Your future lies in the clouds, people. More specifically, Adobe’s Creative Cloud system. Though a move rumored to be in the works for some time, the company quietly confirmed recently that it will be doing away with providing its software on disc, presumably to nudge us into using Creative Cloud. InDesign enthusiast Bob Levine was one of the first to spot Adobe’s confirmation – two sentences stealthily added to its Creative Suite FAQ:
“Why is Adobe discontinuing
boxed copies of Creative Suite?
As Adobe continues to focus on delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment, we will be phasing out shrink-wrapped, boxed versions of Creative Suite. Electronic downloads for Creative Suite products will continue to be available – as they are today – from both Adobe.com, as well as reseller and retail partners.”
Levine doesn’t believe this means an end to perpetual licenses (one-time payment for the right to use your copy of Adobe products forever) right away, though he maintains that this is bound to happen at some point. As we watch most other forms of digital content moving in that direction– be it movies, music or ebooks – we are inclined to agree that it’s only a matter of time. What will we do for bookends when we no longer have those bulky Adobe boxes?
