Adobe’s Moved Creative Suite Exclusively To The Cloud. Is This Good Or Bad?

Adobe has announced that, from now on, the only way to get Creative Suite is via the cloud. That’s right, no more boxed versions of CS – you get it via the Internet or no Photoshop or Illustrator for you. Many people are wondering how this is going to work in the real world, myself included.

Related article: The Register: Adobe kills Creative Suite – all future features online only

I’ll preface this by noting that I’ve worked with graphic designers throughout my career, and do web design myself. These are tools I use, so I’m more than a little concerned about what this is going to entail. I have my doubts as to whether making CS exclusively cloud is such a great idea.

I can’t help but think of all the graphic designers I know who are still using older versions of CS, either because they can’t afford to upgrade their computers or because they have client requirements that can only be met with older versions.

Bear in mind, a graphic designer’s computer is not a $500 PC. (Or, it shouldn’t be.) Most of them use Macs because it’s the standard in graphic design. Yes, Macs are more expensive, but in my experience they last longer than those bargain basement PCs. Those who use PCs use the super-high-end models. Why? Because that’s the kind of processing power you need if you’re doing 3D rendering or serious layout.

But graphic designers are poor sods like the rest of us who can’t afford to buy a new computer every five seconds. This means there are a ton of graphic designers out there with slightly or more-than-slightly obsolete computers using old versions of Adobe CS to make a living.

They need those boxed versions of CS. If their computers die, they can’t just go buy a new one. Maybe they have to scrape up the money for a new hard drive and pray the computer holds together until they get paid for their current gig. Maybe they have this one client who absolutely refuses to use anything but Photoshop 6 and insists upon files in that format – and they’d love to tell this particular client to jump out a window only it’s their most lucrative contract and they need to pay rent.

Similarly, I know a lot of graphic designers whose Internet connections are far from always-on. Have you heard about the PR gaffe about Microsoft Xbox and the always-on connection? I happen to live relatively near Janesville, Wisconsin (the town mentioned in Microsoft’s PR gaffe) and there are plenty of people around here who do not have reliable Internet access.

If Adobe CS is cloud-only, what happens to graphic designers if their Internet connection dies? Because right now, if their Internet connections are down they can still Photoshop all they like and send files to their clients on CD, if it really comes down to it.

Now, if you read Adobe’s FAQ they make it clear you can use your software offline. But personally, I don’t trust that. They don’t even call it Creative Suite anymore – it’s Creative Cloud. What if there’s some special filter you need that they decide to make online only? What if your licensing gets screwed up and you need the connection to re-enable the software? I’m sure the graphic designers out there can tell you the number of times they’ve had to contact Adobe to fix licensing issues. Let me put it this way… it’s enough of a problem that Adobe has a Licensing Repair Tool.

I can tell you what it’s like to have software that requires the Internet for full functionality because, putting on my gamer hat for a moment, I have a video game I play (Might & Magic Heroes VI) that Ubisoft REALLY REALLY wants you to play online. You can play it offline, but you’re prohibited from using certain spells or abilities. In other words if you want to play offline you have to put up with a limited version. This could quite easily happen to Creative Suite, if it hasn’t already.

(May I note that Ubisoft just had a major outage that prevented Might & Magic Heroes VI fans from using the program? Didn’t affect me. I play offline.)

I’m also concerned about costs of Creative Suite… er, Cloud. On the face of it, $50 a month seems reasonable compared to $1,500-$3,000+ for upgrades or new versions, right? Well… maybe, until they start upselling. How soon does this become like in-app purchases? You get the basic game free but if you want to be able to play more than a crippled edition you have to buy the in-game purchases. Will $50 a month become $50 a month plus $20 for these filters and $15 for those filters and $25 to be able to export to a particular file type?

Okay, my graphic design peeps, sing out: What do you think of Adobe’s decision to move CS exclusively to the cloud? Will you be grabbing a boxed copy of CS6 while they last?