# Why I'm cancelling my Adobe subscription



## floatingby (Dec 20, 2019)

So, I've got 30 hours aboard a ferry crossing the Mediterranean, stuck on a boat with no internet, absolute best time to edit travel photos, right? I thought so, but Adobe had other ideas!







Thankfully, I had another piece of software to use, one from another vendor that didn't use a subscription model. Still I'm paying Adobe to be inconvenienced?

No, just no.


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## Derrel (Dec 20, 2019)

Your concern has been noted before by quite a few people who like to travel and who want to work on their photos without an internet connection so that the manufacturer can make sure the software they want to use is registered. Some would say we need to excuse the behavior of the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Other people don't see it that way.

Imagine if Nikon, or Canon or Sony or Pentax just one day out of the blue told us that they would no longer sell us cameras, but we would be forced to rent them for $10 a month for the rest of our lives. I'm sure we would all be screaming with Glee.


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## Soocom1 (Dec 20, 2019)

This problem is also true with various industrial software. 

Its part of the money system they establish. 

So, i try to find a single purchase system. 
or, free ware.


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## DarkShadow (Dec 20, 2019)

I am still using no longer supported Aperture 3.6  on Apple OS Mojave and as long as I don't move to Catalina the very latest OS it works great and no internet required.I have nothing Adobe not even flash and I can't blame you for leaving it behind. Personally I hate feeling like I am married to software and don't care how cheap per month it is.I rather have a one off payment software that don't need a connection.


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## Jeff15 (Dec 20, 2019)

I would recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements as a stand-alone editing programme........


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## ronlane (Dec 20, 2019)

I've been without internet for 2-3 days and was able to use adobe Lightroom and Photoshop with no problems. It is my understanding that you just have to connect to the internet to "verify" it at least once every 30 days to keep it going.

Sorry that you have this issue.


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## floatingby (Dec 20, 2019)

ronlane said:


> I've been without internet for 2-3 days and was able to use adobe Lightroom and Photoshop with no problems. It is my understanding that you just have to connect to the internet to "verify" it at least once every 30 days to keep it going.
> 
> Sorry that you have this issue.


It's apparently a documented bug in their anti-theft software, one that affect a "small percentage of their user base", it has been there for years so they are evidently in no rush to fix it. Something to do with time settings on the machine, but I'm one the "small percentage" twice since both my desktop and laptop are afflicted.
In any case, heads up for those who plan on traveling, either don't use Adobe products or, at the very least, make sure you have alternative software.


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## Derrel (Dec 20, 2019)

It would be nice if more people understood what the PING protocol is from Adobe. Is it somehow tied to location services? Is it once every 30 days? Is it once every 10 days?


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## floatingby (Dec 20, 2019)

Derrel said:


> It would be nice if more people understood what the PING protocol is from Adobe. Is it somehow tied to location services? Is it once every 30 days? Is it once every 10 days?


A search online will reveal answers which are vague and sometimes conflicting. I believe the anti theft software isn't made by Adobe but by a third party, that would explain why they are being vague on the subject.


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## Original katomi (Dec 21, 2019)

This is interesting. I did not know that one had to connect to the net regularly to be able to use the programme.
I am going to stick with my PSE 9 ok it’s a bit limited by today’s standards but it works


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## weepete (Dec 21, 2019)

Adobe will keep the subscription going for 30 days if you pay monthly or 99 days if you pay annualy. But that seems to run from the last time you logged out of Creative Cloud, or the last date the software pinged the server. So to "reset" your allowance you should log out of creative cloud and then back in shortly before you travel.

It's a pain if you first run into this issue and you weren't aware of it, but it's usually manageable.


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## tirediron (Dec 21, 2019)

Has anyone waded through the EULA to see what it says?  It should give some sort of minimum interval...


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## weepete (Dec 21, 2019)

tirediron said:


> Has anyone waded through the EULA to see what it says?  It should give some sort of minimum interval...



I had a look but I couldn't see anything that spells out the verification period. Just a blanket statement indemnifying Adobe if any services are unavalible.


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## Peeb (Dec 21, 2019)

I’m impressed by anybody who looks for and reads an EULA. In my experience, there are two types of people when it comes to fully reading the EULA when software is initially installed and registered:

People who click “ok” without reading, and
Liars.


