Economics 101 and Photoshop CS3

Well, the glowing reviews are coming in from the big magazines extolling the genius of Photoshop CS3.

So, what are you going to do? Trash your biggest advertiser? I don’t think so.

Heads up, class, for Dr. Pindelski’s Three Rules of Economics:

• All control drives up price
• A fool and his money are easily parted
• When wondering about decision making, always go where the money is

I have been using Photoshop CS3 in beta form for some four months now so let me write in clear, unconflicted language.

This remains the hardest to use, worst user interface, clunkiest photography software available. Rather than improve on previous versions it just gets worse. The menu structure is so poorly organized we now have new options like “Show all menu items” in drop down lists of umpteen selections! Just try to find something basic like Image->Contrast/Brightness without this option.

Increasingly, real world photographers – those who prefer to take pictures rather than process them – are adopting user friendly products like Aperture and Lightroom. For the average person who does not need a zillion variables applied to his snaps, CS3 is simply God’s way of telling you that you have too much money, time or both.