photoshop cc: is it worth paying monthly for CC if I already own CS6?

Only you can decide that.

Personally, I will never join a subscription model that condemns me to pay a monthly tribute to Adobe in perpetuity without ever being able to own the software.  You should keep in mind that Adobe can raise their price for the subscription at any time, without your having any recourse, and they can modify the software at will, deprecating features as they see fit.

Other users here, however, love this "for business reasons" and appear happy to be Adobe captives.  They also allege the red herring of new operating systems no longer supporting CS6 in the future.

As I said, it's a personal decision you must take,

How do you use Photoshop currently?

CC is an excellent product and is constantly being updated with new tools and features.

CS6 is a superseded product with no future and no further updates.

If you don't plan to use the extra offerings in CC then you may be better off sticking with CS6 for the time being.

Correct me on this, but didn't Adobe say they would update CS6 for newer OS versions?

Update how?

It's not just Adobe that's moving towards a subscription model; Autodesk is now doing it with SketchBook Pro.

I guess we could debate until we're all blue in the face over the pros and cons of each model but there's one thing that should be noted: Adobe is a business. They want to make money. Adobe made a lot of money with the limited-time-offer "Photoshop Photography Program" and managed to entice a lot of new users in the process that they made the program permanent (it's now called, "Creative Cloud Photography"). (OK, that's several things.) If I recall, Adobe was apparently (and pleasantly) surprised at the response the program garnered.

At $9.99 USD/month for any and all updates and new features for both Photoshop and Lightroom, that's an absolute deal. Adobe apparently found the sweet spot for enthusiasts/professionals who just wanted Photoshop and/or Lightroom.

It's true that they could change the price of the sub in the future but how much more would that be? $1? $4? I'm pretty sure they wouldn't jack it up so much, not unless they feel like stabbing their customers in the back with a bait-and-switch move.

I have not heard anything indicating that Adobe would update CS6 in the future and, as best I can remember, they said they would not support it in the future. It is why I am still using CS5.1. Others may have heard something else but I have not.

John Waller wrote:

 

…CS6 is a superseded product with no future and no further updates…

So what, John? !!  If I ever, ever feel I need more, I will then consider paying a monthly tribute to Adobe.

At this time it makes no d@mn sense!

That is the most stupid, senseless and useless argument Adobe and its sycophants can make for going to CC at this point.  It's absurd!

"We have committed to selling CS6 indefinately, as well as updating it to support the next releases of Mac and Windows.

This is discussed in the FAQs:

http://www.adobe.com/go/cc_faq

http://www.adobe.com/products/cs6/faq.html

Hope that helps...

mike chambers"

Gene,

"The next releases" is far from "all future releases". 

I do realize that sycophant is a very pejorative epithet, but after all this time, that's what you guys are coming across as… sorry.

The way I read it, Adobe would not plan to sell it indefinitely if it was not going to be maintained to work on all future OS releases.

I don't believe anything corporate Adobe says.  The level of mendacity and duplicity among the suits is very high.

gener7 wrote:

 

"We have committed to selling CS6 indefinitely, as well as updating it to support the next releases of Mac and Windows.

True.  But that's a far cry from upgrades. 

Apart from supporting the (at the time written) *next releases of Win & Mac*, CS6 is not being upgraded to receive any new bells & whistles.  It is what it is into perpetuity --  or until it stops running on future operating systems.

I think for some people, CS6 on perpetual license could well suffice for several years.  However for studios and working pros who need relevant tools, Creative Cloud is practically a necessity.

Nancy O.

Yes.

Nancy O. wrote:

 

…However for studios and working pros who need relevant tools, Creative Cloud is practically a necessity…

If those studios and working pros consult with an attorney or other legal professional worth his/her salt and show them the proposed contract, after the attorney studies the term and conditions of Adobe's contract, they will be told categorically not to sign it.  Otherwise the attorney would be guilty of egregious malpractice.

I don't care how good the product turns out to be.

station_two wrote:

If I ever, ever feel I need more, I will then consider paying a monthly tribute to Adobe.

 

At this time it makes no d@mn sense!

 

That is the most stupid, senseless and useless argument Adobe and its sycophants can make for going to CC at this point.  It's absurd!

Don't confuse me with making a case for joining the Cloud.