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## ronlane (Dec 21, 2019)

Peeb said:


> I’m impressed by anybody who looks for and reads an EULA. In my experience, there are two types of people when it comes to fully reading the EULA when software is initially installed and registered:
> 
> People who click “ok” without reading, and
> Liars.



Three types:    "What's a EULA?"   lol


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## dunfly (Dec 22, 2019)

This is why I don't use adobe, even though it would be easier.  Once they got close to a monopoly they started telling people what they would sell them instead of asking what they want.  Fortunately there are alternatives.


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## ronlane (Dec 23, 2019)

dunfly said:


> This is why I don't use adobe, even though it would be easier.  Once they got close to a monopoly they started telling people what they would sell them instead of asking what they want.  Fortunately there are alternatives.



So you don't have a cell phone? They all do the same thing and at a MUCH higher price.


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## dunfly (Dec 23, 2019)

Apples and oranges.  Cell phones are hardware and a service with no real alternatives.


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## Warhorse (Dec 23, 2019)

$10 a month to constantly have the latest edition of Lightroom/Photoshop is a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. 

I have/do waste much more money on more trivial things on a regular basis.


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## ronlane (Dec 23, 2019)

dunfly said:


> Apples and oranges.  Cell phones are hardware and a service with no real alternatives.



No, it's just like that. You rent their service or do without it. Same way with cable or satelite TV. They all have cheaper versions. You can use GIMP, or bet rabbit ears and get local channels or get a cheap prepaid plan if you had to have a cell phone.

But even at that you can't compare what you get for $10 a month from Adobe with anything that is free to edit photos with. You get what once was nearly $1,000 (Photoshop and Lightroom) and all the upgrades for $10 a month. So figure this, if someone bought Photoshop and lightroom at $1,000 and used it and another person rented at $10 a month. By the time the $10 a month reached the $1,000 level, they will have about 8 years+ of upgrades included in that. The other person, will probably not be using that software because the new camera won't be supported by the other software. So then they will have to spend the money to get an upgrade.

Now, if the $10 a month person were to stop paying, they would still the LR on their computer that they could still print, view, export their photos. Do everything that it will now just not be able to use the develop module.

I'm not trying to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, it's your choice. I just have seen WAY too many people bash the business model that Adobe, and others, have gone to.


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## Derrel (Dec 23, 2019)

It seems like some people here are forgetting the very Basics ...it's not $10 a month it's $60 a month, because Adobe forces you to have a live internet connection each month and in my area that is around $50 a month now, plus the Adobe tithe. No longer can a powerful workstation sit unattached to the internet.

I had Adobe CC for two years and got no valuable updates to the application, but was forced to spend $149 or so on a new Macintosh operating system to be able to run the new CC, when my system was working perfectly and my OS offered all the features I wanted and was Rock Solid. Even though I had a 2012 copy of Adobe Lightroom which I paid $129 for, I was forced to update my computer operating system to keep Pace with adobe's Breakneck pace of minor updates which offered me no real additional value so to those who think it's only $10 a month,no it's not it, is much more costly than that. If you WERE to make me sign up for Adobe CC today I'm pretty sure that my current computer set-up would be inadequate, and that I would need to spring for at least $2,000 or more in the way of a new computer. No thanks, I could buy something that would work and I would be money ahead in 6 months.

LET'S do a little math problem. 80 months * $60, that is $4,800 for the right to maintain my ability to edit my files. My first copy of Photoshop was version 2.5, which I got as partial payment from shooting a wedding in 1991... for well over a decade upgrades were priced at $199 and I upgraded from 2.5 to 4.0, then to 5, then to 6 and my last full version of grade was to Adobe Photoshop CS2.

For two years I paid Adobe $10 a month for what was basically the need to update my entire computer to an operating system that I did not want to have, just to be able to run their so-so software and to receive zero updates which were of any value to me.

And you will notice I have not brought up any hardware/software incompatibilities which happen quite frequently when one company is updating its software much more rapidly than its entire user base is updating its Hardware. It's a recipe for constant breakdowns.

