PDC: Why Adobe Should Be Nervous

Today at PDC05 I've been seeing and tinkering with Expression (codenamed Sparkle) ... now, I'm not one to hype on Metro being a PDF killer, or Expression being a Flash killer -- however, they do represent serious contenders.

Microsoft has historically lacked good design tools, an area owned by Adobe especially since they bought Macromedia. While Microsoft's developer tools have always been fantastic, the distinction between design and development has always been a little lacking.

Sometimes, the distinction is in skillset: for example, creating backend functionality vs "pixel-pushing" of the presentation layer. In tool choice, you can see this difference in the tools -- Adobe typically owns the design side with Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Flash, and Microsoft owns the development side with the frameworks, tools, and platforms.

With Expression (and Avalon, XAML, etc.), I'm seeing some great tools that are geared for designers. Being able to integrate with Visual Studio is fantastic and finally it seems Microsoft is releasing some great tools for integrating development and design. Update: check out this Sparkle video on channel 9.