Creative Cloud Q&A

[Angelo Lorenzo]

Thank you for jumping into the forums Steve.

A few questions. I hear that, starting with CS6, you’ll have access to all major versions of Adobe apps. Will there be a “rollback” install or will we be able to install an old version side-by-side?

What are the details on Creative Cloud for teams? I hear that old volume licensing use to include two installs per mac/pc per license (4 total) while the Creative Cloud license is two active installs across the board. Is this set in stone or will there be some flexibility for volume customers? If this is so, it basically doubles the cost for volume users.

During the keynote, there were hints that some CPU intensive features like AE’s rotoscope refine edge may be processed in the cloud one day. Is Adobe’s stance to have some fallback to the user’s CPU? It would be a shame if some features were cloud connected round-the-clock.

For small volume/hobbyists, will there be any kind of activation tools for those who are deep behind firewalls or have limited/no connectivity? For enterprise customers it seems there is some wiggle room but it leaves a lot of people out.

Granted a change in business models shakes everyone up and I’m sure Adobe didn’t come to this decision lightly. I also know it’s Adobe’s policy not to comment on any future business related matters but I hope Adobe takes customer feedback into account when it comes to possibly offering perpetual licenses again or some level of free availability so once paying customers can access archived projects.

I can only assume the “elements” versions of products will be beefed up to pick up the slack of those hobbyists or business people who open and use Adobe products rarely.
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Angelo Lorenzo

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[Todd Kopriva]

I’ll leave the questions about computation in the cloud to Steve, since I know he likes those questions. But I’ll take the others:

> A few questions. I hear that, starting with CS6, you’ll have access to all major versions of Adobe apps. Will there be a “rollback” install or will we be able to install an old version side-by-side?

It will work much the same as it does now, with you able to run After Effects CS5 and CS6 side by side. You could also run After Effects CS6 (11.0) and CC (12.0) side by side.

You can choose if and when to download and install each version.

> For small volume/hobbyists, will there be any kind of activation tools for those who are deep behind firewalls or have limited/no connectivity?

If you have an annual subscription, you only need to connect to the Internet once every several months. Specifically, the software tries to connect once per month; if it fails, it enters a grace period mode where it begins counting down the number of days before it _must_ connect or terminate the activation. The grace period for annual subscriptions is now 99 days; we’re soon going to bump that to 180 days.

So, as long as you can connect briefly twice a year, you’re fine.

> I hope Adobe takes customer feedback into account when it comes to possibly offering perpetual licenses again or some level of free availability so once paying customers can access archived projects.

If it’s a paying customer that you’re referring to, then why the need for free availability? Do you mean someone who used to pay and stopped? If so, then that person could pay a $19.99 single-application subscription for the month when they needed to restore use of the software. Or just use the 30-day free trial version, which still exists and is still fully functional.

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Todd Kopriva, Adobe Systems Incorporated
After Effects quality engineering
After Effects team blog
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[Ridley Walker]

I’m pleased to read some reasoned discussion regarding the change to Adobe’s sales model. Its understandable that many users are concerned, this is a substantial change to the way we’ve done business with Adobe over the last few decades.

I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea that I won’t own the software I use to create my own work, and therefor need to connect to Adobe for authorization to modify my own product. Though in practice this may not be a real issue as long as we can connect and Adobe maintains a policy of allowing lapsed subscribers to use the 30 day trial version.

My discomfort is amplified when I reflect on my experiences with Adobe’s Customer Service – a real oxymoron. I’ve been on hold for hours, been disconnected, misdirected, done the on-line chat for hours-at-a-time without resolution. Customer Service doesn’t talk to Sales and passes the buck. Sales don’t talk to Customer Service so you’re stuck in a loop transferred from pillar-to-post and back.

Todd and Steve’s presence and contributions to these forums are the exception, they are open, responsive and very helpful. Todd and Steve, you should try contacting Customer Service and learn what most of us experience.

I’m sure I’ll subscribe eventually, perhaps a bit reluctantly since I do feel Adobe has left us no other option for moving forward with their products. It does seem as though we’re being corralled and prodded to work the way Adobe wants us to.