I am quite frankly surprised by the number of people who seem to be  unable or unwilling to see the real hidden cost of the subscription model. It's kind of like the people who said digital photography is free, and who overlooked the cost for Hardware. The last time I checked a really good camera was $3,499, and high-grade f/2.8 Zoom lenses are $2,000 apiece, or more, but the clicks are said to be free. Right


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## Derrel (Dec 23, 2019)

I don't think Photoshop is worth $1,000. I got my first copy for what I considered to be $150, since I got a sealed boxed copy  in trade  as part of a wedding photography payment . Photoshop used to be $400, but then Adobe began bundling it with a bunch of crap in what they liked to call a suite of applications, which allowed them to jack the price up to over 1,000 dollars.

Photoshop upgrades used to be $199, and users were free to upgrade or not upgrade based upon their needs. Many people, myself included, noted that upgrades were often not needed, and so they chose to remain at the current version they were at. And then Adobe got the bright idea to soak its entire customer base for $50 a month, just for Photoshop. That was extremely tone deaf, but it shows quite well just what Adobe thought its users would put up with.


About 7 years ago I was going through some boxes and found a box full of old check stubs, and there they were-- $9.99 a month cable TV checks, and then there were checks for $14.99, for that long ago time when Starz and HBO were both together bundled for $5 a month. it was at about that time that I was paying $119 a month for cable TV and phone service from Comcast, and I called up Comcast and tried to renegotiate a better rate, such as the one that they were advertising for new customers. I told them that I had been a customer of theirs for almost 19 years, but they were unwilling to cut me a deal,and so I decided then and there well cut it off today all I want is high speed internet for $49 a month.... she was shocked. 25 years ago or so Bruce Springsteen sang in the song  "500 channels and nothing on". Is it a really good deal to pay only $0.10 a month for 500 worthless channels when all you want is ESPN and the three over-the-air Networks? It turns out that cutting the cord was one of the best decisions I ever made.


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## Tinstafl (Dec 23, 2019)

What about capture one as an alternative to LR


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## Peeb (Dec 23, 2019)

I continue to use Adobe Photoshop, and pay them their monthly stipend, but every time I open that app, I swear I can hear Joan Jett singing "I Hate Myself for Loving You".


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## floatingby (Dec 23, 2019)

Got my first version of Lightroom free with a piece of hardware(wacom tablet), I don't use Photoshop(even thought  Adobe forces me to pay for it). Since version 2 to 6 I paid much less in upgrades than what I forked out paying monthly since. No question the monthly thing is much more costly  in the long run.
But beyond cost, I need software to work when I need it, so software that is phoning home to make sure I'm not a thief, then cut my access  if it cannot, even  thought I paid for it, is a no go for me.


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## Derrel (Dec 23, 2019)

floatingby said:


> Got my first version of Lightroom free with a piece of hardware(wacom tablet), I don't use Photoshop(even thought  Adobe forces me to pay for it). Since version 2 to 6 I paid much less in upgrades than what I forked out paying monthly since. No question the monthly thing is much more costly  in the long run.
> But beyond cost, I need software to work when I need it, so software that is phoning home to make sure I'm not a thief, then cut my access  if it cannot, even  thought I paid for it, is a no go for me.



But,but,but it is only $10 a month in perpetuity and after 4 years Adobe gets only $480 from you. And at $50 a month for internet access after 4 years you will have paid only 2400 dollars for  Adobe to make sure you are not you are not a thief... so it's a great deal, only $3,000 or so every 4 years for the right to edit your images using an Adobe product in the way that Adobe has forced you to use it. We should all keep telling ourselves that it's only $10 a month. We could all be happy then, justifying being held hostage by a large corporation and telling ourselves that it's only three coffees worth a month. Forget the computer needed , and the software updates to said computer, and the need for a monthly always on internet account and being forced to use the software only on machines that can be pinged by Adobe.


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## weepete (Dec 23, 2019)

Derrel said:


> It seems like some people here are forgetting the very Basics ...it's not $10 a month it's $60 a month, because Adobe forces you to have a live internet connection each month and in my area that is around $50 a month now, plus the Adobe tithe. No longer can a powerful workstation sit unattached to the internet.
> 
> I had Adobe CC for two years and got no valuable updates to the application, but was forced to spend $149 or so on a new Macintosh operating system to be able to run the new CC, when my system was working perfectly and my OS offered all the features I wanted and was Rock Solid. Even though I had a 2012 copy of Adobe Lightroom which I paid $129 for, I was forced to update my computer operating system to keep Pace with adobe's Breakneck pace of minor updates which offered me no real additional value so to those who think it's only $10 a month,no it's not it, is much more costly than that. If you WERE to make me sign up for Adobe CC today I'm pretty sure that my current computer set-up would be inadequate, and that I would need to spring for at least $2,000 or more in the way of a new computer. No thanks, I could buy something that would work and I would be money ahead in 6 months.
> 
> ...



