Adobe's New Subscription Policy On Software

[cem]

So Adobe's new policy of subscription only purchasing, I frequent a few art and design forums as well and it hasn't gone down to well at those places. There probably isn't the concentration of users here compared to there but there will be some here who rely on these programs to do their leather design work myself being one of them as well as using them for the graphic design work I do.

Just in case you haven't heard this is what they plan to do all the major software in the Creative Suite, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Dreamwaver etc can no longer be bought outright i.e a perpetual license it will only be available as a continuing Creative Cloud subscription of $50 a month if you purchase a year upfront or $75 for the month to month option. If you only need one software product say Photoshop it will be $20 a month with no yearly discount.

They are trying to entice existing customers with cheaper prices to begin with but that will jump up after a year and who knows what they will charge once everyone is on the subscription model.

I've used Photoshop since version 3 and Illustrator for about the same time and only updated every second version as the updates have been severely lacking at times yet now I will be forced into updates and have to pay for them whether I want them or not.

This is my main problem I've rented/leased computer hardware/software before and had no problem with it why it was for a set time say three years and after that three years I could buy the equipment for a low price and with the software I would no longer get updates but was left with last version after the term run out which I owned. With the Adobe way you will never own anything the subscription will be for forever or until they go bust you could spend thousands of dollars over the years and still be left with nothing if you have to drop the subscription for any reason.

They say if you drop the subscription you still have access to your files well yes but how are you supposed to open them if you don't have access to the programs that created them, yes some files can be opened in other developers software but not everything can be.

I think I will probably use my CS6 set until I need a new operating system and then look for alternatives Quark played this game with their customers years ago and lost which bought the rise of Adobe in the design industry and I can definitely now see history repeating itself with Adobe's new cash grab move.

So what does everyone else think of this new pricing move by Adobe.

[dirtclod]

Sounds like a rip off to me. Just like leasing a car is a total rip off for the everyday person.

[veedub3]

Haven't heard of this yet (am out of the Country) so I will definitely have to read up on it. I rely heavily on Photoshop for my photography and web design business and currently I have every version since CS3 up to the current version of Adobe's Master Collection and if I have to go to a subscription only service I think I will forever stick with the latest version I have which is CS6. I use several laptops and desktops in my work and a few of my computers are still loaded with CS4 which works perfectly for what I need so CS6 may just be the last version I will ever use because I highly doubt I will pay for a monthly subscription.

I would really hate to have my hands tied like that. They have gotten a lot of money from me over the years and I was a ware of when they launched the subscription plans, which I thought was great for those that maybe could not afford the entire suites, but forcing everyone to go that route is definitely about the money. Pure Greed, although I am sure they are saying it is because of the piracy.

Karina

[stelmackr]

...I think I will forever stick with the latest version I have which is CS6...

I thought the same thing with Photoshop 7 on my many computers on Windows XP. Then Windows 7 came out and over time, one-by-one, the XP computers were replaced by Windows 7 machines. Guess what--old versions of Adobe products would not work. I was already tired of semi annual upgrade paths of Adobe products. It seemed that I was getting "125 dollar-ed" to death. And the functionality were less and less and the interface GUI needed to be relearned. I gave up. I use the open source GIMP (www.gimp.org) instead of Photoshop now.

The same story applies to Adobe's InDesign and I now used the open source ScriBus (www.scribus.net).

I'm starting to get that way with Microsoft Windows office products and I now use the open source LibreOffice (www.libreoffice.org).

The final step will be Linux to replace Windows 7. I already dual boot to either Windows 7 of Ubuntu (Linux).

Good luck with Adobe products, They were a good company and good applications.

Bob Stelmack

[Cyberthrasher]

Well said Bob. I've never purchased any software. Most of the main ones have a good free Open Source alternative that's well supported. I've used GIMP since the day I started working with computer graphics. I still use Office all the time though, but that's only because I get it free on our company contract. If I were forced to buy something, it would be an open solution. I've never needed InDesign for anything, but I did recommend Scribus to another member not long ago when she needed something quick to get some business cards and pamphlets made up.

[cem]

I would swap now to open source as well if I didn't have to share files with pre press printers and other designers. I'm going to have a look at Gimp and Inkscape though and will probably learn them as well for when my CS6 set doesn't work any more. Already had dabbled in Blender for 3D after Autodesk took over Alias.

We'll see how Adobe goes there share price started sliding after the announcement, a lot of annoyed people around at the moment which is probably making their shareholders jittery. Also will be interesting to see if Adobe are bought before a government enquiry here again after there Australian change of heart for pricing. Now it's clear why they did that to push everyone onto their subscription crap.

[TexasJack]

Time to look for other software. Adobe may be committing suicide with this move.

[Cyberthrasher]

One thing that's got me wondering is how it's going to workout with schools. I work in IT at a college and we have several graphic design labs who rely on those products for all their students. We haven't done a volume license at all, leaving each department to buy their own copies. I can see this really pricing them out if it's not handled correctly.

