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“The 10 Most Common Myths About Adobe’s Creative Cloud (CC)”
The 10 Most Frequent Myths About Adobe's Creative Cloud (CC)
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Can I get a standalone version of Photoshop cc 2015 to buy so that I can reinstall the software without actually again downloading in case I need to reformat my hard drive? If so, how it can be registered? Will the monthly subscription plan still work? Grateful if you will kindly enlighten me on this.
Yes, in fact you can download a standalone Photoshop CC installer! Check out this guide:
How to Get Creative Cloud Disc Media, Backup, or Offline CC Installers
Hope that helps.
The Creative Cloud Desktop app is about 150 mb. The installer is a small app. But when you run the installer it downloads the creative cloud desktop application which is around 150 mb in size (after installation size was 160mb on the disk). The download speed was poor though other downloads on the same network were good.
The download speeds/rates for all Creative Cloud applications should be similar, as they are all originating from the same Adobe server:
Adobe CC 2015 Direct Download Links for Windows and Mac OS
You do not have to be continually connected to the Internet. HOWEVER, if you are connected to the internet, your CC software communicates via the internet, even if you are not using CC Libraries or other features that require a connection to the internet (per an Adobe tech support rep) and, therefore, CC may slow to a crawl, depending on your internet connection speed, Adobe’s server capacities, and everything in between.
No, sorry. Not at all. If you are not using the (optional) connected services like Typekit fonts, online Cloud storage or CC Libraries, then any background Adobe-related internet traffic is nominal and insignificant. Even if you are actively using these features, you would be hard-pressed to notice any difference, unless you are uploading or downloading something very large and intensive.
I’m getting ready to purchase for work and home use but to me it just doesn’t seem like a “cheaper” option than just having a standalone package like CS6. Maybe I’m missing something but if I go subscription-based after the year is up I have to subscribe for another year basically buying the same software package year after year. Where is the value in that?
Hello Marcus, in terms of expensive pricing, you may be forgetting that CS6 had a very large upfront cost just to get in the door… Photoshop CS6 Extended used to sell for $999 by itself, and the most comparable suite to what you get now in Creative Cloud was CS6 Master Collection – which cost $2,599 at the time. And of course, upgrades always cost extra with the old model. Meanwhile, CC gives you more still than the Master Collection ever did.
If you want less than the entire collection of creative tools, then there’s always the CC Single-App option(s) instead, including the very popular $10/mo. Photography Plan with Photoshop + Lightroom.
What people often forget is that software and technology don’t stand still. So while you think you might “own something” with the old CS licensing model, nothing is “forever” in technology without active, ongoing support… Hardware and software evolve quickly, then old programs aren’t supported and eventually stop working properly on newer computers or operating systems (especially Mac OS; Apple is notorious for breaking backwards compatibility) – so for most people, static software has a practical usable lifetime.
CS6 is already reaching that point now. Adobe ceased selling CS6 standalone on their website last year. The reason is because it’s nearly 4 years old now (from spring 2012) and increasingly unsupported; they stopped releasing updates for it last summer as the newer CC rapidly grew and took over. With the CS6 software EOL and end of support, there are no updates, no bug fixes, and no guarantees it will run on future operating systems. So at this point we’ve stopped recommending it as a good or viable option going forward.
By contrast, with CC all ongoing upgrades, compatibility updates and product additions are always included – so becoming obsolete will never happen. The monthly payments are also more affordable in the new model than in the old model – where the software used to cost many hundreds or often thousands of dollars upfront, and never evolved.
For a more detailed analysis of these points, see:
Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) vs. Creative Suite (CS6) – The Pros & Cons
Now, I’m a student in a Vocational High-School, and I’m taking Graphic Communication and Design. However, I dont have the money to spend on the paid Creative Cloud Suite, as Im trying to purchase a car. So, I downloaded the Free Creative Cloud version, and it says I have limited access (expected), but only a 7-day membership, while your article stated it was a Lifetime Membership. If the membership ends, do I lose all of the programs I have downloaded onto my computer, or do I lose just the Creative Cloud services? I would really like some help with this, please.
Hey Christian, in our guide to the free level of CC membership, we tried to explain how some of the important Creative Cloud tools and services are free for life for everyone, and that is absolutely true.
But we also mentioned how most of the desktop applications (like Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, etc) come with free downloadable trials that are fully-functional for 30 days if you don’t sign up for a paid subscription.
