Adobe Announces New Creative Cloud Apps, Abandons Creative Suite

[Ethosik]

Piracy

Actually, you guys seem to be missing a few things when you say it will not help piracy.

1. What is more attractive? $2500 RIGHT NOW, or $50 month by month? I would rather pay month by month. Yes eventually it will be more than the initial cost, but that will be years down the road.

2. Depending on the programming, it can be very very very hard to Crack the CC versions. You might think all it would require is pointing to a different server, but it can be more complex than that. Depending on how their server side is set up, you might need to create a database schema that matches the adobe one to make sure you pass all the information that is required.

I am not saying it cannot be done, but it is much more difficult to crack than finding out how the serial keys are made.

Why are people freaking out about this? The master collection is $2500. Lets say even if you have to pay $80 (which is a plan where you can cancel any month you want), it will take around 2.5 years to reach the cost of the master collection. In that time, you would have had A LOT of new features and updates that would not cost any extra (where an upgrade version would).

 

[Legacy2013]

How does this work with plug-ins?

 

[jebbe]

WHAT. THE. ****.

Subscriptions are too damn expensive.

Well, you've signed your death certificate Adobe.

Shelling out $4,000 is also expensive.....

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

The $29.99 rate is the computer software equivalent of an adjustable rate mortgage- they tease you with an artificially low, fixed rate for a little while in the beginning to lure you in- knowing full well they're gonna make alot more later. No doubt if everyone had to pay $50/ month right off the bat the plan would probably never get off the ground.

Actually it's more like a sign-up promotion from a cable company. It's $29.99 per month for pre-CS6 users, but only for the first year of membership.

And it's just like a cell phone plan in terms of the contract. There's no way to pay per month as and when you need Creative Cloud. Instead Adobe is demanding a full one-year commitment up front. I'm certain that they will charge a fee for early termination.

 

[samcraig]

Actually it's more like a sign-up promotion from a cable company. It's $29.99 per month for pre-CS6 users, but only for the first year of membership.

And it's just like a cell phone plan in terms of the contract. There's no way to pay per month as and when you need Creative Cloud. Instead Adobe is demanding a full one-year commitment up front. I'm certain that they will charge a fee for early termination.

Are you sure (is it changing?) Right now you can do month by month.

 

[SpinThis!]

Why are people freaking out about this? The master collection is $2500. Lets say even if you have to pay $80 (which is a plan where you can cancel any month you want), it will take around 2.5 years to reach the cost of the master collection.

Yeh exactly. Owning software is really an outdated model these days since it changes so fast. Do you really think vendors want to support operating systems 3 years old? It's a lot easier if the majority of your customers are on the same system. Should Apple should still support iOS 3 yet?

You know what's more than $50/month? My lawyer, accountant, internet, rent, utilities, cell phone, etc. This is pittance compared with every other cost of doing business and it's software I can use to make a living. You guys can keep your old CS4 versions; I'll take the tax writeoffs and the new features that come along with continually updated software.

 

[scan300]

Why are people freaking out about this? The master collection is $2500. Lets say even if you have to pay $80 (which is a plan where you can cancel any month you want), it will take around 2.5 years to reach the cost of the master collection. In that time, you would have had A LOT of new features and updates that would not cost any extra (where an upgrade version would).

How long do you expect people to remain subscribed for? And if they eventually discontinue their subscription for whatever reason, how will they access their work? Or doesn't that matter anymore?

 

[jasonvp]

Why are people freaking out about this? The master collection is $2500. Lets say even if you have to pay $80 (which is a plan where you can cancel any month you want), it will take around 2.5 years to reach the cost of the master collection. In that time, you would have had A LOT of new features and updates that would not cost any extra (where an upgrade version would).

I paid for a home/single user license for Photoshop before the "CS" nomenclature started. It wasn't at full price because Adobe was running a special.

I've upgraded to CS3, then CS5.5, then CS6. None of those were at full cost, and they were done at my whim not Adobe's.

I paid for a single user license of Premiere Pro CS5 when the Final Cut Pro X fiasco first hit; Adobe saw a prime opportunity to entice new users in, so they had a significant price cut on it.

I've upgraded to CS5.5 and CS6 since then. None of them at full cost, and they were done at my whim, not Adobe's.

I can't use Premiere Pro CS6 because of a massive bug in its AVCHD file handling. I've paid for software I can't use, and it's less likely they're going to fix this specific bug due to the sheer complexity of the problem. They have fixed it in CC, however.

I can continue using Premiere Pro CS5.5 and Photoshop CS6 as long they both run on OS X's future versions. I've all but written off Premiere Pro CS6.

