Adobe Creative Cloud mostly desktop bound

Adobe's announcement yesterday that it is replacing its Creative Suite desktop apps with a cloud hosted subscription model will mean few changes for customers beyond monthly payments.

While the new software offering is named Creative Cloud, customers won't get access to benefits such as scalable cloud computing resources for intensive tasks such as graphics rendering.

An Adobe spokesperson told iTnews that no computing for desktop apps like Photoshop and Premiere Pro will be done in the cloud, only on users' systems.

The company offers some cloud-based computing solutions however, like its PhoneGap Build service that allows users to compile and package mobile apps in the cloud for different operating systems from a single code base.

Since the desktop apps won't make use of cloud resources, hardware and software specific features such 10-bit colour workflows through the OpenGL graphics library will remain accessible.

"All this stays the same. The desktop apps run on your desktop and use all of the same resources as Creative Suite products including OpenGL where available," the spokesperson said.

Cloud storage for content and artwork is part of Adobe's Creative Cloud and Adobe said it would be available after the monthly subscription lapses.

"Users will continue to have access to free Creative Cloud member benefits, and if work was saved, you will continue to have access to those files.

You will no longer have access to the applications, or most of the services that are components of a Creative Cloud subscription," according to the spokesperson.

There are some caveats and limits around the Adobe Creative Cloud storage however, the spokesperson said.

"If you purchased an annual individual membership plan and you cancel after the first 30 days but before meeting the 12-month commitment date, you will be charged 50 per cent of the remaining amount left on your contract.

If you cancel your paid membership you will still have access to the free level of membership, which provides 2GB of storage.

You will have a 90-day grace period to download your files to your local machine, and delete online files to get your cloud storage down to two gigabytes (or to purchase additional storage separately if you choose).

If you leave more than two gigabytes of files in your cloud storage for more than 90 days, you may lose access to some or all of your files," the spokesperson explained.

The Adobe Creative Cloud is hosted on Amazon Web Services in the United States, Europe and Asia, in a secure fashion, the spokesperson claimed.

"AWS provides services in accordance with security best practices and undergoes industry-recognised certifications and audits: PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, FISMA Moderate, HIPAA, and SAS 70 Type II.

This means that Adobe Creative Cloud members benefit from the latest in security practices for stored assets."