So how is that Subscription Service working out for Adobe?

[Rick Popham]

It is getting pretty annoying that to open photoshop I once in a while need to re-login to the cloud.
Also, the popup to complete my registration details keeps coming up, although I have completed it numerously...
This is on Win7x64

Yes, I get the same thing running Windows 8.1x64.  No rhyme or reason as to when is shows up. Ironically, I keep getting this email from Adobe "Three key things about your Creative Cloud Membership":

1. We've got your back
   " As part of your membership, free help resources are available 24/7. The Creative Cloud Help hub lets you chat directly with Customer Support experts, check out FAQs, and access tutorials to help you get started using your favorite apps. Our Adobe Community site lets you ask questions and participate in product forums. Still need help? Call 800-833-6687. "

2. No internet connection? No problem.

    "All your Creative Cloud desktop applications are installed directly on your computer. Access all your apps through the Creative Cloud app. Once apps are installed, you won't need an Internet connection to use them."

3. Your files are your files.  Always.

     "When you sync files to Creative Cloud, you'll always have a local copy of your files in addition to the 20GB of cloud storage included in your membership. Even if your membership status changes, you can access all of the files in the Creative Cloud folder on your computer and via the Creative Cloud website."

#2 seems to be applicable here, and it's complete BS.  Every now and then I've had to log in to my account to even open PS.  This is a service that is completely based on the internet.   You have to download all the software and activate it periodically.  It's not a problem if you don't have a connection?

#1  24/7 Chat line with Adobe customer service.  Enough said.  There are also online tutorials and the help forums.  I've generally found these very useful, but again "No internet connection?  No problem."?

#3 Seems to be Adobe's answer to our questions about an exit strategy.  Their definition of "access" is different from mine. "Hey, your files are your files!  Move 'em around, burn 'em to disc -- oh, you wanted to ACCESS them.  Sorry, you have to subscribe.

[PhotoEcosse]

My understanding is that access to YOUR files is never blocked but that acces to ADOBE'S files (i.e. the software) is dependent upon periodic checks that require online connection. (How else would they stop you using their programs if your subscription lapsed?)

[LesPalenik]

Follow-up on my post from two days ago:

a friend subscribing to PS CC just reported:

PS 14.2.  A notice to update was sitting in my Creative Cloud app when I returned from Australia this week.  I'm currently doing my 4th re-install.  PS CC just quits immediately upon loading. This is on an I7 PC with 12 gigs of ram, a 2 T c: drive, and a 3 T data drive.  Win 7.
One drawback from downloading from the cloud is that you don't have ready access to a previous, working version of the software.

this type of problem is one reason why I haven't pulled the trigger.

Now, in  the 4th day of troubleshooting after spending hours on the chat with support people from India, upgrading all his drivers and video card firmware, he finally connected to a phone conversation (after a 1-hour lineup), but as of now he is still without access to Photoshop.

He summarised his experience in following words:
Updates from the cloud can be very destructive.
Adobe help is hard to reach [e.g. text chat (depending on problem) and live chat closed on weekends and after 7 on weekdays].
Google doesn't always provide a solution. In this case it just confirms that lots of users have this problem -- no useful solutions yet.

My own desire to try out the PS CC is suddenly not so pressing anymore.  

[smahn]

It's probably covered somewhere in this thread, but can someone in the know please break it down for me?

I have PS CS6, I'm thinking of trialing/subscribing to CC.

In the event that something goes wrong with my subscription, or I wish not to continue, but I need to continue working on files in CS6 which began in CC, and used some features of CC that are not in CS6: how functional are those files in CS6? Is it that moves done in 'exclusive features of CC' are unreadable by CS6, or are they simply "frozen" at the state of last settings and not further manipulable in CS6?

Is there somewhere I can download a heavily manipulated CC file so that I can see for myself how it is handled by CS6?

[Rick Popham]

My own desire to try out the PS CC is suddenly not so pressing anymore.  

I decided to try it for a year and signed up for the photography bundle in December (before the previous, previous deadline).  So far, I've been required to sign in to my Adobe account at least 4 times in order to open Photoshop.  Ironically, about a half hour after my post above, I opened PS and was again required to log in.  I guess I'll have to email Mike Chambers to see how I can contact the person who knows how to fix this.

So far, two of my major misgivings about this business have come to pass.  First the security breach, and now, about two months into my subscription, serious questions about the reliability of the service.  Given the unexpected log in requests, and the absolute need for an internet connection to accomplish them,  I would now never load a CC product on a laptop and travel with it.  I'll continue to purchase a perpetual license for LR to use on my laptop, which kind of devalues the deal that the bundle is supposed to provide.

[Lightsmith]

It is a flawed architecture and the people at Adobe are too clueless or too greedy to back track. Rational tried the same thing with Catapult and after 6 months they shut it down and wrote it off. I don't mind having email in the cloud but not applications that I need to get work done.

I can use Nikon's Capture NX2 indefinitely and not be held hostage to ACR for RAW conversion and for now my company has a bulk license to Photoshop CS6 along with InDesign and Illustrator but that is the end of our investment in Adobe products. We lost time and money over the years as Adobe bought out competitors and then killed their applications and forced customers to migrate and often do work from scratch using the Adobe products instead. Most recent experience was with Macromedia and Freehand.

Hopefully GIMP will continue to evolve as well and the next release is supposed to provide support for 16-bit files.

Aren't monopolies great?

[Schewe]

Hopefully GIMP will continue to evolve as well and the next release is supposed to provide support for 16-bit files.

Hope you aren't holding your breath doode...good luck to you, the rest of us are learning how to use a subscription (and it ain't as hard as some have indicated–sorry, it's pretty easy to click connect).

