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Rumors of Adobe releasing CS2 for free? (true or NOT true)
40hz:
I think some of us are running away with this a bit.
I think the most likely scenario might be a simple misunderstanding or confusion on the part of some journalist about the difference between offering a "free version" of CS2 - and - a "free download to CS2 users that no longer requires online activation."
If you're not a "software person" that can be confusing. Those of us who are geeks can easily understand the difference between the two. And also see where something like that would likely be confusing for the average Joe - or a financial news reporter anxious to be the first to break the news that Adobe was supposedly doing something both unprecedented - and quite frankly insane if you think about it for more than a minute.
As far as finding new customers, I don't think that's their motivation. CS is the de facto standard in print publishing - and a major player in e-pub, web, and media development. So it's not like they need to get a huge influx of users. Especially since their Creative Cloud offering brings any and all of their products within financial reach of just about anybody that actually needs them.
In case you don't know, Creative Cloud is a "subscription" plan. You download and install whatever CS apps you want on your local machine for $50/mo. (with a 1 year contract) - or $75/mo. (with no contract.) Individual CS apps can be subscribed to for $20/mo.)
Once you download them, they work just like the retail product. The only difference is you'll need to be able to connect to the internet at least once per month on order to download an authorization token which allows your Creative Cloud apps to continue working.
I personally think Adobe cracked the problem and figured out how to make "cloud" work. Web-based apps are too dicey for production environments. And graphics apps would consume too much bandwidth anyway. So what Adobe has put in the cloud is just the product authorization piece. Everything else stays the same. And by offering subscriptions on a monthly basis, they made it both affordable and good for cash flow.
I personally think its a brilliant move. Even better executed than Office 365.
If I ever decide I need Adobe's CS, I'll probably "buy" my copy this way. And I generally dislike (and distrust) cloud or online anything when it comes to what used to be traditional desktop-type software.
8)
helmut85:
40hz, this is interesting input, and I agree they have a very clever business model here that you adequately described.
The part where I don't follow is about this frenzy which has started some 48 hours ago, meaning Adobe should have reacted in some way to close the dam. I mean, even if the start of this affair was purely normal business of Adobe's, just without them not taking into account our "general joe" reaction (generated by generalized, worldwide wishful thinking), they now LIVE with this totally new situation, but without an adequate reaction to this. In fact, what'd be needed on their part, is - in this scenario -, reopening of the "middle page", but with a message, "in view of what's going on, we closed this down and will soon propose a better solution for our existing customers", and especially, the closing down of the download facilities. But these are open, as Edvard rightly reminds us to, whilst the "enter your ID" page is down - so this doesn't make sense. 48 hours within such a hurricane, and no biz-like reaction from Adobe (ok, it's not 48 hours after the week-end yet, they might take their time!) when they KNOW that a 5-, perhaps a 6-digit figure of people out there WAIT for something positive - well, if you're right, and you might be right, it'll be time to discuss outrageous arrogance on the side of Adobe: at this moment, they don't do anything in order to contain this hurricane, and if they really presume they can LIVE with 100,000 or more deceived would-be users, well...
Please remember there are the professional graphists who are in their subscription scheme, but how many are they? 100,000, worldwide? A little bit more? On the other hand, I know several people who own Photoshop (the expensive, "full" edition, not something light, don't know which version, didn't follow this subject so eagerly before today), just for tweaking their holiday photos, and all those people, the "amateurs" with expensive cameras and Photoshop at home, might be affected as many of us here are: All these people will judge Adobe from a moral pov ("can be trusted / cannot be trusted in the end"): they ain't as "objective" as the real professionals here.
And what's their number? And then, what's the number of all those people out there who're dreaming of Photoshop, but can't justify the expense? One thing is for certain: That number goes into the millions. And here, in this potential market, the potential damage goes into the hundreds of millions: It's one thing to hear of such a lost opportunity, too late for yourself, but knowing people who knew about it got something out of it (with, or without then updating and bringing revenue) - but hearing, for somebody "wanting" Photoshop but not daring buying it, from his income, and with two children, that there had been such a revolt, and then, nothing - Adobe, "you all were just wrong. you all misunderstood. you all are dumb." - such a story will estrange such potential, future Photoshop buyers even much more from their wanted object.
I'm speaking here of some "extra" money even fathers of two get, here or there, and with the wife saying, for once buy something YOU will be happy with - then, our father of two will sense, well, Photoshop, that's for professionals only, it's far away from my horizon of reality, and he will buy another update of AC DC or such, spending the rest on the family (well, that would be preferable in the end, right?).
My point is, if you're right, 40hz, and that's possible, Adobe is driving high-speed into a global image desaster, and 36 hours after the week-end, they haven't done anything yet in order to even contain that image desaster-in-the-make.
But then, there are antecedents: Their burial of FreeHand (bought together with Flash, from Macromedia), for lesser Illustrator (of their own) showed their arrogance to some (angry on them even today, 10 years later) - but you're saying they're ready to redo the same unnecessary creation of an Adobe haters army, now, with that number multiplied by 1,000 or more?
I tend to believe you, though, all the more so since that was my first impression after the news of that journal update there - while seeing much more optimism around myself, and wishing to be pleasantly surprised.
Yeah, chances are high you're perfectly right - I said it myself: Whatever the outcome, they will find ways to contain their give-away lot.
Which will be a mistake. SC2 doesn't work on "modern" machines, or not smoothly at least, not many amateurs would subscribe a subscription... but then, many people would take this offer, play around with it, then update, for 250 bucks, to the latest non-subscriptive version of Photoshop, instead of turning their back to Adobe in order to minimize their regrets: "didn't want it so much anyway".
I'm wondering if their marketing guys do sleep these nights, or are awaken for 36 hours or more now, on coffee and more. There's subject to think about, on their side, and fast!
f0dder:
I personally think Adobe cracked the problem and figured out how to make "cloud" work. Web-based apps are too dicey for production environments. And graphics apps would consume too much bandwidth anyway. So what Adobe has put in the cloud is just the product authorization piece. Everything else stays the same. And by offering subscriptions on a monthly basis, they made it both affordable and good for cash flow.-40hz (January 07, 2013, 08:04 PM)
--- End quote ---
"Software as a Service", except it isn't really. Please gut the greedy Adobe bastards, somebody.
40hz:
Please gut the greedy Adobe bastards, somebody.
-f0dder (January 08, 2013, 03:14 AM)
--- End quote ---
I don't "get" that mentality. Seriously.
Why does a program have to be vilified simply because most people prefer using it rather than its competition? GIMP has been around for years, but I don't see a huge number of people dropping Photoshop to embrace it.
All anybody would have to do is write an equivalent program to replace Photoshop. And then give it away - or sell it for next to nothing. But I don't see too many coders interested in doing that.
Hmm... "Software as Socialism" anybody? ;)
dr_andus:
Looks like the download frenzy has subsided because the Adobe page with the download links and serial numbers is now up again.
Given all the information that has emerged in the past few hours, it's surprising that The Register still decided to run with the title: "Adobe offers free trip to PowerPC era: 'Free' download of CS2 is real, but crusty" (and the URL helpfully says: free_adobe_cs2_download)
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