This is a great start to a list for Adobe - please be sure to forward your suggestions to them, too!
I was hoping for more a more flexible use of gradients. Like curved or circular ones.
Agreed! It would be great to be able to "warp" the line. Also, it would be helpful to be able to shift the midpoint within the gradient.
The reason I suggest dropping Web and Slideshow (if Adobe isn't serious about improving them and implementing them well) is that I sure don't want Lightroom to be become code-bloated with "half-assed" features as has happened to other apps.
Just curious about your musing about third party solutions - what do you recommend for a Mac user since ProShowGold does not have a Mac version?
Diane - For slideshows on my Mac, I often use iPhoto/Aperture using properly sized and sharpened jpegs exported from LR. When I want to alter the transitions and timing with a simple soundtrack, I use Keynote (just drag and drop jpegs). For really serious slideshows, use iMovie.
I'm not sure there'll be much demand for layouts involving rotation, and I'd say there are already too many tutti frutti layouts . However, there is a mechanism like Web for creating your own layouts and I think implementing this is a better use of developers' time and skills.
John - "tutti frutti" to you is artistic and creative to many others! At least the option should be there and neither Web or Print has it. Many clients love it when one or more photos on the page are "offset" with a slight rotation. Take a look at modern layouts - it's jaunty, it's liberating and it is easy to implement. If a word processor can do it, a graphics package should be able to and when LR goes into "Book" module it becomes more of a graphics package and less of a photo package.
Also - Flash is dying a slow death and even Adobe recognizes it but won't give up on it quite yet. The sooner HTML5 is implemented, the better.