Well, this sure is an interesting discussion.
I may be one of the only people here that is really happy with Photoshop as-is. I would like it if all the bugs got fixed though...I am not a Lightroom user so I rely heavily on Bridge for file browsing...I really dislike Lightroom because I am using any one of 5 different computers to work on in a given day accessing files on portable drives or from a server. Lightroom and the catalogs don't play nicely on a variety of different machines.
Josh's comments resonate with me, except I've tried to like CS6, and I keep going back to CS5. I'm usually the first to embrace change, but not if the change doesn't excite or seduce me. CS6 leaves me wondering who is running the show at Adobe? I'm extremely reluctant to commit to CS6.
I rarely use Bridge, mostly for working on eBay photos when selling the crap that needs to go.
I met George Jardine many years ago when he was trying to convince NYC pros to go with Lightroom. I kinda fell in love with George, and I've been following his guru genius ever since. My studio uses his Lightroom system design with great success, and I have about five machines. I use them seamlessly, and I credit George Jardine for that. For a sophisticated user, I think George offers the best tutorials on the market.
Then Lightroom 4 came out and annoyed me. I sensed a strong slant to appeal to a mass audience to make more money. I don't need Maps. I don't need only one book-making choice. I also don't need a lot of useless garbage slowing down the engine to make the workflow more sluggish.
I don't think you would be a candidate for a Photoshop alternative because, well, you need Photoshop and you fall into the category; professional digital imaging/retouching/prepress that needs the full Photoshop package. However, many digital photographers (pros, non-pros) do not. So, that's kinda the issue...people who use Lightroom only need a portion of Photoshop on a subset of images and don't need everything Photoshop has to offer.
I don't need everything Photoshop has to offer. There is much in Photoshop that I never use and don't foresee using in the future. Yet, it looks like I may not be a candidate for this "blue sky" Photoshop alternative.
Fashion and portrait photographers in advertising need compositing, pixel editing, adjusting, and prepress to keep the customers satisfied. And Lightroom doesn't do enough to satisfy NYC's Fine Art community.
If CS5 could work forever, I think I'd be OK with that. The only thing I really long for is spending less time at the computer. (I may be forced to retire with this software insanity.)
We experience drops in internet service from time to time. I think it's a building issue, but I will not move my studio. And in the age of terrorism, I have no desire to entertain "cloud" services. I never want to be forced to rely on the internet to conduct business. So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do or where my business fits into this mess. Frankly, I'd like to tell Adobe where to stick it, and I may be first in line if Capture One could ever recruit the right genius.
It seems to me the issue always boils down to money, and my suppliers tell me over and over again: the pro community is too small, there's no big money in serving pros.
So if "Lightroom Pro" isn't going to have enough features to truly attract the photography pros like me, what market will it serve? What financial incentive exists to create this product? This "blue-sky" stuff sounds like another watered down version of pro. Does Adobe (and the marketplace) really need another product like that? Don't we already have enough?