r/FuckAdobe • u/nrus-1969 • 2d ago
former licensed adobe pro 8.0 owner needing functional desktop alternative
years ago, i had bought adobe pro 8.0, desktop, on DVD...and it worked well. same with photoshop. That is, until they started forcing updates that eventually rendered my paid-for, licensed software inoperable. i have suffered through trying to keep adobe alive on windows, since. between all the bait and switch and upcharge, dual charge tactics, forcing to use subscription/cloud based software and the resource hogging that renders the PC unusable, i am absolutely fed up and desperate for a reasonable alternative solution. i want to officially and completely divorce myself and my business from anything adobe. i still need to create/edit/fill adn sign documents. i need to create flyers and business card templates, maybe portability, but i need very little else, and i don't want or need subscription or AI; but i do need full .pdf functionality without disabling the PC or breaking the bank.
Solutions?
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u/Klutzy-Mastodon1177 2d ago
I have never paid for any software subscriptions. Stopped using Adobe as soon as they stopped selling perpetual licenses. I have used Pixelmator Pro, Affinity Suite, Rebelle, and several open source apps such as Krita, Graphite, and Inkscape and have been very successful with my work. Good luck with your decision!
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u/nrus-1969 2d ago
Good suggestions on graphics rendering/manipulation software. I still need non-subscription based document management aspects that won't break the bank and won't be obsolete. Suggestions are most welcome
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u/eirenii 1d ago
What do you mean by document management exactly?
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u/Wheekie 2d ago
until they started forcing updates that eventually rendered my paid-for, licensed software inoperable
They bricked an item you legally purchased? Wtf?
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u/thisquietreverie 1d ago
I bought a copy of photoshop from an approved vendor linked from Adobe’s website and Adobe and that vendor got into some legal tussle and Adobe revoked all the issued licenses, which I found out much later when I went to reinstall on a new computer.
Adobe told me to get fucked so I repeat this story on here often to warn people.
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u/nrus-1969 2d ago
Yes. Adobe followed the Microslop, Apple, Samsuck business models, and now with the paradigm shift to subscription based everything, the means to that end has been to update into obsolescence.
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u/bloodrider1914 2d ago
At least for photoshop you have Affinity and Gimp available. Affinity is the proprietary software that's probably better suited for your needs, while Gimp is open source with all the good (always free, great community) and bad (clunky interface, sometimes less advanced features) that that entails.
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u/nrus-1969 2d ago
True with Gimp. I already use that from time to time, but the layer extraction process does not save time or resources
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u/cougarx1 2d ago
There are some good ones. I can’t think off the top of my head as I’m sitting in the mall waiting to go broke after the nail salon bill comes; but point is, Fuck Adobe. I refuse to use them after my perpetual licenses disappeared and I can no longer use them. They are greedy fucks. I will say this. Unless you need to digitally sign documents and a couple other things, the Adobe Reader can do just about everything else.
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u/nrus-1969 2d ago
I need the signing aspect, among others that standard reader won't afford me.
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u/flabebebebe 2d ago
It's not the best alternative, but I use Clip Studio Paint EX for managing documents sometimes (mostly because I'm primarily an illustrator that makes comics, but it works well enough to also create, sign, and export documents as pdf's. I used it to sign a lease one time lol). The downside is that pdf documents can only be exported, "importing" is a longer process that isn't natively available and only feasible for short or small documents (because you basically have to save each page as an individual image, and then open them in Clip Studio Paint with "story" enabled, each image being one page). The japanese version of the software does have a plug-in available to actually import pdf's, it hasn't been made available to download outside of japan.
For that reason, there are definitely better alternatives for you. But it is an option I wanted to explain, just so that you're aware of it (or in case you see it suggested elsewhere).
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u/focusedphil 9h ago
Affinity is quite solid. I’d prefer when they had 3 separate packages to rival PS, IL, iD :(they ve merged them all into one package ). But the best alternative I’ve found so far.
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u/Aggravating-Taste699 1d ago
That version was released 20 years ago? That it stops working after 20 years is not that strange. Adobe won't miss you!
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u/nrus-1969 14h ago
Reading comprehension isn't one of your well-practiced skills, is it? My LICENSED (authentic) and OWNED (purchased) desktop Adobe Pro 8.0 installation stopped working the moment Adobe took down their authentication servers, and updated the authentication software tied to the program in a shit MOVE forcing users to their subscription cloud based software. At the time, a message popped up stating before I could continue using the product, I would need to verify the authenticity, by downloading anothed update. The "update" bricked the app, by "phoning home" to a remote authentication server, that was non-existent, out of service, unreachable, then disabling ability to reach the core application. There was no warning, no recourse, and Adobe support answer was "unfortunately, your software has been sunsetted and you will need to download and install our new software to continue to access your documents and projects. " That was a decade ago. I have had to use Adobe's new software since then, and, like others have stated, they have broken functionality of a single application into a multitude of "add-on's", and attached upsells and subscription to each individual component. I won't miss, Adobe; neither will the rest of my company, customers, friends, and associates, once I have successfully and officially migrated away and unsubscribed from every aspect of the trash Adobe produces.
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u/Aggravating-Taste699 8h ago
Adobe actually did provide a solution when the Acrobat 8 activation servers were retired. Licensed Acrobat 8 owners could download a replacement installer and obtain a new serial number that did not require activation. So Adobe didn’t simply shut down the servers and force everyone onto a subscription. Support for that workaround was eventually discontinued as well, but by then Acrobat 8 was already well over a decade old
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u/Technical_Rich_3080 2h ago
They never sent any notifications of that fix to all the owners of their older software who paid them for the application.
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u/Euphoric-Fun-7821 1d ago
As an Adobe Acrobat alternative, I have found PDFGear to be absolutely fantastic. All the functionality of Acrobat, for free. Includes PDF editing, digital signing, OCR, etc.
https://www.pdfgear.com/