[particle]

I guess I'm in the minority here... I personally LOVE the subscription option!!! My company bought our 3-person design team our own subscriptions, so for $50/mo, I get access to the latest and greatest toys from Adobe - and I regularly use Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat. And since each subscription allows for the installation on two computers, I can install the suite on my home computer so I can work from home if/when I need to. But, I also get to use other programs at home, like Premiere and After Effects for my video edits, pattern making, etc. I haven't really played with their other programs, but like knowing I have the option to download and play with them if/when the need arises.

It's funny everyone sees it as a money grabbing opportunity. I see it as a way to cut down on piracy and broaden their market share. Our design team was stuck using Adobe products 5+ years old, and management had no intentions of making multi-thousand dollar upgrades. Considering our 3-person team needs high-end workstations, I personally have two computers (one for my workstation, one for a render slave), and my 3D program costs several thousand dollars (two licenses), and Autocad just as much (3 licenses) - my employers were relieved to see the Adobe subscription option.

[Cyberthrasher]

I guess I'm in the minority here... I personally LOVE the subscription option!!! My company bought our 3-person design team our own subscriptions, so for $50/mo, I get access to the latest and greatest toys from Adobe

I see that point too, and I think that's how it will actually benefit our campus and students. But, for the home user who's not running a design firm and just needs something for editing, this can price them out. Say I save up my hard earned money to buy Photoshop (not sure of the price, but let's say $300 for examples sake). I work hard and save that money by holding off on leather purchases and other supplies and maybe not pay myself for my work just to make sure I can afford the $300 for necessary software. By the old model, that's all I needed and I would own a piece of software with license for as long as I could make the software work - let's give it a lifetime of 5 years for the example even though it could easily function longer. So, I get 5 years worth of graphic design for $300.

NOW, with Adobe's new subscription model, I get a whopping 8 months for my hard earned $300. So, I want my same 5 year product use, now I have to spend $3000. How is that a good thing for the non-corporate user? If the cost of the software is already that high for you now (say with CS6 Master Edition or something), then it's a great deal as you say. But, for the people who don't need all that stuff, it can destroy us financially.

[JustKate]

They're working to become more profitable. Nothing wrong with that. That's what I should hope we are all trying to do. It seems to me that what they are actually trying to do (Eric) is narrow their market share to only include the segment of larger companies who were already upgrading frequently. Many of the one-person shops and hobbyists who were barely able to scrape up enough cash to buy an upgrade once every 3-5 years will soon be gone from their market. I don't know how many that is, but judging from all the chatter I've seen about it on Facebook, Twitter, all the tech and design blogs... seems to be quite a few.

And as for piracy prevention, the company itself says that was not a major consideration.

But it's a free market, and if that's what they want to do, they can do whatever they think is best for them. I can easily see how this benefits Adobe... it will probably cut their support caseload to a fraction of its current volume, by being able to offer a hosted (cloud-based) application that they can maintain, and by reducing their clientele to only their highest-performing customers. Many of those big shops have their own in-house support, whereas the small or one-person shops tend to rely on Adobe for most or all their support. In other words, they're culling out customers who are low-income/high-maintenance and improving things for the customers who are high-income/low-maintenance. Add that to the elimination of their distribution channels and all the headaches and expenses that go with them, and it seems like a panacea from their perspective.

It's a little sad that us one-person shops have to end up as collateral damage to their "improvements", but we as consumers have choices as well. I've been preparing for this possibility for years, and I will be joining the migration away from Adobe. On the bright side, this may give a little more momentum to the other products out there serving the same markets.

Edited May 15, 2013 by JustKate

[cem]

I guess I'm in the minority here... I personally LOVE the subscription option!!! My company bought our 3-person design team our own subscriptions, so for $50/mo, I get access to the latest and greatest toys from Adobe - and I regularly use Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat. And since each subscription allows for the installation on two computers, I can install the suite on my home computer so I can work from home if/when I need to.

It's funny everyone sees it as a money grabbing opportunity. I see it as a way to cut down on piracy and broaden their market share.

Hee hee of course it's great for you, your not paying for it if I didn't have to pay for mine I would probably like it to. Two installs have always been available for Adobe products I've run a main computer and a laptop for many years. Your employers may like it when it's $50 a month but that is likely to change when the price starts creeping up.

Sorry this won't stop piracy one bit Adobe Muse is a subscription only program and is already readily available on the net the hacker kiddies will see it as a challenge not a deterrent and If you read through Adobes analysis reports on the move you will see it's purely a cash grab to appease the stockholders. Yes they are entitled to make money every business has that goal it's just the way they go about it that riles a lot of users up.

In Australia they really have messed users around with how edu licenses could be used compared to the rest of the world to the doubling of pricing and looking like they are finally giving us a fair go after the government stepped in only to have them come back with this subscription only option.

Also why isn't the price the same across the world and why are some countries individuals restricted to the the team only option purely on this it looks like they are gouging customers.

The main thing though if this model works you can bet other software business's will look to it as well do you really want to eventually rent every program you use on your computer including your operating system. This cartoon I thought was pretty funny http://whattheduck.com/home?page=0%2C4

For anyone looking at alternatives there is a pretty good list on the cgtalk forum, their site is having problems at the moment so I will link to it once it's working properly again.

