Adobe Creative Cloud

[Orange Julia]

I'm starting to feel like Yaz4Ever here with all these questions regarding work but I needed to get creative suite which is no longer offered and you have to buy into this cloud business. But now that i have done that I can't figure out whether, as the administrator I already have a "seat" or if I go ahead and assign myself a "seat" and it is not all together clear whether i will get charged even more for adding myself when I was told by the reseller that i can use the cloud on two computers that are assigned to the same person (ie., me--my laptop and my desktop)
 
I have gone through the helpfiles and it is not helpful so i am hoping someone here uses it, and administers it and can enlighten me.
thanks in advance.
 
I should add that i have signed in and poked around but when i try to "install" one of the many apps I supposedly have access to, it only offers a trial download. So I am clearly doing something wrong and I do think it has to do with 'seats'

 

[ifmanis5]

You can still get CS6 but only as an individual, not a team. As far as CC, until you pay you're on the trial version. Once you pay the trail becomes full, assuming you pay before the trial runs out. As far as the other seat questions you can actually chat with Adobe if you have questions. I've done that a few times. It'll be someone in India but eventually you get the right info. I hate the subscription only plan. It's a ransom.

 

[rembrat]

We have it here at the office and I've been able to download the apps at work and at home. I asked my boss, he being an administrator as well, and he said he had to create a user for himself. So, if you haven't done that, then I guess you technically don't have a "seat." He also added that the initial set up was a bit weird so don't feel to bad.

 

[Yaz4Ever]

I'm starting to feel like Yaz4Ever here with all these questions regarding work but I needed to get creative suite which is no longer offered and you have to buy into this cloud business. But now that i have done that I can't figure out whether, as the administrator I already have a "seat" or if I go ahead and assign myself a "seat" and it is not all together clear whether i will get charged even more for adding myself when I was told by the reseller that i can use the cloud on two computers that are assigned to the same person (ie., me--my laptop and my desktop)
 
I have gone through the helpfiles and it is not helpful so i am hoping someone here uses it, and administers it and can enlighten me.
thanks in advance.
 
I should add that i have signed in and poked around but when i try to "install" one of the many apps I supposedly have access to, it only offers a trial download. So I am clearly doing something wrong and I do think it has to do with 'seats'

Ouch

 

[Orange Julia]

Ouch

I typed it with admiration for your sheer ability to question everything

 

[SumnerH]

I hate the subscription only plan. It's a ransom.

 
Yeah, you should start looking for alternatives--being locked into software-as-a-service is shitty.

 

[Orange Julia]

That's the thing, there are no alternatives. Adobe is the "gold" standard for graphic software. I can do a few things on Publisher but my printer usually laughs at me and says "don't you have a vector image of that?"

 

[ifmanis5]

That's the thing, there are no alternatives. Adobe is the "gold" standard for graphic software. I can do a few things on Publisher but my printer usually laughs at me and says "don't you have a vector image of that?"

Sadly this is mostly true. Gimp is no match for P'Shop and Hit Film is a long ways from After Effects. The list goes on.

 

[Blacken]

Yeah, you should start looking for alternatives--being locked into software-as-a-service is shitty.

If you only need one app (I have Photoshop CC), it's $10/month. That's not a big deal and there's literally nobody who seriously competes with Adobe. Illustrator has marginally better competition, but still pretty bad.

 

[AlNipper49]

I agree. While paying SaaS fees may seem like a ransom, software developers also need to get paid and $10 isn't outlandish IMHO.

 

[Blacken]

Apparently it's $30/month for one app if you don't have a special. My bad.

 

[Traut]

I agree. While paying SaaS fees may seem like a ransom, software developers also need to get paid and $10 isn't outlandish IMHO.

As a small business guy, I love SaaS. Sure it costs some money. But it has advantages. Namely, it is great to be able to access quickbooks from anywhere. And that they are constantly upgrading their product. Plus it is easy to add new features. With the click of a button I added a payroll feature. There aren't any installs. I pay for it but it's better than the alternative of stale software that is tethered to a machine and requires me to hire a computer to install and upgrade.

 

[Orange Julia]

I paid for a year in advance but got a special non profit/educational rate. I emailed the reseller who manages the edu/org accounts for Adobe, but no response yet. On a whim I assigned myself a seat, using my personal work email (as opposed to the generic work email) and we'll see what happens tomorrow when i accept the invite.