I only have 2 other software packages I can compare it to, AutoCAD and ArcGIS. AutoCAD costs $1610 per year for a single licence and ArcGIS is as far as I can tell $100 per month. In terms of usage CAD is pretty comparable (IMO) to Photoshop in terms of what it can do and the complexity of the software. Both are pretty much industy standards. So from my view it's much cheaper than other software I use in my industry.

You can't just bundle an internet subscription in to the cost. You are assuming you need one every day in your home just for CC and that the only thing you use the internet for is to verify your subscription status. Even still, $60 a month is way too high for a basic package, I can get one for £15. But if you pay upfront you only need to ping the server once every 99 days, which would be 4 times per year or you could get for free by connecting to any wifi connection (for example at a friends house, free wifi in places like McDonalds, hotels, or any ferry terminal in Orkney or Shetland). A half hour at an internet cafe is £1.80 and librarys quite often offer it for free. But you are sort of right, in that if you don't want to go to the hassle or can't get an internet connection then it's probably not the best option.

And it gets more complicated than that because your previous subscriptions were based on one computer. You had one licence for one device, whereas I can rock up and use any computer I like, login with my account and get into photos I have in the cloud or use the full version of classic to edit new shots on any comaptable computer. 

I'm running both lightroom and photoshop on a computer build I did in 2015 and cost £400. In fact I can run both on my tablet (though not quickly) that cost me £200. I've had zero issues with my outdated hardware.

There are some technical issues, sure. With computers you can't expect things to keep working indefinatley as you upgrade your hardware and expect things to keep working. There's also additional cost with making things multi device and keeping that up to date. 

Saying that, subscriptions will end up biting some companies on the behind. Piracy is on the rise again because of that model and realistically there's only room at the top for a few players.

A lot of these threads are looking to me like your grandad complaining that back in his day milk was thruppence and a ha'penny bit where nowadays it's the mighty sum of 56p a pint.


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## Derrel (Dec 23, 2019)

I cannot imagine what a $400 home built computer is like. I'm not used to that level of performance. It seems that you still have internet cafes where you live, but I don't know of any within 250 miles of me. We do have Wi-Fi in many locations where I live, but I find it kind of inconvenient to lug my 27 pound tower and its 30 lb or so Apple Cinema display into McDonald's . The fact remains quite simply that before we had ownership, and now we are nothing but poor tenants, at the whim of whatever Adobe decides that is good for us. I had Photoshop before I had a computer that could run it efficiently. Way back in the day of the early 1990s computers were a far cry from what they are today. I wish you luck with your $200 tablet. I'm sure that you and the internet cafe  and tablet will get along swell in the next decade, which will be here before we know it.

 My  hope is that the Adobe gets bitten in its corporate ass, and that more people start examining alternatives to paying 10 or 15 or $20 or $60 a month for the right to not own anything, but to merely be a user suspected constantly of being a thief.

As the original poster stated, he had 30 hours without connection to the internet and the software that he thought he had a right to use would not allow him to access his pictures and to work on them. That sounds a lot to me like big brother, and I think there are a lot of features in the newer $49 to $69 software applications which would satisfy a lot of people. My hope is to see Adobe lose its near-monopoly position as a result of their own greed. After the crap that Adobe pulled with Flash, trying to worm its way into everyone's internet all over the world, I lost all respect for Adobe as a corporation. I wish them absolutely no success.

