Analysis: The real reason Adobe ditched Creative Suite for Creative Cloud

Article writen by Neil Bennett

The editor of Digital Arts discusses why Adobe’s move to a subscription service has provoked such strong reactions, what the underlying reasons for the move are – and how to decide if you should move to Creative Cloud.

Adobe’s announcement last week that it’s set to stop selling its software in favour of renting it out inevitably riled up a large section of its users.  Apetition on Change.org demanding the company return to offering Creative Suite alongside Creative Cloud currently has almost 13,000 signatures – while even some users who’ve been won over have found moving to the Cloud difficult.

The two main charges laid at Adobe over the move are that it’s denying creatives a choice they had previously – which is true – and that they’re a bunch of money-grabbing bastards who are trying to screw money out of their customers by forcing them to pay and pay and pay. And pay some more. It’s easy to write off these latter accusations as hyperbole and trolling, especially as you can currently pick up CC for as little as £16 plus VAT per month – but why do people feel this way?

This 3D-Printed Mechanical Computer Puts Both Old and New Tech to Good Use

A mechanical computer may not seem all that practical in today’s electronics-driven world. That didn’t stop Chris Fenton from building one for himself.

Chris, an electrical engineer by trade, made the Turbo Entabulator out of his love of computers–new and old–and an interest in how they work. Chris wanted to see how basic of a computer you could make while  still being able to call it a computer.

The Entabulator runs the classic Fibonacci series, punching out the mathematical sequence on cards.  Most importantly, though, the computer is purely mechanical–you won’t find any electronic components. As a result, the Turbo Entabulator requires some manual labor–you have to turn a crank for it to run. Chris produced almost all the parts with his MakerBot 3D printer, the only electronic know-how needed.