Does that help clear it up?
Isn’t it true that Adobe software is insanely expensive with no new features being delivered – just UI updates and this is just a method to try and lock people in. All that’s happening is you are making CS6 obsolete when it was perfectly adequate for most users by refusing to support new platforms like windows 10 and hires screens properly. I would have paid for a CS6 update. Stop telling me cloud is worth thousands of dollars when i use premier and Photoshop a couple of times a year.
I am trying to reinstall CS6 now which Adobe are making as difficult as possible and will be moving to a much cheaper fixed price competitor when it becomes available on Windows in the Fall. There is no sensible option for people like me who get into photography and video a couple of times a year. Do a deal with all the other subscription wannabes and offer a package for 10 bucks a month where i can use a single package of any software I want one at a time for video, music and graphics editing. Something like Netflix for software. Then i might buy it.
“No new features being delivered”?? Where on earth did you hear (or imagine) that?
Absolutely not true at all:
What’s New in Adobe CC 2015 vs. CS6, CS5, CS4, or CS3?
Adobe isn’t “making” CS6 obsolete, any more than they “made” CS3 obsolete… CS6 (from 2012) evolved into CC 2013-2014-2015, just as CS3 evolved into CS4-CS5-CS6. It’s simply an old release, as has always happened before.
In other words, CC is a CS6 update – it’s just available with a different licensing model. And the numbers show that Creative Cloud has been a success even greater than the company predicted:
Adobe: Strong Creative Cloud Growth to 10 Million Paid Subscribers
None of us here would ever want to have to give up CC 2015 and go back to using CS6. Time = money…
Adobe CC feels like a big drain on my money. Yes it includes a lot etc. but that doesn’t mean I magically become wealthier.
David, were you aware that plans including both Photoshop and Lightroom start at just $9.99 a month, which is a tiny fraction of the old cost?
Every single major network or production company I work with reverted to CC 2014 as the last “stable” version of CC. I primarily work with FOX Sports, NBC/Universal, Outdoor Channel and Discovery. CC is little more than a cruel joke designed to make professionals miss deadlines.
In my own edit suite, I’m still running CS6, though lack of support for newer codecs is prompting me to look elsewhere.
As the director and post production supervisor of Outdoor’s MPH block coming in 2017, I’m looking to move our entire post production away from Adobe entirely (the interoperability nightmares between CS6 and CC is inexcusable), and we’re exploring other options.
Can you imagine using CC four years from now to open a timeline you’ve created today (…”and back on Pinks: All Out 2020 is the 2016 winner of….”)? That’s going to be a nightmare.
Sorry, Adobe. I’ve been a loyal customer since before there was a creative suite, but your greed, lack of stability and forced upgrades (yes, not allowing backwards compatibility is a forced upgrade in the real world) are pushing professionals to look for alternatives.
Too bad. So much promise squashed. Give me a solid piece of software I can buy flat out. Not this lease/partially functional garbage you have now.
Not really sure what you are talking about Alex. There are no forced upgrades with CC subscriptions – you are free to use whatever version you like, including back to CS6 from 2012 if you want. All major releases are included for subscribers, available to download, install and run at any time.
With CC 2015 there is some level of backwards compatibility with older versions, but this is limited by evolution in the file formats which are necessary for the forward progress of the tools. This naturally happened with CS as well (as it was developed years ago), not just CC.
As for stability, we’ve never had any problems at all with any of desktop applications in the Creative Cloud suite. We’ve heard of a few customers here and there who had some glitches with earlier revisions of CC 2015, but the software has since been updated (as it regularly is at no cost).
As for customer adoption of CC, we see quite the opposite as Adobe continues to post accelerating Creative Cloud growth and increasingly higher numbers of paid subscribers well ahead of company and industry forecasts.
On dominant trends, it’s quite the opposite in fact – the CC video apps have quickly become the tools of choice for professionals everywhere:
From Sundance to Hollywood, More Filmmakers Than Ever Editing with Premiere Pro CC
Sorry, but your comment comes off more as an inaccurate rant than anything else.
I’m running an old MacBook Pro using OSX 10.7.5 – if I purchase a licence will I automatically be assigned the version that I can use on my machine, or will I have to contact Adobe first?
Hi Andy, one of the benefits of Creative Cloud is that you can download and use any previous release that you like – if you are using an older computer or for any other reason at all…
So you’ll have full access not only to install CC 2015, but also (and/or) CC 2014, CC 2013, and CS6.
