Posted on 06/06/2013 11:59:26 AM PDT by Racehorse
Adobe . . . has made a bold move to abandon their customers . . . and force them into a subscription sales model which some of us might remember from the 1950s door-to-door book and encyclopedia sales women who sold my mom a set.
Only now . . . Adobe abandoned all their customers.
From now on . . . you don't get rent to own. You only get to rent . . .
What do you think?
It means that Adobe just decided to put the barrel of a gun in its own mouth.
So might be true for you . . . but what happens to your business, should you stop, for any reason, feeding your credit card to the Adobe Cash Cow?
You’re going to go looking for alternative, equivalent software to service your clients. That’s what you’re going to do, isn’t it?
If not . . . what will you do?
Well, of course, given your hypothetical in which I stop feeding my credit card to the Adobe Cash Cow, I will go looking for an alternative.
I’m not trying to defend Adobe. They are not perfect (especially if by perfect we mean they give away their software) and I have had issues with them from time to time over the years. And while I don’t see it as optimal, I don’t begrudge them their business model. The market will deal with it.
But given that I would prefer not to learn new software that is duplicative of what I already use in a cost-effective manner, I don’t really see the problem for me. Learning new software, that may or may not work as well as what I am using now is a time-consuming and expensive proposition.
As I mentioned above, if I were only a casual user, I might not be using Adobe. but that is not the case.
‘All I know is their Flash player updates every freaking day.’
This is a bold move. If enough users do not accept their business model, their software will disappear, as once a demand is discovered in the software industry, there will be someone who will be able to and will fill the void.
“As I mentioned above, if I were only a casual user, I might not be using Adobe. but that is not the case.”
So, dog, what sniff do you have in this hunt? Chewing on whatever bone . . . or raw hide that passes for a bone?
Do you have a point? I guess I’m not as good at understanding your metaphor as you are at creating it.
I thnk this is a wonderful idea. My version of Adobe In Design is so old it would cost over $1000 to upgrade to CS6. However I can afford to pay a small subscription fee that allows me to use the latest version of Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign on an as needed basis. Totally cool IMO.
I use the software professionally and have never liked plunking down 2500-3500 for software upgrades just about every year. I have to have the latest versions to use certain files correctly from my customers.
If I quit the profession then I will gladly give up the $50/month, but I’m saving money this way.
That being said, I believe that they should still allow for “purchasing.” Some people just prefer it. Why not.
Thanks, PeaceBeWithYou;
Many of us are looking for products which offer either perpetual licenses (preferred), or an option to purchase/rent one or the other. The question is, how many of us, after all the rants, will vote with our checkbooks. (Rather ancient thinking, I know, a checkbook. :-))
Adobe prefers perpetual monthly access to our credit card accounts.
Since my perpetual license is the most current, CS6, I have a lot of time to shop around or simply wait to see how old competitors and upstarts rush in to offer some of us non-believers a choice.
I’m not against any cloud service, per se. I have a fast internet connection and can download humongus-sized files while taking a coffee break.
I’m simply against paying monthly for an indeterminate time to end up, once I stop paying, having no working software.
Thanks, much. I suspect, but cannot know, that a year or two from now, your suggestions will become quite important to former Adobe customers. Time will tell. :-)
First, let me say, my point has been repeated, repeatedly.
Second, I should have done better responding to your post. Apologies.
Good for you.
How did that upgrade cost escalate? Maybe two years ago Adobe announced the only discounted upgrade path would be from "only" the last issue to the next. For example, you could upgrade to CS6, if and only if, you owned a license for CS5 . . . not 4, not 3 . . . etc.
Any doubt Adobe has been planning this apparent extortion for a very long time?
Like a really good sheep dog owner, Adobe has apparently nudged their customer sheep into their corporate barn for "perpetual" sheering . . . via your personal or corporate credit cards.
Ha! And if you don't pay, it'll stop updating!
What a complete POC Flash is. Security patches every bleeping day, why hasn't something else that's more secure come along to replace it's pervasiveness on the net?
Thanks, Noamie, for letting me know . . . you’re a professional.
I’m not a professional. I’ve been a revenue source for superior Adobe products since they only sold postscript fonts.
I’m also kinda old. Thought an upgrade to Masterpiece Collection CS7 would be my last upgrade.
What happens ... noamie . . . when you stop paying after however many months and their software stops working and though Adobe gives you access to your cloud and desktop files ...what software will you use to open and work with what you’ve created . . . when you stop being part of the 1950s Adobe model? Trapping and fleecing customers.
Being a professional . . . really want to know. Why would anybody other than BIG firms sign on to this? Are you so successful?
Hope you are. Thanks for your post.
Thanks, Racehorse, for being so kind.
First things first: Though I prefer the subscription, I agree that Adobe is making an error by not selling “boxed” programs for people who just. want. to. work.
I mean, what the heck? I think they will get about a year in and change their minds. At least, I hope they do.
For me, however, it works like this:
CS6 Master Collection UPGRADE is around $1,350 ($2,200 brand new).
This includes just about all of Adobe’s “main” programs and is essential to my business.
I was upgrading every, what was it - every 1.5 years or something? Plunking down that (almost) annual $1,350 really sucked cash out of my pocket in a sudden and unhappy way.
Now I am paying $600/year in $50 installments. I’m saving money and stabilizing my monthly expenses - plus, I now get every single product that Adobe makes which kind of makes it an even larger bargain than the ‘ol Master Collection.
For a “Pro” it works well for me. However, if I stopped working tomorrow I wouldn’t be so positive about what Adobe has done. In this day and age there is no good reason for Adobe to go subscribe-only.
And, yes, I am successful as hell. I dream in 4 color process. I’m also old enough to know that not all “strippers” will give you crabs... if there are any around anymore.
Best,
Noamie
*You can get a Single App for a $20/month subscription ($240/year). That still sucks for someone who is currently paying $0, but.... was just thinking about that.
[. . .]
I was upgrading every, what was it - every 1.5 years or something? Plunking down that (almost) annual $1,350 really sucked cash out of my pocket in a sudden and unhappy way.
I've taken advantage of evey Adobe offering since . . . offerings from single applications right up to CS6 Master Collection . . . can't fool me about Adobe abandoned software. The list is relatively long.
Why would any "professional" trust Adobe to fulfill promises they don't keep with their longtime, traditional customers?
Hope your investment works out better than it has for the rest of us..
And you are?
Somebody who gave their intimate guys . . . crabs?
Just follow3ing up on your comment.
Funny. “Strippers” used to make the film for plates on press.
:)
Cool. Thanks.
Care to explain for those who don’t understand what you’re schooling me about?
Apologies,I do make.
Sorry, Race. Somehow I misunderstood and thought that you had a printing background.
Right up the beginning of the 2000’s there used to be these guys who were employes at printing companies who took the film that was created from designs (one film, per color: in 4-color process this is Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) and used that film to “burn” the metal plates that were then used on the large printing presses. Those guys were sometimes called, “strippers.”
It’s all done by computer/machine now. There aren’t many full-time “strippers” left.
It sucks and I’m looking for other software for home use, maybe Sony Vegas Pro. I don’t know what will happen at work.
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