More and more apps are moving from pay-once pricing to a subscription model. It may be necessary for developers, and it may result in better software for users, but that doesn’t mean everyone likes it.
Adobe has announced its new suite of creative applications, but this time there’s something new that affects them all: Creative Cloud, a subscription service that makes it possible to use the Creative Suite for as little as $50 per month.
Adobe is leaving the boxed software game for a subscription-only model. Will it be good or bad for customers?
Creative Cloud may be the way Adobe sees the future, but lots of people don’t like it. Adam Engst and Josh Centers outline some of the problems with Creative Cloud, with suggestions on both how Adobe could solve them and how you can register your opinions.
Adobe has heard the complaints about the subscription-only Creative Cloud, and says it will address them. Josh Centers has the details.
TextExpander, the text expansion utility from Smile, has added support for sharing snippets among a team, as well as a new Web site for managing your snippets. However, the utility now requires a monthly subscription fee.
In response to customer feedback, Smile has adjusted its approach with TextExpander, promising to maintain the standalone versions of the text-expansion utility and lowering the price of the individual subscription plan.
AgileBits has announced an optional new service: individual subscriptions to its 1Password password manager. The new service joins the company’s 1Password Families and 1Password Teams services, but does not replace standalone purchases of the 1Password apps for the Mac and iOS.
Even if you’re leery of software subscriptions, Adam Engst explains why the multi-app Setapp service could be a good deal for both users and developers.
A year ago, Smile made TextExpander a subscription service, causing much hubbub in the Apple community. How has that worked out for the company?
MacPaw’s Setapp subscription service, which provides access to 77 Mac apps for $9.99 per month, has gained an AI-based recommendation engine. Adam Engst took the opportunity to check in on how Setapp is doing, both overall and for participating developers.
A news report referring to AgileBits’s aggressive shift to subscription-based licensing for 1Password overstates a requirement to store passwords at its 1Password.com site.