Many people comparing CS6 to the Cloud have no idea that CS6 is not a current version of Photoshop and is no longer being developed.

For some CS6 is all they need. No problem.

Others want the latest version and sometimes assume their choice is CS6 (perpetual license, current version) vs Cloud. When they realize that CS6 is an end-of-life product with no future features or upgrades to come they often change their mind about the Cloud.

That's where my point stops - ensuring that they are making an informed decision. Nothing more.

Doublespeak if I ever heard one…

Whatever.

Thanks for your usual candid responses.

station_two wrote:

 

If those studios and working pros consult with an attorney or other legal professional worth his/her salt and show them the proposed contract, after the attorney studies the term and conditions of Adobe's contract, they will be told categorically not to sign it.

You've totally lost me. Are you a California contract attorney?  Do you find Adobe's TOS somehow offensive or misleading. <sarcasm>Perhaps you can shower us with your pearls of juris wisdom.</sarcasm>

I don't know what the heck you're so all fired-up about.   Clearly, you don't like the lease model.  OK fine, no problem.  It works for some but it's not for everyone.   End of story.

Nancy O.

Nancy O. wrote:

 

True.  But that's a far cry from upgrades.

 

Apart from supporting the (at the time written) *next releases of Win & Mac*, CS6 is not being upgraded to receive any new bells & whistles.  It is what it is into perpetuity --  or until it stops running on future operating systems.

 

I think for some people, CS6 on perpetual license could well suffice for several years.  However for studios and working pros who need relevant tools, Creative Cloud is practically a necessity.

 

(Not able to get out of this quote box for some reason, but here's my followup).

 

I agree there Nancy. I just meant it's going to be  supported for the foreseeable future, which might involve minor upgrades, but there will be no more features improved or added. That's the point I am making to those thinking of buying the permanent license CS6.

 

Gene

> For some CS6 is all they need. No problem.

Photoshop is such a feature-rich product that most people only need a relatively small subset of its functionality. For some, like myself, CS5 is all they need for the foreseeable future..

Presumably some time in the not too distant future Photoshop will have a lot of functionality that is not in it today, but it is hard to see what extra functionality (aside from new raw converter definitions) most people would need. As an owner of CS5 that is the one thing I think I might need some years in the future. The bright spot is that there is always the dng converter and, of course, I could also get an ACR replacement to hook into it.

Others, of course, may have a different set of needs and, of course, we don't know what new "must have" feature Adobe might come up with tomorrow and include in CC.

John Waller wrote:

 

That's where my point stops - ensuring that they are making an informed decision. Nothing more.

That sums it up for me as well.

Nancy,

No, no "end of story".  You have just irked me and made an Equus asinus of yourself in the process.  I will respond to your blunder.

You're way off target.

The TOS/Contract Adobe put forward for the subscription model is the most leonine, abusive, disgusting, one-sided contract I have ever read in my long life.

My everyday circles consist predominantly of jurists, including justices, judges, prosecutors, as well as numerous civil and criminal defense attorneys, with some top law enforcement officials mixed in.  I was an officer of the court myself for over two decades.

The Adobe subscription contract has been in fact discussed in depth—and ridiculed—among ourselves several times.

As highlights of that abomination, I'll just mention one or two of most egregious ones that stick in my memory.

From Adobe's terms of service:

"6.5 Adobe may modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Services or Materials, or any portion thereof, with or without notice. You agree that Adobe shall not be liable to you or anyone else if we do so."

Adobe reserves the right to change the prices and conditions at will, without cause, and without your having any recourse at all.

Adobe may end the serice at any time, at their discretion.  Again, no recourse available to the user.

Adobe has no specific obligation to add features to the applications, and may remove any feature at their discretion, and you agree that Adobe shall not be liable to you or anyone else if they do so.

Your business and/or your livelihood are at the mercy of Adobe.  That simple.

It's there for anyone with an IQ above room temperature (in degrees Celsius even) to see.

Some say they "trust Adobe to do the right thing".  Hmmm…:

To sum it up, just two words, Nancy:  NO WAY !

This seems like a good time for me to take a breather from these forums.

The technical level of discourse, from which I used to derive many learning opportunities has plummeted since the merging of the forums and the driving away of the genuine Photoshop experts by Adobe.