My general feeling of anger towards Adobe for forcing me into their new model makes it difficult to be objective about the issue. When I try to put it into focus and concentrate how it will effect my livelihood, I realize that unless something changes in the next couple of years, I will have no choice but to subscribe to the CC model.
I know that this is a photography forum but my livelihood has been derived from Graphic Design for the past 15 years. It is in that category that I can be considered a "Pro", while photography is more of a passion or hobby. Unlike PS, InDesign (and to some extent) Illustrator are version-exclusive. By that I mean that unless a file generated by the newest version of either program is "saved back", it is unreadable by older versions of the same program. Since I often receive files from clients that have been created by other designers, occasionally I would have to ask the client to return to the former designer and ask for a "save-back" version so I could open the file. That's a frustration for the client and doesn't make me look good. Usually that would only happen if I was late in adopting the newest CS version. I can easily see a point in the future where my reluctance to buy into the model will allow that to happen again and I dread that moment since that is the point when I will have to knuckle under and subscribe.
I have been around long enough to remember the Pagemaker to Quark to Indesign evolution. At each point along that product-preference timeline, whilst one of the programs was considered to be the "Industry Standard", users scoffed at the idea that any other program could ever replace the then leader. Quark was (in its heyday) a revolution and completely destroyed Pagemaker. And just when the loyal Quark base was at its height of frustration with the arrogance of Quark, InDesign quietly stepped in and ate Quark's lunch. Nobody was any happier about InDesign's triumph than I was. It's a great program and just as before, at the height of its reigning king position, it's hard to imagine anything could come along to replace it. But, simply because I hate the CC model so much, I sincerely hope something does. I would willingly go through that learning curve just to avoid being forced into submission by Adobe.
I have been a huge fan and admirer of Adobe for a very long time. But this has changed everything. Maybe they know what I want better than I do—time will tell. For now though, this new model seems like an Adobe focused plan and not a Customer focused plan. Smells bad to me.