OR

I can sign up for Creative Cloud and decide to either pay them $40/month for the two pieces of software I use, or $50/month for all of their software. Either way:

1. What happens when I stop the subscription? Answer: I can no longer use that version of Premiere Pro and Photoshop

2. What happens if they push a version of Photoshop or Premiere Pro that introduces a nasty file-handling bug such as today's AVCHD issue? Answer: I have to wait for them to fix it. There's no back-revving versions of your installed software once you're on the upgrade train.

With permanent licenses, I can choose which version I'm running as is the case with Premiere Pro. Your response to this is going to be: "But you're not forced to update!!!11one!eleven!1" Not right now, no. But again, read the Adobe CC EULA carefully. It says they can push software to you without you knowing. I made one mistake of blindly updating their NLE software from CS5.5 to CS6. Thankfully I still have my CS5.5 license, so I can continue to use it.

jas

 

[mumph]

I've just put this to my boss and he laughed and said "you better find yourself a new job then"

Obviously he isn't going to be signing the studio up. Adobe will miss out on 6 license fees right there and also my personal one

Just had a look at Pixelmator as Photoshop alternative and it looks pretty sweet. I've just about learnt enough to hand code a simple website so I don't need Dreamweaver (my personal website is Wordpress) and I still use QuarkXpress at work so its no hardship to go back to Quark for personal work either. That leaves Illustrator. I still actually prefer Freehand, its miles more intuitive and simple to use. I'll have a sniff around the Mac App Store to see what vector drawing apps are around.

Quite a painless transition if it comes to it.

 

[handsome pete]

I guess its not a very popular feeling, but i personally would much rather spend $50 a month for software that makes me that money in 30 minutes or less, yet always will buck if i have to drop $600-1000 on software that i dont REALLY care to upgrade.

But you realize that in the long run you will be paying much more out of pocket.

Well they gained me as a customer. No way I would've dropped $3000 on CS6. But a few bucks every few months - I can swing that. I'm willing to bet there are more people like me than there are like you and Adobe gains net customers from this.

1. What is more attractive? $2500 RIGHT NOW, or $50 month by month? I would rather pay month by month. Yes eventually it will be more than the initial cost, but that will be years down the road.

Of course paying a small amount of money is more attractive. That's how things like car leases, financing, and infomercials lure in customers. They get customers who don't have the money up front to pay as you go, but at a greater cost in the end.

Those saying it won't work aren't getting it, it already works, they already have a huge number of creative cloud subscribers and they are very happy with this. This move is surprising but they already have enough subscribers to make it viable. time to get used to the new world

I don't doubt that this model works for a lot of people, but I'm more disappointed in the lack of choice in the matter. The price isn't as absurd as many are making it out to be, however it is more expensive.

And say I run a post house based on a Premiere/After Effects workflow. Then my business makes some changes 5-10 years down the road and I become Avid or Autodesk based. Do I continue paying for CC so that I can access my old project archive? For how long? The problem is if I do decide to migrate to other software, all of my old stuff becomes inaccessible.

I'm also surprised they completely switched over to this structure after only a year.

Now price... $50/month or $600/year seems pretty reasonable for software that helps me earn $100K+/year.

You seem to make a good living in this business, as do I. But don't pretend that your earnings are reflected across the entire creative landscape. As mentioned earlier, average income in graphic design is less than half that.

Do you really think they are that stupid? I don't.
GM

It seems you think business executives are infallible. I would never underestimate the stupidity of humans in any regard.

----------

Are you sure (is it changing?) Right now you can do month by month.

Looks like the pay-by-month plan is staying. It's $75 a month though.

 

[cool11]

Most of us will look for alternatives.

They cant force us to move to the cloud without our will.

So, I will try pixelmator instead of photoshop.

But I need a good alternative for dreamweaver.
Something really good. I mean, an application, not just joomla or wordpress, but an editor with many features as dreamweaver has.
Rapidweaver has not many features I think.
So, what is your suggestion?

 

[3282868]

How did they burn out?

Burn in/ghosting. Typically happens with CCFL LCD's after a long period of time. Shame, I loved em.

 

[fa8362]

Wow! This is Netflix price increase and Qwikster all over again! What dopes! Unbelievable. They think they can do what they want. People will just stick with what they have for as long as possible and that could bankrupt Adobe.

 

[AppleDroid]

Let's do a quick web search on jobs for graphic design. I don't know where anyone can type "make $4-$6k a month" as if everyone does, without an iota of proof. Most jobs are hard to come by, competition is VERY intense, and $4000/mo is a pipedream - either for one month or for years in succession.

Most people don't make that much, regardless of level of skill and/or talent, especially in an economy that continues to dwindle, with more small businesses folding that would be generating the work for anyone to make ($4000/mo? That sounds like the drivel posted by spammers on zdnet and other tech sites for crying out loud... the only thing missing is a suspicious or dubious URL link...)

