Say, does everyone remember when Adobe was playing the role of the Evil Non-Carbonizing Villain and rumors were flying that the lack of a Mac OS X-native Photoshop was actually the result of an epic spite-fest between Adobe and Apple over the development of iPhoto? Well, while we were ever so pleased when we were finally able to upgrade to Photoshop 7 and get our image-processing tasks out of Classic, we don't mind telling you that we were a little bummed out to have to wave goodbye to the Great Apple-Adobe Feud plotline of 2001. It was a classic, to be sure.

Today, of course, Adobe is actually one of the better developers from a Mac OS X perspective, having released a whole stable of major Carbonized applications for our Aquatic computing pleasure. But that's okay, because Mac fans looking for another fight have long since moved on to demonizing Quark, instead. QuarkXPress is a critical design app and it still isn't Mac OS X-native, despite a major 5.0 upgrade that shipped in January-- some ten months after Mac OS X hit the scene. Just what the fuzzy is up with that?

Well, we always just assumed it was a stunningly potent combination of really poor management and inadequate development resources, but as it turns out, at some point there were apparently plenty of rumors about an Apple-Quark tiff that led to a dragging of heels on the Carbonization front, and we were just asleep at the switch and missed them. A MacUser interview with Quark's director of product management makes a passing mention of these rumors, alluding to whispers of a "bust up" between the two companies and the supposed cancellation of the Mac OS X version of QuarkXPress 5 when Apple allegedly refused to help fund its development. Of course, MacUser then states that "none of this is true," according to director Jürgen Kurz-- but really, that's beside the point, isn't it?

Anyway, for those of you on pins and needles about QuarkXPress 6, buckle down for some more serious waiting: Kurz states that it won't hit the shelves until March at the earliest, and maybe not until summer-- which isn't going to do much good for Apple's flagging sales of Power Macs into the design market, especially since systems shipping from January onward won't even boot into Mac OS 9. (Sure, there's always Classic, but who drops several thou on a new Mac to run anything in Classic?) Hark, do we hear the distinctive sound of teeth grinding in Cupertino? Let the feuding commence!