I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Adobe for 10 years.
I LOVE their products, but I HATE the pricing, monopoly and everything else.
Why do I keep coming back?
Because despite tons of freeware and knock-offs that can produce the same effects…Adobe just has finesse. They have a steep learning curve if you’re not used to software, but once you get the hang of it you wonder why you even downloaded the freeware.
What’s freeware?
Oh, you know…stuff like Open Office, Gimp, Inkscape, Linux…freeware/open source.
They can pretty much do the same thing as the big programs like Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and even Microsoft Windows. You don’t need to buy the big names if you just learn to use the other software. And the other stuff is free.
I’ve used all of those… the paid and free versions. It’s just a matter of preference now.
So then, why am I complaining about Adobe?
Well, it’s their new business model that really chaps my hide.
Here’s the difference between Adobe CS6 and CC.
Adobe Creative Suite 6 (or CS6) is the LAST version of their software you can purchase in stores. It’s the only version where you’ll have a hard copy (disc) and lifetime license on the computer you install it on. Knowing this, Adobe jacks up the price of their software, because they know you’ll pay for the privilege. That’s so messed up. And they said they aren’t going to release any more versions or updates to it. So what you see, is what you get. The whole suite will put you back $2,599. But individual products like Photoshop or bundles will range from $299 – 1,899.
Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) is online based. Any new improvements to the existing software will only be available to subscribers of “the Cloud”. But by pulling all their updates from the shelves they are trying to force new subscriptions to their online based model. Adobe was probably sitting in a little meeting, wondering how to make a continued stream of revenue….bam, make it subscription based and keep that money rolling in. Otherwise they’re at the mercies of students/designers/school/organizations that buy licenses seasonally and rarely update. So while the cloud may seem like such a wonderful idea, I almost guarantee it’s solely monetary inspired. They also have no incentive to actually update the software. There are no timelines for updates and no real drive to make updates like the good ol’ days when they actually needed to release new versions to boost sales. With their new business model (subscription-based sales) they can coast and release updates when ever they get around to it.
But it’s so affordable! Lol. The subscriptions run from $20 monthly for one app (like if you just want Illustrator) to $50 a month for the whole Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Lightroom, Muse, Flash…etc) with a year subscription.
Now unless you plan on only needing it for one month, don’t get a subscription. And they have a free 30 day trial for that too.
Anyways, I did the math. I plan on using Illustrator until my computer gives out…more than a year for sure. $20 a month for a year =$240. Two years= $480….five years=$1200. With a subscription.
No, I don’t think so.
I’ve had Photoshop CS5 for more than five years and it’s already paid for itself. So even if I had a subscription to “the cloud” I wouldn’t have a license after I essentially paid for the software after all those months. Dang, that’s messed up.
Yeah, messed up.
With that said, I bought a Design bundle. And before you roll your eyes at me, I didn’t pay full price. I found a nice little sale on it. 😉
So if you plan on using it for any length of time, it’s way cheaper to just save and buy the software outright than to get a subscription.
I love your software Adobe, but I don’t have to like you.
Hah.
Oh, and one more thing…what’s up with “the cloud”? If I wanted my photos and documents on every device I own, I would have put them there myself. I don’t like the idea of my intellectual property uploaded to someone else’s server to be streamed to any computer or device. Eww. Haven’t we all heard of jump drives? I can literally take it with me anywhere and I don’t have to pay for 100 gb of space in “the cloud”.
I’m not impressed with any software that uses Cloud based technology. Eesh.
End of rant. Lol!
Happy designing!