Abandoned Garden. Denver, Colorado, 2013
By now you have probably heard that Adobe will soon be offering its Photoshop software only via what they call the Adobe Creative Cloud. Yes, much gnashing of fangs on the forums these days…such is the price of “progress”. Are we being abandoned?
The new version is called Photoshop CC, for “creative cloud”. So, you will no longer be able to buy the physical Photoshop CDs in a box for versions beyond CS6–instead you’ll need to pay for a monthly subscription for the initial download and for follow-on updates to your copy of Photoshop CC.
This may be great for the pro who wants to make sure she has the latest post-processing tools and who uses more than just Photoshop and Lightroom applications, but for us normal photogs who update Photoshop only every other version or so, we will likely end up paying more with this system.
Here are some key details:
–There are various price points…9.99 for the first year for those who just bought CS6; 19.99 for the whole suite for students and teachers, and the same price for regular folks wanting just Photoshop CC; 29.99 for CS3/4/5 owners who want to upgrade; 49.99 and a one-year contract for the new buyer who wants the whole suite.
–With an annual membership, you’ll need to validate your software license online every 30 days.
–You don’t need to be constantly online to use the new Photoshop CC–that’s just how you download and get the newest updates.
–Photoshop CC already has newer features than CS6 and will continually get new features as it develops.
–They will still sell and support CS6 in a box for the foreseeable future…whatever that means. No newer features will be added to CS6 in the box.
–You will still be able to get Lightroom in a box as well…again, for the foreseeable future.
–The entire CC suite includes: Photoshop CC, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Adobe Premier Pro and Adobe Muse. Twelve additional programs are also included–including Lightroom and Bridge. So, if you use a number of these programs, the cloud may well be a good deal for you.
Observations and Comments
Finally, here are some links to folks who have made some good observations about these upcoming changes:
—Scott Kelby – An Adobe Photoshop advisor and expert…Go here to see a great list of Q&A about Adobe and their new Creative Cloud.
—Thom Hogan – A Nikon expert, but that doesn’t matter here. He has some great in-depth commentary on the issue…Scroll down to his May 6 and May 8 blog entries.
–A loooong reader discussion of the issue at Digital Photography Review is HERE. There were already some 1300 reader comments/opinions as of this writing.
–Another raging discussion of the issue at Photo.net is HERE (link no longer active).
–A Luminous Landscape article is HERE.
Hmmmm…and what will Danny do?
My plan? I should have my computer and camera upgraded later this summer. Then, I’ll buy Photoshop CS6 in a box. That will keep me happy for a good five years or more, I think. (Heck, I have been pretty happy with CS4 for a long, long time now!) After that, I’ll reassess and see how this creative cloud thing is working out for everybody.
It may very well be that the cloud is the wave of the future for computing, but I think I’ll stand by the sidelines and watch carefully for awhile until they work out the boogers.
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