Adobe is moving ahead with plans to
phase out the boxed, retail versions of its Creative Suite and Acrobat
software families, in favor of a distribution model based exclusively on
digital downloads and subscriptions.
Word that the graphics software maker had set a hard date to stop selling its wares on physical discs first leaked earlier this month, when Adobe resellers Toolfarm and SoftwareMedia both blogged that they would no longer be able to offer boxed versions of Adobe software beginning on May 1.
According to Toolfarm, the box ban will apply not only to Adobe's bundled Creative Suite Collections, but to all of the individual Creative Suite applications as well, including After Effects, Audition, Flash Pro, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, SpeedGrade, and – most significantly – Photoshop.
The reseller says customers who require physical backup media will still be able to purchase it separately for $20 per disc. Otherwise, the only way for customers to get the software will be via internet download.
Much like Microsoft has done with Office 365, Adobe has been encouraging its customers to switch to a model in which they pay a monthly fee for continuous access to the latest versions of the Creative Suite applications, rather than buying expensive upgrades every few years in the typical desktop software boom-n'-bust cycle.
Currently, a retail version of Adobe's all-inclusive Creative Suite Master Collection lists for $2,599 in the US. By comparison, a Creative Cloud subscription that includes all of the same software plus access to online storage and other cloud services costs just $600 per year.
Customers are still warming up to the subscription-software concept, however, and many still prefer to buy their software outright, rather than rent it.
Word that the graphics software maker had set a hard date to stop selling its wares on physical discs first leaked earlier this month, when Adobe resellers Toolfarm and SoftwareMedia both blogged that they would no longer be able to offer boxed versions of Adobe software beginning on May 1.
According to Toolfarm, the box ban will apply not only to Adobe's bundled Creative Suite Collections, but to all of the individual Creative Suite applications as well, including After Effects, Audition, Flash Pro, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, SpeedGrade, and – most significantly – Photoshop.
The reseller says customers who require physical backup media will still be able to purchase it separately for $20 per disc. Otherwise, the only way for customers to get the software will be via internet download.
Much like Microsoft has done with Office 365, Adobe has been encouraging its customers to switch to a model in which they pay a monthly fee for continuous access to the latest versions of the Creative Suite applications, rather than buying expensive upgrades every few years in the typical desktop software boom-n'-bust cycle.
Currently, a retail version of Adobe's all-inclusive Creative Suite Master Collection lists for $2,599 in the US. By comparison, a Creative Cloud subscription that includes all of the same software plus access to online storage and other cloud services costs just $600 per year.
Customers are still warming up to the subscription-software concept, however, and many still prefer to buy their software outright, rather than rent it.
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