Adobe Creative Cloud

I am thinking of trying Adobe CC but I already have Lightroom V6 and PS5.1 extended. The catch is I am seriously thinking of making the move from Windows 10 to Apple in the near future. My questions are:

 

1. Often go to very remote area and there is no internet what affect, if any, will this have on my ability to use CC software installed on a laptop?

2. If I start a trial but decide not to continue what happens to the software that I might have used such as PS/LR.

 

I am aware that I can use Windows 10 on a Mac but my real issue is that Windows 10 persistently gives me huge problems. For instance, last night I had to reset Win 10 again for the 3rd or 4th time and the drive is only a year or so old so sure the drive is ok having checked it.

 

Anyone's thoughts and experience would be appreciated.

You can use CC under Windows, OS X, or both, up to two computers for each subscription. If there are changes in your lineup and you're maxed out, you can remove one computer from your subscription and add another. You can also download CS6 versions, which may or may not require regular connection to the internet.

 

In any case, you only need to connect every two weeks or so. If you fail, programs still open as "trial" versions with a limited life. Make it a point to connect to CC before going out of range, and you probably won't have problems. Your data, e.g. Lightroom portfoliios, are not affected.

 

I have also found Adobe tech support very helpful if you need an exception or (possibly) and extension to your "out of range" time. When I switched to OS X nearly two years ago, I had no difficulty switching my Adobe CC subscription. I wish I could say the same about Microsoft products. I use a program called "Parallels" to set up Windows in a partition on my iMac. It works well, as long as you assign enough memory and disk space. You can access any NTFS drives connected to OS X, but other hardware is dicey.

 

I have a lot of hard drives which I share with a Windows machine, formatted in NtFS, using "NTFS for Mac." After upgrading to High Sierra (10.13), some programs (e.g., Steinberg Wavelab for Mac) may crash working with NTFS, but not with HFS discs.

Let me continue and compound: the subscription allows you to use two versions at the same time, one can be Mac, one Windows or two of the same. You can install on as many machines as you desire but only two can run at the same time. You use the subscriptions app ideally to log in and out. So obviously you'd need net service to do this. Otherwise, the product will 'phone home' once every 90 days or so, just to ensure you're the license user etc. Kind of unlikely this would happen on location and the software should try to communicate with home base before ceasing to operate until it activates the licenses. I'd take the laptop and log in to the servers (log on and off through CC) before going on location, you should be fine.

Trial (or ceasing subscription) on PS is different than LR. PS just stops working if you don't subscribe. But in LR, it runs with all modules EXCEPT Develop and Maps. So you don't lose your DAM, can still print etc, but you do lose the other two modules.

As a fellow Scot (albeit, living abroad) you will understand I am a wee bit loathed to part with money. However, I made the change to mac 5 years ago and changed from ps5 to cc. Two of the best decisions I made. Working in some of the deserts in the middle east for 2/3 weeks at a time can be very remote and I never encountered any problems. The subscription fee is a great investment and my thoughts are..... go for it. you will not regret it.

I'm still sticking with my independent, older versions of the Creative Suite.

 

However, as OSs are revised (in my case Mac OS), I will no longer be able to do that.

 

Adobe says "Resistance is futile", and I think that is true in the long-run.

 

It may be a really good idea to go with the subscription model anyhow, since that may give you some flexibility as you change to Mac.

 

[i believe you have chosen wisely, by the way. Although I have used Macs since 1984, I have spent years on various Windows and even some more exotic OSs, and I find it really liberating when I can return to my beloved Mac OS.]

Older versions are activated with Adobe. You can download many older versions from their website and work with technical support to re-install them on a new system, including Mac.

 

There comes a time when your only recourse to using Lightroom and Photoshop with new equipment requires an intermediary like Adobe DNG Converter (free). That gets to be a real PITA if your throughput is increasing at the rate many of us experience. Apple will no longer support 32 bit applications with the next OS-X. I feel your pain in that event, which is why I have a Win7 on hand, and a Win 98 machine that can be revived.

I'm still using Photoshop CS5 Extended under High Sierra on the 'cylinder' Mac Pro, but while it works, it doesn't work nearly so well as it used to under earlier OS versions.

A few of the NIK FX routines have also become increasingly flakey. Speed is not an issue, however.

 

I may well leave my present machine on High Sierra, but then I will eventually have to buy a new machine, but that may not happen unless they can produce another one so aesthetically pleasing as that graphite black, pulsating Mac Pro:rolleyes:

 

I have an older Mac that I can use with my original film scanners and software. I even can boot into Mac System 9 to geet to some XL routines that are no longer in the newer Office versions.

 

At some point, though, it just gets to be a PITA.

Update: Sorry folks for not geting back to your very helpful comments I really do appreciate your help. However, I recently had a major failure of Windows 10 whcih meant I had to completley uninstall Win 10, re install Win 7 (twice) before I was able to get a basic pc working. In the meantime I had to physically remove two HDD drives from my desktop to use in a docking station on the backup laptop. As you will appreciate, Microsoft are not a well respected name here in Scotland any more.

 

I will be moving to Mac, but in the meantime will have tp persevere with Win 7, which at least works, until I am able to buy the kit I need from Mac.

 

Ed may I ask about your statement "Older versions are activated with Adobe. You can download many older versions from their website and work with technical support to re-install them on a new system, including Mac.". Does this apply to PS5 initially licecnced for Windows?

 

My thanks again to everyone for taking the time to contribute to my learning curve.

It's been nearly a decade, but I was able to coordinate activating a new install with Adobe when I replaced a hard drive in a laptop. Decide what you would like to do and call their customer support. By the time I moved from Windows to Apple, I was already enrolled in Creative Cloud, so it was simply a matter of downloading the version I wanted, and transferring the license to a new computer via the internet (disable the old, activate the new).

 

For what it's worth, CS6 versions are currently available under Creative Cloud, and don't need to be activated AFIK. I use them for compatibility with older versions of Windows, and continued use of Encore (CD/DVD Authoring), which hasn't been updated to CC.

just be aware... its only a rental.

just be aware... its only a rental.

Maybe a lease?;)

You probably incorrectly believe you own your software. You own a license to use it after agreeing to a EULA you didn’t read.

Rent:

RENTAL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

Does this apply to PS5 initially licecnced for ?

CS5?

Technically there is activation for all Adobe CC products. Some believe that CS2 was “free” (no) after the old activation servers “died” as explained here:

Photoshop CS2 for free? | Adobe Community