 

[OttoC]

As someone who already owned Photoshop CS6/Light Room 5. I still opted to pay the $10/month for the Creative Cloud versions because they are being updated frequently, which is not going to happen with CS6, and the training has shifted to the new versions. Plus, I get the extended version of Photoshop and some other benefits.

 

[staz]

As someone who started on Superpaint, PageMaker (PAINmaker) and Freehand, I'm blown away it's taken this long for SaaS to take hold. If Quark did this back in '97 and then branched out into photo editing and illustration software, there'd be some healthy competition today.

 

[ifmanis5]

I've had this pet theory for a while that Google is going to step in and do their version of Photoshop which will be free and part of their apps collection. They already own Nik so they have a bunch of relevant advanced image editing code on hand. It makes sense for it to happen.

 

[Blacken]

I could certainly be wrong, but I don't feel like Google's really equipped to do a real Photoshop competitor. A Photoshop competitor that doesn't run natively on the desktop and support the full gamut of peripherals will go nowhere, and Chrome aside Google seems to want to wedge everything into a webview--which will preclude a lot of things. (For a native app that can't really get traction, see Pixelmator, which has hit the "why bother?" hurdle.) I could believe an Illustrator competitor well before a Photoshop one.

Photoshop exacerbates the Microsoft Word problem. Most people who use Word only use 10% of the features, but that 10% is different for everybody. I'd bet Photoshop's more like 3% and just as widely spread.

 

[ifmanis5]

Photoshop exacerbates the Microsoft Word problem. Most people who use Word only use 10% of the features, but that 10% is different for everybody. I'd bet Photoshop's more like 3% and just as widely spread.

For sure. Gotta think that Photoshop serves more totally different user cases than any single creative app.

 

[crystalline]

As a small business guy, I love SaaS. Sure it costs some money. But it has advantages. Namely, it is great to be able to access quickbooks from anywhere. And that they are constantly upgrading their product. Plus it is easy to add new features. With the click of a button I added a payroll feature. There aren't any installs. I pay for it but it's better than the alternative of stale software that is tethered to a machine and requires me to hire a computer to install and upgrade.

Adobe Creative Cloud isn't SaaS. It's a monthly subscription fee or your software license/runnability goes poof. It's just a different pricing model.

FYI big organizations appear to be able to buy perpetual licenses- I have one through work.

And people think Illustrator has closer competition than Photoshop? Illustrator to its competitors is like Lexus to bicycle companies. Or maybe Gulfstream instead of Lexus. Adobe has absolute monopoly power in this market- like many software packages that are widely used.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

That's the thing, there are no alternatives. Adobe is the "gold" standard for graphic software. I can do a few things on Publisher but my printer usually laughs at me and says "don't you have a vector image of that?"

 
May I suggest picking up a used, older, non-cloud based CS? 
 
Unless you absolutely need to new software, the 99% of the core functionality has been around for a long time. 
 
Our web design company still runs all non-cloud versions and haven't missed a bit. 

 

[Orange Julia]

I tried to buy the older version but It was still over $700 because i couldn't use my non profit discount. Unless you have a good outlet...I won't use pirated copies of software at work...I got a non profit discount on the CC but with all the time it is taking me to get it set up (i am still struggling with this fucker this morning) I should have just paid the $700. I have a copy of CS3 on one of my office computers but i think I've had trouble opening files from the graphics guy because he's using the most up to date version of illustrator.
 
Anyway, back into the breach I go. I appreciate everyone's help--keep it coming because if I can't get this thing working by noon I am repairing to the CRUMBS at Tysons and I am going to order and eat a dozen cupcakes.

 

[canderson]

I tried to buy the older version but It was still over $700 because i couldn't use my non profit discount. Unless you have a good outlet...I won't use pirated copies of software at work...I got a non profit discount on the CC but with all the time it is taking me to get it set up (i am still struggling with this fucker this morning) I should have just paid the $700. I have a copy of CS3 on one of my office computers but i think I've had trouble opening files from the graphics guy because he's using the most up to date version of illustrator.
 
Anyway, back into the breach I go. I appreciate everyone's help--keep it coming because if I can't get this thing working by noon I am repairing to the CRUMBS at Tysons and I am going to order and eat a dozen cupcakes.

academicsuperstore.com - just need an .edu email address for the verification code. Just bought CS6 through them.

