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As a consumer, I think I'm starting to prefer subscription services. They ensure the company continues to provide good service, with the threat of customers lea

As a consumer, I think I'm starting to prefer subscription services. They ensure the company continues to provide good service, with the threat of customers leaving if they don't. Adobe's switch to the subscription model for Photoshop/Lightroom is an excellent example. I'd much rather pay $10/mo for both (plus a bunch of cloud storage) than a few hundred bucks outright (especially considering that we had to re-purchase the software anyway roughly every two years when a new version came out anyway). The subscription model is much cheaper for me, I don't have to decide between $$$ and new features anymore, and it guarantees Adobe will continue to provide support and updates to the software. The added benefit is that suspending a subscription is quite easy (away for vacation for a few months, busy semester at school, etc etc). The downside is, of course, is that subscription software can look artificially cheap but can add up quickly.

Domenic_S 9y ago
Adobe's Creative Cloud is a bad example (compared to say Netflix or Spotify) because the plan is annual, but paid monthly. The photography plan is $120/year, but they let you in effect finance the fee at 0% by letting you pay $10/month. $10/month is more palatable to many than $120 all at once, but it nullifies the threat of customers leaving. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html
dingaling 9y ago
The other downside being that if you stop paying, or Adobe stops providing, you can no longer work natively with your PSD and DNG files. That's a huge business risk. And as searching for 'Creative Cloud suspended' shows, it's not theoretical.
- parliament32 9y ago
  DNG is an open format: "Use of the file format is royalty-free; Adobe has published a license allowing anyone to exploit DNG, and has also stated that there are no known intellectual property encumbrances or license requirements for DNG. Adobe stated that if there were a consensus that DNG should be controlled by a standards body, they were open to the idea." See also: http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/articles/dng/products_y7.htm http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/articles/dng/products_y7.htm

Domenic_S 9y ago

Adobe's Creative Cloud is a bad example (compared to say Netflix or Spotify) because the plan is annual, but paid monthly. The photography plan is $120/year, but they let you in effect finance the fee at 0% by letting you pay $10/month. $10/month is more palatable to many than $120 all at once, but it nullifies the threat of customers leaving. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

dingaling 9y ago

The other downside being that if you stop paying, or Adobe stops providing, you can no longer work natively with your PSD and DNG files. That's a huge business risk. And as searching for 'Creative Cloud suspended' shows, it's not theoretical.

parliament32 9y ago
DNG is an open format: "Use of the file format is royalty-free; Adobe has published a license allowing anyone to exploit DNG, and has also stated that there are no known intellectual property encumbrances or license requirements for DNG. Adobe stated that if there were a consensus that DNG should be controlled by a standards body, they were open to the idea." See also: http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/articles/dng/products_y7.htm http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/articles/dng/products_y7.htm