Subscribing to Software
The most important tool I have to do my job is Photoshop. Both in terms of photography but as well as illustrations, graphics and page layouts. Along with Lightroom and occasional use of Illustrator, InDesign, Bridge and Acrobat, Adobe plays a big role in my daily life.
With CS6 on the doorstep for a release in the very near future, Adobe has announced a pricing change starting Jan 1st 2013 that will drop the 3 version old upgrade rule to 1 qualifying only the most recent version to be upgraded. All other users would go to a subscription model (or pay full price again).
I currently subscribe to a licenses for InDesign and it works great. I pay for it when I need it. Photoshop on the other hand is daily. It’s a $200 upgrade every 18 months which averages out to roughly $12 a month. Pretty good considering my full salary is based on what I can do with it. However, this pricing model does not force you to upgrade. For the casual user, you may only want to pay the $200 upgrade every 3 versions (or approximately every 4.5 years).
While it’s kind of implied that subscription rates will drop for CS6 (it’s currently $50/month per app), it’s not for certain and while I’m currently more then willing to pay $10-$15 per app each month to always have the latest, once we commit to a subscription arrangement with Adobe, there is no going back. What happens in 2 or 3 years when the monthly rates triple? Skipping an upgrade will no longer be an option and we must upgrade regardless of what Adobe releases.
Imagine a world where all commercial software was subscription based similar to how many web services work.
It’s coming.
Today’s Image – Waters Edge
It has been a week of desk work so today’s image comes from the 2010 archives. A 3.2 second exposure of the tide coming in and minutes away from disturbing a resting shell in the sand. The idea feels appropriate for the topic. We are on that edge where traditional desktop software is changing.
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Hello Stephen
I see you stopped with 365 project…
still enjoying your pictures. The RSS is also updated!
thanks and good luck!
Not stopped, just changed. While this new format will not be a new photo every single day (but I hope it will be close), it does allow for more writing and interaction with the comments.
Hello Stephen,
Excellent image, beautiful light and colors! Also i like your new page format!
Best regards,
Andrei
Hi Stephen, Enjoy your photos.
To me the problem isn’t with the fact it’s going to a subscription model. If anything, that will make the software more accessible, I think.
Adobe could, in fact, triple their prices without going to a subscription model and you would be faced with the same problem. Do you stay with Adobe, move to a weaker competitor/free option, or some other solution.
I get what you’re saying about how a current user could wait longer between upgrade cycles–but if you’re doing this professionally there isn’t a lot of option. If you fall more than a version or a version and half behind it’s going to be a problem–could be receiving files someone else has worked on, working with a printer, or just being asked to do something that can’t be done or can’t easily be done with an older version, etc.
Either way, the issue is that Adobe is so dominant. Credit to them for making great image and design software, but the fact that they could triple their price overnight (subscription or purchase) and you (and me) would still have to think long and hard about whether or not to do it is more at the heart of the problem to me.
The perfect solution would be a viable option like Gimp that was as powerful and as industry dominant as Adobe currently is. Despite several attempts I cannot make it do the things I want. A tripling of price might be the push I’d need to finally learn it properly, though.
For sure. I think I was speaking more on behalf of the casual user and the idea of being required to stay current even if it may not be necessary. I’ll upgrade to CS6 as soon as I can but realistically, may never use any of the new features.
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