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Recently I downloaded a semi-legitimate copy of Photoshop CS3 (from 2007-ish). It made me realize how little the software has changed in the past nearly 20 year

Recently I downloaded a semi-legitimate copy of Photoshop CS3 (from 2007-ish). It made me realize how little the software has changed in the past nearly 20 years, aside from the terrible performance regression. I'm by no means a Photoshop power user, but the stuff I use (the primary tools, the blending options menu, Image/Adjustments menu, Filters menu) are almost 1:1 feature-wise with the latest CC version. I haven't tried to open .PSD files from a newer Photoshop, I don't know what the compatibility story is. I haven't ran it on my Linux box either, but I assume it will be easier to get it running than CC 2024.

DrSiemer 2y ago
You'll be missing context aware fill and healing brush. Those are by far the tools I use most in more modern versions of Photoshop. Other than that not much has changed, for moderate users at least.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- macNchz 2y ago
  The healing brush actually came out in 2002 with Photoshop 7. It was a compelling new feature in the pre-subscription days when version upgrades were expensive! https://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/PS7/PS7.HTM https://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/PS7/PS7.HTM
  - bbatha 2y ago
    Its seen significant updates over the years to use content aware fill and recently generative AI fill.
    - DrSiemer 2y ago
      Adobe generative ai fill is one of the weakest inpainting models available
jer0me 2y ago
I used Photoshop CS6 (purchased in a Box from a Store) until macOS dropped support for 32-bit apps. It was amazing. I kind of preferred the aesthetics of its interface too.
- BoredPositron 2y ago
  Yes, CS6 was properly peak native ui.
sandreas 2y ago
You should definitely checkout Affinity Photo[1], which is a decent alternative costing way less money. I personally switched to Gimp, which took its time, but now that I'm used to it, it is ok. 1: https://affinity.serif.com/de/photo/full-feature-list/ https://affinity.serif.com/de/photo/full-feature-list/
- KronisLV 2y ago
  English link: https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/full-feature-list/ https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/full-feature-list/
- glimshe 2y ago
  Affinity is excellent although not always intuitive for people used to simpler editing software. It's nonetheless my main photo tool and I'm very happy with it. Gimp... Never liked it, sort of the opposite of Blender's Open Source success story.
  - sandreas 2y ago
    Maybe you like Krita[1] more? I found it promising, but then ran into performance issues all the time and switched back to gimp. However, I still enjoy the Pepper & Carrot[2] comics done with Krita. 1: https://krita.org/de/download/ https://krita.org/de/download/ 2: https://www.peppercarrot.com https://www.peppercarrot.com
    - pennomi 2y ago
      Krita is really more for painting than general image editing. It’s brilliant software though!
- MrDrMcCoy 2y ago
  I've heard nothing but good things about Affinity, but their Linux support is just as lacking. I kinda hope that either they or Corel get acquired by Blackmagic and get told to support the penguins.
capybara_2020 2y ago
Like another commenter mentioned, the healing brush tool along with background removal + remove tool + content aware fill/move + object selection tools have improved and make life even for an amateur PS user much easier with the latest versions.
punnerud 2y ago
I recently opened an old laptop with Windows 95, and had the same realization there with Word.
- hsbauauvhabzb 2y ago
  I disagree. Office 2000 was *substantially* better than the more recent revenue-optimised versions
  - autoexec 2y ago
    I've never cared for office, but it does feel like office 2000 was a high point. Pretty much any version pre-ribbon is a win though.
- mrweasel 2y ago
  Back in the day, when I was first trying to use Linux as a desktop, we had all these concerns about "Will I be able to do this or that" and "On Windows I got all these features that's not in the word processors on Linux". We never used any of them though. Turns out Abiword was all we ever needed, ever StarOffice was to much. I get that the required feature set isn't the same for everyone, but I bet that the majority of people and businesses would have had no issues with development of Word or Excel stopping around the 2000s, if stability increased. There is going to be edge cases where a modern Photoshop or Excel will save you hours or days and allow previously impossible workflows, but I doubt that's the majority.
  - opan 2y ago
    This is a good point. People get hung up on feature parity and niche features that they often don't even use. I guess they'd be more comfortable if there were zero downsides to switching to something else, but it's rarely so simple. Some people also just think they need photoshop to edit images at all, they've convinced themselves all the expensive pro tools are the only thing worth using. We've got people roleplaying as graphic designers, music producers, and movie-makers all at the same time when they don't need much of any of that. I guess it's a convenient excuse to not switch to free software or GNU/Linux and not learn new things. Doesn't apply to everyone, of course. Personally I use LibreOffice maybe once or twice a year at most. I don't even see a big need for office suites in general. I deal in a lot of plaintext, which I suspect would be fine for many, but they're used to jotting down notes in MS Word and don't wanna change. I also almost never user GIMP or Krita. The biggest usage I used to have for an image editor was cropping screenshots, but now we have screenshot tools that can just select a smaller area to begin with, so I rarely need to do any editing. I'm also used tricks like making a very small floating terminal to place as a black bar censor over things at times.
nutrie 2y ago
Many graphic design professionals stick with older software, and hardware. I still use CS5 on Win 7, although I'm no longer actively pursuing career in the industry. I know a renowned typographer who still uses FontLab (v5 I think?) on a Power Mac G5. The reason usually being familiarity with your tools. It's very similar to photography: it takes years getting to know your camera to the point when it becomes the extension of your body and brain, despite what marketing people say.
- ffsm8 2y ago
  Wdym, you just write what you want into the chat box and get the image you want ..... Scnr Context: https://youtu.be/U2vq9LUbDGs?si=CJr7wXNQnpmpstyr https://youtu.be/U2vq9LUbDGs?si=CJr7wXNQnpmpstyr
icemelt8 2y ago
The latest AI tools are great
dataflow 2y ago
> It made me realize how little the software has changed in the past nearly 20 years, aside from the terrible performance regression. Er, have you tried processing RAW photos? Even CS6 is painfully slow compared to more recent versions, with the lack of parallelization etc.