Remember, Adobe initially announced that Photoshop would be $50 a month and that they would be ending sales, and moving to a monthly tax. If everyone of us were bootlickers, we would all be paying $50 a month for the right to be able to edit our photos. But because millions upon millions of people like me said, " NO f****** way!" they were forced to extort us for a lot less and to add in Lightroom to the bundle, with a two-year commitment and a cancellation fee. And anyway you slice it,  Adobe causes Millions upon Millions honest citizens to pay far more than $10 a month for the right to work on their files. Comparing Photoshop with AutoCAD is a fool's errand, kind of like comparing a Bentley with a Kia. I mean both are cars, are they not? AutoCAD has a very small number of high-dollar professionals who use it. I would wager that Photoshop is at least 100 times more popular than any AutoCAD software ever designed, and it has a much wider user base. A Bentley and a Kia are both cars, and I think my analogy is quite similar to the comparison you pulled out of the air. AutoCAD software $1,600 per year.... it's kind of like a Bentley.... but when you deliver a $5,000 or $10,000 building plan then it's certainly worth it. But in case you have not noticed the vast majority of Photoshop users are hobbyists who get absolutely no income from taking photos. Photoshop is a Kia, in car terms

Because a Rolex might cost $30,000, then a Timex that costs $10,000 must be great value right? These threads have nothing to do with our grandparents complaining about Rising prices, but about the ability to buy a product and get it to work and keep it working, as opposed to being forced to subscribe for 2 years of service at $10 a month and a $50 cancellation fee for who knows what updates and so-called upgrades... upgrades that one user has reported five or six times have caused his system problems. Adobe cannot possibly verify the compatibility of its constant tinkerings with Hardware that is actually out there in use. Not only have we been reduced to sharecropper status, but we are now beta testers for Adobe.


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## Duke51 (Dec 24, 2019)

floatingby said:


> So, I've got 30 hours aboard a ferry crossing the Mediterranean, stuck on a boat with no internet, absolute best time to edit travel photos, right? I thought so, but Adobe had other ideas!
> I use AFFINITY  by Serif.  Does much more than I need and does it well.  You download and own the software.  Excellent on-line tutorials.  Good travels!
> 
> 
> ...


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## Warhorse (Dec 24, 2019)

In my case, it's only $10 month. I have been paying for internet service for many years now, just recently (within months} have I subscribed to PS/LR. My old version of Elements just did not cut it anymore, I would have had to upgrade anyways.


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## Eric Uberseder (Dec 24, 2019)

floatingby said:


> So, I've got 30 hours aboard a ferry crossing the Mediterranean, stuck on a boat with no internet, absolute best time to edit travel photos, right? I thought so, but Adobe had other ideas!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Affinity Photo....


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## Overread (Dec 24, 2019)

I have issues with online requirements for software, but that's more regarding games where a singleplayer experience requires online connectivity the whole time and thankfully there are not too many of them (though sadly the great Diablo is trapped in that). 

Also I do think that in this day and age it is silly to suggest that you have to factor in the cost of internet specifically to use Adobe software. I say that because anyone today is using internet for SO many more other aspects. If you go down that path then you might as well factor in the computer costs as well because you're looking at the whole cost package. Thing is even if you're a hobby user you're likely using email; getting firmwire updates; updates for new features/improved performance; you're getting your photos online to share; you're chatting in photography forums etc.... And that's just rough photo stuff; you can use the net for TV, music, films, games, social media, marketing, information, bank access (heck these days you can do more on your computer than you can at the actual bank). 

So if you're only using your internet only for using Photoshop that's an exceptionally extreme situation that is far outside of the normal. 


30 hours disconnection is a problem I agree, Photoshop should have work arounds to resolve that though I've never had the experience to have to go and find them. That said its a small time frame and there are often solutions which might prepare a user for the experience next time. It is a problem, don't get me wrong and I dislike having to have software that relies on an internet connection; but at the same time I can't think of the last time I never had internet for months at a time. Sure slow internet; spotty connections; weak signals. All things that would break an online game or such; but nothing that would break a simple authentication check from taking place.


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## HogPhotog (Dec 24, 2019)

I stopped renewing my Adobe subscription last month and have switched to Serif Affinity Photo.  $50 and it's yours.  No subscription and, in some ways, better than Photoshop.


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## 407370 (Dec 24, 2019)

I will make a prediction for Adobe products based on the history of Cinema 4D. Started off as a buy once then moved to SAAS pricing model with free updates and currently has this fine offer of paying for upgrades separately.

My paid for version R16 works well and is not tied to any operating system updates. I plan to use it for years to come.

You have been warned!!


