I think the team option that they've announced, but not really detailed yet may be a good option for teams (depending on how many seats that subscription plan allows), but I otherwise see the cloud subscription plan as a "mandatory upgrade" plan.

I generally skip at least 1 full version of any software, and haven't upgraded since CS3. It may not be desirable for the software developer, but for the user, there's really no rationale to upgrade if the newer version doesn't have any features that benefit me.

On top of the that, if you ever stop subscribing, you also won't be able to use any of the software any longer, even if you've been a subscriber for 3+ years and paid $2000+. I paid once for CS3 and I can use it for as long as I want.

I am likely wrong, but this subscription service sounds like having shareware permanently installed on one's computer, that can be unlocked for a bit by paying a fee. Of course, I say shareware because once inactive (for lack of payment) it would stay dormant on the user's computer to avoid re-downloading X or Y package when is needed once again.

<tinfoil hat>I agree with Jive, this business model makes perfect sense for the vendor to generate a lot more income for themselves (think about leasing a new car VS buying an older vehicle). And of course, the perceived benefits and wonders of this model are but carefully crafted lies by the vendor so that we think this is all done on the consumer's best interests.</tinfoil hat>

@5thwall, from what I understand the online license check only occurs once per month - so if you're away from the internet for a while you can still run the CS6 apps without a connection.

@5thwall, hopefully it has a way of doing a check whenever it detects internet - not as a mandatory pass/fail check, but just to keep pushing the 30 day window back. So you would always be a month out from needing to renew the lease from whenever you last had internet. In theory, just speculating.

I'm going to Adobe today. If you have any Q's on this, i'll try to ask and get some answers.

@V: I don't think this is a good idea either. I'm mainly looking at it as a sole proprietor/indie developer. It may be even more complicated if you have a bigger company. I didn't have a good feeling after the meeting. If you already have CS3 or above, its 29.99 intro rate for year. The regular rate is $49.99/1yr commitment. Regular month to month is $74.99. There were scenarios that weren't clearly answered. Say you want to join. So its 24.99/mo for a year. Then let's say you want to quit. Then 6 months later, you want to rejoin. What was mentioned was a rolling-over thing. It wasn't so clear-cut. So, if anyone is considering this, make sure you ask Q's and think about any situations that may come up for you before committing. Sounds too AT&T/Comcast and renting. Don't think there are any issues with permanent license but i'm only impressed with AE with this upgrade.

I just order this and went live this morning. I was able to get Education discount because I work at a school. They charge you tax so it was $33 a month. All in all, so far so good. Heck, buying Premiere and AE alone would cost more than the full yearly subscription.

If you can get the student/teacher pricing, go for it. Most people have a friend or relative that's a student or teacher, you can use your own email to set it up, you just have to know their school info and have a ID or pay stub you can scan and upload.

So far so good, but I haven't used Adobe Premiere for 5 years since I stopped getting it "free", and bought Sony Vegas Studio(best I could afford at the time), so I'm learning from scratch. $33 a month to use every Adobe product is a good deal, though only catch is if you cancel you get charged half the year fee.