I'm gonig with the non-cloud version of CS6 also. I don't like the idea of an expiring software package, in the event that I don't want to spend another $600 next year.

What I'm hoping is that Adobe will eventually offer a package of just the Creative Cloud at $10/m or similar price. Specifically for those who already have a suite license.

Alternatively, maybe Google and Microsoft will see this as an opportunity to offer some competition, because what I dislike even more than expiring software is having to keep up with files across ten different web sites. Someone needs to invent a "cloud drive" standard and then everyone needs to build their apps to function with any "cloud drive".

Google is getting close with their new Google Drive and a selection of third party web apps that can use it for storage.

It would be awesome if SCS would build something similar to Adobe's Creative Cloud, for Vegas/Sound Forge/ACID, but use Google Drive as the storage system.

There are a few things to keep in mind about "cloud" based format:
- You HAVE to be connected to the internet to use the app.
- What if you edit on a laptop and don't have internet access?
- If the main server goes down for any reason i.e. maintenance or crashes you may not have access to the app.
-If your internet provider or DNS goes down you're out of luck.
-Depending on how big the app is download times may be LONG. Ergo, application launch time will be long.

I'm pretty sure adobe isn't proposing that you use applications over the internet. AFAIK, you download and install the applications and keep them activated on a monthly basis. The cost is $50 bucks a month and you can rent by the month, so if you only need the tools for a few months you spend a lot less. And if you keep the apps long term then it's $600.00/year.

You get online storage and I assume you can upload and download presets and workspaces to keep your work environments synced as you move around. They're also saying that you'll get updated features on a more frequent basis.

My own inclination would be to stick with the suite license. I have no faith that Adobe won't just screw everything up. For instance, I have a CS4 suite at work that I installed on a new fresh build. It's incapable of installing updates because it thinks it's already done it. My guess is that Adobe had no idea what they were doing in relation to Windows 7 permissions. And given the kludgy behavior of Adobe Bridge, I think they've had their heads in the clouds for quite a while now. So I'd need a pretty compelling reason to go to the cloud service. It could happen if my work wanted it, otherwise "no".

Another consideration. Some editors want their edit systems isolated from the internet. Cloud service won't be so good if that's what you want.

Rob

the horse's mouth:

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

The one nice thing about Adobe's Creative Cloud is that you can install both the Mac and Windows version for the same membership price. I have a Windows 7 desktop but a Mac OS X Lion laptop so this would benefit me. Of course, Adobe could have just been nice and allowed my desktop license to work on both platforms like other companies do but that's another story. (I'm not really happy with them about that)

I decided, however, not to go with Creative Cloud and instead ordered the regular upgrade license that runs on Windows. My primary reason is that the regular upgrade was $399 to use for as long as I want and the Creative Cloud is $600/yr so it's not price competitive. Since I skipped CS 5.5 and am going directly from CS5 to CS6 it is cheaper for me. If you upgrade every year I guess it would be worth it if the price was right... (but it's not) IMHO, CS 5.5 was not worth the money for the few features they added. The Creative Cloud doesn't give you that option (you pay whether you like it or not).

~jr

JonnyRoy, how did you figure a $399 upgrade price going from 5.0 to 6.0?

Also in case anyone missed it, Adobe has a special offer to people with CS3 or later. The Creative Cloud is only $359.88 the first year, then $599.88 every year after. That is of course assuming that they don't raise the price some time in the future.

If you don't agree to a full year of service it's $74.99 / month.

...to use for as long as I want...

And that's a good point. At work, we'd probably upgrade every 3rd release if it was up to my boss (and it is). I'd opt for every second release. The subscription is $600.00/year. The upgrade from CS4 master suite to CS6 master suite is $1399.00 and I'd guess we've had it for 3 years. It was release 3 and a half years ago.

It works out to be cheaper to buy the suite, but you don't get the online services. If you need them you'd spring for the subscription.

I kind of think Adobe would rather have the subscribers since it evens out the revenue stream. If so then maybe they'll start tweaking the pricing to drive people to the subscriptions.

Rob

The comment above that you HAVE to be connected to the big 'I' to use it, must surely rule out any Pro user?? You need the fewest possible complications. We already have variables with software updates, hardware failure etc. Would you really put your business productivity at such a risk?

Reading the FAQ you only need to be in the internet to download & install the program, then the next time you need to be on the net is 30 days later to re-register it (and every 30 days afterwards). If that could be done within a couple days timeframe, it's a really neat idea.

The turnoff for me (because this would let me use AE, Photoshop, etc. when I want and not have to pay large sums of $$) is the FORCED yearly upgrade. It says you can keep the version you lease for one year, then you must upgrade. Patches are installed by you (just like now), but your software license (appears) to expire a year after you initially get it. That would mean (for us), if we leased Vegas 8 (same thing as this cloud) and we LOVED it, we would HAVE to go to 9, then 10, then 11, etc. No option to not to.

A *BIG* plus I saw is that if you use the cloud and a program on the cloud becomes discontinued (IE they stop making AE & make a Premiere+AE combo program), you get a download of the discontinued program for 90 days that doesn't require registration, etc. You can use it forever. That's an awesome idea!

About the Google thing, remember that anything you put on the Google drive is owned by GOOGLE, and they can use it for anything at all that they see fit. Trusting Google with your work is insane.

> "JonnyRoy, how did you figure a $399 upgrade price going from 5.0 to 6.0?"

I never upgraded to CS 5.5 because it wasn't worth the money. You can now upgrade from CS 5.0 to CD 5.5 for $399 with a FREE upgrade to CS 6.0 when it is released. I actually purchased it from videoguys.com for only $379 but I live in NY so they had to charge me tax and it came out to $399 anyway but I'd rather give them the money than Adobe because they are an outstanding retailer.

