Creative Cloud or not?

Actually, you never were able to “purchase software outright” from Adobe or most any other software company. What you do purchase are licenses to use the software, but you never own the software itself.

The difference between the previous versions of Adobe software (i.e., the “Creative Suite” versions) and the current versions (i.e., the “Creative Cloud” versions) is that with those previous versions, you purchased perpetual licenses that gave you the right to use that particular version of the software into the indefinite future, as-is. You could expect some bug fix releases, but no additional features where such features might include support for new hardware features and new operating system releases (Apple is not particularly good about maintaining application compatibility with new operating system releases). If you wanted the new features, you typically would pay an upgrade fee to obtain a license for the newest software version. The new licensing model for Adobe software that came about with the “Creative Cloud” eliminates the concept of a perpetual license replacing it with a subscription license. You pay for each month you use the software with a substantial discount if you commit to a minimum term (such as a full year). However, this subscription model entitles you not only to all bug fixes, but also to all updates and upgrades including new features and support for the latest hardware and operating system updates at no extra charge.

It is also important to understand that the terminology “Creative Cloud” is somewhat of a nasty misnomer. You need to be online to download and then activate the software, but for the mainline applications such as InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, other than the software checking as to its current subscription currency on a monthly basis, it is running on your computer. They aren't “cloud applications” in the true sense of that terminology. Some optional features, such as TypeKit, Kuler, and Behance are clearly internet-based, but the core functionality runs on your computer just as it always has with Adobe applications. I understand your anxiety, but unless you plan to totally and utterly be offline for months, you should have no problem accessing and running these applications.

For the time being, the Creative Suite 6 versions of the Adobe applications are still available for perpetual licensing, albeit with download only — boxed software with physical media is no longer available. However, given that you are buying a new computer, I would strongly advise against entering using CS6. Why? First of all, it was designed for and works best with older MacOS versions and some components don't support the newest ultra high definition screens (the so-called “Retina” displays). Secondly, your only upgrade into the future will be the Creative Cloud versions and in the future any special pricing for moving from CS6 to CC may be gone.

          - Dov