Years ago, I couldn't wait for InDesign because Quark was such a difficult company to work with and was slow to upgrade their software. Unfortunately, Adobe poisoned it with software rental. These are exactly the reasons why many users will jump ship to Affinity Publisher when it comes out. Currently using the beta and loving it, much potential!
I purchased Affinity apps although I haven’t used them. My day is completely preoccupied with Adobe CC projects. If we start seeing a professional trend toward the Affinity Suite we’ll give it an evaluation. The thing to keep in mind if that happens and then they go public, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the business executives may very well Affinity exactly like Adobe. That is what happens when you have shareholders.
But before they can become the industry default design suite they will need to release Windows apps that are 100% compatible.
Adobe has already been warning people with older versions NOT to install updates to those versions because it would remove functionality with certain features due to licensing. This was clearly provided in the blue link under the individual update for all older versions. Believe this impacted everything from CC 2017 and previous.
If they really do 100% CUT OFF access to CC 2014 or CC 2015 versions (or prior), that's when an uproar is warranted. As it stands currently, if users have those versions installed and they continue to function as-is (without further updates) I do not see a problem with no longer offering the downloads. It had to eventually happen and you cannot expect them to continue offering 10+ versions of software forever.
Adobe has actively released updates for almost every older version of their software in the past year to remove Dolby functionality related to this exact issue. Ultimately, this is a licensing issue on both sides. People using older software MAY have class-action status based on how the subscription was sold to them and the terms they agreed to at the original purchase. This would mostly include those who signed up for Creative Cloud the first year or two of it being offered and have continued to subscribe (without lapse).
You're free to keep using the older versions, what Adobe is doing is no longer indemdifing you, which means if they violates someone else's IP, they would assume all responsibilities. They are making it clear if you use it you open yourself up for all liability. Priced at you're own risk.
The biggest drawback to switching, in my experience, has nothing to do with features or performance or cost, but everything to do with familiarity. Artists don't like to retrain themselves to use different tools. I know countless graphic designers and artists who simply can't handle the mental hurdle of retraining all their keyboard shortcuts. It's a miracle that the industry managed the switch from Quark Xpress to InDesign…
For me it is ubiquity and compatibility of file formats. We hire freelancers and do a lot of collaboration. For that to work we all need to be on the same platform.
True. I'm one of those freelancers and keep Adobe products for that reason. Fortunately, though, most of my clients have moved on to Sketch and Figma for the bulk of my work. I'm going to start twisting the arms of the other guys to provide SVG instead of AI documents.
One thing I haven’t seen anyone mention yet is I currently have 6 versions of Premiere installed because of the thousands of dollars I’ve spent on third party plug-ins over the years. Even when I’ve bought upgrades of plugins sometimes they make changes and I prefer effects from an older version. Also my early versions of Creative Cloud were not subscription based. I purchased them outright. I will be one of many that refuses to use adobe products if this becomes an issue and I’ve been using them since 1994. I’m also in the process of bringing Adobe a lot of money by having my company purchase their LMS Adobe Prime at approximately $240k a year. I will make sure a competitor gets that money if they do not do something to rectify this.
It would be awesome if AI did an article series for equivalent to Adobe [product name] with both paid and open source alternatives. Our University got the same letter and we have Adobe on so much, it'd be nice to try and get our users to try alternatives.
The biggest drawback to switching, in my experience, has nothing to do with features or performance or cost, but everything to do with familiarity. Artists don't like to retrain themselves to use different tools. I know countless graphic designers and artists who simply can't handle the mental hurdle of retraining all their keyboard shortcuts. It's a miracle that the industry managed the switch from Quark Xpress to InDesign…
That's the position I'm in now. Upgrading 2 specific design computers used for large format and TBH have been off and on considering replacing Photoshop anyway (CS6 standalone currently). I also use Lightroom 6.14 for the photography side which I've already gradually been moving to On1 even if not entirely ready to dump Adobe altogether (lots of hard-to-replicate plug-ins). This may be just enough to force the move anyway and no I'm not looking forward to three of us learning new menus, shortcuts and commands.
