That’s it in terms of applications and
apps, at least for now, but Adobe wants users to see Creative Cloud as far more
than just software. This is where the “digital hub” and cloud-based handling
come in, providing members with a range of supporting online services, such as
access to 20GB of Creative Cloud storage as part of your subscription
(non-members can sign up and receive 2GB for free).
Creative
Cloud storage
At the moment, online file management is
pretty basic – you have to manually upload and download files in the browser –
but greater control and desktop integration are promised. Meanwhile, it’s a
handy way of sharing files between desktop and essential for syncing files
between desktop CS applications and tablet Touch apps. You can also choose to
share hosted files with others, which enables workmates and customers to view
your CS file in their browser and make general comments on them. This sharing
isn’t a replacement for PDF-based collaboration and document review via
Acrobat.com, but then Acrobat X Pro is included in the package.
For web designers and developers, Creative
Cloud offers a number of additional services. The first is the ability to host
up to five websites on Adobe’s Business Catalyst servers. Business Catalyst
integration is now built into both Dreamweaver and Muse, making it incredibly
easy to create and update sites. In addition, Business Catalyst offers various
advanced capabilities such as online tracking and reporting, e-commerce
handling and email campaigns. Whether or not you plan on using Adobe’s hosting,
Creative Cloud members can take advantage of Adobe’s TypeKit system to boost
the typography of their sites by deploying a huge range of high-quality web
fonts.
Most exciting of all, and hot off the press
at the time of writing, is the inclusion of subscriptions to Digital Publishing
Suite, Single Edition (DPS SE) and PhoneGap Build. The former means that
designers can take advantage of the new folio-building capabilities in InDesign
CS6 to create rich digital publications for the iPad with absolutely no coding
required (presumably Android and Windows 8 support will follow). The latter
means that developers can create a mobile app with HTML and JavaScript within
Dreamweaver, and have this automatically cloud-compiled ready for deployment to
all mobile platforms from iOS and Android through to Windows Phone, BlackBerry,
webOS and Symbian. What’s especially impressive is that, while delivering just
one app of the standalone version of DPS SE to the App Store costs no less than
$395, your ongoing Creative Cloud membership lets you “publish an unlimited
number of apps at no additional cost”. Produce a couple of iPad apps a year and
you’ve effectively paid for your annual Creative Cloud subscription.
An offer you can’t refuse?
Touch apps to explore new ideas;
awardwinning, market-defining CS6 applications with exclusive additions and
updates; online storage and hosting that let you share your work both
internally and externally; and integration with the Digital Publishing and
PhoneGap services to help get your work onto the crucial new mobile platforms.
The Creative Cloud really delivers on its promise of “a digital hub where you
can explore, create, share, and deliver your work”, and at less than a $1.5 a
day for existing users, it looks almost too good to be true. However, it’s
worth thinking a little more critically first.
The
Creative Cloud really delivers on its promise of “a digital hub where you can
explore, create, share, and deliver your work”, and at less than a $1.5 a day
for existing users, it looks almost too good to be true.
For a start, it’s deeply irritating that,
yet again, UK users are subjected to a punitive $1.5 for $1 exchange rate; the
respective US annual pricing is only $50 per month and $30 for existing users.
After the first year’s discount, the annual cost will rise from $492 to $844.5.
More to the point, Adobe hasn’t given any price guarantees, and without any
serious high-end competition, what’s to prevent the company from ratcheting up
prices in the years ahead?
It’s a free world. So if the price does
rise yo could always vote with your feet, but here’s the rub –
what would that leave you with? The FAQ makes it pretty clear: “When you cancel
a month-to-month or annual membership… you will no longer have access to the CS
applications, other desktop software, and services that are components of
Creative Cloud. However, if you saved your work to your computer, you will
continue to have access to those files.”
It’s nice to have it in writing that Adobe
promises not to destroy your data files if you leave, but not all that
reassuring; what good are the files if you no longer have the applications? If
you’re an existing CS user you can always fall back on your last standalone
copy, but what happens if you’ve been making heavy use of some of the more
recent features? More to the point, what happens if you’ve been taking
advantage of the online support services such as Business Catalyst hosting, the
Digital Publishing Platform and PhoneGap Build? Suddenly, all your published
websites and apps will disappear. No wonder Adobe calls this an “ongoing
membership”, because as soon as it stops then, in the words of Anne Robinson,
“you leave with nothing”. With lock-in so integral to the whole system, the
Creative Cloud suddenly looks a lot darker.
