Adobe and Apple have been in the forefront of the news for most of the year, sometimes together, often clashing. The year 2010 has also seen a heightened consciousness about HTML5, an accelerating popularity of consumer video, the debut of the ( Macworld rated 4 out of 5 mice ) as a major artistic and publishing platform, a complete overhaul of Pantone's venerable color system, and, of course (like it or not) Flash.

Adobe has been bustling all year. And while the company made waves in a number of high-profile areas, it's possible to sum up Adobe's 2010 contribution to the creative process as, simply, CS5.

With the mid-April launch of , the fifth version of Adobe's Creative Suite was a monumental effort that no creative pro or advanced amateur could ignore. Photoshop CS5 was, by most accounts, an . Premiere Pro CS5, featuring the new Mercury Playback Engine and other innovations, acquitted itself nicely. Most other apps in the suite also earned positive reviews. Technically part of CS5, but not released concurrently, was the long-anticipated and its companion, Reader X. And not technically part of CS5, but closely related, was the upgrade of Adobe's ( Macworld rated 4.5 out of 5 mice ) photo management software.

But pros weren't the only ones feeling the love. Adobe also introduced a brand new consumer video editing program for the Mac, just like the one it has for Windows PCs. made a respectable debut (complete with a matching Windows version number), and was welcomed by the Mac community.