[Adobe Photoshop 1.0 / circa 1990]

Since everybody else is waxing poetic on the virtues of the iPhone I feel compelled to head the other direction and embrace obsolescence. Computer Arts just posted a comprehensive overview of the history of photoshop that is quite illuminating. The Adobe application is so pervasive that designers (and consumers) take it for granted as it has become ubiquitous with the act of manipulating digital images. The article catalogues the development of the software from the initial partnership and technical expertise of brothers Thomas and John Knoll through the current iteration of the program.

Having only been a photoshop user since about version 5, I was inspired to do a little digging and I found some interesting leads that unpack past versions of the application. First, Creative Bits posted a great analysis of the first version of Photoshop last year. Secondly, if interface is your thing, Guidebook has an exhaustive archive of screen captures chronicling the development of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the software and Photoshop News has assembled a concise and fascinating series of images that document the evolution the Tool Bar from Photoshop .87 through CS2.