Cloud is ongoing expense
If you don’t have a recent installed version, you will never “own” your creative. You will always have to pay to access it.
Honestly, they have been updating it regularly and you get all the updates. They aren’t patches, but functional additions. I have been very pleased with CC and I was very much against it at first.
Do you use all the products or only some? How much do you use Adobe products vs the update over the previous version?
For that $15.99 a month it may be worth it to try but do the math x 12 months. $192 a year and the cost for the following years. See youtube videos and online comparisons and see if it is worth it. Have you tried a trial version of the cloud software?
http://www.adobe.com/downloads.html
I own CorelDraw X3. I could update to their latest and it would cost quite a bit but as an amateur I do not use it enough to justify the cost plus the update is not really all that different then what I got.
I use Adobe’s Dreamweaver CS6 quite a bit for home use and will not upgrade. The cloud one does have some things that would be helpful but the cost is too much.
CS6 will be the last owner owned PhotoShop software from Adobe.
As a student, you are eliglble for a student discount thru Adobe. I would purchase the Disk or download the free 30 day trial ver. and make the Adobe purchase thru your school.
It wouldn’t make sense to spend $500-$1000 dollars to buy the package unless you were 100% certain about how and how much you were going to use it. The subscription discount is great, so give that a try and reevaluate in a year what your needs are.
Pfl
Adobe’s stuff is excellent. It’s the industry standard.
I use GIMP for Linux.... because I’m a cheap SOB.
GIMP is good...but Adobe’s stuff is better...IMO
15.99/mo does not sound excessive.
You can download GIMP for Linux, OS X, and Windows
I wish there was a piece of free software that could make me a talented artist... I’m just a dabbler. I bow before those with real artistic talent.
Adobe’s cloud platform is awesome and they take security seriously now.
>> Is there an advantage to subscribing to the Creative Suite vs. buying it?
Didn’t think that was an option anymore. But Creative Cloud is worth it in my opinion.
That’s a good price.
Use your student discount — I see the student photo package is on the adobe site for 9.99/month. I agree with the others CC is terrific. I had a fully licensed version of CS6 (and several earlier generations of the software). I also have the 10 dollar/month bundle deal, which is a little over 11 a month after tax is applied. My only worry is they’ll jack up the price.
I have been too busy to learn all that I would like to learn about Adobe’s products. I have dabbled with PhotoShop and use Light Room but do not make use of most of its features. So don’t really know the answer. Long term it will cost you but you should sign on because you are going in the right directions.
I was a public school teacher and got out. The future of education is going to be almost entirely online and you can probably make good use of both skills.
bookmark
I bought CC because my previous was CS3, cost per month was “more affordable” at the time than dropping the full amount on CS6, much like financing a car appears “cheaper” at the time. I hate the recurring monthly charge but the software remains updated, I’ve got it set to do so automatically. I’ve had no problems with it. If you can get it for $15.99/mo compared to what with an educational discount? Do the math, if you have that locked in on an ongoing basis it might actually be more cost effective.
I am looking to go that route for After Effects which I need to learn about thanks to sensor grit that shows up here and there on stuff I could use for stock submissions.
For no more than I need, buying full AE is probably overkill.
Bumping for topspinr’s post. However I have a shred of hope that Adobe will begin to offer perpetual licensing again.
I do not have CC, just CS6 and below so I am not familiar with the new “features”. I will say 3rd party plugins seem to offer the comparative “upgrades” that work with older versions of CS.
The big advantage is that Adobe can spend time to clean up bugs, interface issues, and general smaller things that will tend to get ignored in pursuit of the the Next Big Release. The subscription model will ensure a more solid product.
I’m running CS6 Production Premium myself, but I’m strongly considering moving over to CC soon.
Mr. niteowl77
I thought $50/mo. was a great deal. $16/mo. Is a no brainer.
I much prefer this to the old pricing strategy. $600/year for all of these programs is a great deal.