Adobe Retreats from Bluesky After Massive User Backlash (petapixel.com)
- Reference: 0177005425
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/12/026211/adobe-retreats-from-bluesky-after-massive-user-backlash
- Source link: https://petapixel.com/2025/04/10/adobe-deletes-bluesky-posts-after-furious-backlash/
"Y'all keep raising your prices for a product that keeps getting worse," wrote one user, while another referenced Adobe's "subscription model" with "I assume you'll be charging us monthly to read your posts." Recent price hikes have been substantial, with one commenter reporting a 53.88% increase from CDN$14.68 to CDN$22.59 monthly.
[1] https://petapixel.com/2025/04/10/adobe-deletes-bluesky-posts-after-furious-backlash/
Adobe Alternatives (Score:5, Informative)
[1]Some alternatives for Adobe Software in a GitHub ReadMe. [github.com] Start exploring alternatives or stop bitching. Once that cat is out of the bag there's no going back.
Sure, it's insincere corporate bullshit, but I don't think that warranted that reply. I pay individually for a monthly CC subscription, it's the ONLY subscription I have to ANY software, and I use it a lot so I feel it's actually worth it in my case. But for me it's a freelance business write off, and I understand not being able to afford it, I've been there.
On the other hand, people don't remember how much the individual standalone software pieces cost. Maybe $600 a piece for the big ones. With CC you can use anything you want at any time, even if you just need it for one project. The buy-once-use-forever concept works great if you plan on skipping a lot of versions, which I used to do. The upgade price was also lower than the full price.
As it stands right now, I feel I'm getting my money out of the subscription, I use Lightroom, Photoshop and Illustrator quite a bit, plus Media Encoder and a few others occasionally like InDesign. It would be nice if they had a pick-your-own-subscription, where the cost increments individually depending on what software you need to use. Most specialty media arts professions only need to use a few pieces of software out of the very large selection you get with a full CC subscription. They do have a photographer's special with Lightroom and Photoshop, but I also frequently use Illustrator so it's no good for me.
There is also a problem of re-training - I've been using Photoshop since the mid-1990s. That level of familiarity is hard to re-learn on a new piece of software when you've been at it that long and you're very comfortable at it as an expert. There is a cost for re-training in lost time if you're using it for business.
There is a lonnnnng animated video on YouTube which I can't currently find which goes over the history of consolidation and mergers in graphic arts and 3D software combined with subscription based models that points out how much it screws over small time creatives. If someone else knows where to find it please post a link. It mostly deals with Autodesk and Adobe. It's a little over the top and asks for things that those companies will never give, but it has some valid points.
[1] https://github.com/KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
Re: (Score:2)
It's more possible that there isn't really a practical alternative. I've found the whiners tend to whine the loudest when they really don't have a good alternative (see: Windows, I guess?). Which isn't their fault, but also it's not up to Adobe to change.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think one should underestimate the cost of retraining. People get good at using a particular program. While they could also get good at another program, they might suffer, say, a 10% loss in efficiency for a year or two... that adds up to a lot.
There is also often a requirement to hand off work to another. That handoff also has to be efficient. If you're using a program that is 95% compatible, maybe 5% of the time you'll have problem handing off the work to the person still using the old program...
Re: (Score:1)
i mean its the same for all those on windows 11.
Re: (Score:2)
Came to say basically *this*, but you've seriously upped the ante with that great list.
Bookmarking right away, thanks.
Re: (Score:1)
was going to say the same thing people need to just get away from adobe. plenty of free and paid options out there.
Blueski shits the bed (Score:1)
Serves Adobe right, trying to peddle their apples in an asylum. What were they thinking?
Adobe ... (Score:2)
I ditched Adobe for Affinity Photo. Industry insiders tell me that it is no substitute for Adobe Photoshop and that there cannot be a substitute for Adobe because Adobe is an 'industry standard'. That may be true (in their minds), but so is the fact that this is what happens when you allow monopoly to be created and if you never give the monopolist's competitors any business you are actively encouraging and nurturing the growth of the monopoly.
Re: (Score:1)
thats a bunch of people just to lazy to learn so they use words like that to cover there own laziness.
Not surprised (Score:5, Insightful)
Adobe trying to "solve" the problem of pissed off customers by sticking fingers in its ears and going la-la-la.
Customers are rightly pissed. Just in general I.T. terms I think software as a subscription service is a Bad Thing. Forcing it on customers is worse.
Buuut, until the creative types and the I.T. guys that support them pull a mass defection to other software suites, nothing's going to happen. The money machine going brrr is louder than customer's complaints.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd say they probably do well with the 30/70 rule. It's not near being replaced in the professional world. But as a piece of software that was oft pirated back in the days and was also pretty affordable for the prosumer set .. I get the wave of negativity. Will they get replaced? I'm not convinced. Autodesk has similar questions to deal with, but they do have competition which I've seen making inroads in the spaces I work in, in Blender. Photoshop? If you work somewhere which pays for you platform, I don't
Re: (Score:2)
I've been using Adobe apps in one way or another since the late 90s. I started out with Photoshop version 4, Macromedia Freehand and Quark XPress and as the competition died out, shifted my workflow over to pretty much all Adobe.
I've recently taken a stance and I'm trying to shift myself away from using anything Adobe related – the one thing of Adobe's I will still continue to use is the free Acrobat Reader app as there are still some PDFs that require an Adobe app to open them in.
While it's not ever
Re: (Score:1)
> Autodesk has similar questions to deal with
Autodesk, scumbags. They absolutely love having captured markets on subscription plans, and have a nasty habit of removing features from free/lower price tiers to encourage people to upgrade to pricier plans. Or buying makers of free/cheaper altenatives only to close them up a year or two later. (I've mainly been affected by their photogrammetry acquisitions, but they've eaten about 50 CAD and structural analysis/engineering companies since 1994.)
I truly wish OS co
Re: (Score:2)
I moved to the Affinity suite, and for the core apps I used of Adobe, Illustrator and Photoshop, affinity works just fine. Better than fine actually, theres some things I actually prefer. And so far I havent come across many files I cant open with the combination of those two and affinity publisher. Combine that with Canva (which are the parent company) and its pretty much a full service suite.
Oh it doesnt have AI, but if I ever come up with a responsible usecase for AI imagery I'm sure I'll look for that o
Re: (Score:2)
> "Buuut, until the creative types and the I.T. guys that support them pull a mass defection to other software suites, nothing's going to happen."
^^This
There are plenty of alternatives, many that are free and open source. Some are just as good, others almost as good, and others are behind but adequate. All would require the user to change something. But many users would rather howl at the moon rather than adjust their expectations or workflows. This also goes for the countless millions who continue to