Photoshop goes subscription.

[Guest DaveW]

See:-

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22432171

 

http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2013/05/new-gear-adobe-photoshop-creative-cloud-goes-subscription-only

 

Wonder if it will apply to Elements or Lightroom?

Edited May 7, 2013 by DaveW

[JohnP]

The cost is insane... I can't get on with Photoshop anyway, I tried those free downloads that someone on here posted the link to and I am happy to continue with my old Paint Shop Pro9.

[Phil]

They've been doing this for some time. IIRC the sub includes all Adobe products so if you're a pro togger/videographer it can work out reasonable but for low users like us the cost is ridiculous.

[Guest DaveW]

I wonder if Adobe Camera RAW for the latest cameras will be made compatible with the old stand alone versions of  Photoshop, or only with the subscription version?  At the moment Adobe encrypt it so it only works with the latest versions of Photoshop and Elements.  Will they in future stop producing new Camera RAW versions for other than the subscription version to try and force people onto it?

 

Personally Photoshop does not provide anything extra I need.  Elements has all I want, so possibly they will keep Elements non-subscription since it is aimed at amateur photographers rather than professionals or graphic artists and the printing trade, as Photoshop is.

Edited May 7, 2013 by DaveW

[Black Pearl]

I'm in two mind about this.

 

I can see why as a company they want to do it - guaranteed income and little or no supply chain.

 

but

 

Not everyone who uses Photoshop wants or needs the full suite nor does everyone need the latest version (Dave's point about ACR aside) so wouldn't want to continuously pay for upgrades.

 

I'm hoping Adobe don't go the same way with Lightroom as I think I'm going to invest in LR5 when it launches in June - I'm trialling the Beta version now and haven't really needed Photoshop for anything other than putting my borders on images before posting them online. In fact I find it much easier to use and a darn site faster for processing a large number of images. If I buy it I will keep it a number of years and wouldn't need to upgrade unless I bought a new camera that wasn't supported, something that may not happen for quite some time so the idea of a subscription based licence is a worry.

[Guest DaveW]

See also:-

 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/06/adobe-rebrands-creative-suite-creative-cloud/

 

http://lifehacker.com/adobe-kills-creative-suite-goes-subscription-only-inst-493181376

[Guest]

its being done to deal with the piracy issue. They have this bizarre idea that everyone that has an illegal copy of photoshop is a lost customer. There are a lot of people that use it because they get it free if they had to pay for it they would use something else they wouldn't pay for it. I'm not saying piracy is ok I'm just saying not every pirate copy is a lost customer. It will probably be the end of photoshop for the casual user 

[Guest DaveW]

Hi BP, this was posted on another forum:-

 

http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2013/05/lightroom-and-the-creative-cloud.html

Edited May 7, 2013 by DaveW

[Guest DaveW]

Also see:-

 

http://lightroomkillertips.com/

 

Photoshop was never just aimed at photographers though. Elements and later Lightroom were the programs solely aimed at photographers, with all the graphic arts and printing trade manipulations stripped out which bump up the cost but are seldom of use to photographers.

 

For the history of Photoshop see:-

 

http://www.storyphoto.com/multimedia/multimedia_photoshop.html

 

http://www.easyelements.com/photoshop-history.html

Edited May 8, 2013 by DaveW

[MattGrey]

I can't see this working. Half the reason people don't pay for  it now is because it is so easy to access free of charge.  Adobe have to be the most pirated software publisher around, until this is sorted, no amount of payment model tinkering is going to make a difference.

[Guest DaveW]

Can't the Cloud be made to recognise only  a specific computer for you to use it though?  A bit like using a plug in dongle in the old days so the software could only be used on one paid for computer at a time.  Can you pirate Cloud software?  Though probably somebody will find a way to do so in future.

 

"But what about password-sharing? Surely this will occur in some form—whose HBO Go account are you using?—but Adobe hasn't been shy in instituting clear limitations on Creative Cloud services. You are limited to 2 machines only, and if you want to run an app on a new rig, you must deactivate one of the others first."

 

http://gizmodo.com/will-adobes-move-to-the-cloud-finally-keep-the-pirates-493172511

 

http://cloudtimes.org/2012/09/07/can-cloud-stop-software-piracy/

 

If I have read things correctly, Photoshop the stand alone software, will no longer be developed any further even though you can still buy it. All new versions of Photoshop will be on the Cloud in future to inhibit piracy, with stand alone old Photoshop being allowed to whither away as it ages without any upgrades. Also the versions of Adobe Camera RAW for new cameras will probably no longer work with stand alone Photoshop.