If you check the Creative Cloud system requirements, you’ll see for example that CC 2014 still supports Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion.”
Hope that helps!
Myth #6: “Well, then Adobe is going to entice everyone to the Cloud – and once we are all hooked, they are going to jack up the prices.”
Not a myth anymore is it?
“Adobe: Strong Creative Cloud Growth to 10 Million Paid Subscribers”
Not hard to force 8.4 million CS users to the cloud years ago and pitch you have 8 million cloud users already.
Yes John, it’s still a myth. Adobe has still never raised their core/baseline subscription prices for any creative product.
The only reason that rates recently went up in a few international locations is because those countries’ currencies had weakened considerably against the US Dollar, so Adobe was (and still is!) receiving much less in those currencies than what American customers actually pay in USD for the same products.
As for your other hypothesis, you should read the article you linked. If you did you would see that prior to the launch of CC, there was an installed base of 12.8 million customers using different versions of the older CS tools, which had been built up over a decade… The latest subscription figures show that Adobe has attained over half that user base for the new Creative Cloud products in the space of just a few years, at a steadily faster (accelerating) pace.
And of the current CC subscriber base, millions of those paying subscribers are actually brand new to Adobe products.
So put those facts together and it’s clear that customers weren’t “forced,” but chose to make the switch and adopt the newer and better tools.
I have the the CC 30-day trial installed, do I need to download and reinstall the software when I subscribe or will a licence/serial code work?
Hey Carlton, you don’t have to redownload or reinstall. After you purchase the plan you want, the products already installed on your computer will be activated automatically for your ongoing use (with updates included).
Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question, but I’m having trouble getting started with the Creative Cloud membership. The agency I work for just purchased a CC for Teams membership and I was emailed an invitation to join. I accepted the invite and was directed to Adobe log in. The username had my same username I use for email within my agency and password was blank so I choose “forgot password.” It’s been 2 days and I still haven’t received an email from Adobe on resetting the password…
I’ve already tried checking spam folders etc.
Hello Marcus, for assistance with your Adobe ID login and password, see this guide:
Adobe ID Account Sign-In Help and Password Troubleshooting
If that doesn’t help, then try contacting Adobe Customer Service directly – via their live online chat is usually the fastest/easiest:
http://www.ContactAdobe.com/
Hope that takes care of it for you.
@ProDesignTools
Thanks for the help, I got it squared away…
Hi ProDesign! I really wish Adobe had an intermediate plan between the single app and all the apps. I only use 4-5 programs and paying $50 a month for a bunch of software I don’t need seems excessive. I would gladly do a $30 subscription for life to get just the 4 or 5 programs I really need.
It would also be great to have a “household” plan. Both my husband and myself are designers and buying 2 licences would run us $100 a month… $1200 a year!!! We fully support paying for software, but the current rates are unattainable for us, which means we sadly stay behind :-(
@Marien
amen to that Marien!
Hi,
because of virus oversensitivity, my work pc isn’t connected to the internet. Is it possible to download the current Adobe cloud products and future updates on another computer where the applications are not installed and install them on the offline pc?
And what happens after one year when I decide against prolonging the membership? Can I use all the programs and apps frozen in their then current version until the apocalypse (or until the wall between the U.S.A. and Mexico is built)?
Best wishes,
Kilian
Welcome Kilian, it sounds like you are in need of offline/standalone installers for Creative Cloud… For those, see here for the CC 2015 version, and here for the CC 2015.5 version.
As noted in the article above, Adobe CC does need to periodically revalidate itself to ensure your subscription is current. This happens very quickly if/when the installed system is connected online. And for annual subscribers, this is only required once every 4 months.
If you cancel your CC membership, you will not lose any of your files. Some of the CC apps will run forever with a free (for life) membership, but most of the programs work only with a valid active subscription.
If you have any further or follow-up questions, just post back.
I think this is an amazing idea for those wanting to use adobe products, but don’t have thousands of dollars upfront to pay for it. This also seems to counter the pirating issue they’ve been having for years and make the application more available to the average man. People may be complaining about paying around 20 bucks monthly, but still pay their phone and internet bills, buy food, etc for way more than this amount monthly.
I have been wondering though, what if someone stops paying for 6 months or so, would there be any late fees? Or in order to reactivate the plan, do you have to pay what was due before?
