Adobe shows off new Creative Cloud features with across the board updates

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Adobe's popular Creative Suite got more than just a rebranding on Monday, as the company also revealed a number of new and advanced features for the rechristened Creative Cloud package.



Customers buying Adobe's new subscription-based Creative Cloud service will see improved capabilities across Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash Pro, After Effects, Muse, Dreamweaver, and other titles. In perhaps Adobe's best-known offering, Photoshop, the most notable new feature is a tool that reduces image blur brought on by camera shake. Photoshop also includes a redesigned Smart Sharpen utility, improved upsampling, and the ability to apply RAW edits as a filter in any layer.



Illustrator CC adds the ability to use the Touch Type tool to manipulate characters like individual objects. Users also can take images such as bitmaps and turn them into brushes, and the program can now generate CSS code by itself, allowing users to create web elements more easily. The vector drawing program also added increased support for multitouch devices and styluses.

InDesign CC now includes 64-bit support, a new user interface, Retina Display support, and the inclusion of Adobe's Creative Cloud sharing features. It also gets performance enhancements and a new QR Code Creator.



Adobe's color-picking Kuler program saw a new iPhone application introduced today, giving users the ability to export to Illustrator CC. It also includes new preset color modes, allowing users to create color themes and share them throughout Creative Cloud software.

Adobe's video editor improved with redesigned user interfaces and streamlined editing in the case of Premiere Pro CC and Cinema 4D integration in the case of After Effects CC. Flash Pro CC adds a 64-bit architecture and redesigned UI, while another web development offering, Dreamweaver CC, adds a new CSS Designer.

With the move to the exclusively subscription-based Creative Cloud, Adobe will stop releasing updates for Creative Suite products. Creative Suite 6 will still be sold and supported, but new features will only come to Creative Cloud products from here forward.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 127
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member


    Perpetual payments. Gotta love it. image

  • Reply 2 of 127
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by iDave View Post


    Perpetual payments. Gotta love it. image



    I don't know what the big deal is. Apple has a subscription iCloud service, so does Netflix, MLB, NBA, Dropbox, etc. Most people are used to paying their health insurance, auto insurance, mortgage, TV and cell phone bills every single month whether they use them or not. It is just another monthly bill. If you need Adobe products, you opt in. If not you don't. No one is holding a gun to your head. 

  • Reply 3 of 127
    kazkamkazkam Posts: 60member


    CS6 just became Adobe's "Windows XP".


     


    With no new perpetual license option, creatives will be using CS6 for a long, long, long, long time. Until such time as Adobe realizes they made a huge mistake and backpedal, customers vote with their lack of enthusiasm for a subscription model, or years after Adobe removes all options to purchase CS6 licenses, I anticipate most will continue using CS6.


     


    Get your CS6 licenses while you can kids!

  • Reply 4 of 127


    "I don't know what the big deal is. Apple has a subscription iCloud service, so does Netflix, MLB, NBA, Dropbox, etc. Most people are used to paying their health insurance, auto insurance, mortgage, TV and cell phone bills every single month whether they use them or not. It is just another monthly bill. If you need Adobe products, you opt in. If not you don't. No one is holding a gun to your head."


     


    Finally, someone with a clear head about this!  Practically everyone else seems to be shouting, "The sky is falling!" repeatedly.  Either this, or they seem to think they know better than the folks at Adobe how Adobe should function as a business.  

  • Reply 5 of 127
    studiomusicstudiomusic Posts: 653member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I don't know what the big deal is. Apple has a subscription iCloud service, so does Netflix, MLB, NBA, Dropbox, etc. Most people are used to paying their health insurance, auto insurance, mortgage, TV and cell phone bills every single month whether they use them or not. It is just another monthly bill. If you need Adobe products, you opt in. If not you don't. No one is holding a gun to your head. 





    Lets put it this way...


    Say you have this camera that is AWESOME and you take tons of pictures with it. Now the manufacturer of that camera says that you need to pay them $60 every month to be able to see those pictures. If you stop paying for a month, you can not see your pictures.


    Does that sound cool?


     


    You now have to pay Adobe FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

  • Reply 6 of 127
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    What about Lightroom and Photoshop Elements products - are they going to be available only as a subscription service too?
  • Reply 7 of 127


    You can still buy iTunes songs without subscription, you can buy or rent the same movies on Netflix elsewhere, you can watch MLB games on TV. Adobe is effectively a monopoly with the fact they are the industry standard for particular pieces of software. For a long time I did not feel the upgrade price was worth it. So I would skip versions. Now that is no longer an option. You must pay because they are what everyone uses.

  • Reply 8 of 127
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

    I don't know what the big deal is.


     


    I don't understand why some people would be okay living in a world where they don't own anything they own.