 

[Orange Julia]

I don't have an edu address. I have an org address How much was it? Who wants to get it for me? I can send you the $$

 

[ifmanis5]

Adobe just released some numbers on the Cloud and commented on the CS6 future....
 
 

Responding to questions from analysts, Adobe President and CEO Shantanu Narayen admitted that CS6 will remain available in some form, although it is being pulled from Adobe's retail partner channel. For example, he said electronic software downloads of CS6 will still be available, while noting that "the vast majority" of all those who purchase directly from Adobe.com are already going for Creative Cloud. "We feel that the [CC] offering coming out later this year will be so strong that CS6 will look longer in the tooth," Narayen said.

 
http://www.studiodaily.com/2014/03/adobe-creative-cloud-subscriptions-climb-to-1-8-million/

 

[Blacken]

And people think Illustrator has closer competition than Photoshop? Illustrator to its competitors is like Lexus to bicycle companies. Or maybe Gulfstream instead of Lexus. Adobe has absolute monopoly power in this market- like many software packages that are widely used.

Inkscape is closer to Illustrator than GIMP or Pixelmator is to Photoshop. Which isn't saying it's very close, but it's closer.

 

[rembrat]

 
May I suggest picking up a used, older, non-cloud based CS? 
 
Unless you absolutely need to new software, the 99% of the core functionality has been around for a long time. 
 
Our web design company still runs all non-cloud versions and haven't missed a bit. 

 
What happens when you get a CC file and your CS can't open them? What then?

 

[canderson]

What happens when you get a CC file and your CS can't open them? What then?

You ask the CC user to save down the file.

Many, many printers still use CS4.

 

[Blacken]

PSCC saves by default in something that's at least CS6-compatible. First thing I checked.

 

[Blacken]

May I suggest picking up a used, older, non-cloud based CS? 
 
Unless you absolutely need to new software, the 99% of the core functionality has been around for a long time. 
 
Our web design company still runs all non-cloud versions and haven't missed a bit.

Probably OK for OJ, but I don't recommend this for modern Mac users. The Retina patch for CS6 isn't very good (shocking, right?), it's the biggest reason I upgraded.

 

[Catch55]

Saas is great if for no other reason than it's accessibility to quickbooks. So convenient, and well worth the small cost IMO. Best to read the reviews.

 

[Orange Julia]

So, just within the last hour i got CC working. What a fucking nightmare. Seriously. Even the sales guy says that Adobe makes it unnecessarily complicated. I hate my life.

 

[ifmanis5]

Even the sales guy says that Adobe makes it unnecessarily complicated.

It's what they do. Good luck with it.
With CS6 you get to use it on two machines. Is that the case with CC?

 

[Orange Julia]

Yes. I can use it on two machines for each "seat" i purchase, which was one. So i can put it on the laptop and one  of my desktop machines. I currently have CS2 on my work desk top but I'm going to guess CS2 isn't terribly helpful anymore... So i should put the second login there.

 

[OttoC]

So, just within the last hour i got CC working. What a fucking nightmare. Seriously. Even the sales guy says that Adobe makes it unnecessarily complicated. I hate my life.

 
Yeah, I had fun, too, and ended up having to call Adobe support. I've always chalked up the difficulties I see with them and Windows systems to their using Macs and Windows is an afterthought. Do Mac users get frustrated with Adobe's installation procedures, also?

 

[Yaz4Ever]

 
Yeah, I had fun, too, and ended up having to call Adobe support. I've always chalked up the difficulties I see with them and Windows systems to their using Macs and Windows is an afterthought. Do Mac users get frustrated with Adobe's installation procedures, also?

I just purchased this for my son's birthday.  He installed it on his PC and I installed it on my Macbook Air.  The Air installation was faster, but it works fine on both.

 

[OttoC]

I just purchased this for my son's birthday.  He installed it on his PC and I installed it on my Macbook Air.  The Air installation was faster, but it works fine on both.

 
It works fine on my Windows machine but their installation procedure is not standard Windows.

 

[Blacken]

Yeah, I had fun, too, and ended up having to call Adobe support. I've always chalked up the difficulties I see with them and Windows systems to their using Macs and Windows is an afterthought. Do Mac users get frustrated with Adobe's installation procedures, also?

I clicked Download, it installed the manager app, downloaded just fine. It's not a standard Mac procedure but it's the same one the App Store or Steam use. (It's the same procedure Steam uses on Windows, too, which might as well be standard.)