engineering software (short of static, 2D/3D CAD, ie, CAM, dynamic and kinematic simulation, etc. And no, gene sequencing using a UNIX command line app doesn't count.) is to fork out some serious cash and run Windoze. Engineering software disappeared with OSX and never returned.

Sigh.

October 6, 2008 8:03 PM
ehren Author Profile Page said:

I much prefer using PageMaker 6.5 rather than any version of InDesign. I dunno, there's just something about PM...

October 6, 2008 8:26 PM
Anonymous said:

Are you sure "classic program won’t physically run on the new dual processor Macs"? Is there no 3rd-party emulation program or some work-around? Oh dear!

October 7, 2008 5:13 AM
toddgarvin Author Profile Page said:

Why would he use photoshop to create this piece of work anyway? This could have been done in a fraction of the time using Illustrator. Even a fine classic oil painter updates his tools. Good grief.

October 7, 2008 5:25 AM
Kit Griffin Author Profile Page said:

I still use Appleworks for mailmerging club envelopes and spreadsheet and for "notes" I'm still looking for a replacement for NotePad Deluxe I've been using since the early 90's (Devon is close...). GoLive 6 and iView Media Pro (the M/soft incarnation, Expression, has me saying another "expression".

October 7, 2008 6:01 AM
SirPavlova said:

It's not really the sort of thing being talked about, but I can't ditch the original Unreal Tournament. There's an old resource editor called ResPloder I keep around, too, to pull apart non-bundle applications.

October 7, 2008 6:21 AM
dietero said:

I have had very good success running all my OS 7 to OS 9 legacy apps (e.g. QT VR Authoring Studio) under sheepshaver on my Intel iMac.
It works without any hiccups and is easy to install.

October 7, 2008 7:53 AM
kp said:

Photoshop 7 user here!

October 7, 2008 9:46 AM
Anonymous said:

Hats off to him. If it ain't broke don't fix it is right. I am so tired of the constant updating. Just got Cs3 and now Cs4 is out! It's like buying a new car every year whether you need it or not. I wish we could pass a software protection act that would limit unnecessary updates to 3 years! And guarantee that it is always back usable, making all legacy files always workable.

October 7, 2008 12:27 PM
Anonymous said:

dietero said: "good success running all my OS 7 to OS 9 legacy apps under sheepshaver on my Intel iMac".

Thanks dietero, advice greatly appreciated.

Is Apple really spreading such panic/dis-information? Not good!

October 8, 2008 7:57 AM

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