Adobe shambles - Why subscription software should be illegal

[Avenger 2.0]

3 hours ago, TheVicinity said:

Have a look at Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher, software you pay for and own, the three programs are incredible for the cost and have just been used by Apple to benchmark their new Mac's (using Affinity Photo).

Indeed. Rarely need and use them, but they are easy to learn and cheap to buy/own. They don't release new version every year but keep updating the current one. When they do release a new major version, I will upgrade just to support them. There should be more firms like these.

[Dmol]

Good Lord what a whiner. Use gimp. Personal software a human right?? It's a touch self serving don't you think? I insist that I pay less!!! Whatever.

[Shell64]

This is my first post, but I’ve been following this forum for a while. Hello everyone!

I’ve been using DaVinci resolve lite and haven’t looked back. The fact that it’s free is insane, and the feature set is comparable to fcpx/premiere pro. As much as I want after effects, it’s too expensive so I’ll just have to learn fusion. Resolve also performs well, almost Final Cut Pro level. Way better performance on my Mac than any other NLE besides final cut. Adobe just isn’t worth it unless you are invested in it. 

[semartin]

I canceled my full license and just kept Photoshop. A month later they offered the full suite for $27 US ?

[kye]

12 hours ago, Mdifilm said:

Well. I have been trying for years to switch. I find davinci to be limited when it comes editing multiple camera. In fact syncing multiple clips has always been an issue and the time I need to relearn everything is frustrating lol

unfortunately I use photoshop, after effects, illustrator and Indesign daily and can’t find any suitable software to replace them that doesn’t include additional  setup/installation (those open sourced software) or compatibility issue. 

Im stuck

I have heard that there are some limitations (or issues, can't recall) with multi camera editing in Resolve, so you're not alone.  Resolve is great and I'm a big fan, but it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and the amount of work to transition is not to be underestimated.

I only got into editing in the last few years and so I was able to evaluate all the editing options without having any muscle memory or preconceived notions around any of the options, so that's a situation not many others will be in.

 

[Shell64]

Is after effects and premiere pro cs6 still relevant?  You can buy that software standalone without a subscription. 

[Read]

I’ve always hated the subscription model. From coffee capsules and music to software. It is nothing more than a way to keep you in the fold. In the end you never own it. 

You should at a minimum have accumulated some level of a product that is useful, if you decide to stop paying.

the worst I can’t seem to avoid, is account “services” if you don’t pay, they’ll just lock you out of your “own” books! FFS!

I agree it should be illegal!

 

 

[Elias]

You summed it all up when you said "Adobe is setting itself up for a migration of users, the size the software world has never seen before", and that is *exactly* what will happen if Adobe does not change their greedy way of treating customers.

I do not know of *one* Adobe CC/Cloud user who has not asked me at least once what other choices they have to migrate from the monthly subscription fee. Everyone is looking at options and many developers and companies are starting to see an opportunity here (Procreate is one tool that has replaced my Photoshop usage by 98% for example), and we it arrives (and if it delivers on the basics, but it will happen sooner or later) Adobe will be in trouble sooner than it thinks and it will be too late for them to recover, as there is a lot of bad word of mouth regarding their greediness and they're turning into the old Microsoft everyone hated but had no choice to use.

I think US$20 a month to use all their offerings should be enough (as most people do not use not even 1% of what they offer), and if they do something along $20/month for everything, they'd get about 10 times more users signed up as millions of users are pirating their offerings left and right because they either can't afford the expense or because they have no choice (some customers demand the use of Adobe software) or because they simply think it's unfair the pricing scheme.

 

[Brooke ZILR]

On 7/28/2019 at 6:58 AM, ntblowz said:

Speaking of free software Blender getting support from Epic games and Ubisoft is definitely a real good outlook of become industry standards

I use Maya and Modo, version 2.8 of Blender looks really good, I’m considering giving it a decent look at now.

Since the UI has been improved it looks easier to pick up. While I love Modo, I find the resources just aren’t there, there’s so much clever thought behind that app however if you don’t learn all the features of the latest release, those features get buried in a list interface and cog menus.

[profdraper]

Totally agree, true arsehats. FYI, in a previous life I worked with Universities, software licencing and international conferences around same. Adobe also got themselves involved in this; short end of a couple of stories: 1) they constantly and unethically got their suite into University labs, then when later there were ongoing problems, they constantly stitched us up with 'fixes' (ie, more and more money). and 2) hopeless, they got hacked & exposed customer credit card info etc, including my own; quite a drama with my bank about that, needed new card to be created etc. Adobe never even apologised, in fact at the time, was near impossible to cancel my account and could eventually only do this via eff-ing Twitter (yet another piece of useless garbage).

In all: 'vote with your pockets'. If the numbers go down dramatically for Adobe, then this effects their shareholders, then their psycopathic practices. Also: there are many other excellent alternatives in any software area: many companies deliberately offer alternatives to this awful subscription model. eg: DaVinci Resolve instead of Premier, Nuendo /Cubase instead of Avid Pro Tools ... the list goes one. Vote with your pocket.

[Francola]

On 7/26/2019 at 11:37 AM, gcaus said:

I have been thinking recently of switching to Affinity Pro, has anyone got experience with it? I am very much a photoshop user, mostly using bridge and camera RAW as I like the interface. But I am feeling like I am being ripped off now and would rather own than lease software.

Check this out:

This guy's on the same page as Andrew Reid. He's actually gone ahead and "cut the cord" with Adobe for the very same reasons that AR hates Adobe with such passion. He's been trying out alternatives to Photoshop and Illustrator. Very interesting results. Hope this helps.

[quivering_member]

Would it still be "monopolistic" and "borderline illegal" if you liked the product? Probably not, so the issue isn't the subscription based model (which, as mentioned, is actually a much better deal for people who like to have the latest software) but simply that you don't like Premiere.

