I've been using PS since PS5. I've generally upgraded every second version, not just for reasons of expense but also because I find learning new software interfaces / features to be time ( & money ) consuming: I'd rather be using the tools I already have in a creative or profitable way.
Before the release of CS6 it was Adobe announced that it would not be possible to upgrade from more than one version back. About the same time an upgrade to Apples OS was announced and it seemed that my 2007 Mac was too old for this update ( I used to update OS's every other version as well ).
I was initially a bit dismayed but after thinking about it came to these conclusions:
1. I'm perfectly happy with PS CS5, does everything I need it to.
2. I'm perfectly happy with OSX 10.6 ( as are millions of other - it's said to have become 'Apple's XP' ), does everything I need it to.
3. I'm happy enough with my Mac Pro ( a little slow with Lightroom but then so am I at this stage of my learning curve ), does everything I need it to.
4. I can't be bothered to learn any new software right now - other stuff to deal with at the mo'.
5. I'm also perfectly happy with my 2 year old Canon 60D. Of course plenty on this forum will tell me that Canon sensor tech etc lags woefully behind the competition. Doesn't matter, it's good enough. Would have been unbelievable 10 years ago - great A3+ prints ( A2 even ) from a reasonably priced SLR with a decent lens stuck on it.
Nope, I'm off the treadmill for a while: No gear or software purchases for a few years. ( There is one lens I quite fancy.....). I'm just going to use the stuff I've got as well as possible. The constant upgrading that we're supposed to engage in must become counterproductive at some point: Going from PS CS3 to CS5 was hard work. Can you imagine pulling say a woodworker out of his workshop and putting him in a new shop with different layout, hand and power tools every 18 months. It wouldn't matter if the new tools were better or more powerful, he'd just never have time to get into them properly.
Would any of history's great painters have achieved as much if they'd been constantly 'upgrading' their materials / tools.
Of course I will end up 'upgrading' at some point but hopefully the present crap storm will have passed by then.
Re: CC. Well as one poster pointed out the 'Cloud' bit is irrelevant - its actually a change from buying to renting software ( at a higher price ). Yeah I know, in legal terms we've never owned the software, but in practical terms the 'perpetual' license was as good as ownership. I'm not angry - Adobe have the right to do this -I'm just not buying into it.
Not sure if I've earned the hallowed title of 'Pro' ( oh doesn't that give you a tingle ) or not, but my purchases of Adobe software have always been business not personal ones...
...Jeff?
Regards
Graeme
PS Re: 'Pro': Van Gogh only sold one painting as far as I know - bloody amateur.