Adobe changing its products to cloud services with monthly fees

If you've been using Adobe Photoshop for processing and editing photographs, I highly recommend DxO Optics. It's a European photo editing application that's excellent and not in the cloud. And you'll feel a great sense of relief at not using an Adobe product.

Give me the internet connection for free or guarantee that I can always get online no matter where I am, and I might consider subscribing to such a cloud service.

I've edited media in planes, trains, other people's offices/homes, and airports. Do I want to give that up? Never!!!

just use GIMP - less than 10 % of PS users are in need of functions than can't be found in GIMP.

It's about Y5000 per month in Japan, but they only charge the equivalent of Y3000 per month in Philippine Pesos and they don't seem to have any options at all in mainland China. Since everything is in the "cloud" the fees should be the same in any country. Let's see some benefits to the consumer from globalisation for once.

So when I am in the field and I want to do a quick edit on my laptop.........

Obviously the lesson from the SimCity mess was not learned.

Thanks for the advise Photoman, I will be abandoning Adobe.

Hang on to your older versions of Photoshop and Adobe suite. This Cloud will be an outright nightmare for many people and have a hugely negative effect on productivity. My CS3 Suite (Mac) will continue to serve me for many years to come. I have PS7 Windows and it does just about everything the newer versions will do. This move will definitely open up the market for alternatives and Adobe's market share will drop dramatically. "If it's not broken, don't fix it!"

What, exactly, is the logic here? So I'm when I'm editing a 200MB, 30+layer PSD I'm supposed to wait every time while my changes download to my browser?!? I'm sorry, but even with high-speed internet that's going to slow me down!! I guess it's time to say "Buh-bye" to Adobe....WOW...

Wait a second...after checking the Adobe site I see it says (about the Creative Cloud):

"Keep your entire creative world in sync — files, feedback from team members, fonts, settings, and updates. And, as always, your applications live on your desktop, not in a browser and not in the cloud."

So...apparently, the "cloud" aspect is limited to synching your files to the Web so they are accessible on other devices...cloud-based file storage and a subscription model...

It sounds like the Adobe rep. quoted above as saying "we understand that for many people suddenly switching over to the browser version may be difficult..." isn't aware that the "applications live on your desktop, not in a browser and not in the cloud"...Talk about mixed signals!

just use GIMP - less than 10 % of PS users are in need of functions than can't be found in GIMP.

I'm in that 10%. Colour Matching, for example, is important.

I HATE this idea. I don't want to have to pay 5000yen a month forever just to use the software. If you buy PS CS6, it's about 80,000yen. That would be almost a year and a half at 5000yen a year. but you could use it for longer than that. You can buy something like Photoshop CS6 and use it for a decade and still be able to make great stuff. People I know still use Photoshop 6, which is from 1999 (I think) and still get decent results. Adobe are just trying to squeeze money out of people.

I'm thinking of jumping ship to Corel if they aren't doing this asshattery.

tkoind2May. 20, 2013 - 09:50AM JST

Adobe should tread carefully. I do not want to be tied to an internet connection. Sometimes I work on the go, sometimes I work at home, sometimes away from the web.

Exactly. A lot of my work involves Adobe InDesign and Illustrator and while I did buy the Creative Suite 6, because of the Epub application in Indesign and the return to Audition from Soundbooth, there wasn't a lot more in CS 6 from CS 5.5.

Since I'm not involved in web design, I think I will stick with the CS 6, ignore CS 7 and wait for Adobe to come to their senses and return to the software pakage/download in CS 8.

I hate Adobe...and it's constant updates/uploads that don't seem to work.

So when will Photoshop CS7 (successor to the current version) be coming out? ;-)

Continue using your current version of photoshop,CS 5 or CS 6 will last for many years.. And use capture one pro (from Phase One) or DXO optics elite as your raw converter to output your 16bit tiff files...

It's NOT a cloud service as such. The program and your files still reside on your local drive but you DO need an occasional web connection to periodically validate your license (90 days I think ). If you chose to take this CC option you can still open your files if you later opt-out, provided that is that you still have am older, licensed copy of PS on your machine. What they don't tell you though is that if (when) they bring out a new version of ACR (raw) your photos processed with this wont be fully backwardly compatible with your older standalone version of PS. That and the fact that anyone upgrading at the moment can do so for around £180, use this version for as long as you like and be entitled to updates for as long as the product is being sold. After their initial "special offer" monthly price offer expires, the cost for only 1 year of licensing is already higher that the upgrade price....plus when you opt-out you have nothing at all except your files (which might need converting). I usually upgrade PS about once every 3 years and Lightroom roughly every 2. The paid -for copies I have now will be my last. - I WONT be paying double the price for software that stops working once I opt out. For myself I am already looking at alternatives such as Capture One.

your photos processed with this wont be fully backwardly compatible stops working once I opt out.

Exactly. I use, for my hobby, free online softwares and when they change of version (or disappear), all the "drafts" disappears with the software, over there in the clouds. I couldn't care less for holiday photos, etc. But for work, I use boring and less ergonomic purchased softwares (real horrors with old fashion codes... PS is not in my budget). I don't want to be stuck and have to redo hours of work to modify 2 letters on a poster I made last year because the software has become out of reach.

This will be good for people who only use PS irregularly but bad for frequent users. They really should allow a permanent license for frequent users.

Amazing how corporate policies are often suicidal. Adobe should tread carefully. As a creative person I want flexibility. I do not want to be tied to an internet connection. Sometimes I work on the go, sometimes I work at home, sometimes away from the web.

I do agree with the idea of a subscription rather than paying out heavily all at once. So make the subscription a monthly key. Log in once and get a key. Then work anywhere. That makes sense. A cloud is just a sign of how out of touch with consumers these corps are becoming. Microsoft should pay attention here too as their products are getting less and less consumer friendly too.

I think there is a bit of misunderstanding. Adobe Photoshop CC will be workable offline. User will install software to computer but this time the validating of software is at least once per month. The efficiency will depend on your computer's configuration not on internet speed. BUT I ain't upgrading to CC... lol

I've been using Photoshop and Premier for several years and have never spent a dime on them and will continue to do so.

I'm pretty sure one of the reasons Adobe decided to do this is because of people like you.

I've been using Photoshop and Illustrator for over 10 years, and I've never paid for it, but my company has. They won't pay for this stupid CC rubbish though. I'm pretty sure a lot of people feel the same. Adobe will lose a lot of customers because of this.

The freelance people who only use something like Photoshop for a few hours a month, are not going to subscribe to CC, and since they won't be able to buy new software after CS6, they're going to be forced to use things like GIMP (Photoshop) / Inkscape (Illustrator), or other open source software.

I'm in that 10%. Colour Matching, for example, is important.

Colour Matching is also possible in GIMP. There are scripts doing it automatically (it takes curves averages), and there are tutorials on how to do it manually.

Colour Matching is also possible in GIMP. There are scripts doing it automatically (it takes curves averages), and there are tutorials on how to do it manually.

I don't like GIMP. I've been using PS for too long and I'm used to it and stuck in my ways. Same with Inkscape. I might give it a try again though if Adobe is going to be CCing everything from now on.

Here is the petition to Adobe: https://www.change.org/petitions/adobe-systems-incorporated-eliminate-the-mandatory-creative-cloud-subscription-model

This will be good for people who only use PS irregularly but bad for frequent users. They really should allow a permanent license for frequent users.

No. It will be bad for both.

Don't you have to agree to a yearly subscription for the first year or something?

I've been using Photoshop and Premier for several years and have never spent a dime on them and will continue to do so.