LEGACY… a Heavy Trap


adjective  — denoting or relating to software that has been superseded
but is difficult to replace because of its wide use.

At the beginning of my operation conversion to digital (2011), everything 
was Adobe, I then bought the Creative Suite Master Collection (CS6).

Then came the maker's other marketing strategy: the subscription mo-
del, for a time, both model coexisted. But this was meant as THE new 
marketing strategy of Adobe. Owners like me of "getting old" versions
could no longer hope to update any components of their Creative Suite
because from now on it was rent and no longer buy.

Already then — and though Macs were getting better suited for the new
challenges of these constantly evolving software — the said softwares
had learned new tricks and got waaaaay heavier and slower… because
of legacy. For my needs, CS6, even when it could not be updated, was
enough as photographer and layout artist.

Ps, InD, and Lr to name just a few, generated tons of MB of documents
that were my bread and butter but I was getting behind — many clients 
were sending me files that could be opened but only with many limita-
tions. This is when I decided to give it all up, desperately hoping to find
somewhere else other tools for my trade.

I didn't have to wait too long as progressive programmers teamed up
to give alternative solutions a new start, a fresh look, a better approach
and all that without the weight of legacy.

I first explored and adopted Capture One v. 6. Ok, it was far from what it
is today — v. 13.1.4.15 — but it was all worth it. Sure CO got in the ever
more expensive subscription model at a given point but it is still possible
to own the software for ever… every major update came at a cost. Over
the years, CO generated quite a few GBs of sidecar files and all the work
to produce them is now compromised because the new v. 14 is taking
a new direction that does not justifies the hefty price of the update. 

Then, came Sérif with the Affinity Suite: Design, Photo, and Publisher…
all I needed. The recent v. 1.9 was quite some learning curve but the sui-
te is a splendid solution in every way… and still cheap, growing, and im-
proving though it offers no dedicated RAW converter yet — to eventually
replace Capture One v. 13.1.4.15, if the company is going on that way.

Now, three days ago, I learn that Nikon has just released NX Studio v.1
and it is FREE!   Ok, it will only recognise Nikon's RAW files but I ha-
ve still CO for my Q80 system and I don't care much for other makers.

So, if NX Studio is going in the right direction — and I trust Nikon that it
will — in addition to the Affinity Suite, I'll be covered.

LAGACY will have me keeping safe all those files from Ps, InD, and Lr,
plus those generated by CO (that I still own) and all the new ones from
the Affinity Suite and the new Nikon's NX Studio — if adopted.