  • Reply 9 of 127


    If you pay for Cloud, Lightroom is included. However you should still be able to buy them individually.

  • Reply 10 of 127
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member


    I subscribed to it.  It all depends of the math.  I want to stay current but the astronomical price for the packages I wanted forced me to stay behind.  I'm paying $29/mo right now.  Considering how much the packages cost and to stay current, the subscription model allowed me to use them all and pay a far less price than I would have paid if I upgraded every other year.



    The only one thing I don't like is that I don't ever really own the software so if I stop paying the service, it all goes bye-bye.  Sure, I'd love to use alternatives but the reality is Adobe's tools are the standard to me.  Others will argue that.



    A plus for business is that it can be classified as a monthly expense as opposed to a capital expenditure.  That's more tax-friendly.  However, I know quite a few businesses in the past that would just buy one copy and install it on everyone's computers.  Say bye-bye to that.

  • Reply 11 of 127
    tomhayestomhayes Posts: 128member


    > If you need Adobe products, you opt in. If not you don't. No one is holding a gun to your head. 


     


    Clearly a gun-to-your-head is the most apt analogy to why people might be upset.


     


    And Adobe no longer makes a product- they now offer a service.


     


    A service you can never own - so let's say in three years they want to increase the fee to $60,000 a year - people might be upset. And then you'd say "Well, they didn't put a gun to your head."


     


    Right now if you buy Photoshop you own it, and it'll continue to function forever.


     


    And if you need some money you can sell your original copy to someone else and transfer the license to them - you'll never be able to do that under this model.

  • Reply 12 of 127
    conrailconrail Posts: 489member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I don't know what the big deal is. Apple has a subscription iCloud service, so does Netflix, MLB, NBA, Dropbox, etc. Most people are used to paying their health insurance, auto insurance, mortgage, TV and cell phone bills every single month whether they use them or not. It is just another monthly bill. If you need Adobe products, you opt in. If not you don't. No one is holding a gun to your head. 





    I, for one, am glad I signed up for the creative cloud.  The apps I need are right there, the apps I may need once or twice are available, and with licenses for two machines, I can even download apps at work if I get in a pinch. 

  • Reply 13 of 127
    tomhayestomhayes Posts: 128member


    A few more things:


    It's $600 a year for the suite??? $49.99 a month.


     


    How will pre-press shops use this? I know many shops that keep older version of Photoshop and even Quark around to match what their clients are using exactly.


     


    What happens if I make a very complex Illustrator file using the cloud and then the cloud "updates" the software version and the next time I open it my file doesn't render in the same manner. This is a real concern - if you can't control which version you're on exactly you'll run into a bunch of re-work.


     


    They've taken a way a lot of control - and given you less ownership rights. It's a great model for the business - not so great for the consumer.


     


    Maybe someone will ship a product to compete again.

  • Reply 14 of 127
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post


    The only one thing I don't like is that I don't ever really own the software so if I stop paying the service, it all goes bye-bye.



     


    You own nothing and you can't sell your software after you're done with it.

  • Reply 15 of 127
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member



    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


     


    You own nothing and you can't sell your software after you're done with it.



     


    Of all the software I've owned, no one wanted to buy it because its several version behind it.  If you can find a buyer for 4+ year old software, good for you.  I don't, and if I were in the market, I certainly would not be wanting to purchase something that's already outdated.



     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tomhayes View Post


    A few more things:


    It's $600 a year for the suite??? $49.99 a month.


     


    How will pre-press shops use this? I know many shops that keep older version of Photoshop and even Quark around to match what their clients are using exactly.


     


    What happens if I make a very complex Illustrator file using the cloud and then the cloud "updates" the software version and the next time I open it my file doesn't render in the same manner. This is a real concern - if you can't control which version you're on exactly you'll run into a bunch of re-work.


     


    They've taken a way a lot of control - and given you less ownership rights. It's a great model for the business - not so great for the consumer.


     


    Maybe someone will ship a product to compete again.







    That argument gets old.  If a client is using a really old version of Illustrator, I don't think it should be everyone else's problem that they too have to own all that old stuff.  It's great that print shops do.  I would think in the age of virtual machines, they can load up individual VM's preloaded with old software and continue using it.



    I always get into this argument with people that have 10+ old software and then complain when their software doesn't work well with a newest version of something. Sorry, either stay current (and unfortunately feed the machine) or roll the dice and hope your stuff still works down the road.

  • Reply 16 of 127
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


     


    You own nothing and you can't sell your software after you're done with it.



     


    At least with the old model, if you keep the same computer around with the software installed on it, you can use it for the lifetime of that computer (just don't do major OS upgrades).  With the new model, you can only use it for as long as you keep paying the fees.

  • Reply 17 of 127
    ecomouseecomouse Posts: 2member
    While I'm mixed about their strategy, I inherently hate the idea of being tied to monthly payments.

