Goodbye Photoshop

[texkam]

It just gets totally unreasonable after a while. If this continues down the road it's on you're going to see alternatives start to show up and people will begrudgingly move to them (despite their shortcomings) because they'll have no other reasonable choice.

The alternatives are already here. Linux and the Open Source movement have come a long way. Shortcomings? Yes, but we were once locked into Internet Explorer too. Well, Firefox and the Open Source Community changed that. And do we forget how far Google Chrome has come in it's 5 short years of existence? These two Open Source alternatives are arguably as good or better than the commercial product. Never underestimate the power of the customer, or the power of the community.

Here are two alternatives right here. A perfect replacement? No, but look for them to get a closer look and more serious consideration now.
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[dewey]

I was just commenting, not aiming anything at you directly.

Speaking of money, Photoshop is around $600 give or take. Photoshop in the new world is $20 a month.

Photoshop CS6 = $600
$20 a month x 30 months = $600

But to be fair it's fairly difficult to calculate the exact cost. How often do you upgrade now? Upgrades are covered in the CC world. If you buy one version of Photoshop and NEVER upgrade sure - the new model is much more expensive. If you upgrade every few years though I'm not seeing a big (if any) increase.

 

[bentcountershaft]

Which amount is it? I've seen $20, $30 and $50.

 

[dewey]

Which amount is it? I've seen $20, $30 and $50.

$20 a month is for Photoshop only - you can buy just one app from the suite - you do not have to buy them all.

It's $29.99 for the entire suite if you are upgrading from CS3 or later

It's $39.99 for the entire suite if you are upgrading from releases prior to CS3

It's $49.99 for the entire suite if you are a new customer

Membership plans: Pricing, upgrades, and subscriptions | Adobe Creative Cloud

 

[Buckster]

I was just commenting, not aiming anything at you directly.

Speaking of money, Photoshop is around $600 give or take. Photoshop in the new world is $20 a month.

Photoshop CS6 = $600
$20 a month x 30 months = $600

That price is only on the initial purchase, which was long ago for me. Since then, it's upgrades, and like I said, my last one was $210 and lasted from a year and a half to two years before the next upgrade. Other's waited 3 to 3 and a half years, upgrading only every other release.

But to be fair it's fairly difficult to calculate the exact cost. How often do you upgrade now? Upgrades are covered in the CC world. If you buy one version of Photoshop and NEVER upgrade sure - the new model is much more expensive. If you upgrade every few years though I'm not seeing a big (if any) increase.

I've done the math on this. You're mistaken. It's huge. Watch:

My last upgrade was $210. At every two years, that's $8.75 per month average. At 3 years, for those who upgrade only every other release, that's $5.83 per month average.

$19.99 is right out the window. Oh, and that's if you pay up front per year. If you actually pay month to month, it's 29.99, which makes it even worse.

So, at $29.99 per month for the typical upgrade period of 18 months, it's now going to be $539.82 for what was $210 last year.
If we calculate at a reasonable 24 month period instead, it's now going to be a whopping $719.76 for what was $210 last year.
And for those who upgraded every 36 months (every other release), it's now $1,079.64 for what was $210 last year.

Little to no difference, my a$$.

 

[bhop]

I don't know much about stocks.. but it looks like their stock is dropping

ADBE: Summary for Adobe Systems Incorporated- Yahoo! Finance

 

[dewey]

Wow... someone has a bit of an anger issue.

Yes I agree with you - if you upgrade only every few years as you illustrated - it is more expensive. If you purchase the entire suite and upgrade it regularly - this is a much better deal. It's like any change - some people like it, some people don't.

Honestly, speaking of solely Photoshop, most people will never need an upgrade. Hang on to that old copy - it works great. I see lots of people using CS3 with no problems.

Plus that's $0 a month.

 

[Buckster]

Wow... someone has a bit of an anger issue.

No, I have a math issue.

Yes I agree with you - if you upgrade only every few years as you illustrated - it is more expensive.

Even though you just said, "If you upgrade every few years though I'm not seeing a big (if any) increase."

:er:

If you purchase the entire suite and upgrade it regularly - this is a much better deal.

Hey, it's great if that's a price deal that's truly advantageous for those who need the entire suite. And if they made a price deal that's advantageous to the rest of us, I'd jump all over it, but they didn't, and that's the issue.

See, I don't want or need the entire suite, and I suspect that's true for most photographers.

It's like any change - some people like it, some people don't.

No, it's more like any price-gouging - anyone with a brain and a modicum of common sense won't like it.

