I’ve always thought the idea of really expensive software was a bit ridiculous. Nobody pirates software that costs $100. You just buy it. I can’t tell you how many times I found a piece of software that jut worked and thought, “Only 65 bucks? I can’t click the buy button fast enough.”
Of course, usually that is software that does one thing, and typically does it very well. Chronosync, for instance, is backup software for Mac that I have been using for years now. Every time they come out with a new version, I get it for free. I think the initial investment was $30, and it just plain works. It’s currently my main backup system, over but redundant to Apple’s Time Machine.
I’ve often lamented the high-priced “seat” model of software, such as Apple’s Pro line or Adobe’s Creative Suite. In a way, these software packages seem to price themselves out of everyone’s budget, or at least are cost prohibitive enough that many people look only for a pirated solution. Of the freelance creative professionals I know, about half of them actually bought their Creative Suite licenses. (I, of course, am one of them.)
Apple released their latest “Pro” (which seems to stand for “prosumer” at this point) line of software starting with Final Cut X, priced at $299 in June of 2011. At the time, it seemed a great move for software pricing in general. However, the lack of really “Pro” features (at first) seemed to take the shine off the armor. Three hundred bucks started to seem like just the right price for something that really wasn’t for the Professional set.
Adobe seems to be taking another, and very interesting, angle: the subscription model, with Creative Cloud.
Adobe® Creative Cloud™ is a creative hub where you can explore, create, publish, and share your work using Adobe Creative Suite® desktop applications, Adobe Touch Apps, and services together for a complete ideation-to-publishing experience.
What does that mean? Well, it means that (if I’m reading this correctly), you get all of Adobe’s suite of software – every freakin’ thing, including Touch apps for iOS/Android and Cloud Services, as well as the Creative Suite – upon release and totally included for one subscription price of…
…wait for it…
$49/month. Now, this seems like a great deal, doesn’t it. And it is. But don’t fool yourself into thinking this is a cheap solution. It ends up being about the same as a Master Suite upgrade price over the same period of time. Now, before you moan, consider that I said upgrade price – not including the initial bazillion-dollar buy in.
So, for about $600 a year, you get everything that Adobe has to offer. And, since I seem to be using Adobe software more than other company’s stuff that I used to <cough>Apple Final Cut</cough> it’s a great deal.
I guess this is a kind of paypack for the killing of Flash. Apple, your serve.