Edited May 8, 2013 by DaveW

[Guest]

matt its because of piracy they are doing this, if you dont have the media you cant share the software

[Black Pearl]

From Scott Kelby:

 

I saw loads of questions and comments all over the Web yesterday about Adobe’s announcements. The new features part got lots of love. Adobe’s new subscription-only plan for their Creative Cloud software, not so much (and that’s being kind), so I thought I’d do a quick Q&A giving my take on it all.

Q. Scott, should I be freaking out?

A.Absolutely not. I saw a lot of nasty comments yesterday (I’m sure you did, too), but a lot of what I read was based on mis-information or was just plain wrong.

Q. Can you give me an example?

A. Sure. I read a bunch of people in forums claiming that Adobe isn’t going to release any bug fixes for Photoshop CS6. Actually, Adobe said just the opposite. They said they would be updating CS6 with bug fixes as necessary — they’re just not adding any new features (well, technically they did go back to CS6 and add a major new feature —- they added the HiDPI support for computers with high dpi displays, like the Retina display on the MacBook Pro, but you know what I mean).

Q. So, Adobe isn’t going to add any new features to Photoshop CS6?

A. Um…no, but that’s not new. I don’t remember Adobe ever going back and adding new features to a previous version of Photoshop once a new version has been announced.

Q. So they announced a new version of Photoshop?

A.Yup. It’s called Photoshop CC (for Creative Cloud), and it’s got a bunch of new features, and it’s the 2nd feature update they’ve issued for the Creative Cloud.

Q. I heard we have to subscribe to get these new features. Is that true?

A. Yup. The new features aren’t being added to the old version of Photoshop (CS6), so to get the new features you’ll need to subscribe.

Q. So I have to pay $50 a month to get these new features!!!!

A. Nope. For some reason, everyone is acting like you have to subscribe to the complete Creative Cloud program to get the new features in Photoshop. Actually you subscribe to just Photoshop by itself for $19.95 a month (Adobe calls this a “Single App subscription”). By the way, this $19.95 Photoshop-only subscription thing isn’t new (it just seems like nobody really knows about it, so everybody’s all focused on the $50-a-month thing).

Q. But Photoshop CS6 came out just over a year ago. Now I have to shell out $20 a month?

A. Nope — they have a discount for folks who already bought CS6 (or CS5, CS4 even back to CS3) — they get a one-year intro-deal on a Photoshop CC subscription for just $10 a month and they get all the new features (along with any new ones that are released, for as long as they’re subscribed).

Q. So then I don’t actually have to pay $50 a month for Photoshop?

A.That’s right — the $49.95 monthly subscription is only if you want the full Creative Cloud, which gives you all the Creative Suite Master Collection Applications as well, like InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Muse, and on and on, plus a bunch of new Cloud-based services.

Q. Yeah, but if I bought CS6 and now I want to move to the full-blown Cloud, I’m hosed right?

A. If you bought CS6 and want to move up to the complete Creative Cloud, there’s a deal where you can get the whole shebang for just $19.95 a month (same price as just Photoshop alone, but you have to already be a CS6 user to qualify). Here’s a link to the page where I found it.

Q. But I’m a photographer and I only use Photoshop. This doesn’t sound like a very good deal.

A. If all you use is Photoshop, I agree, and I wouldn’t get the complete $49.95 monthly Creative Cloud subscription — I’d just go with the $20 Photoshop-only monthly subscription instead.

Q. What if I use Photoshop and Lightroom. Is it a good deal then?

A. I think it will be before too long (Adobe sneak peeked some cool stuff for photographers on“The Grid” last week), but honestly right now there’s not a really strong case for photographers with the complete Creative Cloud. For example, you could buy the Lightroom 5 upgrade for $79 (I’m assuming it’ll be $79 ’cause that’s what it cost last tim), and then if you’re already a Photoshop user using anything from Photoshop CS3 to CS6, just spend the $10 a month on Photoshop.
So, take the $79 plus $120 for the Photoshop CC Single App subscription, and you’re around $200. If you went with the complete Creative Cloud subscription you’d be paying $600, so by just getting those two programs (upgrading to Lightroom 5 and subscribing just to Photoshop CC), you’re saving $400 by going this way, and you still have the latest versions of the best image-editing duo on the planet.