/realitycheck

Would you like a tin foil hat to go with your rant? I've been posting on here for years and I run a design/photography business. Yes it took a couple years to get up to 4-6k a month in billings but it's very possible. Why you chose to attack someone who has no ill-will towards you is confounding.

That said would I like to only spend say $100/yr for an entire suite of apps? Of course! But the reality is I need Photoshop/Illustrator/Indesign/Acrobat/Premiere/AfterEffects/Lightroom in order to do my daily work and until there are industry-standard alternatives there's nothing I can do about it. We need competition.

 

[RoxyJ]

I need more

People seem pretty misinformed about pricing. It is only 49.99 if you commit for the entire year. It is 74.99 if you would rather pay month-to-month. Studios with more than one seat are $69.99 per seat. If you choose to sign up for the full year (to get the cheaper price) you will "billed 50% of your remaining contract obligation" should you choose to cancel (according to Adobe terms).

If you own a small studio this could get pretty expensive real fast. Most studios I've worked with only upgrade every few years.

My main concern is being able to access files after I cancel my subscription. There may come a day when what I do for a living in no longer profitable. I would still like to look at my archived files, tweak them, add them to my portfolio etc... But not for $74.99.

I don't mind the subscription model. I actually subscribe to a few programs. But here is where it is different: When I purchase the software it comes with 1 year if support and updates. If I decide that I no longer wish to subscribe I can still use the software, I just no longer have access to the "extras" like support, updates, community forums etc... The software company works hard to keep me as a subscriber, they consistently update their software, maintain an exceptional community forum, provide fast and friendly support, and more. I have no issues at all subscribing to this model, because I am getting great value, and should I need to cancel my subscription I can still use my files.

I would really like to see adobe get closer to this model. Maybe after a few years of subscription, you can cancel and you get to keep a certain number core programs with but with no updates, support, tutorials, or community access. Instead Adobe would sell the subscription by offering cloud-only apps and features, amazing support, great updates, and a strong community. Right now I don't see the value, they just aren't offering me anything compelling. Sure it would be fun to try out a few new programs, but not at the cost of signing up for a lifetime commitment at a cost greater than I was previously paying.

If they lower their price (even to just $49.99 with no contract), address the issue of being able to access to my files after I cancel (a pay per use option, stripped down core programs, anything), and offer something better than what i have now (because really, aside from the core programs, I don't see anything new that I couldn't get elsewhere for less money and better features), then i would feel a lot more comfortable, and actually be really happy to sign up.

 

[SSDGUY]

"To whom it may concern: I will NOT pay Adobe $50 each month for a Creative Suite with the kind of meager feature upgrades (and negative bloated performance) that I've witnessed for the past 20+ years."

Just sent this to Adobe. Not sure what good it will do, but if enough people speak up … well … it can't hurt I guess.

 

[Mudcrutch]

2. Depending on the programming, it can be very very very hard to Crack the CC versions. You might think all it would require is pointing to a different server, but it can be more complex than that. Depending on how their server side is set up, you might need to create a database schema that matches the adobe one to make sure you pass all the information that is required.

CC only applications have already been cracked. (Muse being one)

 

[cube]

The international pricing for subscriptions is the traditional major ripoff.

So now you're not able to import the software yourself at the proper price.

So now people will refrain from subscribing because the pricing is not only unacceptable, but also unavoidable.

 

[spacemanspifff]

to CC or not to CC

I see a lot of people posting on here stuff like the following - "$50 bucks a month is much better than paying $3000 up front" - That's all well and good but in reality, most of Adobes' current customer base are not starting from a blank slate, we have already invested a lot of money in this software - for years and years, so our upgrades are usually much less to acquire than the subscription model and also we usually don't need all of the applications they make. I'm a print designer so I don't need Dreamweaver, Flash and all the video stuff so why should I need to pay them for it?

I can sort of understand that if you're a new customer (or a previous pirate) then this offer might look attractive to you, but honestly, if you're not in the design industry then most of this software is overkill for you anyway.

On a side note I just grabbed this from Adobes website:

"We will continue to sell and support Adobe Creative Suite® 6 applications, and will provide bug fixes and security updates as necessary. We do not, however, have any current plans to release new versions of our CS applications."

That's my emphasis added there, so for everyone who doesn't want the extra expense of CC, we can keep using CS6 until Adobe are forced to rethink this highway robbery plan of theirs!

 

[cube]

I think also before going for such a subscription, the full source code should be put in escrow in order for an application to be open sourced if activation for the program capable of working with a discontinued file format is also discontinued for some reason.

 

[pcd109]

money's not the issue here

Some of you people's have crazy math. I've done my own math based on my usage of soley Photoshop CS.