DrSiemer 2y ago

You'll be missing context aware fill and healing brush. Those are by far the tools I use most in more modern versions of Photoshop. Other than that not much has changed, for moderate users at least.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
macNchz 2y ago
The healing brush actually came out in 2002 with Photoshop 7. It was a compelling new feature in the pre-subscription days when version upgrades were expensive! https://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/PS7/PS7.HTM https://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/PS7/PS7.HTM
- bbatha 2y ago
  Its seen significant updates over the years to use content aware fill and recently generative AI fill.
  - DrSiemer 2y ago
    Adobe generative ai fill is one of the weakest inpainting models available

jer0me 2y ago

I used Photoshop CS6 (purchased in a Box from a Store) until macOS dropped support for 32-bit apps. It was amazing. I kind of preferred the aesthetics of its interface too.

BoredPositron 2y ago
Yes, CS6 was properly peak native ui.

sandreas 2y ago

You should definitely checkout Affinity Photo[1], which is a decent alternative costing way less money. I personally switched to Gimp, which took its time, but now that I'm used to it, it is ok. 1: https://affinity.serif.com/de/photo/full-feature-list/ https://affinity.serif.com/de/photo/full-feature-list/

KronisLV 2y ago
English link: https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/full-feature-list/ https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/full-feature-list/
glimshe 2y ago
Affinity is excellent although not always intuitive for people used to simpler editing software. It's nonetheless my main photo tool and I'm very happy with it. Gimp... Never liked it, sort of the opposite of Blender's Open Source success story.
- sandreas 2y ago
  Maybe you like Krita[1] more? I found it promising, but then ran into performance issues all the time and switched back to gimp. However, I still enjoy the Pepper & Carrot[2] comics done with Krita. 1: https://krita.org/de/download/ https://krita.org/de/download/ 2: https://www.peppercarrot.com https://www.peppercarrot.com
  - pennomi 2y ago
    Krita is really more for painting than general image editing. It’s brilliant software though!
MrDrMcCoy 2y ago
I've heard nothing but good things about Affinity, but their Linux support is just as lacking. I kinda hope that either they or Corel get acquired by Blackmagic and get told to support the penguins.

capybara_2020 2y ago

Like another commenter mentioned, the healing brush tool along with background removal + remove tool + content aware fill/move + object selection tools have improved and make life even for an amateur PS user much easier with the latest versions.

punnerud 2y ago

I recently opened an old laptop with Windows 95, and had the same realization there with Word.

hsbauauvhabzb 2y ago
I disagree. Office 2000 was *substantially* better than the more recent revenue-optimised versions
- autoexec 2y ago
  I've never cared for office, but it does feel like office 2000 was a high point. Pretty much any version pre-ribbon is a win though.
mrweasel 2y ago
Back in the day, when I was first trying to use Linux as a desktop, we had all these concerns about "Will I be able to do this or that" and "On Windows I got all these features that's not in the word processors on Linux". We never used any of them though. Turns out Abiword was all we ever needed, ever StarOffice was to much. I get that the required feature set isn't the same for everyone, but I bet that the majority of people and businesses would have had no issues with development of Word or Excel stopping around the 2000s, if stability increased. There is going to be edge cases where a modern Photoshop or Excel will save you hours or days and allow previously impossible workflows, but I doubt that's the majority.
- opan 2y ago
  This is a good point. People get hung up on feature parity and niche features that they often don't even use. I guess they'd be more comfortable if there were zero downsides to switching to something else, but it's rarely so simple. Some people also just think they need photoshop to edit images at all, they've convinced themselves all the expensive pro tools are the only thing worth using. We've got people roleplaying as graphic designers, music producers, and movie-makers all at the same time when they don't need much of any of that. I guess it's a convenient excuse to not switch to free software or GNU/Linux and not learn new things. Doesn't apply to everyone, of course. Personally I use LibreOffice maybe once or twice a year at most. I don't even see a big need for office suites in general. I deal in a lot of plaintext, which I suspect would be fine for many, but they're used to jotting down notes in MS Word and don't wanna change. I also almost never user GIMP or Krita. The biggest usage I used to have for an image editor was cropping screenshots, but now we have screenshot tools that can just select a smaller area to begin with, so I rarely need to do any editing. I'm also used tricks like making a very small floating terminal to place as a black bar censor over things at times.

nutrie 2y ago

Many graphic design professionals stick with older software, and hardware. I still use CS5 on Win 7, although I'm no longer actively pursuing career in the industry. I know a renowned typographer who still uses FontLab (v5 I think?) on a Power Mac G5. The reason usually being familiarity with your tools. It's very similar to photography: it takes years getting to know your camera to the point when it becomes the extension of your body and brain, despite what marketing people say.

ffsm8 2y ago
Wdym, you just write what you want into the chat box and get the image you want ..... Scnr Context: https://youtu.be/U2vq9LUbDGs?si=CJr7wXNQnpmpstyr https://youtu.be/U2vq9LUbDGs?si=CJr7wXNQnpmpstyr

icemelt8 2y ago

The latest AI tools are great

dataflow 2y ago

> It made me realize how little the software has changed in the past nearly 20 years, aside from the terrible performance regression. Er, have you tried processing RAW photos? Even CS6 is painfully slow compared to more recent versions, with the lack of parallelization etc.