Adobe CC

Well, I broke my own rule about Adobe's Creative Cloud (CC). I don't particularly like the idea you can't buy apps anymore from Adobe, or at least the one and last app you can buy is Lightroom 5, and I don't know how long that offer will last, and I did buy it at the upgrade discount.

One thing I am is an addict to keeps applications updated and often upgraded. I don't always upgrade applications if the company isn't being nice about it, like companies who sell apps in the Apple App Store and then abandon the App Store buyers with updates or upgrades except through their Website.

But that's another issue and not the point here. Since I was leasing Adobe Muse for the one year minimum and that expired June 1st, I noticed Apple is offering people with Creative Suite (CS) 6 applications a one year deal for the CC.

The deal is for $20 per month for the one year minimum period you get the complete CC collection of applications. Since Muse is $15 per month, less than the new monthly lease for any one application under the CC plan, I decided to get the full CC which includes Muse.

Ok, that's the rule I broke which was that I didn't plan to get the CC, especially since I know the price is $50 per month for most people and will be $50 per month for CS6 owners after one year. That's the ripoff and the control Adobe will have over your applications.

But it's also a tradeoff people have to consider. Updates to applications are always free but upgrades are the big expensive with some applications, especially Adobe. I hate to think about the money I've given them from CS2 through CS6 and now with CC.

I read a column where someone argued that's the tradeoff, lots of upfront money, especially if you're a first time buyer of CS (now CC) or just upgrading, and the monthly cost over the year and beyond. Is $600 plus tax every year less than the outright purchase price.

And Adobe sweetened the pot with the whole CC collection for the $50 per month along with all the free applications anyone can get (Adobe Edge, etc.), especially since you likely won't use the applications you wouldn't buy.

So I decided to give it a go for a year for the extra $5. I was about to cancel the subscription to Muse but since I'm paying the money now anyway, the $5 is cheap for playing with a few applications, and next July I can decide to continue it or not.

What I don't like is that to cancel a subscription you have to talk to a customer service representative who can cancel the subscription. You can't cancel it through your account. That's too much in my book  to have only Adobe be able to cancel the monthly automatic credit card charge.

As for the CC, a couple of things. First, there's the little Menu Bar icon. It takes a awhile to start so don't launch it with your login. I wrote you can walk to the kitchen to get coffee and find it's ready by the time you get back, maybe. How far away is the coffee pot?

Second, it doesn't look for updates to all your CS6 applications, only those in the CC, the rest either won't be updated or updated separately. This is partly because some applications have been discountined, such as Soundbooth, Contribute, etc.

Third, some of the CS6 applications are the same CC applications, such as Acrobat XI and Lightroom 5, so you have to be careful not to update  the CC version so it overwrites your purchased copy. Normally these will update through the application but they're not in your list of CS6 apps in the CC.

That's it for now. I keep you posted.