PC World - USA (2019-10)

98 PCWorld OCTOBER 2019

HERE’S HOW

IMAGE: iSTOCK

I

remember when Adobe made the

switch. In 2013, not long after I

purchased Adobe Creative Suite CS6,

Adobe terminated the desktop

versions of its software and launched

Creative Cloud, offering subscription-based

access only to its suite of products.

It’s easy to understand why some users

have been unhappy with Adobe’s

subscription model (go.pcworld.com/adsb).

A large corporation has the budget to

shoulder monthly fees, but small businesses

and home users may balk, especially for

programs used only occasionally.

I love Adobe products, and I’ve used

them since Photoshop version 2.5. I’ve also

purchased Freehand and PageMaker, and

the Macromedia products. They’re the best,

hands-down. But a subset of users have

largely left their beloved Adobe software

behind for a variety of clones, shareware,

and open-source products.

I actually use them all—Adobe and the

alternatives—because each program has

Alternatives for Adobe Acrobat,

Photoshop, and more

If you can’t or won’t pay Adobe’s monthly fee, you do have options. BY JD SARTAIN