advanced photoshop
May
9

Adobe reveals the future of Photoshop

Posted in:
News, by Anna-lisa Saywell

The new Creative Cloud update is causing controversy online: What do you think about the break from tradition?

Adobe reveals the future of Photoshop

Adobe, at the annual MAX Conference in Los Angeles, announced a a break from tradition and a new face for its Creative Suite with the new release of Creative Cloud or ‘CC’ versions.

No longer will Photoshop be available in boxed format, or will it be labelled ‘CS7′ for its next release. In fact, it’s just simply now Photoshop CC, and any future updates to the software, big or small, will be available as and when through Creative Cloud membership. Want to know what the new features in Photoshop CC are? Click here

Adobe also announced that the company will only focus creative software development efforts on its Creative Cloud offering moving forward.  While Adobe Creative Suite® 6 products will continue to be supported and available for purchase, the company has no plans for future releases of Creative Suite or other CS products. Adobe Sr. Director of Product Management, Maria Yap, shares her vision here: http://ow.ly/kRT1J where she states: “We simply can’t sit back when the world is changing so rapidly. Waiting 18 to 24 months to catch up isn’t acceptable for any of our customers. We need to respond quickly to meet your evolving needs and to do so, we have to break from the old way of doing things.”

Knowing that this is a huge change to the way customers can access updated versions of their software, Adobe have released a blog by Jeff Tranberry, Chief Customer Advocate at Adobe, answering any questions you may have: http://ow.ly/kRUNH

Let us know what you think of the changes on Facebook and Twitter

(source: official press release)

  • Fred Gombert

    That would mean… the end of my collaboration with Adobe, if they don’t change their mind : I won’t pay such a high price to RENT a software. Once you stop your subscription (or you can’t pay anymore), you can’t access/edit your PSD files, your Premiere/After Effects files, etc.

    I am not a cow. And I am far from alone to be angered by this move who is ONLY beneficial for Adobe and their greed. Creative Cloud is fine as an OPTION, not if it’s forced and the only available solution. Been working on Adobe softwares for over 14 years, always have paid but now, that’s enough.

    http://www.change.org/petitions/adobe-systems-incorporated-eliminate-the-mandatory-creative-cloud-subscription-model

  • Chris MacDonald

    I agree with Fred. This is also my collaborating end with Adobe. They are forcing us into a cloud corner and I won’t be forced. I don’t need every single new upgrade and I refuse to pay for something I am not going to use. I know a lot of other colleagues that will also stop using Adobe products because of the Creative Cloud subscription. Now would be a good time for some other company to come in and give Adobe some competition.

  • Mrs Heather Carslake

    I think this idea is appalling – FINE as as an option, but we certainly should NOT be forced into CC subscription.

    Good comment Chris (above) I started with Corel converted to Adobe, if any other competition scored as highly as Adobe (until now)I would definitely change product if this changeover happens.

    I am not a professional,I learnt photoshop at nightschool, then at Camera Club Digital Group – I suspect a lot of members feel as I do.
    Heather

  • Greg

    Chris and Fred…. Why not just have your previously bought copy of CS4, CS5, CS6 installed still? It isn’t like they are going to stop working, this is Y2K. Stop resisting change and embrace it. You are probably up in arms about Fireworks being discontinued, too.

  • CS6 is the end of the Adobe trail for me. I upgraded my Photoshop CS5 to CS6 for $199 and wanted to do the same with my CS4 InDesign (which I use very infrequently). Because the InDesign update would be from CS4 to CS6, Adobe wanted to charge the full price of $699 to upgrade!!! I couldn’t believe it… it wasn’t even $199×2 (the equivalent of the CS5 & CS6 upgrades combined) but the FULL PRICE! That’s one heck of a way to treat your established client base. I haven’t used QuarkXPress in 11 years but they would do an upgrade to their latest QuarkXPress 9.5 for $350 from my long defunct 11-year-old version. Adobe is screwing me around, Quark welcomes me back… bye-bye Adobe!

