Adobe ‘trapped customers’ into subscriptions, FTC says in lawsuit

[Kuma5]

My POV is that adapting to the times one has the choice about conforming to all the user agreements and willingness to pay. If one doesn't then the options on what is acceptable becomes the main point of comfort. I don't want the monthly expense so I use ON1 and LR6. For certain text effects PS Elements V12 or such on the finished JPG or TIF files. The other part is I'm not on that constant hardware update due to bloatware.

I'll get stuck since the rigs are not Win 11 capable. At some point I'll be forced into buying new hardware once Win 10 support ends.

 

[OhLook]

Quick search brings up a site with 18 alternatives. One can argue how good some are, but there are many out there.

18+ Best Adobe Photoshop Alternatives (Free & Paid) 2024

Adobe Photoshop is one of the best editing programs but not everyone's preference. See our list of the best Photoshop alternatives for more options.

justcreative.com

1. Luminar AI — The best Photoshop AI alternative
2. Affinity Photo — One of the most powerful Photoshop alternatives
3. Canva — The best free Photoshop alternative online
4. Paint.NET — Best Software for Digital Photo Editing
5. CorelDRAW — A powerful Photoshop alternative for vectors + rastor
6. Procreate — The best alternative for digital illustration
7. GIMP — A free Photoshop alternative with a similar UI
8. Sketch — The best professional Photoshop alternative
9. Pixelmator Pro — The best alternative for photos
10. Fotor — The best alternative for quick lighting fixes
11. Photopea — A browser-based alternative
12. Pixlr X — An alternative for drag-and-drop interfaces
13. Inpixio Photo Studio — A user-friendly alternative
14. Design Wizard — An advertising and social media design alternative
15. Rebelle 4 — A great software for replicating painting techniques
16. Krita — One of the most robust design and editing software
17. PhotoDirector 365 — An AI alternative for photographers and editors
18. Artrage — A Photoshop alternative for creating artwork

Yes, there's competition. I didn't mean there were no alternatives. But the fact that this 18-item list is called Best Adobe Photoshop Alternatives reinforces Adobe's status as the biggest and best-known player in the market. A lot of those 18 items are described as made for specific uses, not general like Photoshop.

Where I am sitting now, there is one internet provider. It charges nearly double what is charged in some communities in this state that have multiple ISPs.

That's too bad. You're in an Internet desert! Being in an urban area where ISPs advertise, I didn't know there were local monopolies.

 

[Capn Jack]

Where I am sitting now, there is one internet provider. It charges nearly double what is charged in some communities in this state that have multiple ISPs.

I'm guessing the local township treats ISP like electrical or phone and grants a monopoly? Have you considered a phone plan? Those were terrible until recently, but depending on your needs, work well now. I needed to use my phone as a hotspot for a zoom meeting (in California) it worked very well! I'd consider using an internet plan from a cell phone company if I were in your situation.

 

[Capn Jack]

Quick search brings up a site with 18 alternatives. One can argue how good some are, but there are many out there.

18+ Best Adobe Photoshop Alternatives (Free & Paid) 2024

Adobe Photoshop is one of the best editing programs but not everyone's preference. See our list of the best Photoshop alternatives for more options.

justcreative.com

1. Luminar AI — The best Photoshop AI alternative
2. Affinity Photo — One of the most powerful Photoshop alternatives
3. Canva — The best free Photoshop alternative online
4. Paint.NET — Best Software for Digital Photo Editing
5. CorelDRAW — A powerful Photoshop alternative for vectors + rastor
6. Procreate — The best alternative for digital illustration
7. GIMP — A free Photoshop alternative with a similar UI
8. Sketch — The best professional Photoshop alternative
9. Pixelmator Pro — The best alternative for photos
10. Fotor — The best alternative for quick lighting fixes
11. Photopea — A browser-based alternative
12. Pixlr X — An alternative for drag-and-drop interfaces
13. Inpixio Photo Studio — A user-friendly alternative
14. Design Wizard — An advertising and social media design alternative
15. Rebelle 4 — A great software for replicating painting techniques
16. Krita — One of the most robust design and editing software
17. PhotoDirector 365 — An AI alternative for photographers and editors
18. Artrage — A Photoshop alternative for creating artwork

As a new person, try getting training on the alternatives. our local community college teaches Adobe products. Most tutorials (books, on-line) use Adobe products

I use GIMP at work and it doesn't have "a similar UI". It's powerful software, but you need to know what they name the equivalent function in Adobe.

Not that this reflects on how well the software works, but "Procreate" has another meaning to me: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dic...xt=: to beget or bring forth,ˌprō-krē-ˈā-shən

 

[Greyswan]

My new word for the day!

 

[hollywood1053]

If a person buys into this subscription plan and say, in a year, gets out of the photo 'hobby' and just stops paying subscriptions, can they still use the software?

 

[Capn Jack]

If a person buys into this subscription plan and say, in a year, gets out of the photo 'hobby' and just stops paying subscriptions, can they still use the software?

Which software? Assuming Adobe, no. It will stop after some time.

 

[SkedAddled]

Which software? Assuming Adobe, no. It will stop after some time.

Which is why I've stayed with PS6.
Sure, it can be considered fairly old at this point, but I can continue to use it.
Also, there's a plugin which is updated frequently, which allows me to use my 5D MkIV files
without jumping through hoops.

 

[hollywood1053]

Also, there's a plugin which is updated frequently, which allows me to use my 5D MkIV files
without jumping through hoops.

Thanks for the link.
At the download page, the MetaRaw.exe says it's only available as a 14 day trial.
Is this the case?

