Can't run on Windows XP ????????

Question

This seems a crazy limitation. There are still a huge number of XP users. I hope this gets sorted before release.

Answer 1

"XP already does everything I need"
Apart from offer an environment that will run Lightroom.
One of the huge successes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, among others, is to turn a hightly sophisticated business tool into a commodity item. People buy computers today with often the same frame of mind as they buy a kettle, or a toaster. There are frequently various flavours of arguments on these, and other forums, about upgrade paths and experience and many of them stem from what is essentially poor practice.
Those of us who earn a living running IT systems recognise that the problems and costs don't end with buying a product; in fact they've only just started. If you decide that, for example, you want Lightroom to meet a specific business need then looking over 3 or 5 years (typical business planning timescales) means you have to budget for the initial capital spend on hardware and software, cost of install, cost of training etc. You should then allow for upgrade costs and these include both hardware and software, testing and learning etc.
The metrics vary but as a rough guide the initial outlay often represents about 20% of the total cost of ownership (tco).
Billl and Steve have brought about a world where many make the initial spend in the mistaken belief that it's the pretty much only financial commitment they will require to make.
There are only really two possible approaches.
1) Make your initial spend and be prepared to stick with the system for the full 5 years. If the features are good enough to meet you business need at the start then they will meet them for the full 5 years. If not then your business need has changed and you need a new business case, and associated funding. Don't confuse business need and the understandable desire to have access to the latest goodies that Adobe produce.
2) Do the sums at the beginning and frame a business case that recognises the need to keep up to date. Budget for upgrade etc etc through the life of the product and plan testing, implementation time etc.
Any other approach puts either the user or Adobe (or both) in an impossible position.
It's all the downside of the huge benefits we can have from the pace of change in the IS industry.