  • Both gentlemen above make good arguments and I agree with them. Whatever Adobe’s PR reasoning in moving to cloud-sourced software the bottom line is PROFITS, not customer service or satisfaction. As they say – ‘follow the money’. Time find other software or means of getting what is really needed and wanted.

  • Tracy Barwick

    I have to agree this is a step backwards in my opinion particulary in a recession hit world. My company generally upgrade every 2 editions, which is usually satisfactory. The new system creates a BAD debt effect paying very high prices for software, it would cost my company £500-£600 per month the upgrade all of our systems, and even then we would not own the product. I am sure Coreldraw and other products will benefit from this change we will certainly be looking at a new product. This is a very bad system consumers should be given an outright purchase option, though I am sure they would inflate the price to discourage this.

  • Mark Gambier

    Face it. They have the industry — and all of us — by the short hairs. If you make a living with Adobe tools there is simply nothing out there that you can switch to. I use several Adobe products — which work seamlessly together — as my bread and butter. The cost of upgrading several applications or suites every 18-24 months hurt! Now, I have immediate access to all their creative products and all their updates for around $500/year.

    That’s the cost of doing business. And it’s no a bad deal at all.

  • MG

    Same here, i gree as well we all know well our pds files and we are still on our way to get better, but not the way to be forced some people even went to school for this, pay for it and now you are teling us to be forced? Hell nah that should be tha End Yea.

  • Tony Hamilton

    I agree with the two previous comments. I have been using PhotoShop for over 15 years now and have found it to be the best creative tool for photographers but I have no intention of renting a tool, I like to own it and update when there is a need or I can afford to do so. I will not be put in the position of renting and will therefore look elsewhere. I am generally disgusted with the greed Adobe is showing and hope they do change their minds or at least allow people to choose between renting or purchasing.

  • Frank Anthony

    Adobe, what a joke. Greeeeed, is the only answer. Betraying your people that made you this big: your average designer, publisher, prepress and other small users. I have used adobe Pagemaker and as from InDesign 1 and Photoshop 3 – sorry no more since you are not just too greedy but also lucking understanding of the industry by looking after the big company and negletting your core faithful supporters.nCome on Quark and Corel, this is your biggest opportunity.

  • Richard Connolly

    In some ways the “Creative Cloud” aspect is a red herring as the real issue is that Adobe Software is no longer a product that you purchase but a service that you subscribe to.

    Their new model is fundamentally the same as subscribing to either sky, virgin or any other internet service provider. The difference is that if you stop paying your subscription with them you can always access the internet in other ways. However, once you cease your Adobe subscription you will no longer have access / edit your PSD files etc. Unless you have a disc based version of Photoshop, which new users will not be able to purchase.

    Adobe could have stopped selling disk based versions but allowed users to purchase the software on-line, as do a large range of other companies.

    This change is to the benefit of Adobe and not to a large number of its users. A large number of which, like me have been using legal copies of the software for years.

    It will also be interesting to see the knock on effect of this change with respect to the wide range of Photoshop magazines, books, videos and on-line training courses as I believe that the majority of these are brought by amateur and semi-professional Photoshop users.

    If this model of providing Photoshop to users was popular then Adobe would not need to force people to use it.

  • Audrey

    I believe Adobe should Compromise with us. Allow us to buy the programs, and offer the cloud for upgrades. If someone wants to keep the upgrades after they stop paying, then have them do a minimum amount. Say 6 months or something. Also, Adobe should continue to do the cloud for those who cannot pay the big price up front. Of which, there should also be an allowance to be able to use the programs without having to continue to pay, say after 8 months to a year (something just a little more expensive than buying the program outright.)

    Otherwise, I see a lot of people Finding other programs to use. Possibly, someone may come up with a shareware version… Just to upset Adobe. The other thing I see is people finding some sort of hack to allow them to use it anyway (or purchase one month and have a hack that allows continued use after the month is up.) Or worse…. Some disgruntled person May decide to hack the Adobe website. Personally, I do not have those skills, but if I did…. I would make it known world-wide. So, I will wait and see what happens and use CS6 until either another program or Adobe realizes that many of us do not like to rent.