RUMOR: Adobe may be revoking your right to use older versions of their CC apps

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I just saw this article linked on the Nikon Rumors FB page...

https://photorumors.com/2019/05/13/...-using-older-versions-of-creative-cloud-apps/

I have no idea how valid the rumor is, but I do know that I have at least 3 editions of the Photoshop CC app installed because newer releases either, 1) removed a tool I used frequently and/or more effectively than the substitute (like Refine Mask, how did they manage to screw that one up so badly), or 2) because newer versions will no longer run with filter software that I use occasionally (ON1, Nik, etc.), there are no work-around to get them to work on the latest editions, and I have no intention of buying the latest version just so it will run on it.

I'm rather pissed because one of the things Adobe made clear early on is that you can keep as many old versions around as you want, including CS6. Now I suspect they're getting pressure from other developers whose products work in concert with PsCC that they are not seeing the revenue expected when new versions are released to work with the latest Photoshop.

For me the good news is that I just won a DxO Instagram contest for drone photography and the prize was a free copy of PhotoLab 2 Elite. I was going to play with it and see how well it works, but I may now be taking a much closer look at it to see if I want to abandon Adobe for good. To be clear, the $11+ I pay a month (w tax) is not something I complain about. I get the idea of software as a service and I have no problem paying for a perpetual license when they continue to update it as they have. But when they make updates I do not want or that break prior versions I deserve the right to continue to use the version I paid for while I continue to pay the subscription price (I get why I would lose ALL versions if I unsubscribe). Between that and the trial balloon they floated that supposedly doubled the price of the subscription I'm going to get ready to leave.

That said, I haven't seen a whole lot of bitching about this, so I have to wonder if this could be a less than above-board attempt to scare away customers by trolls operating on behalf of a competitor (of which Adobe has many and not just with the CC).
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Thanks for the heads-up, Jake. I still use PCC, LR, and Bridge 2018 since I'm running Windows 7 on my laptop. Windows 7 doesn't support the latest Adobe version. Back when the Nik Collection was still owned by the original company, I paid the fee - somewhere around $149. Within a month they released it for free and refunded my purchase price. I'm still using the free version.

I can see where running older Adobe versions might pose problems like this, but these 3rd party add-ons shouldn't rely on having their software run via Adobe or any other companies.

I'm not familiar with the other software you mentioned. Please be sure to let us know how you like it.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
As I think more on this and read this again, "Please be aware that should you continue to use the discontinued version(s), you may be at risk of potential claims of infringement by third parties", I realize that it's likely DxO who is pushing this given their investment in the NiK collection. If they've made it such that it cannot run on the latest version of the CC app (I am not on the latest dot release and can still run the Google version) then this makes sense. I'm not upgrading until I get more information around this, but I tend not to update dot releases unless I'm having an issue with the version I'm on or the new version has a feature I really want/need.
 

Catherder

Senior Member
I cancelled my Adobe subscription a month or so ago. I've had the DXO software for a few years now and started using it more than Lightroom, I barely touched Photoshop at all, So why pay for something I'm not using. Then I bought a Fuji camera which didn't play well with Lightroom and isn't supported by DXO . so I tried the free version of Capture1 for Fuji. That worked really well so I downloaded the full version trial that works with all cameras and ended up buying that. So now my main software is Capture1, but I also use DXO Photolab, Affinity Photo and Topaz Studio's AI Clear.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
OK, so there's been a lot of information coming in around this and it has less to do with what I thought it might (compatibility between software releases) and more to do with 3rd party software, like Dolby Noise Reduction, that is integrated directly within the Adobe CC product set - software that has been legally licensed for use by Adobe under strict terms for a fixed period of time. To use the version of that software in an Adobe product after the terms of their agreement with Adobe is over constitutes an illegal use of the software, and that is what they're covering their asses over. Because while you have the legal right to use all the old Adobe stuff that you paid a subscription for you don't have the right to use the 3rd party stuff for which a license agreement has expired.

I suspect this will impact graphic artists and video folks more significantly than photographers. For me, I keep the old stuff around in case there's a step that I can do more effectively with a tool that is either no longer available in the current version of Photoshop, or with an old piece of software that I am licensed to use but will no longer function with the current CC version. I see neither of these cases as violations, and given that I will likely be starting and ending whatever I am doing on the photo (or maybe video) in the latest version I suspect there's no way for anyone to know. So as long as Adobe doesn't mandate the removal of the software from my machine (which it doesn't seem they will do) then at least I'm OK with it.
 
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