Blasted Adobe

[KingRat]

I don't like being held to ransom. I purchased Lightroom, now Adobe messages are bombarding my computer with a pop up page saying my license has expired and I have to RENT their new package, 90% of which I don't want..... I don't want to rent their (Mod Removed Inappropriate Language) software or clouds or anything else they think I might like to line their pockets with... I just want my copy of Ligtroom that I bought in good faith to be left alone - even if I am writing on the word processing package this blasted page pops up and crashes everything else - about 1 hour intervals it is.... they are ... I don't actually have words to describe the contempt that I have for their horrible company.

 

[crazeuk]

I assume you have a normal installation file version? As opposed to the subscription based version?

Windows or mac?

 

[vindibona1]

I feel the same way about Adobe- and I'll say their name fully. Not only do have they gone almost exclusively to software rental, they ceased activating perfectly good legacy versions. While not as automated, I can do more with Photoshop CS3 than the latest version fo PS 2021, which I pay for monthly like everyone else.

If it's Lightroom that you use, may I recommend On1 Photo Raw https://www.on1.com/products/photo-raw/
You can buy it for $100 and is very similar to Lightroom. In some ways it's easier to use because you don't need to "import" your images into it. You just select the directory they are located and they're available to edit. It's got a bunch of AI correction stuff in it. About the only thing that Lightroom does that most other programs do not is create camera profiles. Everything else can be done through On1 Raw or other free programs that take up the slack of Lightroom. To be honest, I never took the time to learn Lightroom because I have always used Capture1Pro (for 20 years) and earlier versions of On1 when I was testing it when processing raw images became their thing.

P.S. For video editing I am happily using Davinci Resolve 17 and was happy to pay the $300 for the studio upgrade, especially because I got a free editor controller. I will never use an Adobe product again as long as there is a viable alternative.

 

[rehkram]

Not to mention the so-called "Creative Cloud" crapware that starts up every time I reboot my Mac. I need to use Lightroom and Illustrator for my business but I totally hate the way Adobe invades my machine. Adobe better wake up before their customers consign them to the massive junk heap of computer s/w history.

If you're on a Mac and use any adobe apps you can see what I'm talking about by firing up the macOS Activity Monitor app. You can 'force quit' them but it's like playing whack a mole, they keep coming back. ********.

 

[KingRat]

I feel the same way about Adobe- and I'll say their name fully. Not only do have they gone almost exclusively to software rental, they ceased activating perfectly good legacy versions. While not as automated, I can do more with Photoshop CS3 than the latest version fo PS 2021, which I pay for monthly like everyone else.

If it's Lightroom that you use, may I recommend On1 Photo Raw https://www.on1.com/products/photo-raw/
You can buy it for $100 and is very similar to Lightroom. In some ways it's easier to use because you don't need to "import" your images into it. You just select the directory they are located and they're available to edit. It's got a bunch of AI correction stuff in it. About the only thing that Lightroom does that most other programs do not is create camera profiles. Everything else can be done through On1 Raw or other free programs that take up the slack of Lightroom. To be honest, I never took the time to learn Lightroom because I have always used Capture1Pro (for 20 years) and earlier versions of On1 when I was testing it when processing raw images became their thing.

P.S. For video editing I am happily using Davinci Resolve 17 and was happy to pay the $300 for the studio upgrade, especially because I got a free editor controller. I will never use an Adobe product again as long as there is a viable alternative.

Thank you - I have not heard of On1RAW before. I shall take a look, especially if that crowd are going to keep invading my laptop. They may have rights in their license, hidden away, that allow them to prevent use after a certain length of time, but they do not have the right to stop me working on other programmes provided by, in my case, Microsoft (I think - Word) Emails, I might be half way through writing an email and up they jump waving their flag in my face and stopping me from using my already paid for programme, not even theirs.

Someone asked if it was a proper copy, yes it is. I bought and paid for it outright. The cheeky beggars.

 

[KingRat]

Not to mention the so-called "Creative Cloud" crapware that starts up every time I reboot my Mac. I need to use Lightroom and Illustrator for my business but I totally hate the way Adobe invades my machine. Adobe better wake up before their customers consign them to the massive junk heap of computer s/w history.

If you're on a Mac and use any adobe apps you can see what I'm talking about by firing up the macOS Activity Monitor app. You can 'force quit' them but it's like playing whack a mole, they keep coming back. ********.

