Newsletter Archives

• Adobe doubles down on subscriptions

  Posted on December 9, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.50 • 2024-12-09

  SOFTWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Adobe converted its Elements line into subscription products, while at the same time claiming it hadn’t.

  For 20 years, Adobe sold Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, along with the Adobe Organizer, as economical and perpetual-license versions of its mainstream products, Photoshop and Premiere. Even after Adobe moved those mainstream products into subscriptions — moving from Creative Suite to Creative Cloud — the Elements line remained perpetual.

  Around Thanksgiving, Adobe began aggressively promoting the 2025 version of both Elements products, either individually or in a bundle. But this time, the license terms changed. And Adobe was a bit sneaky about it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.50.0, 2024-12-09).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Software Adobe, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premiere Elements, Corel PaintShop Pro, Corel VideoStudio Pro, Newsletters, Subscription model

• The software subscription model

  Posted on June 10, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Will Fastie

  My data is being held hostage.

  A recent email from TechSmith, the maker of Camtasia and Snagit, rubbed me the wrong way. This came on the heels of an annoying experience trying to activate Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3, from 2006) on my newest computer. I admit to knowing, in advance, that I would be annoyed.

  I then started thinking about software subscription plans and their pros and cons.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.24.0, 2024-06-10).

  Commentary Adobe, Camtasia, Creative Cloud, Creative Suite, JetBrains, Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, Office, Snagit, Software, Software Subscriptions, Subscriptions, TechSmith

• Windows 11’s unique bug

  Posted on August 15, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, it invariably introduces new bugs as a side effect.

  KB5016629 includes a fix for a server message-block (file-sharing) bug that is unique to Windows 11. In a peer-to-peer network, an attacker could trick you by using web-based sharing links such as Azure or other data centers. Windows 10 and earlier are not affected.

  This month’s Windows 11 updates also include fixes for issues where File Explorer fails to work when you use the Star menu’s context menu and an external monitor, or when you use the Play and Pause keyboard buttons.

  Not to be outdone, the Windows 10 security update this month, KB5016616, includes fixes for an issue that affects printing. Let’s hope it fixes those problems we’ve been seeing with USB-based printers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.33.0, 2022-08-15).

  Patch Watch Adobe, Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Print Spooler vulnerabilities, Windows, Windows 11

• Secret Photoshop feature won’t open images with certain filenames

  Posted on April 4, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  An undocumented feature of Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and related programs makes the applications open but fail to load an image — and the apps then close abruptly — if you launch the apps using a filename with specific characters, according to numerous licensed users.

  This weird behavior, which is either an inadvertent bug or a deliberate Easter egg programmed in by some Adobe developer, can be seen on releases of the software all the way back to Photoshop version 5 (1998) and through Photoshop 23.2.2.325, which is the current version in Adobe’s Creative Cloud 2022.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.14.0, 2022-04-04).

  Public Defender Adobe, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Newsletters, Public Defender

• Adobe license revoked … Hello, Updated Terms

  Posted on May 8, 2020 at 15:21 CDT by Kirsty • Comment in the Forums

  Yesterday, while busy working in Adobe Acrobat Pro (as part of Creative Suite 6), I had an unwelcome pop-up appear while I was in a hurry, telling me that my license had been revoked, and that to continue working on the document that my client was waiting for, I had to re-enter the software’s license number.

  This isn’t a cloud product with a dreaded monthly fee, but one of those where I paid a pretty penny for the software in advance, and don’t owe the company to be able to use it after that purchase.

  Finding the license number slowed me down a little. Then when I entered it, I was advised that a log-in was required or I would be in demo mode for up to 7 days, when it would again fail. I had to waste more time searching out the log in details, and in that log-in process, I received a screen headed Updated Terms – accept or else. I was rushing, and flustered. You can imagine how much time I had to read screeds of legalese.

  Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve had an issue with Adobe needing to have the license number reinstalled to take me out of demo mode for a paid suite, usually at an equally inconvenient moment. But I did wonder if I was the only one getting a license revoked pop up now.

  A little searching led me to find:

  Adobe General Terms of Use

  Published March 16, 2020. Effective as of April 16, 2020. These Terms replace and supersede all prior versions.

  THE MANDATORY ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN SECTION 14 (DISPUTE RESOLUTION) BELOW GOVERN THE RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES. PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE MANDATORY ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN THE TERMS, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SERVICES OR SOFTWARE.

  Yes, I have been using the product since April 16th. So why now?! Have you seen this?

  If you’d like to read the new terms, you can find them here

  Other Adobe, Adobe Acrobat, Terms of Service

• Adobe: 64% of American computer owners say they apply updates immediately

  Posted on July 21, 2017 at 10:27 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Adobe just posted the results of their survey of 2,000 American adults. The summary is a bit different from the details, but here are the questions and answers that caught my eye:

  Q: Do you typically update the software on your computer when new updates are released?

  A: 64% said yes, 30% said “it varies” and only 4% said they don’t. Note that there’s no response available for “I apply updates but not when the manufacturer pushes them out.”

  Q: How do you typically update your software?

  A: 41% say they typically choose to be prompted when updates are available. 34% say that, when the software has the option to install updates automatically, they choose that option. 3% say they didn’t know there was more than one way to update software.

  Interesting report.

   

  Windows Patches/Security Adobe, Automatic Update

• Microsoft plus Adobe: do the math

  Posted on October 14, 2010 at 20:02 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I have a fun post on Infoworld Tech Watch, for those of you gullible enough to fall for the Microsoft + Adobe rumors.

  Microsoft News Adobe, Microsoft

• Microsoft plus Adobe: Do the math

  Posted on October 8, 2010 at 21:49 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Will Microsoft swallow Adobe? There are some efficiencies of scale.

  Strap on your hip boots and mosey over to my Infoworld Tech Watch blog.

  Other Adobe, Microsoft
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