    I've been professionally designing since 1992, and owned my share of Adobe products. There were stints between regular employment that I was never able to upgrade to the latest version of stuff, while trying to be a freelancer. So I used what I had and made it work. But they were my copies, I physically had the discs. There was no way that I could afford any kind of extra monthly payment to keep the software. Plus, certain jobs would likely take longer than 30 days before I ever got a check from a client. This also assumes that everyone has internet all the time. What about rural designers who live out in the sticks and fast streaming internet is non-existant? I fell into that category for 10 years.

    Here's where I do like the idea: Professionalism has a price of entry. Period. I hate low ball designers who don't charge what they should be charging and therefore saturate the market with crap, and make it hard for us who are good at what we do to be able to price accordingly. Having a monthly payment kinda means that you have to put "business" as a priority over casual designers that happen to have a "copy" of high end design software.

    Adobe is trying to protect their empire and bottom line. I've got no problem with that. I just don't like how we can get squeezed out of an industry just because we don't feel like we should have to upgrade every fricken version. I'm a true believer that every ODD NUMBERED Creative Suite is the best, and the even numbers are just stop gaps between the real good and worthwhile upgrades.
  • Reply 18 of 127
    adrayvenadrayven Posts: 460member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by iDave View Post


    Perpetual payments. Gotta love it. image



    It's good and bad.. The suite was massively expensive.. thousands of dollars in some cases depending on what tools you needed..


    If you only need the tools for a few months.. guess what.. you only pay for a few months of service.. it's not like you're committed to a 2 year contract, as some licensing agreements are. 


     


    Now, individuals can get into the tools they want peace meal at a more affordable cost.. Granted, yes, it's endless payments.. but most will look at the 'annual' cost.. because any serious developer or artist would be constantly looking at the upgrades anyway.. This simply removes that aspect and ensures you are updated. 


     


    @EchoMouse I agree with your odd numbered upgrades bit. However, generally, cloud based services like this don't get 'massive' version number upgrades like software. It's a gradual process where they add a feature, but allow for using 'classic' incase of issues. It also lets them casually push out new features.. With the cloud version, I highly suspect the days of 'major release' are done with. 

  • Reply 19 of 127
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Say you have this camera that is AWESOME and you take tons of pictures with it. Now the manufacturer of that camera says that you need to pay them $60 every month to be able to see those pictures. If you stop paying for a month, you can not see your pictures.
    Does that sound cool?

    You now have to pay Adobe FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

    Not quite, you can put your creative files into a format usable outside of the suite. If you make a website using any of the Edge tools, Dreamweaver or Fireworks, your files are in HTML/PHP/CSS/PNG formats. If you make a design in Indesign/Illustrator, it can be AI/EPS/SVG/PDF, if you make a movie in After Effects, it's a movie file that comes out, if you do something in Photoshop or Lightroom, it's PSD/RAW or any other image format.

    The only problem is that you can't edit those files with the same workflow. When you need to edit them, pay Adobe for a month usage. Otherwise, you should be able to view most of the files using something as basic as Quicklook.

    You're looking it this from the point of view that CS 6 will work on every version of OS X for the next 50 years and so 50 years for $1500 is better value than $600 for 50 years ($30,000). This isn't what actually happens though. All it takes is for Apple to make one OS update that breaks the software and you'd have to fork out for a very expensive upgrade when you didn't expect it - most likely a full suite payment.

    http://forums.adobe.com/message/5233689
  • Reply 20 of 127
    tomhayestomhayes Posts: 128member


    >I always get into this argument with people that have 10+ old software and then complain when their software doesn't work well with a newest version of something. >Sorry, either stay current (and unfortunately feed the machine) or roll the dice and hope your stuff still works down the road.


     


    I don't think you actually work with real businesses. 10 year old software arguments? Try 2 year old software. Small businesses don't spend thousands of dollars on upgrades unless there's a significant business reason to do so.


     


    I had a client that did a series of drawings for a book in CS3. When CS4 came out a few months later and he opened the files in the new version they were very messy (layers mis-rendered, points in places that were no supposed to have points, kerning changed.).  We uninstalled CS4 and went back to CS3. The pre-press shop had kept several machines on CS3 too.


     


    What if he was using the May version of Cloud, and then cloud updates in June and he's still working on the files and now he has to re-do a significant amount of work due to bugs introduced in the new version? (Or maybe not even bugs, just changes.) Is it his job to continually update his files because Adobe issues  updates??


     


    Actually, your attitude seems perfectly suited for Adobe - you should HONESTLY apply for a job there.


     


     


     


    And the "stay of the very latest venison of the software model" DOES NOT FLY in major businesses with the IT departments. Software needs to be tested before it can be deployed.

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