Good points! I actually don't have much of an argument to make, just the evolution of old+successful software is an interesting topic. It is definitely a fuzzy

Good points! I actually don't have much of an argument to make, just the evolution of old+successful software is an interesting topic. It is definitely a fuzzy line between "new thing" and "old but better", and your list has a bunch of must-have-every-single-day features that haven't always existed. I admit I'm glossing over the "invisible" work like Intel Mac support. I'm mostly interested in the interaction. But - that list is fairly short, and things like nondestructive filters, hierarchical layer groups, type on a path, etc are exactly the codifying of manual processes I was talking about. They've certainly replaced duplicating layers and using complicated naming conventions to manage all the bloat. So they're technically "new features", but they're not reinventing what folks can accomplish, or even altering the fundamentals of how one thinks about a task. That's a big accomplishment for software that has to please so many existing+trained users, and I'm looking forward to CS6 precisely because it seems focused on improvements to what people already do every day, rather than cool but rarely appropriate features like magic background fills and bending spoons. We've been given a huge toolbelt to work with - the move from desktop software to web and tablets is going to be pretty awesome as we look at the whole belt through a new lens, and (potentially) significantly improve on everything from palette-oriented UI to how we manage discreet and grouped elements in a complex composition. Even more opportunity as Photoshop begins to acknowledge its expansion of purpose from photos and graphics to quickly comping high-fidelity interactive UIs. Relative to all that's coming, Photoshop hasn't changed much. Exciting times ahead.