[Rhossydd]

sorry, it's pretty easy to click connect

IF you have the internet available all the time. Not everyone has.

[Simon Garrett]

IF you have the internet available all the time. Not everyone has.

You don't need the Internet available all the time.  It needs to call home every month (for a monthly subscription), and you get warning (they say) before it stops working. 

[chez]

IF you have the internet available all the time. Not everyone has.

Seems like you are doing pretty good with your Internet connection right now. That is all you need to do, connect once a month so your subscription can be verified.

In today's world, I think not having an Internet connection, especially when we are all connected together here by Internet, is really a low digging point.

[Craig Lamson]

Seems like you are doing pretty good with your Internet connection right now. That is all you need to do, connect once a month so your subscription can be verified.

In today's world, I think not having an Internet connection, especially when we are all connected together here by Internet, is really a low digging point.

I work always on location, in factories. None I have ever encountered have wireless internet I can access. Connecting via ethernet to the corp system is not possible.

So tell me chez, if my subscription won't activate and I can't call home to Adobe, just how "low of a digging point" is it now?

[LesPalenik]

Either way, the necessity to sign to Adobe account every two weeks (as reported by Rick Popham) is a major inconvenience. Maybe not to Adobe, but to the users.
In almost three years of owning PS CS5 (and I'd like to emphasize the owning part), I never had to do that. I never missed that and Adobe has saved a lot of bandwidth and many rupees on their support team.
 

[digitaldog]

I work always on location, in factories. None I have ever encountered have wireless internet I can access. Connecting via ethernet to the corp system is not possible.

Got an iPhone or similar? I had my internet go out for 2.5 days, backup is always using a mobile hot spot, the phone even at G3 is well up to the task to at least activate the software on the laptop.

[smahn]

It's probably covered somewhere in this thread, but can someone in the know please break it down for me?

I have PS CS6, I'm thinking of trialing/subscribing to CC.

In the event that something goes wrong with my subscription, or I wish not to continue, but I need to continue working on files in CS6 which began in CC, and used some features of CC that are not in CS6: how functional are those files in CS6? Is it that moves done in 'exclusive features of CC' are unreadable by CS6, or are they simply "frozen" at the state of last settings and not further manipulable in CS6?

Is there somewhere I can download a heavily manipulated CC file so that I can see for myself how it is handled by CS6?

Any suggestions on a place to get answers to such questions? My google-fu isn't getting it done.

[john beardsworth]

Just as now, the layers containing incompatible edits will be rasterized when the file is opened in an older version of PS - ie converted to pixel layers and without any of the newer editing settings. The main loss will be work applied to smart object layers, which you might not use.

[chez]

I work always on location, in factories. None I have ever encountered have wireless internet I can access. Connecting via ethernet to the corp system is not possible.

So tell me chez, if my subscription won't activate and I can't call home to Adobe, just how "low of a digging point" is it now?

You have a web page, you are active on this forum...you are telling me that you don't have access to the internet once a month? Come on....

[Craig Lamson]

Got an iPhone or similar? I had my internet go out for 2.5 days, backup is always using a mobile hot spot, the phone even at G3 is well up to the task to at least activate the software on the laptop.

Oh I have an iPhone and  a cellular iPad, but now I need to add a hotspot as well just to be sure I can "activate" software that used to be available as a perpetual?  No thanks.  What a great move forward.  [/sarcasm]

[Craig Lamson]

You have a web page, you are active on this forum...you are telling me that you don't have access to the internet once a month? Come on....

Are you capable of actually reading words I posted?.

Here, let me repost them on the unlikely chance you will actually understand them this time.

"I work always on location, in factories. None I have ever encountered have wireless internet I can access. Connecting via ethernet to the corp system is not possible.

So tell me chez, if my subscription won't activate and I can't call home to Adobe, just how "low of a digging point" is it now?"

Now chez, if my subscription needs to be activated while working on location, and I'm unable to access the internet, is that really a "low digging point"?

Oh never mind, this is beyond your ability to comprehend.

[chez]

Are you capable of actually reading words I posted?.

Here, let me repost them on the unlikely chance you will actually understand them this time.

"I work always on location, in factories. None I have ever encountered have wireless internet I can access. Connecting via ethernet to the corp system is not possible.

So tell me chez, if my subscription won't activate and I can't call home to Adobe, just how "low of a digging point" is it now?"

Now chez, if my subscription needs to be activated while working on location, and I'm unable to access the internet, is that really a "low digging point"?

Oh never mind, this is beyond your ability to comprehend.

OK...so you work in the factories...do you also eat, sleep there or do you go outside that factory sometimes in the month where you might have internet access. You DON'T need internet access to use CC, it just needs to connect once a month to verify your subscription...then you can be off the grid. Again, I ask, do you really not have internet access for a whole month at a time?

[Craig Lamson]

OK...so you work in the factories...do you also eat, sleep there or do you go outside that factory sometimes in the month where you might have internet access. You DON'T need internet access to use CC, it just needs to connect once a month to verify your subscription...then you can be off the grid. Again, I ask, do you really not have internet access for a whole month at a time?

You simply don't have a clue do you?  Why don't you get back to us when you buy your first one?

Lets try this once more for the mentally impaired.

If my subscription needs to be activated WHILE I AM ON A JOB IN A FACTORY, WITH NO INTERNET ACCESS...am I now going to tell my client, oh gee, I need to leave the job site and find some internet access so I can GET MY SOFTWARE TO RUN, so I can complete the job I'm here to do?

Which all goes directly the point that is beyond your ken.

This is not  a "low of a digging point" as you foolishly suggest.