I am but a simpleton, and retired so not brought up in the computer world. I find learning anything new extremely long winded and difficult because I can't remember stuff now. Things I have done for 50 odd years quite happily, like tie a fly on the end of my fishing line... I got to the river the other day, put a fly on the line and then my mind was completely blank as to how to tie the knot.... I just couldn't remember. I have done a million times before but my mind was blank. After 10 minutes of trying to start I had to get another angler to show me again. That kick started my memory and I was OK for the rest of the afternoon. Learning how to do new editing will be a nightmare.

 

[KingRat]

I assume you have a normal installation file version? As opposed to the subscription based version?

Windows or mac?

I refuse to pay rent when I have bought the house already. I don't have a Raincoat with a half eaten fruit in the pocket!

 

[inno]

I refuse to pay rent when I have bought the house already. I don't have a Raincoat with a half eaten fruit in the pocket!

KingRat, i do agree. Coming from an IT and operations back round, I personally do not use any cloud based software. I prefer stand alone. Not sure what version of lightroom you purchased, i have and still use lightroom v6. lightroom v6 is still available as a standalone version. You now just have to look for as adobe took the link off their site due to support policies, you will still need a key for it. lightroom 6 still works fine except for the maps option, had something to do with going past a certain date on the computer.

if you go to adobe.com and search "lightroom 6" then select the filter "adobe lightroom classic", there are many discussions on it. If you find it you might be able to use your serial number.

Also, you can still get photoshop stand alone, not cloud based which will deal with raw photos as well.

 

[dave canada]

I WISH I COULD GET THE OLD DIGITAL IMAGE BACK FROM MICROSOFT WHAT A GREAT PROGRAM IT WAS AND SIMPLE

 

[Ralph thompson]

100% with you. Adobe is the King of everything that’s bad about capitalism. My Flash website is now obsolete (cost several thousands of $ to develop, now worthless. I too am blackmailed into paying monthly fees for Lightroom SW improvements I don’t need, and recently a LR update, 3D panoramas no longer work). No doubt Lightroom Classic will be phased out and we’ll be forced into using their Cloud services for an absurd fee. Now after years of use out of Adobe Acrobat Pro (paid for) it doesn’t work because Adobe wants a monthly fee for its use. Lightroom is a good piece of SW arguably industry leader but as soon as reasonable alternatives appear, I will be cancelling the monthly shakedown fees.

 

[Tom Johnson]

Try Skylum Luminar. Luminar AI - AI photo editing for Mac & PC | Skylum
Wish Affinity (you might want to try them, too Affinity – Professional Creative Software) had a version of premier/aftereffects...

I've been a graphic designer/art director for over 25 years and Adobe has finally (over the last 5 years...) gone too far. They're stuff is so clunky and plugin ridden it isn't funny. And so expensive and space consuming.

 

[GFields]

thanks for sharing!

 

[KingRat]

What do people suggest for me to go to then please?

On1RAW seems to be a fairly well respected option and not too expensive (8 months worth of Adobe cheapest rent).
Darktable was one I tried in the past, but it was on my old laptop and that was on Windows XP, which might have been why it didn't work very well - either that or I was just too stupid to learn how to work it properly!

I hated the catalogue system of Lightroom - it ended up as one long list of pictures across the bottom. I have no idea how to use key words, I can't think of what to use, I just catalogue for myself by the client and the job - for instance:
Cafe Racer Magazine: Gary's Triton. That tells me everything I need to know, I won't have a clue when I shot it, dates are meaningless to me. I remember shoots with a bit of a nudge, so subject is all I need, I can do that for myself.

Open to suggestions, provided there is a good tutorial system for whatever it is - even after 14 years or so of using Nikon NX I still have to refer to the book to do things. That is a brilliant programme as far as I am concerned and what I use for the D4s and P7800, but I need a programme to unlock the drone pictures and be able to stitch panoramics from multiple individual RAW images - that was what I used Lightroom for.

 

[KingRat]

Been doing a lot of searching and there seems to be a lot of lover for On1RAW - so I have bought a lifetime licence. It seems to be everything I need and there are plenty of good tutorials on how to get started and then on different aspects. Not very different from using LR6 from the look of things. I can't get my head around the layers thing...