Adobe fouls up yet again.

Just as Lightroom was turning into a professional product, Adobe introduces Lightroom 4 (Beta) – and failed / refused to get it running on the most popular version of Windows – XP.

It even runs on the most disdained iteration of Windows – Vista, but not on the most popular version – XP.

Now, I’m not a fan of Windows, but – Adobe — you’ve got to be kidding.

How do they do it ? Adobe gets so many things almost comically wrong I’m wondering if they’re secretly auditioning to become a government agency.

All of the other PC Raw development programs run on XP. (Aperture and DarkTable do not – as they are Mac, not PC, programs)

Better Alternatives: If Adobe just slammed the door in your face, let me urge you to try DXO, Silkypix, Capture One, RawTherapee (which is free), DCraw, DPP, PixInsight, LightZone, Bibble . . . and see some marvelous Raw development capabilities that you might not have realized existed.

As an expert on Operating Systems with a fairly expansive imagination, I am confident there is absolutely nothing that Lightroom can do on Vista – that it can’t do on XP.

That means this is just a lazy choice by Adobe “management.” They decided they don’t want to spend a little effort to support you who spent good money on Lightroom versions 1, 2 and 3 to run on XP.

(Side note: Adobe doesn’t even warn you Lightroom 4 Beta won’t run on XP; at least not on their website. You have to first download the 400 megabyte program (Can you spell “Bloatware?”) and try to install it. Only then do you get a notice that you have to upgrade to Vista. OMG ! Even PC Magazine fails to note, or realize this “feature.”)

I’m relieved that I won’t have to deal with Adobe again. The best part about leaving Adobe is I don’t have to put up with their dysfunctional institutional arrogance.

The Lightroom team avoided this disease for a few years, but it finally caught up with, and infected them.