Get ready to say goodbye to Adobe’s Creative Suite.
It’s the end of the road for the array of conventional boxed software applications previously available as individual programs like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, or InDesign, or packaged as targeted suites. Adobe announced today at the Max conference in Los Angeles that all future development for these products will be solely in Creative Cloud versions. There will be no new CS applications; for future updates you will have to commit to a subscription with Adobe.
It’s not like this is a total surprise, but it’s going to require some significant workflow adjustments for a lot of users. Internet connection speeds and usage capacities will become more important, and how best to work off the grid for any length of time has yet to be determined. Adobe’s not alone in this move; Microsoft (and others) are pushing application cloud subscription service relentlessly, and I suspect it won’t be long before other options are simply history.
Adobe has more detail here and here. Consider the options carefully as discounted plans will only be available through July.