New Update for Adobe Creative Cloud Will Exclude Older Operating Systems

New Update for Adobe Creative Cloud Will Exclude Older Operating Systems

Important news for any Adobe Creative Cloud users – the tech giant is discontinuing a number of older OS and Windows features in its next major update, essentially forcing users to update their operating systems in order to continue using the software.

Where Windows is concerned, support will be dropped for Windows 8.1, and if you’re using Windows 10, you’ll be required to update to at least version 1703 (the “Creators Update”). If you’re using a Mac, support ends if you haven’t upgraded beyond Mac OS 10.11 (El Capitan).

They say both new and old versions of the Creative Cloud app will continue to run. Users of Windows 8.1, Windows 10 v1511/v1607 and Mac OS 10.11 can continue to use and install current and previous versions of Creative Cloud applications. However, you will not be able to update to the next major release of Creative Cloud unless you’re on one of the aforementioned supported version of Windows or MacOS – meaning essentially you would be paying a subscription fee and not getting your money’s worth of updates until you cave and upgrade to a new operating system. The justification from Adobe is that it will allow users to “take advantage of the latest operating system features and technologies.”

The announcement is likely to irritate many, due to the required versions being only 18 months old for Windows, and two years for Mac.

Lead image credit: Matan Segev via Pexels.

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A 28-year-old self-taught photographer, Jack Alexander specialises in intimate portraits with musicians, actors, and models.

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22 Comments

Well I guess I will exclude Adobe as I do their ransomware software. Time to let them know they are not exclusive and many choices exist that don't include them or their high prices. When they dictate what OS and what version you have they are overstepping...

I don’t even need to update. All my versions of Cc work just fine on my Windows 7 machine

At least for Win 10 most people really should upgrade. It was free for well over a year and can still be gotten for free if you look into it. If for no other reason than its the safest version released. Many Many programs and software companies have abandoned Win 8 and it is a minefield of potential security holes. You can get just about any legacy software to work on Win 10 and in the rare exception, you cant that software probably isn't worth the risks of running such an outdated system. If you have older hardware Win 10 is lighter and faster giving some new life to older machines if you have newer hardware you're not getting the most out of it without Win 10.

your forgetting the whole MS telemetry and privacy issues. most dont want MS looking over their shoulder like google and facebook are doing. oh and apple. windows 10 like facebook and chrome are free for a reason,

A lot of it can be turned off and I know it still collects data even when its limited in the settings but if you are connecting your computer to the internet, carry a cell phone and use any device online. The last thing you should be worried about is the data Microsoft is collecting.

Exactly. Also MS only supports each Windows 10 semi annual release for 18 months so it makes sense for Adobe's policy to align.

@michael, i guess that you do not have an IT background. i do and i am specialized in the GDPR. my windows 95/98/2k/xp/7 were all connected to the internet and it didnt have privacy issues that we have now. like facebook tracking you even when you dont have a FB account, MS or google tracking your every move and reading your emails and docs. #1984 . you take your "freedom" to lightly.

Any news on Windows 7? I decided against switching to Windows 8 or anything newer (thankfully).

older operating systems ... the 1703 windows update is the april 2017 update so anything older than april 2017 is old. Really I don't know how they think.

The line had to be drawn somewhere and no matter where you draw it, there's likely going to be an angry contingent on the other side of it. I'm not sure why they selected this specific update, but maybe there was something within that update that allowed them to streamline their products that was not present in older updates.

I'm sure there's some sort of reasoning, though... Unless you believe that they decided to make a random decision using a dartboard in their office.

I don't see what the problem is here. You can't seriously expect any company to support older operating systems in perpetuity while also demanding that they streamline their code for better performance. And frankly speaking, you ought to be keeping your OS up to date anyway if only for security reasons...

While we're at it, anyone here upset that Adobe CC would not work with Windows 3.1?

There are alternatives out there to the Adobe suite. The hardest part is spending the time and effort to learn something different, especially if you've working with an app for decades like I have.

If you freelance on location, you're force at gunpoint to know the Adobe apps, but if you work independently and are more in control of the production, you have options.

That's teamwork. Adobe helping Microsoft to eventually change to subscription crap too and you'll have to pay for it if you want the latest Adobe stuff. Here we go.

People who pay for software ‘subscriptions’ are at the mercy of the corporations who basically can do whatever they want as they know customers have to swallow their greedy pill. As the old saying goes: you get what you pay for...

All software is a "subscription" in some sense. It's not like you own the code and eventually, it will stop working whether it's due to it not being supported by other software, not being supported by certain hardware, or the software in question itself no longer supporting new hardware whether it be cameras, printers, etc.

Anyone who has ever thought that they were purchasing software to own has been severely misled.

Brother, I still use Adobe CS6 and edit with Final Cut Pro 7. There’s no way I will be held hostage by subdscription “deals” ...

I just bought capture one pro 11 and I get to keep it. I'm not held at ransom with a contracted subscription and I get free updates even to version 12 when it comes out. They have subscription plans but they also let you buy it outright. Now I just need a Photoshop and Illustrator replacement. It also works just fine on windows 7.

I know that people rant and rage about paying subscriptions... and being forced to upgrade... and the software having bugs and not being perfectly stable... and that life is so miserable because they have to pay for a service that they are using...

The bottom line is, if you have teams of developers wasting time trying to service old operating systems that are missing new code libraries, that same team of developers cannot be improving the software for modern hardware and software.

Personally, I wait about 8 months to a year to update my Mac OS and have found it to generally be very stable. I would rather have the dev teams working on making software work stably with new GPU technology, faster CPU's and better compression formats for files.

It is a misconception that paying for a subscription and staying rooted in the past is "money for nothing." Someone still has to implement all of the new features on the old OS and that costs time and money.

To all those who think this is ransomware, either put up or shut up. Here is a link to The Gimp and Red Hat OS. I look forward to hearing how you go.
https://www.gimp.org/
https://www.redhat.com/en

Nah. Take a look at Adobe's share on the stock market. When you make such increasing profits, you have the responsibility to make your customer happy. Adobe is not a garage startup anymore, they roll on cash, and seem to disregard their clients more and more as they grow.

You're right. That's why light room has been a big steaming pile of poo for so long. They have subscribers at ransom so they didn't really have to make LR better until recently when people started finding other software to replace it.

Microsoft's automatic update to Windows 10 version 1803 bricked my workstation, and those of many other users. I'm stuck with version 1709 until Microsoft does something about this. Bad move by Adobe.

Windows 7 x64 SP1 will be supported. Please see: http://blogs.adobe.com/crawlspace/2018/08/upcoming-changes-to-photoshop-...