Hi Asha, thanks for your comment. No, there are never any late fees with Creative Cloud subscriptions. You pay for what you need and use, and then you can cancel when your membership term is up – either month-to-month or annual, depending on which you select:
http://www.ChooseCreativeCloud.com/
So it’s flexible and you can pick back up subscribing and using the software at any time in the future and it will work again for you and still open all of your files and projects… There is no penalty or fee for the time you hadn’t been subscribed, no longer how long or short that may be.
Finally, whenever you restart your membership, you will receive the current versions of the applications (the latest available) at that time, because ongoing upgrades are included. Or, you can access any previous version of the CC tools, if you prefer – because Adobe keeps all prior releases available in an online archive for subscribers to download and use if/when needed.
Hope that answers your question.
I’m retiring in 5 years time. How will I be able to view or work on any “old files” such as family stuff in Indesign or photoshop in say 10 years time? Will I be “locked out” of these files unless I have CC?
Greetings Tony, regarding to how to open Adobe project/data files after a Creative Cloud paid subscription has lapsed or expired, please see our previous reply to Pete here.
Thanks for your question.
So wait…if I download the cloud, I can’t save the images to my desktop?
Not true. You absolutely can still save images/files/projects to your desktop (or anywhere).
Myth 11: Adobe software has always been affordable. This is false and now with the new subscription model it is more expensive in the long run because you have to keep paying in order to use it. The real myth is why are people so gullible to think this is a good deal? I used to purchase a bundle and I can use it indefinitely and with this new model I have to keep on paying them. I used to be able to go to Adobe Add-Ons and download and use free plugins. Now they have forced us to have a subscription to use the free add-ons. They conveniently title it by saying it is “Free with a subscription”. Who in their right mind see anything here that indicates it is free? Adobe has always been greedy and now they are over the top with their greed! The only good I see with this new cloud model is they seem to actually update their software, where before we would beg and cry when something was broken and in very rare cases did they ever fix anything! NO, Adobe Cloud is a joke and I for one will not cave in and purchase a single thing from Adobe EVER again! They have lost a huge sector of us that was dedicated to using their software, all because their greed is stronger than their desire to create creative tools for professionals!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kevin. From a cost-of-entry standpoint, the monthly payments are much more budget-friendly in the new model than in the old model – where the software used to cost many hundreds or often thousands of dollars upfront, and did not evolve. In addition, with CC, all ongoing upgrades with new features and performance improvements are always included at no additional cost. So the software will not become obsolete or stop working on a new operating system.
And as you pointed out, because of the relatively frequent upgrades (every 3-4 months), the company is able to respond and evolve at a faster pace.
Because of the far lower cost of entry, CC has been able to introduce significant numbers of new customers to Adobe, as well as reduce piracy. Adobe CFO Mark Garrett said this at the 2015 Global Technology Conference:
Something else that is very powerful: Never before has the company had 30 million customers all using the exact same release of their creative products – not even with any version of Creative Suite (ever). That type of connected community and version compatibility just builds on itself.
Nobody can predict the future, but thus far it seems clear that Adobe is not going back to the old model… Creative Cloud has been an even greater success than the company anticipated and its growth continues to accelerate – so, unless something unexpected happens, folks probably shouldn’t expect the story to change from here on out.
Regarding Myth #9: You’re right, people are not forced to buy the complete suite of apps even if they only want 2 of them. But the way they’ve designed their pricing model, it hardly makes sense to pay $40/month for two apps when you could get all of them for $9 more. Or $60/month for 3 apps.
If $49/month is the value of all apps (let’s say there are 10) then each individual app should only cost $5/month, not $20.
There’s nothing really new or different here. It’s very standard practice not only in the software industry but throughout the commercial world to give a better deal when buying in larger quantities.
In fact, if you compare the current CC pricing structure with the old perpetual CS6 price list, it’s pretty much the same…
Photoshop CS6 cost $699 by itself, and Illustrator CS6 cost $599 – but you could get a bundle with Photoshop + Illustrator + InDesign + Acrobat (the CS6 Design Standard suite) for $1,299 – the same total cost. And the value was even greater when you moved up to the larger suites with more programs. The CS6 Master Collection contained nearly $8,000 in tools, if purchased individually.
So it works virtually the same here with Creative Cloud, just on a monthly subscription level.
This is a better deal for large companies who always bought the new versions as they came out, but most individual consumers could not afford to do this and only bought a new version after a few had come out and their existing version became very obsolete. The cloud squeezes out the little guy who used it for a small business or home use.