Honestly, speaking of solely Photoshop, most people will never need an upgrade. Hang on to that old copy - it works great. I see lots of people using CS3 with no problems.

Plus that's $0 a month.

Right up until it won't work with a new OS somewhere down the line. Then it's dead and over.

I also happen to like major upgrades to the software toolkit that enhance my abilities, and have been perfectly willing to pay a reasonable upgrade price every year and a half to two years to get them. That's gone now too with the "never need an upgrade - hang on to that old copy - works great" plan.

Surely, Adobe can do better than that for it's customers.

 

[Tee]

Anyone catch the Adobe Evangelist/ Fanboy on Facebook replying to every negative post with some sort of positive spin? I bet it sucks having his job today. LOL. After reading the Facebook page, it looks like Kelby and all the Adobe shills are onboard with this which is in stark contrast from last years stand by the pro's urging Adobe to reconsider their pricing structure that would've emptied the pocket books of many.

 

[jake337]

ill just make do with CS5 and LR4 for a while I guess.

Or go back to the darkroom...

 

[dewey]

Oops... I actually misspoke if you have CS3 or above the single app is 9.99... not 19.99.

My mistake.

But yeah I know - that's still awful.

It'll be an interesting change for sure. I'm a little worried about all of the various cloud accounts. If you take Google Docs, and Amazon Cloud Drive, and maybe the CC. I mean at some point they'll need an app just to manage all of the cloud drives. Hopefully at some point as leaders in the cloud providers emerge some kind of easy transfer will emerge.

I have a hard enough time with laptops, desktops and a drawer full of external hard drives.

https://creative.adobe.com/plans?plan=single_app_offer&scid=social7782214&sdid=KFPGE

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

People don't seem to understand some teeny, tiny, wee little facts:

1. You will never physically OWN the software.
2. On many billing plans, you will have to make an Annual Commitment
3. For new customers, they will pay $50/mo for getting into the Creative Suite ($600/yr)
4. For existing customers, they will pay a penalty for wanting to keep current software/ as new cameras come out that aren't supported in their previous versions
5. $19.99 for a single app. If you use 2 apps, expect to pay more $40/mo (I don't see literature on LR in the pricing yet)


The facts suck, don't they??

A lot of you have talked yourselves into thinking this is a good thing. It's not a good thing for a lot of people, even if it's good for you. Don't generalize.
There's one party that this is surely great for! Adobe.

Unless their customers decide they've had enough. Which has happened before to other companies and could easily happen to them.

 

[dewey]

Anyone catch the Adobe Evangelist/ Fanboy on Facebook replying to every negative post with some sort of positive spin? I bet it sucks having his job today. LOL. After reading the Facebook page, it looks like Kelby and all the Adobe shills are onboard with this which is in stark contrast from last years stand by the pro's urging Adobe to reconsider their pricing structure that would've emptied the pocket books of many.

LOL! I've often seen those corporate facebook accounts where some poor person has to try and respond like Flo from Progressive. Yeesh.

 

[dewey]

I do like the JC Penny Comparison. Indeed the consumers will ultimately make the decision.

Does it really make any shred of sense that people would rather buy a $100 shirt that's 75% off rather than just buying the same shirt for $25 not on sale?

Apparently the answer is yes.

 

[Buckster]

Oops... I actually misspoke if you have CS3 or above the single app is 9.99... not 19.99.

My mistake.

*For the first year only. Don't forget that little part of it.

But yeah I know - that's still awful.

Well, gee... I dunno... Let's review...

I HAVE CS6. It will be fine for the next YEAR at no additional charge.

OOOOORRRRRR....

I can "UPGRADE" to CS6 for a mere $9.99 per month for the next YEAR if I pay the whole $119.88 up front, because I'm an existing customer (such a DEAL!!!), and THEN start paying the FULL PRICE of $239.88 per year after that first year is up, in order to KEEP USING CS6.

Golly... What a tough decision to make... If I'm a moron with more money than brains, that is.

Maybe, someday, they'll even upgrade it to CS7 (or whatever they'll call it) and, who knows, it might actually even be a substantial upgrade with new features I'd want to pay for (though what's their incentive for that when everybody's got to pay no matter what?). Gosh, who DOESN'T love rolling the dice like that?

By the way, can we look forward to an additional $19.99 per month, $239.88 per year up front thank-you-very-much, for Lightroom as well? Man, I can just feel the love... I just wish I could feel some lubricant along with it...