FM, TC, CC Cloudy Crystal Ball

[Bob_Niland]

Needing a new version of FM and Acrobat at least, and wanting a credible path to HTML, and probably ebook, which implies RoboHelp, I'm looking at getting a retail copy of TC4 for home use. An upgraded Illustrator is fine too.

The TC4 bundle is a more attractive deal than parts-is-parts, some of which may be locked in the cloud now anyway. The rest of the TC bundle is not compelling.

The TC4 versions of Acrobat (X) and Illustrator (CS6) are not current. Acro is now XI and Illustrator is now version "CC". The vintage doesn't bother me so much as what that anachronism implies.

My guess is that TC4 is unlikely to be upgraded to bundle newer versions of anything now imprisoned in the cloud. Anyone have alternative insights?

FM and RH are not presently available via cloud, only via classic perpetual licence. But I'm thinking that unless CC becomes a bigger cloudburst than it has already, Adobe will eventually consign all products to that time-bombed gulag in the sky. Any guesses on when this might happen?

And any guesses on how much longer retail TC4 will be available?

[bowen192]

I'm due to re-subsribe this month, so I to would like answers to the above.

Error7103 wrote:

The TC4 versions of Acrobat (X) and Illustrator (CS6) are not current. Acro is now XI and Illustrator is now version "CC". The vintage doesn't bother me so much as what that anachronism implies.

My TCS Acrobat is XI, but I never noticed about Illustrator being stuck in the past.  I'm still not over the Photoshop debacle, so this annoys me just a bit more.

[Bob_Niland]

Yep, I now see that Adobe offers a free upgrade to Acro XI for TCS4 buyers. So only the IL CS6 is oudated, and probably not by a lot compared to IL CC.

And I also see that Adobe offers a "Subscription" ($828/year, $99/month), which is not the same thing as CC (but doubtless has similar hazards).

[bowen192]

We pay £54.80 (not including VAT) per month for a year subscription.

I have had no problems with the service so far, but it isn't cloud based so I only need internet access for updates (except for Illustrator, obviously).

I must admit, I quite like Bridge and I've started using Captivate now. Both good products imo.

[Bob_Niland]

> ... so I to would like answers to the above.

In Adobe's CC FAQ, they claim that CS6, with perpetual licensing, will remain available "indefinitely" (of course, frozen in time), so I could see that also happening to TCS4. So FM12/TCS5 might arrive Subscription only, with TCS4/FM11 still available.

Due to the disparity in pricing between CC and TCS Subs, I'm wondering if TCS would ever become part of the CC branding.

> I'm still not over the Photoshop debacle, so this annoys me just a bit more.

There's rather a lot I could say as well about Adobe's clouded vision, but let's do what we can to keep the thread on the topic of Wither TCS for a bit .

[Bob_Niland]

Intrigued by a perhaps incautious post by another user here today, I did a search on "Framemaker 12" and discovered quite a few people stating that their book/plug-in/training/script work with FM12, in addition to the expected chatter about what people would like to see in 12. I got the distinct impression that 12 is imminent.

I don't suppose that anyone has any non-NDA information about:

• whether there is a revised TCS to go with 12,
• how either FM12 or TCS#? might be licensed,
• what the upgrade path from 11/TCS4 would be, and
• whether there are any nice or naughty changes to the TCS bundle.