p.2 #1 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
borderlight wrote:
I think as monthly fees increase you will see more users jumping ship.
This is really the key. I believe that Adobe will get away with $20/month for single apps but if they get too predatory in their pricing they will lose the independents big time. Very surprised that they didn't offer existing license holders a better long term monthly rate. No educational discount on single apps also. Should have been $10/month for either.
p.2 #2 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
borderlight wrote:
Adobe will back step on this at some point. After profits tank, Adobe will release a statement like: "Now back by popular demand Adobe is pleased to announce that Photoshop will be offered in both the original CD version along with the Cloud version."
It will be like Coke replacing itself with New Coke. Soon after the "new" drink appeared on store shelves the original Coke lovers stopped buying Coke altogether. Anyway, heads will roll at Adobe.
Heads will not roll. Somebody may receive a golden parachute retirement package, but that's pretty much all that will happen. Once you reach a certain level, it is a closed club, and they all watch out for each other.
p.2 #4 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
borderlight wrote:
I think as monthly fees increase you will see more users jumping ship. Ad agencies, corporations, and graphic designers will always be Photoshop customers, but for the rest of the independent Photoshop users there will be fallout.
Yes and don't forget about what happens once it shifts from growth into decline. Once people start to jump ship, it can often become circular or self-perpetuating. What I mean is, maximimizing profit is no longer about maximizing the customer base, it's about maximizing the margin of the product which means pricing it higher, and spending less money on developing it. In the end it become a niche product with a captive customer base. And the rest of the world won't really care, they abandoned the product long ago.
It starts out a little bit at a time, the customer base shrinks, they raise montly prices a little at a time to maintain the status quo as far as profit. As they test those limits, some competition emerges, but the competition has much lower margins and makes less profit. Still the competition survives. Once they have meaningful competition, it is the point of no return, lowering their prices back down won't get them all their old customers back. They have to keep raising their prices in order to grow the business, and eventually they are only left with the diehard customers who can't abandon their product from one reason or another. This isn't necessarily a bad place to be in the business world... niche products with captive customer bases can make a great deal of money, but it's also a somewhat precarious place if you depend on just one or a couple of niche products.
p.2 #5 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
Heads will not roll. Somebody may receive a golden parachute retirement package, but that's pretty much all that will happen. Once you reach a certain level, it is a closed club, and they all watch out for each other.
That depends on how much the decision factors into the loss of sales revenue. In any political venue, corporations included, there's always a fall guy, especially if company stock is traded. Here's what happened to the Apple Maps guy because he compromised the bottom line:
p.2 #8 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
Tom K. wrote:
I wish I knew. Maybe take this one and up Rez it.......using.......gulp.....Photoshop.
If you did, I'd hafta sue you for copyright infringement....except I stole the Creative Cloud image off of Adobe's site, so I'd prolly get buggered by them, especially after my flamethrower campaign of this past week!
So...knowing they have the creative community by the balls because of the lack of "viable alternatives" to their applications, Adobe moves forward with the subscription only pricing scheme...and the biggest investment bank in the game upgrades their stock outlook by more than 40% on the news. And yet there are still those who think Adobe has OUR best interests at heart. If this isn't a wakeup call, then what is?!!
p.2 #13 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
Brad Trent wrote:
on the news. And yet there are still those who think Adobe has OUR best interests at heart. If this isn't a wakeup call, then what is?!!
What are you expecting, all companies have their stockholders interests at heart first and foremost! That is how capitalism is supposed to be, and I wouldn't have it any othr way. Customers are just a means to an end. It may not sound ideal, but it's better than anything else out there.
The best companies do treat their customers well, because in the end, if you want long-term viability, you need return customers and you need to build up a good relationship with them. But ultimately the bottom line is profit. The main mistake a lot of companies make today is by thinking too short-term when it comes to profit; trying to maximize in the short term even if that means doing things that hurt viability in the long term. I know this is all somewhat circular (good business -- good profit) but it's all a matter of perspective at this point, we won't really know the result of this move right away.
p.2 #14 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
Access wrote:
".....That is how capitalism is supposed to be, and I wouldn't have it any othr way. Customers are just a means to an end. It may not sound ideal, but it's better than anything else out there...."