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## Overread (Dec 24, 2019)

I think Adobe has too much of a casual market to go for a price model like that. Video is still niche, whilst photography is VERY mainstream and Adobe Photoshop is THE product (they've made it so with their marketing). So I figure that they won't shift to a high one time cost model. They'd get a lot from pros, but they'd lose far more from the loss of basically all the casual and amateur market which they've raked in money from with their subscription model.


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## weepete (Dec 24, 2019)

Derrel said:


> I cannot imagine what a $400 home built computer is like. I'm not used to that level of performance. It seems that you still have internet cafes where you live, but I don't know of any within 250 miles of me. We do have Wi-Fi in many locations where I live, but I find it kind of inconvenient to lug my 27 pound tower and its 30 lb or so Apple Cinema display into McDonald's . The fact remains quite simply that before we had ownership, and now we are nothing but poor tenants, at the whim of whatever Adobe decides that is good for us. I had Photoshop before I had a computer that could run it efficiently. Way back in the day of the early 1990s computers were a far cry from what they are today. I wish you luck with your $200 tablet. I'm sure that you and the internet cafe  and tablet will get along swell in the next decade, which will be here before we know it.
> 
> My  hope is that the Adobe gets bitten in its corporate ass, and that more people start examining alternatives to paying 10 or 15 or $20 or $60 a month for the right to not own anything, but to merely be a user suspected constantly of being a thief.
> 
> ...



Yeah, it's more of a Kia than a Bentley but it gets me to the shops and back ok . My point is that there's more than one way of doing it and you don't need a high speed internet connection or a top of the line desktop to use it. 

Autodesk is a smaller company than Adobe with just over 4 million subscribers as opposed to to Adobe's 17 odd million, but the make up will be pretty varied with a lot of SMEs using AutoCAD. There's a lot more self employed contractors in the engineering sector than you may think. They are both pretty much industry standard applications and are subscriber based. Both are complex software that can yeild top quality results and IMO the learning curve and tools offered are similar. AutoCAD Civils 3D would more be the thing for building plans, AutoCAD is more geared towards manufacturing parts and takes the place of traditional drafting tools, though building plans have been produced in AutoCAD and it depends a bit on BIM. Anyone with a 3D printer could use AutoCAD to design and manufacture parts. So I think my comparison is not totally off, there are similarities there. 

I just really don't see the issue here as long as the subscription is kept reasonably low cost. I do totally appreciate that it's a major PITA to find out you need to log in when you are somewhere without a connection and you were expecting to be able to edit shots and I do think that Adobe needs to make it clearer. 

Adobe's net profit this year was around 25% according to the financial reports I read, which is very good in a sector where the average is 18% but it's not totally ridiculous. It does show that prices could be reduced futher to give more value to customers. So I'm probably paying a 7% or so premium to use their products over the competition, but they are the market leader and that's usually for a reason. Don't get me wrong, I have zero loyalty to Adobe and I think some  of their buisness practicies in the past have been bad. Either way, I do respect the subscription model is not one you like and that's fine but I just don't see it's that big a deal.


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## henryb (Dec 25, 2019)

I bought the last version of Photoshop before it went "rental".    Does everything I need that Lightroom can't.  When it doesn't, I'll find a reasonably priced alternative that I can buy, not rent.  I won't be addicted to Adobe just because it's the hot item and industry standard.  Results that meet my needs are the bar I set.  Adobe is moving away from my bar of standards.


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## Lonnie1212 (Feb 11, 2020)

floatingby said:


> So, I've got 30 hours aboard a ferry crossing the Mediterranean, stuck on a boat with no internet, absolute best time to edit travel photos, right? I thought so, but Adobe had other ideas!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thank you for sharing this information.  I am trying to learn about photo editing programs.  I would like to purchase photo editing software.  But I do not need the headaches.  I am glad that you had a backup program. 

Lonnie


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## Lonnie1212 (Feb 11, 2020)

Jeff15 said:


> I would recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements as a stand-alone editing programme........




Hi Jeff, 

Is the 'Photoshop Elements' program a different program than Adobe Photoshop?  I get the impression that it might be.  I have an old Photoshop Elements 5.0 from about 18 years ago.  I am looking for a more modern program now that I have a newer computer.  I am not a professional photographer and I don't want the headaches like this gentleman just went through.


