Adobe go back to fixed rate vs monthly cloud cost?

Is this a no go or is there any sign of this happening.   Not sure if it was someone on this site or another.  About a month ago, someone was talking about this, and for the life of me, I can't find the discussion. 

I follow the adobe world a bit and have seen no sign of this.  I don't see it happening.  The subscription model is working for them and is a fair and effective model for most users of their products.  I see many other major providers following in their footsteps.  Microsoft is strongly pushing their subscription model and I suspect it won't be long before their software will no longer be available as a boxed product.

This is a lesson in business development.

The subscription (or leasing, as I think of it) is all about managing your revenue stream. Getting consistent monthly payments allows you to better forecast revenue and plan accordingly. It eliminates the uncertainty of folks upgrading every release, and it eliminates the need to plan, market and produce new versions. As long as the feature enhancements are constant enough (the determination of which is an art in itself) folks are going to be happy. Bug fixes happen without the need for doing anything.

The downside is having to rely on something out there that may not be accessible when it's needed. I don't have CC yet (because I bought a copy of CS right before the introduced CC, and I want my money's worth out of it) but I would hope that there is a way to know when it will want to phone home, and that you can manage that aspect if you happen to be mobile. Plus, I don't own an iPhone, iPad or Mac, so all the "extras" are currently of no value to me.

It is unlikely, given "software as a service" trends, for Adobe to revert. Besides: the subscription model is less expensive than the upgrade model (for regular upgrades). $10 / month for LR + PS? For me that's cheap. I will likely climb on board pretty soon.

Before the subscription went into effect, one of Adobe's main reasons for the change was the theft of Photoshop, something I heard once was close to half of the users weren't paying for it. It was very easy to obtain a cracked copy from a boxed product. I'd like to know what the numbers are now?

Let me just say here, I HATE THE CLOUD!  I do not want my stuff out in some universe.  I want to own what I pay for .  It's like rent versus buy.  I would rather buy my house than rent forever.

stuartsbarbie wrote: Let me just say here, I HATE THE CLOUD!  I do not want my stuff out in some universe.  I want to own what I pay for .  It's like rent versus buy.  I would rather buy my house than rent forever.

I think you are confused.

The adobe software is downloaded and installed on your local system. Your files, all of them, stay on your local system, unless you choose to store them on the Adobe servers. You might, for example, choose to do so in order to access them via iPad or laptop when working remotely.

But you don't have to do that, and it certainly isn't the default. Nothing is moved off of your system without your consent, knowledge and intent.

"Cloud" is market-speak for "we provide software as a service, and you can take advantage of some storage space on our servers." It's really not any more complex than that. It is a really poor term to describe what is actually happening.

The software will also "phone home" to ensure that it is licensed to run. I've been told (by a photographer buddy) this happens every 3 months or so. I believe he has the 1 year subscription model.

Now then.

You never, ever "own" software. Just like you never, ever own a recording of music or a movie. You buy a license to play a copy that has been delivered to you either physically or electronically whenever and wherever you like. Software works the same way; you've always purchased a license for a particular version that is good for as long as you can run that version. (We won't discuss hardware keys and the like.)

But you never own software. It's not like a house because you can never own it, ever.

The problem with the old model is that, at some point, bugs won't get fixed. New features are only added to new versions. Your purchase is, often, static. And as long as it meets your needs, then that's great.

What happens when you need a new feature? You pay for an upgrade. Just like the $250 I just shelled out for Sony Vegas so I could get up-to-date codecs. Which really bites, because so far I've found not one feature that is of any use to me. I hope that will change. But enough of that...

The subscription model obviates that limitation. And if I had stopped paying for that product when I stopped using it, then picked it up again (for $10 / month) I'd be way ahead.  The nice thing right now is that you can buy a perpetual license of LR 5, same as always. If you need heavy lifting from PS, the subscription is a bargain.

IMO.

effron wrote: Before the subscription went into effect, one of Adobe's main reasons for the change was the theft of Photoshop, something I heard once was close to half of the users weren't paying for it. It was very easy to obtain a cracked copy from a boxed product. I'd like to know what the numbers are now?

Such good post here.  Interesting.  I have to say, this number is now a curiosity.  Bump for answer.  

I like the cloud, but find when I'm accessing on certain computers a bit slow when it needs to verify my account.  A couple times it has froze on me. 

effron wrote: Before the subscription went into effect, one of Adobe's main reasons for the change was the theft of Photoshop, something I heard once was close to half of the users weren't paying for it. It was very easy to obtain a cracked copy from a boxed product. I'd like to know what the numbers are now?

I can't find any figures, but apparently Adobe Photoshop CC was cracked and pirated the day after it was launched. There just seems to be no way to keep a software product from being pirated. And judging by recent financial forecasts for Adobe, the subscription plan is here to stay.

ValerieG wrote:

effron wrote: Before the subscription went into effect, one of Adobe's main reasons for the change was the theft of Photoshop, something I heard once was close to half of the users weren't paying for it. It was very easy to obtain a cracked copy from a boxed product. I'd like to know what the numbers are now?

I can't find any figures, but apparently Adobe Photoshop CC was cracked and pirated the day after it was launched. There just seems to be no way to keep a software product from being pirated. And judging by recent financial forecasts for Adobe, the subscription plan is here to stay.

Yeh you can't pirate proof software really.  


I think what subscription did was take away an excuse for pirating Adobe stuff.  The initial cost used to be so high that many people simply couldn't afford it.  Lightroom solved this for some people, but a lot of people just couldn't afford (or wanted to pay) anything that highly priced in one shot.

I think the option to do both/either would be nice.

ValerieG wrote:

effron wrote: Before the subscription went into effect, one of Adobe's main reasons for the change was the theft of Photoshop, something I heard once was close to half of the users weren't paying for it. It was very easy to obtain a cracked copy from a boxed product. I'd like to know what the numbers are now?

I can't find any figures, but apparently Adobe Photoshop CC was cracked and pirated the day after it was launched. There just seems to be no way to keep a software product from being pirated. And judging by recent financial forecasts for Adobe, the subscription plan is here to stay.

I think it was around 1.3 million

effron wrote: Before the subscription went into effect, one of Adobe's main reasons for the change was the theft of Photoshop, something I heard once was close to half of the users weren't paying for it. It was very easy to obtain a cracked copy from a boxed product. I'd like to know what the numbers are now?

Not surprised.  As much as I originally disliked the new platform, it works and it's nice to have access to so much.  

Harrison J wrote:

effron wrote: Before the subscription went into effect, one of Adobe's main reasons for the change was the theft of Photoshop, something I heard once was close to half of the users weren't paying for it. It was very easy to obtain a cracked copy from a boxed product. I'd like to know what the numbers are now?

Not surprised.  As much as I originally disliked the new platform, it works and it's nice to have access to so much.  

True, the only dislike I have is that sometimes when it verifies your account, it takes a long time. 

I can't see it reverting back either. I did buy Lightroom, but my CS is an older version & even then I don't use it enough to warrant doing the monthly route