And what should you do if you don't like something: Write a grumpy blog post about how personally insulted you are by this product you don't like, or just stop using it? Hmmm ? 

There's no monopoly here, there's many alternatives and it's not that hard to switch.

[Andrew Reid]

13 hours ago, Francola said:

Check this out:

This guy's on the same page as Andrew Reid. He's actually gone ahead and "cut the cord" with Adobe for the very same reasons that AR hates Adobe with such passion. He's been trying out alternatives to Photoshop and Illustrator. Very interesting results. Hope this helps.

Nice. It's not easy to switch after.8 years of muscle memory in a certain piece of software. Adobe is an industry standard and a couple of weeks learning something new isn't going to compete with 8 years of using a familiar industry standard.

But time is now, it has to be done.

I am using Resolve full time now, both to create LUTs and to edit.

I am exploring Capture One for RAW stills.

Affinity for Photoshop replacement.

[Shell64]

Welcome to the Resolve brighter side of life : )

[Francola]

12 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Nice. It's not easy to switch after.8 years of muscle memory in a certain piece of software. Adobe is an industry standard and a couple of weeks learning something new isn't going to compete with 8 years of using a familiar industry standard.

But time is now, it has to be done.

I am using Resolve full time now, both to create LUTs and to edit.

I am exploring Capture One for RAW stills.

Affinity for Photoshop replacement.

No, it's not easy, Andrew... it's actually really difficult. I've been using Adobe software since, I think, Photoshop 2. Just recently, the agency where I work has upgraded us all onto the Enterprise version of CC2019, so I have been able to cancel my personal subscription at least, as I can log into the Enterprise one from from home with my work credentials. But, like you, I'm still looking to buy into something like Capture One and/or ON1 for RAW and Lightroom style editing of my own stuff... It's just the thought of migrating my huge photo library and what happens to all my edits. I suppose I'm just going to have to dive in and see what happens. As for video, I've stuck with FCP X and Motion. I need to get into Resolve as – judging from what people are saying in the land of blog and vlog, it just seems to be getting better and better. Keep up your fab work.

[Robert Collins]

2 hours ago, Francola said:

No, it's not easy, Andrew... it's actually really difficult. I've been using Adobe software since, I think, Photoshop 2. Just recently, the agency where I work has upgraded us all onto the Enterprise version of CC2019, so I have been able to cancel my personal subscription at least, as I can log into the Enterprise one from from home with my work credentials. But, like you, I'm still looking to buy into something like Capture One and/or ON1 for RAW and Lightroom style editing of my own stuff... It's just the thought of migrating my huge photo library and what happens to all my edits. I suppose I'm just going to have to dive in and see what happens. As for video, I've stuck with FCP X and Motion. I need to get into Resolve as – judging from what people are saying in the land of blog and vlog, it just seems to be getting better and better. Keep up your fab work.

I would caution about getting out of adobe for stills. I have bought ON1, DXO and Photo Ninja in the past, ON1 raw is simply a buggy mess (and incredibly slow). DXO is ok in parts but quite limited in others (selected adjustments) and I am not sure that Photo Ninja still exists. Now Capture One is very good but will work out expensive (especially as you sort of have to upgrade raw developers with your cameras.) I always find myself going back to Lightroom.

And Lightroom is pretty good these days (especially since the introduction of luminosity and color range masks.) Photoshop is unbeatable, spend an hour in Affinity and you will quickly come across limitations. Plus they are both stable (neither have crashed on me for a couple of years) and the photography plan at US$10 is quite a bargain measured against the competition.

I see the general angst about Premiere - it is unstable and buggy and slow and certainly not cheap. So looking/going elsewhere for video makes a lot of sense but for stills far less so. Of course if you are getting out of Adobes clutches as a matter of principle that is a different matter.....

[cameraeye]

7 hours ago, Robert Collins said:

And Lightroom is pretty good these days

Lately I've been missing Aperture- not for the image processing results but for the workflow and interface. For me its more intuitive and faster than Lightroom. I started looking for Lightroom alternatives and so far I haven't found anything better, but more importantly anything close to what I liked about Aperture. I haven't test-driven everything, though.

Hope there's an alternative or someone makes one leaning towards Aperture design- Lightroom is clunky and slow.

[pbetancourt]

I've been using FCPX from day one. Many features were missing at that moment. But today, I just don't understand why people is still using Premiere. Maybe it's all about the magnetic timeline, which seems to be a headache for editors coming from fcp7, Avid or Premiere. For new editors instead, it seems to be that learning fcpx is much easier. 

FCPX stills lacks from many things, as well as Premiere does. I miss warp stabilizer (a lot) and a more powerfull tracking tool, but overall I find it much more powerful, faster, and intuitive than Premiere. And, almost, bug free. It's just a joy to use, like using a camera you love. I still need to open Premiere Pro for stabilizing some footage or convert some projects from colleagues. It feels like opening a computer with Windows 95. 

For photos I just miss Aperture a lot too. Lightroom is so slow and the interface so bad that I just use camera raw instead. But I'll try to learn Capture One.

Photoshop it's still my main software for photo retouching, unfortunately.

 

 

 

[cameraeye]

I really don't understand why apple dropped Aperture. It's still faster than the latest Lightroom and hasn't been updated for years. They have music, film but no pro photo software.

@pbetancourt Agree about FCPX. I decided to go back to Premiere for a project (for the dynamic link with AE) and it's like using a relic. They have the features but they're wrapped in a horrible user experience.

[Mako Sports]

On 7/30/2019 at 5:52 PM, Andrew Reid said:

 

I am exploring Capture One for RAW stills.

Affinity for Photoshop replacement.

How is affinity? I really want to switch off the adobe train