Its all about the money
If there was not more money to be made in 'leasing' software they wouldnt do it.
As far as i am concerned they are just looking for new ways to rip us all off more.
Oz
ps. We use CS3
For those using Photoshop from Adobe
by SadElder 13 Replies latest social entertainment
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Simon
It is about money but software companies can make more money by reducing costs, it doesn't have to come from higher prices to customers. The good thing is that customers can benefit too. Here's the thing ...
Eons ago, you had to go to a store to buy your software or it arrived by post. This was expensive even for a business that sells soft-ware because it kind of made it hard-ware. You had to have a disk (and later a disc).
The internet changed that. Now software distribution was easy. People could download and install it and you could even have things update. But not everyone did because you charge for version updates, that's how you make your money.
The problem with that is that lots of people end up on different versions and branching ans supporting all these different versions adds a lot of expense. Eventually instead of using the internet to distribute software, it made more sense to run the software remotely - hence web apps that are always up to date and more and more apps are using that model (even if they run in the browser).
The beauty of SaaS / subscription for a vendor is that they only have one version to support, the latest version and by having the software be a service everyone is automatically on the latest version. For customers this means you don't have to chose between updating and stagnating anymore so you do get benefits as long as the price paid isn't way more than it was. For the vendor it also means more steady income rather than feast and famine of revenue when major releases come out which then diminish until the next update.
Like music subscription vs bought downloads though there is always the niggling doubt that when you stop paying, you lose 'all the things you paid for'. Which you don't, you're paying for the use while you use it and can stop paying and using anytime you want so they have an incentive to keep things working well. It's like buying programming via a cable or satellite service vs buying DVDs in stores. Buying the hard copies are usually the more expensive option and doesn't give you the same freedom you first imagine.
I am biased though. I write software!
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brinjen
For most, the cost is definitely less with the subscription method. You pay your fee, download the software and it only connects to the net every 30 days to make sure you've paid for the following month with a couple of days "grace period" should your internet connection be down. That's a better deal than many games nowadays where you pay $50+ and need a constant internet connection to play the thing due to DRM **cough** Electronic Arts **cough**.
Here in Australia, the savings are actually more than the link Simon posted as we've always had to pay more for those programs than the US but now that it's subscription... we are paying the same. It used to be around $1500 for a full installation of Photoshop Extended with around $550 for the upgrade. Now it's $240 a year if you only want one program. Much cheaper.
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riotgirlpeeps
I don't use Adobe personally, but my husband does daily for work. I can tell you that recently he signed up with some local agencies to get additional free lance projects and the rep he met with practically squealed to learn he was not only using Adobe, but the latest version (SaaS). She said he was the first one out of her last 14 interviews that did and that it definitely would make it simpler for her to find him additional projects based on that alone.
We both use several programs for editing (I use Gimp because I'm not using it that often). And would say if you're in a design industry it's worth it, if you're using it occassionally and not doing anything that you'd be getting paid for and needs to be a more specific current version it's not worth it.