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## Lonnie1212 (Feb 11, 2020)

henryb said:


> I bought the last version of Photoshop before it went "rental".    Does everything I need that Lightroom can't.  When it doesn't, I'll find a reasonably priced alternative that I can buy, not rent.  I won't be addicted to Adobe just because it's the hot item and industry standard.  Results that meet my needs are the bar I set.  Adobe is moving away from my bar of standards.



Excellent response!   I would be curious to know how things turned out for you.


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## floatingby (May 8, 2020)

Eric Uberseder said:


> Affinity Photo....


Yep, just bought my license today. That and Dxo photolab and I'm all set, can finally do the finger to Adobe.


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## The_Traveler (May 9, 2020)

AFAIC, relatively PS and LR are almost free. 
I can't think of any ongoing expenditure that is as small and is anywhere near as useful.  
Compared to tips for food delivery, getting clothes washed, subscription to any cable. LR & PS are a bargain.
I really can't think of anything I use and spend less on routinely than PS and LR.  (perhaps toilet paper)


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## floatingby (May 9, 2020)

The_Traveler said:


> AFAIC, relatively PS and LR are almost free.
> I can't think of any ongoing expenditure that is as small and is anywhere near as useful.
> Compared to tips for food delivery, getting clothes washed, subscription to any cable. LR & PS are a bargain.
> I really can't think of anything I use and spend less on routinely than PS and LR.  (perhaps toilet paper)


Big or small expenditure is relative. What might be small for you might be major for somebody else. It's also relative to what it was before, which for me translate to an increase of annual expenditure by a factor of 4 when compared to the previous perpetual licensing scheme. It's also relative to other product on the market, and in this case there are quite many products that could do the job as well or better for way, way, way cheaper.
But the point of this thread wasn't any of that, it's about Adobe choices, and in this case they chose to appease their shareholders by using a "protection" scheme that might inconvenience their paying customers to the point of cutting them off completely of products they paid for. That might be acceptable to you, or the situation doesn't apply, while for me, and many more, it is totally unacceptable.


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## The_Traveler (May 9, 2020)

When I travel, I make certain that I have a phone that works wherever I'm going and that my credit cards or atm cards will be acceptable.
If necessary I use my phone as a hotspot to get/send emails, etc. - or even verify my software.

I try to be prepared for the situations I'll confront.


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## floatingby (May 9, 2020)

The_Traveler said:


> When I travel, I make certain that I have a phone that works wherever I'm going and that my credit cards or atm cards will be acceptable.
> If necessary I use my phone as a hotspot to get/send emails, etc. - or even verify my software.
> 
> I try to be prepared for the situations I'll confront.


The situation doesn't apply to you then if you constrict your travel area to where internet connection is an always available option. I would find this restricting personally, but that's me.


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## The_Traveler (May 9, 2020)

floatingby said:


> The_Traveler said:
> 
> 
> > When I travel, I make certain that I have a phone that works wherever I'm going and that my credit cards or atm cards will be acceptable.
> ...



I don't restrict my travel.
I just project my needs and make plans accordingly.
I don't plan on editing photos in the desert or on top of a mountain in the jungle.
In my hotel room, I have a connection either through the hotel or my phone.

Adobe didn't hide its requirement for an Internet connection to validate software.





You either weren't aware or prepared.


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## floatingby (May 9, 2020)

The_Traveler said:


> You either weren't aware or prepared.


Or you did not read the thread, the software Adobe use for it's anti piracy is broken, it has been for years, and what it does for a percentage of their user base is cause it to want to validate the software at each and every use, so no grace period at all that it's supposed to give as indicated to screen caption you showed. Adobe as no interest in having this fixed because it affect a small percentage of it's user base. There is no telling which computer are affected until you want to use the software without an internet connection.
But at this point I'm curious, do you work for Adobe?


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## The_Traveler (May 9, 2020)

floatingby said:


> But at this point I'm curious, do you work for Adobe?



Since you had other software, you weren't fatally inconvenienced.
In any case, I plan as well as I can, have alternative strategies and, most of all, don't let small things bother me.

No, I don't work for Adobe.
Why do you ask? 
I was not defending Adobe business practices. 
I am old and experienced enough not to take what big companies do that bothers me  as a personal challenge.


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