Q. So when does the complete Creative Cloud subscription math work out?

A. As soon as you find yourself using two or more programs (not including Lightroom). So, if you use Photoshop and InDesign, or Photoshop and Premiere Pro, or Photoshop and Muse or any other couple of Adobe programs, the deal goes from “Meh” to “Hey!!!” For example, our in-house video team thinks the complete Creative Cloud is the best thing since sliced bread because they use lots of Adobe applications. For our graphic designers, it rocks for them too because none of them uses just Photoshop. The more programs you use, the more sense it makes. This is why, right now, I don’t think it makes that much sense for photographers, who are going to use just one or two programs (if you count Lightroom, which is included in the complete Creative Cloud) but I think that will change in the future as Adobe adds more photographer-centric features.

Q. But what if Adobe raises the price on me?

A. doubt I’ll be in my 60s and the price for the Creative Cloud will still be the same. At some point, it’ll probably go up, but any company can raise the price of any of their products at any time, just like the US Post Office does with the price of a stamp (and most companies do pretty regularly, which is why everything costs us more today from milk to gas to coffee). Also, just like any product, you don’t have to buy it if they do raise the price.

Q. So what happens if I can’t pay my subscription one month?

A. The same thing that happens if you can’t make your car payment. Two big burly guys come to your house in the middle of the night and take back your copy of Photoshop.

Q. Really?!

A. Well, they don’t come to your house per se (they do it digitally), but why chance it?

Q. I read that the Creative Cloud apps run in a Browser. Is that true?

A. I can’t believe I keep reading this, but no. No, no, no. They don’t run in your browser. All the Adobe desktop apps in the Creative Cloud (like Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.) run like they always did — on your desktop. But instead of getting a box shipped to you, you just download the software from “The Cloud.”

Q. I also read you always have to be online because it checks every day to see if your subscription is current. What if I’m not online when they check each day?

A. It’s my understanding that if you’re an annual subscriber, it only checks once-a-month to confirm your registration — not every day, all day, and annual subscribers can actually be off-line for up to 99 days straight and it still keep their subscription active (but I can’t remember ever meeting anyone who was offline for 99 days. I did hear stories of a Grandmother in Wyoming once though). For monthly subscribers, I think you can be offline for around 37 days, but still — I don’t know where this whole “check every day” thing came from either, but my advice would be; when they come to check, quickly turn out the lights and hide behind the couch.

Q. Will that work?

A. I’m not certain, but again, why chance it?

Q. Why is Adobe the only one doing this?

A. Actually, they’re not (look at AutoDesk, Audible, Microsoft, iTunes Match, Amazon Prime, etc.), and I imagine within just a couple of years (or less), this subscription model will become the norm. Don’t shoot the messenger. Shoot Brad instead.

Q. Hey, I bought CS6 last year. Aren’t I entitled to these feature updates for free?

A. Well, every time Adobe releases a new version of their software, only people that buy the new software get the new features. If you look in your copy of CS5, you won’t find any of the CS6 features in there — only the people that bought CS6 get them. When you bought CS6, you bought it based on the features that were in there at the time, and that’s exactly what you got. There was no promise that if Adobe came out with new features that you’d get them — new features always go in the next version of the software.

Q. Well, that’s not exactly true. Creative Cloud subscribers got those features free!

A. That’s true, because subscribers get new features free, as soon as they’re ready, so they’re always on the latest version of the software.

Q. So basically, Adobe is using that as a marketing thing to get people to subscribe to the Creative Cloud?

A. Well…yeah. Cloud subscribers get the new features free as soon as they’re ready. It made me want to subscribe.

Q. That’s not fair!

A. You seriously need to find the person who, at some point in your life, mistakenly told you that life was fair and clonk them with that round cardboard tube that comes inside Christmas wrapping paper.

Q. What if I don’t want to subscribe? What if I don’t want to “rent” my software?

A. You don’t have to. You can still buy the retail version of Photoshop CS6 just like always, and you’ll own it and there’s no monthly fee.

Q. Well, how much does Photoshop CS6 cost?

A. I believe it’s $700 (ish).

Q. Wow. Renting doesn’t sound so bad now.

A. I know, right?

Q. I know you said we can still buy Photoshop CS6, but I just scoured Adobe’s Website and I can’t find any link to it at all.

