If miscommunication is part of the problem, I'd argue not the public's fault (those who misunderstand), but rather "poorly communicated". A few misunderstanders,perhaps. Thousands, I beg your pardon.
Exactly what statements from Adobe have you read or watched? I watched the keynote announcement at Adobe MAX, have you? I watched the Tom Hogarty session on Scott's Grid, have you? I've read Winston's answers on PDReview, have you? I've read the web statement Adobe posted, have you?
Or, are you getting your information second hand from various media outlets? You realize the media is like a shark when there's blood in the water, right? Their job is to "inform" but they generally do more inciting than informing.
Yes, this is a hot button topic with a lot of hysterics involved...but the amount of misinformation out there is staggering. Yes, when asked, many/most users hate the changes and are not shy about telling people/media about their opinions.
Normally I tend to shy away from talking about politics (it's a no win debate) but let me draw an analogy from politics regarding this situation...politics these days is no longer collegial, it's confrontational. Between 24hr news channels, talk radio, the left and right bloggers and the pressure on politicians to adhere to the party lines, nothing, it seems can get done in Washington. Reasonable people can't seem to have reasonable debate about the important topics of the day.
The line is drawn and anybody not on your side of the line is an evil villain (and it doesn't matter what side of the line you are on, you are just on the wrong side of the line).
The other thread "
Adobe diverging Creative Cloud and Standard versions" is a prime example...anybody who dares to take Adobe's side is evil incarnate...and the anti-CC crowd keeps egging each other on until they are frothing at the mouth and any reasonable discourse is impossible.
Adobe was prepared for this onslaught...I had a 2.5 hrs call with Winston and outlined all the issues that the photographic industry would push back on. I warned them that photographers really don't understand copyright law, don't understand license agreements , don't really want any change...even if the change may end up being good.
Adobe is painfully aware that what they are doing is/will be unpopular for a segment of the industry. For pros, it ain't no big thing, just a different way of looking at things and accounting for the cost of doing business. Yes, they aren't "happy" with having what amounts to a price increase, but it won't drive them away from Adobe because, well for pro applications in digital imaging, graphic arts, design, web and video, Adobe is the 800lbs gorilla. In a production environment, you use pro tools to get the job done. Will CC offer some additional functionality that enhances team collaboration and production? Well, yeah...Adobe demoed a lot of that at Adobe MAX. Pretty cool stuff. Remote employment is a reality these days with projects being worked on on a global basis. Having a project plugged in on a cloud environment designed for professionals is pretty compelling....
And if any of you fail to remember, Adobe is a company that excels at one thing, designing professional applications for use by professionals. That's what they are good at, really good at (and about all they are good at). Look at the markets Adobe "owns": graphic design with Illustrator and InDesign, digital imaging and graphic arts and prepress with Photoshop, web design with Dreamweaver. The one market Adobe doesn't own outright is digital video because Apple's Final Cut Pro has a large segment of the market. Adobe knows pros ad what they need/want and a long track record of delivering.
So, Adobe's decision to go to a subscription model for their pro apps was designed and intended for their pro markets which makes up the vast majority of Adobe's customers-and it ain't just corporations and governments (although that is a core market) it's all the small design and production studios out there doing this stuff professionally–and there are a lot of small houses out there!
Photographers might not like it, but photographers make up a very small % of the overall user base for all the pro apps with the exception of Lightroom that, as far as I know, is used almost only by photographers. And Lightroom is the only Adobe pro app that hasn't gone CC (even though it's part of the CC eccosphere as well as still a perpetual license. (wait, did I just give you all a clue?)
Has Adobe done a poor job of messaging their CC initiative? To the pro markets, not really...the pros are starting to get it...a monthly nut and they get all the apps they need and free new upgrades with new features as long as they stay subscribed...yes, there's an effective price increase–which is a pittance to the total cost of operating. Now it's up to Adobe to come through on the promise of more frequent upgrades with new features which is one of the main motivations to going all subscription.
Has Adobe done a poor job of messaging their CC initiative to non-pros? Well, yeah...Adobe really doesn't know how to deal with non-pro customers. Adobe doesn't do very well with non-pro applications, they've never been very successful selling consumer products. They don't understand the non-pro market because, well to Adobe, it's a small minority of the potential user base. Do they ignore the non-pro markets on purpose? Nope...but they are just not really good ant communicating to the non-pro markets because, well they don't have a lot of expertise and experience because, well Adobe is a company that makes pro-level apps.
Did Adobe do the CC initiative purely to piss people off? Nope...they new people were gonna be pissed. They were warned by many (myself included). They knew they would be castigated by the press and the vocal non-pro market. They did it anyway because they (Adobe) honestly believes tat this is the best way of addressing their core market, professional now and in the future. I tend to agree with the decision–even if that is across party lines and I'm attacked from the "other side". Ya know what? I don't care...I say what I think and don't care what people think of me. I really, really don't. I call it as I see it and perfectly happy to live with the consequences...It would be a lot easier to just toe the party line and join with the "Adobe Haters Club". Since I've got good inside info and I know where the bodies are buried, I could do Adobe a lot of damage. But I don't because, well I've got a lot of friends who work with Adobe and I know Adobe really and truly tries to do what they think the right thing is to do. But heh, nobody is right all the time. Maybe Adobe has screwed the pooch big time...time will tell.
What they did was actually very brave...it took a lot of guts for Adobe to do what they believed was the right thing to do for Adobe and the pro marketplace. I respect them for being able to do the hard thing, draw a line in the sand and say, this is what we believe and we are gonna do what we believe regardless of how loud the opponents become.
I get that non-pros don't like the CC decision...I also get that the pros are on the fence with an attitude, prove to us that the CC will be useful and important and helps use get the job done and make more money–remember pro users are in the same boat as Adobe, it's a business and the bottom line is, well the bottom line. Pros don't work in design out of the goodness in their hearts, they do what they do to make a living–same as Adobe. That's the capitalist way.
If you are not a pro, not a capitalist in your use of Adobe software, well, let me just point something out that may not (will not) make you happy, Adobe doesn't make Photoshop for you...the fact that so many non-pros have bought Photoshop is not really Adobe's fault. It's not like they've ever really tried to go after the non-pro market. All of Adobe's marketing and advertising is directed towards the pros...because that's the market Adobe knows.
So, if you are a non-pro and are unhappy with Adobe's decision, vote with your wallets...look for an alternative...the upside of this situation is that small, innovative companies might look at the non-pro photo market and see opportunity. We might see new and interesting if not compelling new products in the marketplace. Personally, I think this is a pretty cool opportunity and may be exactly what the industry (if not Adobe) needs. Competition breads excellence...Adobe has given the small developer an opportunity to compete in a market that here to fore was totally owned by Adobe–which kept out a lot of potential players...it a bizarre and perverse manner perhaps, Adobe may have just done the non-pro photo industry a huge favor by relinquishing what to Adobe is a small segment of their markets, but for a small developer could be a huge boon.
The thing I would caution people about is make your judgements based on reality and facts, not the bullshyte that has been thrown out there by a bunch of people with anonymous screen names on the internet...