Being a Capitalist is one thing, but blindly following a Goldman Sachs report that upgrades their stock outlook by more than 40% and assuming it's a good deal for the end user is an entirely different matter altogether! Good for Adobe…make all the money you can carry…but please stop blowing smoke up our asses by telling us the Cloud is all about creating a better user experience for its clients!
Adobe makes a stunning amount of PROFIT every year…in the billion-dollar range last year alone…and if the Cloud Subscription plan goes forward, it’s a given that Adobe will make a lot more money…perhaps what some might call an obscene amount of money…but I’ve yet to see any value in this plan for me or people like me. Even Microsoft has called Adobe's overnight move to Cloud-based subscriptions premature! In the end, I just know that once Adobe has it's users hooked up to the Cloud, all the product advancements they're promising that will make our lives better are going to be far less earth-shattering than previous upgrades and certainly nothing like they've been promising, simply because the applications are already awfully damned bloated! I think after the fourth or fifth revision of the Smart Sharpen filter you'll be agreeing with me. And therefore, what is the benefit?
p.2 #15 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
Well analysts are analysts, they honestly only get it right about half the time (or less).
We'll see how well this works out for Adobe in a few years, or maybe less.
I don't disagree with your sentiment about the future of photoshop or 'cloud' as they call it for us users, but I think the problem will fix itself quicker than most people imagine it will. Most people think of the future and become upset or exasperated, probably because they are used to absolute dependence on photoshop(?) I look at it and see opportunity and progress the same way we saw progress in photography brought about by healthy and meaningful competition.
I don't agree with Microsoft's sentiment either, Cloud isn't exactly new, it's 5-10 years behind the time already. If Adobe was pushing some kind of leading-edge virtualization, cross-platform for tablets/smart devices/PCs/linux workstations then I might be tempted to agree, but services like steam have already been around for 10 years and in wide use for 5 years (and does have some cross-platform support).
May 17, 2013 at 04:50 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.2 #16 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
p.2 #17 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
some might call an obscene amount of money
I'm a lefty, and even I don't understand this characterization of Adobe.
Adobe isn't exploiting anyone or anything to make their money. They're haven't destroyed the environment of the entire planet, like the fossil fuel industry, or crashed the entire financial system, like the criminal enterprise known as Wall Street. They're selling software that artistic types use to make interesting media creations. Why shouldn't Adobe make a healthy profit from that type of business activity?
p.2 #18 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
BluesWest wrote:
I'm a lefty, and even I don't understand this characterization of Adobe.
Adobe isn't exploiting anyone or anything to make their money. They're haven't destroyed the environment of the entire planet, like the fossil fuel industry, or crashed the entire financial system, like the criminal enterprise known as Wall Street. They're selling software that artistic types use to make interesting media creations. Why shouldn't Adobe make a healthy profit from that type of business activity?
John
A big Company like Adobe, that make such a huge change in their business model. And such a huge thing for millons of customers. Could at least have told all those customers about it a long time ago. And not waiting until a few weeks before everything is changing.
p.2 #19 · Why We All MUST Fight Adobe And Stop The Creative Cloud!
BluesWest wrote:
I'm a lefty, and even I don't understand this characterization of Adobe.
Adobe isn't exploiting anyone or anything to make their money. They're haven't destroyed the environment of the entire planet, like the fossil fuel industry, or crashed the entire financial system, like the criminal enterprise known as Wall Street. They're selling software that artistic types use to make interesting media creations. Why shouldn't Adobe make a healthy profit from that type of business activity?
John
Exploiting? That's exactly what Adobe is doing. Obviously they can rework their multi-billion dollar profit any way they want, as long it's at your expense, of course. No, Adobe isn't destroying the earth, not to say that is really a valid comparison, or relevant to the discussion. Adobe is simply choosing greed, their lawful right, unless we put on the brakes. No more skipping a few CS versions like we used to do. It's rent the same thing for life, and the rent always goes up. Adobe assumes that switching to some other (purchased) product would be an insurmountable chore. I think that eventually we will either see newly developed Photoshop-like software from other companies, or the incorporation of missing tools in existing photo programs. Competition will keep them on their toes or they will be forced to offer what they once did.
