Adobe Creative Suite Going Subscription-Only 658
First time accepted submitter JDG1980 writes "According to CNET and various other sources, CS6 will be the last version of Adobe's Creative Suite that will be sold in the traditional manner. All future versions will be available by subscription only, through Adobe's so-called 'Creative Cloud' service. This means that before too long, anyone who wants an up-to-date version of Photoshop won't be able to buy it – they will have to pay $50 per month (minimum subscription term: one year). Can Adobe complete the switch to subscription-only, or will the backlash be too great? Will this finally spur the creation of a real competitor to Photoshop?"
Re:A question for Slashdotters. (Score:2, Funny)
What happens after awhile if for some reason, I can't or don't wish to connect said computer to the internet to check in? I just go dark and that's acceptable?
In the case of MS; I believe you pay once a year, and the software is unlocked for a year, and this info about the good-'til date can be seen from within the software.
Nowadays, you need to be updating your software, to get security bugs fixed, and if you are upgrading regularly, then you are already making regular payments. The question will then be... how do your upgrade payments, compare to the subscription payments?
Permanent ownership of the software is worth a little bit, but not an infinite amount.
You can buy Office permanent licenses, and they cost 2.5x to 3x as much as a year's rental.
With the understanding, that otherwise... the software will be obsolete in 2 to 3 years, and the cost of the successive version always seems to be significantly higher than the cost of the current version, the permanent license seems to cost the consumer more in the long run
Although the rental price might go up too, once they get more people sold on the idea, and they no longer have to worry about piracy so much, since "phoning home" is an inherent aspect of the sw.