Ben Horne
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
|
 p.19 #11 · Adobe kills standalone software | |
GeorgeM wrote:
I've been reading this thread and thinking about Adobe's new usage model for it's software.
I've been working in the computer industry since before IBM released their original PC. When I first read someone's EULA I was a little distressed to find out I didn't in fact own the software I thought I'd just bought. I'd only bought the right to use the software. I also realized that I was not allowed to use this on more than one computer at any given time. I got over it.
This sounds so much like what many of us as photographers do, sell the rights to use our product, the images, for a specific use such as a print campaign or for web use. We may sell the right to use our images for any use if we so choose. We negotiate usage with the client, or we just just simply tell the client how the images may or may not be used.
Way back when I had a difficult time explaining how computers and software worked to a mostly computer illiterate customer base. As computers caught on the general public, businesses and individuals learned about them and the explaining became simpler. I found it easy to relate computers and software to cars. People understood cars.
I find what Adobe is doing is not so bad. I don't like it but it's not really so bad.
I deliver finished product to my clients. I sell my work in one of two ways. I have stock images that I've taken and sell as framed prints or as greeting cards. I'm also available for hire as a photographer with usage of the images, the finished product, predefined. I deliver prints, web ready images, electronic copies. What ever the client wants and we agree upon. Done.
I'm thinking what Adobe is doing is with this 'software as a service' thing. If I have to move my household from one place to another I rent a truck, fill it up with my belongings, move, empty the truck and then return the truck. I pay for the usage of the truck for as long as I need it. When I need to move myself around on a daily basis I rent, lease or buy a vehicle that suits my needs. If the car companies decided not to sell cars anymore but to just rent or lease them I would adapt by getting just what I needed for as long as I needed it. I only need a one seater car to get me from A to B, a two seater if I bring the girlfriend along and something bigger if we go on a trip. That's it. I currently own a van that I have needs for from time to time. I certainly don't need a van to run to the corner store in.
When you need Adobe products for a job, rent them, do the job and move on. As with all successful business models the customer pays. If I need a special tool for a job, be it a lens, body, printer, dvd or paper, I rent or buy it. The customer pays.
I think the arguement of all your work and files being digital garbage if you don't pay the monthly fee to Adobe is hogwash. The camera produces the files. You still have them and the reader the camera manufacturer gave you with it. The work you've processed through any post processing software such as Photoshop, Capture1 or whatever is finished work. It's done and over with.
I don't see the problem with having to rent tools to work with.
How many times in your life have you gone to the store to purchase a replacement for something that has worn out to find out "They don't make them anymore." You adapt and purchase a replacement. The new product never works the same as the one you're used to but you adapt and carry on....Show more →
Though you may have come to terms with it for yourself, the math simply doesn't work for me. For me, it boils down to this... Adobe's forced move to the "Creative Cloud" makes things a lot more convenient for Adobe, and they are asking for more money from much of their user base (nearly 2x in my case). If Adobe is going to force this upon us, we as customers must receive some sort of benefit to make it worth the added expense. I honestly don't see any benefit to the new system. Quite the contrary — we as customers are on the losing end, and we are being asked to pay more.
I don't rent my car, house, camera, wife, pets, mops, brooms, screwdrivers, or anything else. I also won't be renting software. Goodbye Adobe. You've lost yet another loyal customer.
|