Yup that's a major drawback for those of us using Adobe for a decade or more. Old dogs and all....
Another deterrent to switching is not knowing how well the challenger handles some complex tasks. Does Affinity mask fine hairs as well/quickly/easily as Photoshop? The only way to find out is to do the job twice — once in Photoshop then again in the alternative — and compare the results. Who has time (or the patience) for that?
As long as you don’t update your OS. Support for 32 bit apps is circling the drain.
I just removed a bunch of Adobe stuff from my wife’s Mac and was surprised by how pervasive it is. Hundreds of files all over the system, and all kinds of crap running in the background that launches at startup. I have no idea what it all does, but it seems excessive. Maybe even invasive.
I Bought the MASTER COLLECTION a few YEARS ago for over $1800 and now that i have bought a new computer with MAC IOS Catalina it (ADOBE) is now not compatible with my new computer. So the geniuses at Adobe in Customer Service/ Support (CS) have recommended I DOWNGRADE my mac IOS to High Sierra so I can continue to use my software. HOW DUMB are they to suggest I downgrade my NEW MAC BOOK to facilitate an older dated software??? Now it makes sense why they cannot support Catalina IOS with my previous software....they should be sued!!!!!
Any other company thats worth anything would offer a solution to compensate for this glitch and I say glitch because all software, whether it is an anti-virus or MS office has the option to be upgraded!!! However, Adobe has no way of upgrading this software but rather suggest I go backward in time with technology and efficiency by downgrading my IOS.....lol this company is a true joke!!! Not to mention the most incompetent Customer service ever!!!!
These people have no consideration for the financial hardship people are being faced with during the COVID 19 Crisis......all they care about is selling their products over and over again with no care about the circumstances ....and they fail to realize they are at fault here to offer the support to hard working customers like myself that have spent literally thousands of dollars for their software that is obsolete!!!! And again they place the blame on us the consumer!!! What CS is that???? The most unprofessional and insensitive company i have ever come across!!!!!! Maybe if you buy their software in a few months it may become incompatible with your Operating system, since they don't seem to think ahead and have the option for upgrading!!! Visionless Company!!
Adobe is full of LOSERS!!!! Total Sumbags!!!!!
MAKE SURE YOU DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE GETTING ADOBE!!
Comments
But before they can become the industry default design suite they will need to release Windows apps that are 100% compatible.
I just removed a bunch of Adobe stuff from my wife’s Mac and was surprised by how pervasive it is. Hundreds of files all over the system, and all kinds of crap running in the background that launches at startup. I have no idea what it all does, but it seems excessive. Maybe even invasive.
I Bought the MASTER COLLECTION a few YEARS ago for over $1800 and now that i have bought a new computer with MAC IOS Catalina it (ADOBE) is now not compatible with my new computer. So the geniuses at Adobe in Customer Service/ Support (CS) have recommended I DOWNGRADE my mac IOS to High Sierra so I can continue to use my software. HOW DUMB are they to suggest I downgrade my NEW MAC BOOK to facilitate an older dated software??? Now it makes sense why they cannot support Catalina IOS with my previous software....they should be sued!!!!!
Any other company thats worth anything would offer a solution to compensate for this glitch and I say glitch because all software, whether it is an anti-virus or MS office has the option to be upgraded!!! However, Adobe has no way of upgrading this software but rather suggest I go backward in time with technology and efficiency by downgrading my IOS.....lol this company is a true joke!!! Not to mention the most incompetent Customer service ever!!!!
These people have no consideration for the financial hardship people are being faced with during the COVID 19 Crisis......all they care about is selling their products over and over again with no care about the circumstances ....and they fail to realize they are at fault here to offer the support to hard working customers like myself that have spent literally thousands of dollars for their software that is obsolete!!!! And again they place the blame on us the consumer!!! What CS is that???? The most unprofessional and insensitive company i have ever come across!!!!!! Maybe if you buy their software in a few months it may become incompatible with your Operating system, since they don't seem to think ahead and have the option for upgrading!!! Visionless Company!!
Adobe is full of LOSERS!!!! Total Sumbags!!!!!
MAKE SURE YOU DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE GETTING ADOBE!!