I’ve got my Illustrator ’88 disk still and have purchased (and budgeted for) every upgrade to the CS Suite. The cost is not the issue for me as I’ll likely save a few dollars, not owning the tools I work with every day – that rubs me the wrong way.

[Doyle Lewis]

First I just want to say thank you Ridley and Todd for taking the time to explain these features. I love every feature the creative cloud has to offer. When I first heard about the cloud I was super excited that updates would now come throughout the year. That I could have my hands on the latest and greatest, the day that it came out! My problem is the feature it lacks, I.E. a perpetual license of any sort. I get that there is a grace period and I get that you can pay for an app you really need for $20. But as a young videographer with tons of student loans to pay. $600 a year, nearly double an annual upgrade in the CS model if i remember correctly, is far too steep. The $300 to $400 dollar upgrade a year was a reasonable model for me. It was hard, but reasonable and worth always having the software there for me to practice new techniques and improve my craft. So what i’m saying is I understand why Adobe is doing it this way. It makes great sense for them, it just doesn’t make sense for me. If it were just me out there who felt this way then i would just say, “well that’s a bummer for me” and I’d have to be okay with it, but the fact is, it is not just me. There are a lot of people who cant swing this sort of cash only to have their tools disappear after a year and 99 days. I like Adobe and I think they make the best products out there, I am just sad that i wont get the privilege to continue being their customer anymore.

Doyle Lewis, Assistant Videographer

thinkck.com

[Doyle Lewis]

Sorry i meant to say Steve and Todd. Although Ridley your input was also helpful.

Doyle Lewis, Assistant Videographer

thinkck.com

[Tom Daigon]

Very nicely stated Dave. Current polls and petitions support your perceptions of the situation.

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
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http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com

[Ridley Walker]

The polls I’ve seen don’t represent large numbers of people. The The Toolfarm poll has been running since January and hasn’t attracted large numbers – only a few hundred responses. The poll at change.org is currently around 2,000.

If Adobe’s numbers are accurate, 500,000 current CC subscribers, those 2,000 petitioners represent fewer than .04% of the subscribers who have already voted with their wallets.

There are grumbles on other forums (https://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/applications/index.html#d08may2013), but there are also many advocates for the CC model. Walter Biscardi, among others, is happy with it. Seems like its the one-and-two person shops that are most upset.

I’m not happy about this change in policy either, but it would appear that Adobe has the market on its side.

Compared to the FCP firestorm, this looks like a tempest-in-a-teapot.

[Derek Andonian]

[Todd Kopriva] Do you mean someone who used to pay and stopped? If so, then that person could pay a $19.99 single-application subscription for the month when they needed to restore use of the software.

If they only need to open one app, that’s fine. But what if they need to use more than one app? What if somone needs access to a Premiere Pro CC Project that has AE comps dynamically linked to it? Downloading the 30-day trial won’t work in this case, since there’s no Creative Suite available with the new versions.

I do not- repeat, DO NOT want to have to pay for a month of full-blown Creative Cloud just to make a few changes if something like this comes up.

I really wish Adobe would keep the Creative Suites going for people who don’t want to do the cloud model. Aside from giving us a perpetual licensing option it would also give the Cloud users a way to access their old projects if they leave, by making a free trial available that has everything they need.

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“Up until here, we still have enough track to stop the locomotive before it plunges into the ravine… But after this windmill it’s the future or bust.”

[Derek Andonian]

[Ridley Walker] Walter Biscardi, among others, is happy with it. Seems like its the one-and-two person shops that are most upset.

FWIW, I liked it too, when I knew there was a permanent option to fall back on. Now that it’s gone, I don’t find it very appealing.

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“Up until here, we still have enough track to stop the locomotive before it plunges into the ravine… But after this windmill it’s the future or bust.”

[Steve Forde]

Am going to chime into this thread more – just at a conference and time constrained. More tomorrow.

Steve Forde
Adobe Systems Inc.