[particle]

To reiterate, it's my company that purchased the subscription, so the price didn't affect me personally. However, I would have been happy to pay the monthly fee on an as-needed basis for my personal use, should the need have arisen (and that's exactly what I was preparing to do, once I bought or built my new home computer). Since I've never owned a copy, a minimal monthly payment was much more appealing than forking out the previous $750 initial purchase price for a legit copy. It would have taken right at 3 years of $20/mo payments (for the Photoshop only subscription) to recoup that expense. Maybe for people that only need/use one Adobe product, purchasing an actual copy might make more sense (provided you don't plan on upgrading before 3 years). But for those that need other Adobe tools, the subscription just makes all kinds of sense to me.

[cem]

Yep I agree on the face of it for those starting from scratch from no previously owned license it seems like a good option but in the future that option might not seem so rosy when the cost rises a lot they definitely won't keep it at $50 a month indefinitely once everyone is locked in.

People would of been a lot happier if they had been left a choice those who like the subscription can use it and those who like the perpetual licenses can buy them from what I've read and the other designers I've spoken to this is what the main problem is.

Cgtalk is still playing up but I was able to get most of the list for those looking for alternatives, full credit to Robert Ortez and those at cgtalk for putting it together.

After Effects:

• Hitfilm

(Windows, Mac version on the way)

$399.00

http://hitfilm.com/

• Fusion

http://www.eyeonline.com/

• Nuke

http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/

• Blender

http://www.blender.org/education-he...ls/compositing/

• Apple Motion

https://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/motion/

InDesign:

Scribus

(Linux/UNIX, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp 4, eComStation, Haiku and Windows)

http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus

Open Source

Serif PagePlus Starter Edition

(Windows)

http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/'>http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/

iStudioPublisher

(Mac)

$17.99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ist...430820689?mt=12

Swiftpublisher (Mac)

$19.99

http://www.belightsoft.com/products...er/overview.php

Premiere:

• Grass Valley EDIUS Pro 6.5

(Windows 7-8,)

USD 699.00

http://www.grassvalley.com/products/edius_pro_6.5

• Sony Vegas

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegassoftware

• Final Cut

http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/all-features/

• Avid

http://www.avid.com/US/

• Lightworks

http://www.lwks.com/

• Smoke

http://www.autodesk.com/products/smoke/overview

Movie Plus

http://www.serif.com/

Photoshop:

• Gimp

photoPlus

http://www.serif.com/://www.gimp.org/

•Photoline

http://www.pl32.com/

• Paintshop Pro (I still use PSP 7...Great little program)

http://www.corel.com/corel/product/...languageCode=en

• Corel Draw

http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/in...languageCode=en

• Krita

http://www.calligra.org/news/calligra-2-6-2-released/

• DogWaffle

http://www.thebest3d.com/pda/index8.html

• Acorn 4 -

http://www.flyingmeat.com/acorn/

• Pixelmator 2.1-

http://www.pixelmator.com/

•Seashore-

http://seashore.sourceforge.net/The...ject/About.html

•Manga Studio 5

http://manga.smithmicro.com/index.html

Illustrator:

DrawPlus

http://www.serif.com/

• CorelDRAW® X6

http://www.corel.com/corel/product/...rkid=NASEMGglGR

• Inkscape

http://inkscape.org/

• Xara

http://www.xara.com/us/

Flash:

• ToonBoom (fantastic program)

http://beta.toonboom.com/home-users/toon-boom-studio

• Unity

http://unity3d.com/

• AnimeStudio

http://anime.smithmicro.com/

• Crazy Talk Animator

http://www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/animator/

LightRoom:

• Darktable

http://www.darktable.org/

• Corel AfterShoot Pro:

http://www.corel.com/corel/product/...languageCode=en

• DXO:

http://www.dxo.com/uk/photo

• Capture One Pro 7:

http://www.phaseone.com/en/Download...-One-Pro-7.aspx

So plenty of options now for those who want a choice of how they spend their money.

Edited May 15, 2013 by cem

[JustKate]

Thanks for the list, cem. I've worked with some you've included, but I see others that look worth looking at.

Also, another Photoshop alternative that I don't see listed there is Paint.net.

[veedub3]

Thanks for posting the list. I will definitely have to take a look and maybe give them a test drive.

Karina

[Cyberthrasher]

Another aspect that I haven't had a whole lot of time to look into. When I look at the subscription prices, it says "annual commitment, billed monthly". So, that means you can't say "well, I only need Photoshop/Illustrator this month, so it's only $50 and I have access to everything." You actually have to pay $600 for the year in order to use it once. But, I did just notice that they're offering "Single" programs for $20 a month with limited support and access.

I whole-heartedly agree with Kate's analysis of the situation. Especially as someone who deals with IT support for a living, I can see their concerns with streamlining their cost in relation to man-hours required for support. But, I've never personally used the products anyway, so this is just more reason for me to promote Open Source for the home/small user