Initial Photoshop CS4 purchase: $699, released October 2008.

Upgrade pricing for Photoshop CS5: $199, April 2010.

Upgrade pricing for Photoshop CS6: $199, released May 2012.

Expected usage, in months, for CS6 for release date: 15 months.

From October 2008, to May 2012, is 44 months. Add in my expected usage of 15 months for CS6, brings me 59 months.

So what I've spent, actually comes to $18.59 (($699+$199+199)/59) per month. Adobe wins by charging me $19.99, but not by much.

So this subscription might be good. Their challenge is to get people over the psychological hurdle of feeling like they have another bill to pay every month.

Money is not the main issue here. If i use CS(like i do for over 11 years now) i am upgrading every 3 years. I use the Adobe software since Photoshop 4. The main issue is: if i stop paing for a month, then i can't open any off my works! I PAY A LOT OF MONEY AND I DON"T OWN NOTHING. ADOBE'S OWN THE SOFTWARE AND I JUST RENT IT. AS SOON AS I STOP PAYING I CAN"T USE MY FREAKING FILES. QuarkXpress and Corel here i come!!!! Lucky that i still have QuarkXpress 7.3 so i can ugrade with just 399. For the rest off apps will use Corel suite and my copy of Acrobat will last me 10 years. So bye, bye Adobe.

 

[scott911]

new-coke.

not me.

I hope this ends up being a "new-coke" or netflix-split hiccup, and software efforts return quickly. But if it doesn't good by Adobe.

 

[cube]

Well, it seems there's no way to try iDraw, so I'm not plunking the money just to check if it might work for what I need.

 

[jpmohr]

Reply received

It may not be much, but after emailing Mr. Shantanu Narayen (CEO) as one poster suggested, I received a reply from Kirsten Harris, Director of Adobe Global Services.

For those interested, part of the reply was:

I understand the concerns you raise in relation to not being able to use the software after ending your subscription, and would like to highlight the benefits of our subscription model, in the hope that perhaps I can allay any fears you may have in our move to delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment; .

• Even after you stop a subscription, you don’t lose access to your projects and files, which you continue to save on your harddisk. Adobe simply offers a way to share such files through the Creative Cloud storage space with your customers, colleagues or yourself on other devices, but the files you create remain your own and you can save them locally, or to a harddrive or a DVD.

• As a Creative Cloud member you always have access to the CS6 versions, and even as Adobe introduces new features, there will always be access to the major previous version considering that customers have hardware or other software dependencies and can’t install the latest feature updates. This will ensure that you don’t have to install the latest updates until you may be ready to upgrade your hardware should this be a system requirement.

• If you stop your Creative Cloud Membership, you won’t have access to the Creative Cloud apps, but for short term access, you can always download and install a trial version, or subscribe to the Creative Cloud for individual months which you can stop at any time.

I sent her a follow-up saying that I am interested in a perpetual license, as it was with prior CS releases. And that I am not interested in leasing / subscribing for software access, whereby cancelling leaves me with nothing. The cloud license may be nice for some, but I want to know that I have purchased something I can continue to use for years to come, without further payments.

 

[Cubytus]

Yeh exactly. Owning software is really an outdated model these days since it changes so fast. Do you really think vendors want to support operating systems 3 years old? It's a lot easier if the majority of your customers are on the same system. Should Apple should still support iOS 3 yet?

You know what's more than $50/month? My lawyer, accountant, internet, rent, utilities, cell phone, etc. This is pittance compared with every other cost of doing business and it's software I can use to make a living. You guys can keep your old CS4 versions; I'll take the tax writeoffs and the new features that come along with continually updated software.

As to your first question, yes, they should. A LOT of people here still run Snow Leopard for ergonomics reasons, yet CC doesn't support it.

Your cell phone bill shouldn't be above $50 a month, unless you live in that overly costly country here up north.

I'm a print designer so I don't need Dreamweaver, Flash and all the video stuff so why should I need to pay them for it?

doesn't Adobe allow paying per-app?

That's my emphasis added there, so for everyone who doesn't want the extra expense of CC, we can keep using CS6 until Adobe are forced to rethink this highway robbery plan of theirs!

They probably won't ever rethink that, unless too many people stay on CS6. The reason? There is simply no other software suite designed for creative professionals on the market. Applications may be available individually, but not as a suite.

Considering how fast Adobe has churned out new CS versions, I believe they assume adoption rate for the new versions is equally as high, so switching to a subscription based model wouldn't change anything for the loyal customers who upgrade each time a new version comes out.

Wha could be improved is that, much like a standard model, one could choose to pay the remaining balance to own the software indefinitely. Would Afobe allow that?