Gene51 wrote:
If you regularly maintain and upgrade your software, you are in effect subscribing or as you refer to it - renting. Check your EULA (end user license agreement)
The only reason you license software intead of "own" it is so you can't buy it, turn around and sell it like you can cars. Software is extremely easy to duplicate and distribute, unlike most products sold. (Opposite of your rather misguided claim:
Gene51 wrote:
Now, if you are of the sort that just doesn't recognize the costs involved in delivering and maintaining software..."
Everyone recognizes that duplicating (file copy) and distribution (internet) of software is as simple and cheap as it gets. Development is just a handful of underpaid programers, not a biggie.
Gene51 wrote:
If you have some figures on the costs of delivering and maintaining software I'd love to see them.
I don't understand your comparison of the number of Adobe users compared to the number of people in the world. That has nothing to do with the conversation.
It was you that brought it up:
Gene51 wrote:
"BTW, there are close to 10,000,000 subscribers to Adobe software. That would put you clearly in the minority."
Perhaps you forgot injecting that into the conversation?
Gene51 wrote:
- it's cheaper for the enduser, easier to develop and support for the company, simply because it doesn't have to support the 50 diehards still using Photoshop CS1 and Lightroom 1.
Again you're injecting numbers into the conversation, this time fake numbers. Guess I need to repeat there are plenty not supporting PS, approximately up to 7 billion nine hundred ninety million folks not using it (since you brought it up the numbers, again). That's a LOT more than "50 die hards"
Gene51 wrote:
They must be doing something that people like - their recurring revenue in 2013 when their business was entirely perpetual license - was $200M, and today, they have over $5B in recurring revenue. If the subscription model is so awful and such a negative - enough to avoid the software at any cost - how do you explain Adobe's meteoric expansion, all while reducing the price of the software. I think your aversion is emotional, not rational, and certainly not based in economics.
Wrong again. I've been editing photo's for enjoyment for close to 25 years. If I had been renting Adobe software I'd have over $3000 invested in something that would cease to exist the day I stopped paying rent. That's NOT a model I like, and is why I don't lease my cars, I like owning them, also why I don't rent my living quarters, I own my home. Everyone is different, but if you think its irrational to not want to rent or lease stuff you are simply out to lunch, imo of course. There are times and situations where it is rational to rent stuff, and times and situations where it isn't. For me, based on many years of experience I have little to no need for constant up dates to software that already does what I need.
For close to 8 billion others, there is no reason at all to rent software from adobe. The small number, (10 million you say) that do are mostly rational I guess, I don't know all of them, actually I don't know any of them, still I would not call any of them irrational for doing so.
Gene51 wrote:
Don't get me wrong, the day that Adobe ceases to get it done for me, I will be looking elsewhere. But its replacement has to offer more capability/cheaper/just as easy to use/and produce better results in less time. At the moment, only Capture One comes close. I use both, along with On1 and DXO - all of which have their redeeming qualities, but none are a replacement for Lr/Ps.
I like Affinity Photo's model. You buy it, you have a forever license to use it, and they sell it cheap, hoping to make their money via quantity rather than gouging it's users. Is it as good as PS?, don't know, it is better than CS2 and PSE although CS2 does everything I need but there have been some minor improvements in selections and stuff, there is nothing much I see on YouTube for CC that I can't do just fine with Affinity, and for that matter, even CS2 and even PS 7.