You can download CS 5.5 immediately from Adobe.com for $399 with the same free upgrade to 6.0 (select upgrade and then CS 5 production Premium. I only use Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects but it's worth getting the entire suite because it's cheaper then buying them individually.

Offer ends May 6, 2012 so if you still have CS 5.0 and want CS 6.0 order CS 5.5 before then to get the free upgrade to CS 6.0.

~jr

>About the Google thing, remember that anything you put on the Google drive is owned by GOOGLE, and they can use it for anything at all that they see fit. Trusting Google with your work is insane.

@Terge: From CBS article about Google's TOS:

The uproar over Google's storage service might have died down if more attention had been paid to a straightforward statement leading up to the paragraph that set off the alarms.

"Some of our services allow you to submit content," Google says in its disclosure. "You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours."

/jerry

Reply by: TheHappyFriar; Date: 4/29/2012 1:57:34 AM
That would mean (for us), if we leased Vegas 8 (same thing as this cloud) and we LOVED it, we would HAVE to go to 9, then 10, then 11, etc. No option to not to.

This is EXACTLY why the cloud concept is not beneficial unless you like being beta test guinea pig. Perfect example is Vegas 11. I bypassed 11 because I knew that it was a major overhaul of the core programming to incorporate CUDA and knew that it would have been buggy and since they didn't fix any of the bugs I've reported it was not feasible for me to upgrade. Also since the CUDA feature would require a CUDA version 2 upgrade, which was not in my plan until I build my 6 core 790 PC in about 8 mos to a year from now. By then maybe 12 will be out and it will be much more stable w/ a few more bug fixes.

Hats off to all you folks who PAID SCS to be their beta testers, because obviously w/ all the problems that were missed, the SCS beta testers are incompetent and have their heads up their @$$. (;

> "...because obviously w/ all the problems that were missed, the SCS beta testers are incompetent and have their heads up their @$$. (;"

Did it ever occur to you that the beta testers did find it and report it, and that Sony is still working on that list to get all of them fixed? Companies don't ship software when all of the bugs are fixed... they ship software to coincide with major industry conferences (e.g., NAB, IBC, NAMM, etc.) Everyone does it... Sony, Adobe, Apple, Avid. So I don't care who's software you buy or how much it's beta tested... there is going to be a period of stabilization after a major update as the developers fix all of the problems that everyone has found.

~jr

The point is that if it were Premiere CS 6 we'd be forced to upgrade and deal with all the problems. We don't have enough info to know how/why this stuff went through.

Anyway... I'm betting upgrading all of Sony's software on release is less then $600/year, or about there. On the plus side: we own a license for every copy we license. If you bought 11 & (for some reason) didn't do a run through on the 30 day trial window, you still own your old copy and can use that. The cloud removes that ability (I see in Adobe's future they'll remove the pay versions with a piracy argument & stick to a cloud version).

The comment above that you HAVE to be connected to the big 'I' to use it, must surely rule out any Pro user??

That information was wrong. You don't need to stay connected all the time. But if you're not going to be connected maybe you don't need the cloud service.

Rob

I agree with your point about being forced to upgrade. Probably what Adobe should be doing is to just charge you the monthly fee for whatever you have installed.

For example, up until a few years ago I was maintaining a large website for a corporate client who had their own rigid document standards. When Dreamweaver reved to CS4 it started forcing everything into CSS. It's technically the right thing to do but I had to downgrade back to CS3 to continue using Dreamweaver for this client.

Sometimes you don't want to upgrade. Good thing Adobe isn't forcing people to use their cloud subscription.

Rob

yet

"I'm old fashioned"

Jabloom - you aren't old (fashioned) enough to remember when all software was owned lock-stock and barrel by the hardware companies. (You couldn't buy a computer, you had to lease it from the manufacturer). You paid an annual maintenance fee and the owner (DEC, IBM, etc) maintained the hardware and software.

In that scope, things haven't changed much. We still pay an annual or biannual "fee" in the form of software upgrades. Personally I prefer the old "Rent the Software" model because if it didn't work, you didn't pay, and bugs got fixed really fast.

Cloud could probably work, but I fear that companies like Adobe and Sony would simply price the product out of reach. 99.9% profit. Production cost of downloadable software is next to zero. Clouding the software would be even closer to zero in delivery costs.

"About the Google thing, remember that anything you put on the Google drive is owned by GOOGLE, and they can use it for anything at all that they see fit. Trusting Google with your work is insane."

Urban lagend, fear mongering. Google (and YouTube and Widows SkyDrive and Amazon Cloud) assumes a LICENSE to your work for the legal protection of being able to move and disperse it throughout their servers. And in the case of YouTube to change the format.

"In that scope, things haven't changed much. We still pay an annual or biannual "fee" in the form of software upgrades. Personally I prefer the old "Rent the Software" model because if it didn't work, you didn't pay, and bugs got fixed really fast."

I'm inclined to agree. I also think this business model aligns the motives of the vendor to those of the customer a bit better than the common "pay when you upgrade" model. I suspect that a part of the issue with Sony's perceived tardiness in repairing current Vegas pro issues and in responding to technical support submissions is that a nontrivial portion of their resources are being devoted to Version 12, because Version 11 payed this year's bills while Version 12 will pay next year's bills.

One curious thing I read is that, if you are using currency other than US, your monthly rates could vary based on current exchange rate. If I was subscribing to this, this would be a deterrent.

Dave T2