A. Me either. I searched all over, even got friends to help search with me, and I couldn’t find it for a long time (apparently buying CS6 includes a game of “needle in the haystack” first) but eventually I uncovered it. Here’s the link.

Q. So Scott, what do you think is a fair price for a bundle of both Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5?

A. A bunch of folks watching our live broadcast with Adobe’s Tom Hogarty thought the sweet spot for a bundle of the two of them would be $20, and I agree — that would be ideal. Probably isn’t going to happen, cause that would be both at about $10 a month, and one costs $700 and one costs $149. If you’re thinking, “Hey, $15 sounds great” I wouldn’t hold my breath for that either. I think $24.95 would still be really reasonable, but of course it’s not up to me.

Q. So have you talked to Adobe about all this new pricing stuff?

A. Absolutely. I’ve been out there for meetings, I’ve had numerous conference calls, I’m on an Adobe advisory board, and I’ve been in close contact with Adobe over all of this and I’ve given my opinion to the point that I can’t believe they would actually continue to take my calls. But at the end of the day, I can only offer advice and give them the perspective of the 70,000 NAPP members I represent, but I’m not the Adobe CEO, and product pricing is not my call to make.
This is the product direction Adobe chose going forward, made by people with a much higher pay grade than me. I’m glad they asked at all. Most companies wouldn’t have. I also think they really listened (not just to me, but a wide range of industry influencers and longtime customers and I think that’s why some of the pricing deals and discounts are as low as they are. $10 a month for the latest Photoshop? That’s a pretty unbelievable price honestly — lower than I thought they’d ever go). But the software market has changed tremendously in the past few years and they have to do what they feel is best course for their products and their company going forward. By the way, this subscription model isn’t just where the future of software in general is going. It’s already here (as I mentioned earlier).

Q. Do you think Adobe will change their mind about this?

A. No. This isn’t a decision they made two weeks ago, and Adobe knows there are a ton of people who already subscribe to the Creative Cloud (the last figure I heard was over 500,000 subscribers and growing, which is pretty staggering) and there are a ton of people who absolutely love the Creative Cloud, the tools it brings and the opportunities and doors it opens. I run into people while I’m out on tour who wouldn’t go back to the old way if you paid them, so while it may not be perfect for everyone just yet, this is pretty much just “Creative Cloud 1.0.” I’m honestly surprised at what Adobe has added in just one year, and I’ve seen some things that are coming, and I imagine before too long everybody will want to be in on this because Adobe is working on some truly groundbreaking stuff.

Q. I know, I know, but I’m just so mad about all this!

A. Change freaks a lot of people out, and all the misinformation out there hasn’t helped either. But just know that you still have lots of options, so don’t feel like you’re being forced down one particular road. You can subscribe to just Photoshop. You can buy and own Photoshop CS6. You can join the whole Creative Cloud, or not. You can keep the software you already have and keep using it for years. You can sit on the sidelines and just see how this whole thing plays out, but regardless, you still have options.

Q. So what are you going to do?

A. I subscribed to the Creative Cloud about two weeks after Adobe announced it, and I love it. I do use more than just Lightroom and Photoshop (I’ve been using InDesign all day today), and for me, and for my company, it not only makes sense, it saves me money. I’ve spent my entire career waiting 18 to 20 months for Adobe to release new Photoshop features. Now, I get them as soon as they’re ready. The waiting is over, and the decision was an easy one, but again, I had options. You do, too.

I hope that helped to clear some things up.

Best,

-Scott 

 

 

[Guest DaveW]

Trouble with most introductory offers BP is they are just that. After the offer period the cost often doubles, as with car insurance and Internet Service Providers.

 

Stand alone Photoshop seems to be going no further other than bug fixes (how many bug fixes do you presently get for previous versions of Photoshop, Lightroom or Elements now though?). Therefore future Photoshop versions will only be Cloud and subscription based. As said this is to prevent piracy since the Cloud can recognise which computer is trying to access it even if you use somebody else's password.  Just as Microsoft can recognise if you have pirated Windows on your computer and will block access to downloads or bug fixes to it.  But at least in that case you do have the pirated operating system working on your computer even if no bug fixes.  With cloud based apps if your computer cannot access them you cannot use them. I gather Photoshop on the cloud can be run on two computers with the same password, but if you want to change from one of the registered computers to another you have to de-register it from one and register it again on the new one?  If so pirated software and the use of others passwords will not work on an un-registered computer in future, which is the aim of the exercise.