Actually, individual and small business use of Adobe creative tools has soared under Creative Cloud – likely because of the more budget-friendly payments (instead of costing many hundreds or thousands of dollars upfront)…
Never before has the company had 30 million customers all using the exact same release of their creative products – not even with any version of Creative Suite (ever). That type of connected community and version compatibility is powerful and builds on itself. And of that growing base of CC users, two-thirds are previous CS customers while one-third are new to Adobe.
Myth #2: Well, the fact is I am now stuck without any way of accessing my CC subscription.
There happens to be no wifi where I am just now (there is a regular connection).
My Macbook Pro can only connect via wifi.
Tried to launch Acrobat on the Macbook, and all I get is a message saying that Adobe can’t connect to the Internet (which is true — no wifi) and so cannot verify my subscription.
I guess the 4 months happened to run out just when I’m stuck without wi-fi. So my paid-for subscription is rendered useless on the Macbook where I do my Adobe work unless I can next access wifi.
Did I mention how badly this sucks?
Sorry to hear that Tim. Most people do connect online more frequently than once every four months.
Guessing you must have used your smartphone to write that comment then… Many phones these days also have the ability to serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot. You would only need to connect your computer to it very briefly and use very little data. So you might see if that’s workable:
How to use your smartphone as a Wi-Fi hotspot: a guide to internet tethering on iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry
Since it seems you don’t have a wireless router or Wi-Fi access point where you are now, then another option would be to pick up a simple Wireless Travel Router, which can be purchased on Amazon for as little as $15. Those small, inexpensive devices can instantly convert a wired network to wireless with easy setup, and are a great idea to carry on trips for many reasons (e.g., use for free access in hotels, etc).
You might also contact Adobe Customer Service and see what they can do for you:
http://www.ContactAdobe.com/
(Via live online chat is usually fastest/easiest.)
Hope that helps.
You can buy a cheap wireless router and create your own wi-fi network from your regular connection, OR you can buy a USB-to-Ethernet adapter that plugs into your computer: https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Gigabit-Ethernet-Network-Adapter/dp/B00AQM8586?th=1
Either will be well worth the minimal expense to be able to download system security patches as well.
That’s another great solution Darryl, thanks for sharing!
For $15-20, it just plugs into the USB on your laptop and and gives you an Ethernet port which connects to any wired Internet. Meaning any Macbook or Windows notebook computer (such as a Surface Pro) can then connect via either Wi-Fi or cable anytime, anywhere.
Rest assured I’m one of them. It doesn’t help. The fact that you have connected in the last 4 months (and by the way, I was told by Adobe Chat yesterday that it’s 30 days, not 120 days) does not help.
This is how it works:
Day 1: Adobe validates your subscription.
Days 2-29 (based on the 30-days I was told by Adobe): You can work offline, or online, it makes no difference.
Day 30: No wifi? No software. No Creative Cloud. No Adobe. No work. No deadlines. You’re on your own until you can next get to a wifi hotspot. It doesn’t make any difference that the previous day you were online all day working with your CC subscription.
That sucks. It’s feeble. What’s worse is that even Adobe (chat, Twitter – @adobecare) cannot do a thing. They don’t have a temporary code to let you carry on with your work for a few days so you’re not stuck.
It also means that Myth #2 is not a myth. It’s a real issue.
Thanks for your other suggestions, but closing the stable door won’t help now. Anyway, I just spent $30 renting a car and driving to the nearest wifi hotspot so I can get back to work on my Macbook. I don’t suppose Adobe fancies refunding that?
No, what you described is not accurate nor complete, so Myth #2 is still a myth. You do not need to be constantly connected to the Internet to start and run your creative apps.
The vast majority of CC subscribers are on annual memberships, and that’s where it’s always 4+ months (30 days + a 99-day grace period) before requiring online revalidation.
If you only have a month-to-month subscription, then the system has to check every 30 days to see if you’ve paid for the next month and haven’t cancelled. But even in this month-to-month case, you still get another 30 days grace period on top – so that is two months total offline.
Lastly, if the software checked online every time it were opened, then you can be sure there would be some complaints about that (“phoning home” too often).
Anyway, you can read more about how it all works here:
Creative Cloud Internet Connectivity, Offline Grace Period, and Reminders
Sorry you were given inaccurate information. Hope the free or low-cost solutions shared here could help you in the future!