 

[SkedAddled]

Thanks for the link.
At the download page, the MetaRaw.exe says it's only available as a 14 day trial.
Is this the case?

I purchased it some years ago, so that must be the trial download offer.

It's not an expensive purchase, and includes lifetime updates
(or at least as long as the developer continues with it).
I've received three notices about updates since my purchase,
and I don't believe I paid any more than 25 USD for it.
It is offered at discounts from time to time.

The developer, Harald Heim, is responsive to correspondence.

 

[Joeseph]

On their order page the MetaRaw is listed at $49.95 - I might have a look at that because having to convert R5 raw files using Adobe Raw is a bit tedious

The Plugin Site - Order

The Plugin Site - Photoshop plugins, Photoshop Elements plugins, Lightroom plugins, free plugins

www.thepluginsite.com

 

[SkedAddled]

On their order page the MetaRaw is listed at $49.95 - I might have a look at that because having to convert R5 raw files using Adobe Raw is a bit tedious

The Plugin Site - Order

The Plugin Site - Photoshop plugins, Photoshop Elements plugins, Lightroom plugins, free plugins

www.thepluginsite.com

Watch the website for sale offers; maybe a mailing-list is an option.
Harald does put discounts on everything from time to time.

The only caveat for me is that it doesn't enable thumbnail views in Adobe Bridge.
But it's easy enough to get a preview on double-click, which is displayed before
you select to send the file to Adobe RAW. It's a minor inconvenience, but works for me.

 

[hollywood1053]

Ah, OK..
Bad assumption on my part thinking these updates were covered.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Wilt]

Yes, there's competition. I didn't mean there were no alternatives....You're in an Internet desert! Being in an urban area where ISPs advertise, I didn't know there were local monopolies.

Sometimes where in a metropolitan area there SEEM to be choices, the reality for single Zipcode or address there ARE no alternatives to choose from.
For a decade there was no alternative internet provider (in fact, at the time they did not even have DSL, which was finally added about 15 years ago), then our cable TV company finally added internet so we had two choices during the past decade. Just in the past year a third alternative became available. BTW, we are not out 'in the boondocks'...Oracle world headquarters is about two miles away.

 

[Capn Jack]

Oracle world headquarters is about two miles away.

You live in Austin, Texas? Oracle moved its headquarters there in 2020.

Just in the past year a third alternative became available.

Assuming you are confused about Oracle, I was in Foster city about 3 years ago and I was going to be late for a Zoom meeting. I parked at a lot near the Bay Trail across from Gilead, and used my phone 5G as a hotspot for my computer. It was very capable, it handled video well. It makes a good internet connection. So you actually have at least 4 options now- I'm sure there are multiple 5G providers. I got DSL in NJ in 2005, it was still fairly new than. Getting it in 2009 isn't terrible. Now even Nebraska has fiber optic in many places.

 

[SkedAddled]

DSL is now considered bygone technology.
Cable and fiber has supplanted it in all but remote regions,
while remote regions fare poorly for DSL service.

Said remote regions are better-served with 5G or satellite service,
as DSL degrades as you go further across the copper line of connectivity.

 

[Capn Jack]

DSL is now considered bygone technology.
Cable and fiber has supplanted it in all but remote regions,
while remote regions fare poorly for DSL service.

Said remote regions are better-served with 5G or satellite service,
as DSL degrades as you go further across the copper line of connectivity.

There is a lot of overlap in cable and DSL speeds. About 2 years ago, we got upgraded from 100 to 500 mips for our fiber service. I didn't see much difference because we don't have many devices connected. Which satellite service? HughesNet tops off at 100 mips while Starlink is maybe about twice as fast. 5G is roughly comparable to cable internet in speed. DSL is on the slower side of the range, but it is still very capable and available.
DSL is good enough for, say, Netflix.

Best Wired Internet: DSL, Cable or Fiber? | BroadbandNow.com

With our comprehensive guide, learn the difference between DSL, cable and fiber internet before deciding which wired connection type meets your needs.

broadbandnow.com

 

[Wilt]

DSL is now considered bygone technology.
Cable and fiber has supplanted it in all but remote regions,
while remote regions fare poorly for DSL service.

Said remote regions are better-served with 5G or satellite service,
as DSL degrades as you go further across the copper line of connectivity.

I was not posing DSL as a good service (by today's standard of performance), I merely stated that in my home 2 miles from Oracle world headquarters, I could not even get DSL, then same vendor (AT&T) finally added DSL, then Xfinity fiber finally came around to offer internet via their network via optic cable a few years before COVID (previously not available via coax cable), and last year I could finally get Sonic fiber optic at my address although they had been advertising in my area even earlier....an evolution taking 20+ years, livingf 2 miles from Oracle. Verizon home internet is still not available to me.

 

[Capn Jack]

Verizon home internet is still not available to me.

Verizon Home Internet is Fios, 5G, and LTE. As a Verizon phone received 5G several years ago in the Foster City area, I'm pretty sure you can get this service now. The 5G service is little more than a 5G modem, like those in a phone, connected to a WiFi hub. If you have unlimited Verizon data and a recent phone, you can put your phone in a window, set it up as a WiFi hotspot, and get similar service. I do this sometimes if a hotel WiFi goes down. It works for AT&T too!

 

[tony-s]

Last Adobe product I bought was PS5. Now I use DxO Photo Lab for 90% of my image editing plus Affinity Photo and the Nik plugins for the rest. No interest in subscriptions.

One annoying thing that popped up a couple of weeks ago after my LG “smart” TV updated its firmware is that it now plays a video commercial every time it gets turned on. Fortunately no audio, but I imagine that will come soon enough.