R.I.P Macromedia

It hurts. Even if its lightly, it hurts. When I visit Macromedia website, I see the Adobe logo and next to it are words ‘formerly Macromedia’. I knew the inevitable will happen but it still hurts to see the brand that’s been close to my heart get killed in front of my eyes.

I’ve had a long association with Macromedia. I started the Chennai Macromedia User Group and took charge of it for many years. I was in close touch with many international user group managers and even sat on their International advisory board for two years in a row. A few years back, Macromedia even flew me to New York to attend their Users Conference. I love their products and more importantly love the people there. Its sad to know some of them won’t be there.

Here’s a photo that I treasure. On the left is the cherubic Jeremy Allaire, the founder of ColdFusion and the then CTO of Macromedia. On the right is the boyish looking Kevin Lynch, the Chief Software Architecht and the brain behind Flash. Glad to know he’s continuing to be with Adobe and has taken extra charge of PDF division.

As I bid adieu to brand Macromedia, I only hope that the folks at Adobe continue the great support and affection that Macromedia has shown to user groups around the world.