While the media industries have come a long, long way over the last couple of centuries, computer publishing has, arguably, moved just as far within a significantly shorter timespell. There are, however, also signs that for some firms it may not be moving fast enough.
Adobe Systems has had to evolve through several seismic technological shifts since opening its first office in Silicon Valley in 1982.
First came its pioneering desktop publishing product, Postscript, which enabled anyone with a personal computer and a printer to publish a magazine or newsletter from their home.
The arrival of the internet then forced Adobe to adapt its software to the demands of customers who wanted to spread their corporate message on to the web.
Now the proliferation of internet-enabled devices that allow content to be delivered any time to any place has forced the San Jose company to shift its focus once again to the "third wave" of publishing: network publishing. Chief executive and co-founder John Warnock, 52, claims it will dramatically change the way content is created, managed and delivered.
"Leveraging the internet, Network Publishing represents the third wave of publishing - following desktop and web publishing," he said. "It's the era of creating visually rich, meaningful content that is managed and delivered reliably wherever the user wants, whether it's a web page, printer, cellphone, handheld device, PC or internet appliance."
Mr Warnock said customers were no longer prepared to make do with a simple website. They want their corporate messages delivered to customers and mobile workforces regardless of when or where they are in the world.
Adobe has struck the first of what it says will be several partnership agreements with distributors like Nokia, Hewlett Packard and RealNetworks. Its role will be to automatically repurpose content to fit televisions, PCs, or far smaller mobile phone screens before it is sent or streamed direct to the user.
Adobe estimates that the whole business of the "paperless network publishing space" will be worth $64bn per year by 2004.
Through products including Photoshop and Acrobat it currently generates annual revenues of around $1bn and is America's third largest software firm. Its shares have risen 10 times in the past two years.
The last year has seen concerted moves into electronic books where it is going head to head with Microsoft and several smaller specialist firms.
"We don't believe students and professionals should have to carry 20lb of books and documents," said Mr Warnock.
Acrobat, which allows documents to be electronically transmitted in PDF (portable document format), is fast becoming a standard application for business. Cutting out print, paper, design and mail costs also makes economic sense.
Adobe is banking on ambitious forecasts for the take up of internet-enabled mobile phones and broadband services to the home.
Mr Warnock is forced to admit that the 300m internet-enabled mobile phones that Nokia believes it will ship next year is an "unrealistic figure".
Last year Adobe managed a new professional publishing tool to take on market leader Quark, but first-year revenues were 40% below projections.
The company has found to its cost what happens when products run late. In 1998 a key piece of software was delayed and, combined with cooling market conditions in Japan, revenues and the share price tumbled. Several senior executives had to be cleared out before stability returned.
The pitfalls of failing to deal with "disruptive technologies" are plain to see just a few miles north of Adobe's headquarters where Xerox, one of the great firms of the 1980s, is struggling to stay afloat. "We'll keep on throwing technology at it until we get it right," said Mr Warnock.
