Return-Path: Received: from mailout04.yourhostingaccount.com ([65.254.254.70] verified) by media-motion.tv (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 4.2.10) with ESMTP id 5062933 for ae-list@media-motion.tv; Tue, 07 May 2013 07:09:08 +0200 Received: from mailscan04.yourhostingaccount.com ([10.1.15.4] helo=mailscan04.yourhostingaccount.com) by mailout04.yourhostingaccount.com with esmtp (Exim) id 1UZaHh-0006mR-Ky for ae-list@media-motion.tv; Tue, 07 May 2013 01:17:53 -0400 Received: from impout01.yourhostingaccount.com ([10.1.55.1] helo=impout01.yourhostingaccount.com) by mailscan04.yourhostingaccount.com with esmtp (Exim) id 1UZaHh-0000OM-5w for ae-list@media-motion.tv; Tue, 07 May 2013 01:17:53 -0400 Received: from authsmtp10.yourhostingaccount.com ([10.1.18.10]) by impout01.yourhostingaccount.com with NO UCE id YtHt1l0050D2B7u01tHtrW; Tue, 07 May 2013 01:17:53 -0400 X-Authority-Analysis: v=2.0 cv=EJGEIilC c=1 sm=1 a=MYIdP0RYBkqG+Tzz9zp75g==:17 a=75GvQwZmPc4A:10 a=0_W4_Jd4tm4A:10 a=O_RjZzbmAAAA:8 a=Uv0WbAaoNYQA:10 a=ar7_mbbEAAAA:8 a=pGLkceISAAAA:8 a=NJWRoCBDMz_dwhx80aEA:9 a=CjuIK1q_8ugA:10 a=S1MLFhTO56oA:10 a=MSl-tDqOz04A:10 a=Ua83uR8HAe8A:10 a=BeYg3MYofrF4p1pjzHMA:9 a=QEXdDO2ut3YA:10 a=_W_S_7VecoQA:10 a=tXsnliwV7b4A:10 a=fpuHwUWOcAUXp4cb:21 a=2gI1vAumJwWs0gD4Ojj1yg==:117 X-EN-OrigOutIP: 10.1.18.10 X-EN-IMPSID: YtHt1l0050D2B7u01tHtrW Received: from [184.89.78.212] (helo=[172.27.35.158]) by authsmtp10.yourhostingaccount.com with esmtpa (Exim) id 1UZaHg-00062H-Oj for AE-List@media-motion.tv; Tue, 07 May 2013 01:17:53 -0400 Subject: Re: [AE] CS is DEAD References: From: Rob Birnholz Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=Apple-Mail-5352A589-4992-4801-9458-8A44093ABB12 X-Mailer: iPad Mail (10B141) In-Reply-To: Message-Id: Date: Tue, 7 May 2013 01:17:53 -0400 To: After Effects Mail List Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mime-Version: 1.0 (1.0) X-EN-UserInfo: 3263b505f22ef42aa13f4368ec338656:f6141977edc8b9177ae99deb69692ca7 X-EN-AuthUser: absolutemotion Sender: Rob Birnholz X-EN-OrigIP: 184.89.78.212 X-EN-OrigHost: unknown --Apple-Mail-5352A589-4992-4801-9458-8A44093ABB12 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Well, if Todd wants me to elaborate, who am I to say no? I'm a one man shop and as such I strive to keep things simple. When purchasi= ng software or upgrades in the past I'd simply expense them out on my taxes.= Paying for the cloud is not so different-- it's not a purchase exactly, but= its still an operating expense. I categorize it the same as I always have, a= s a software expense. I also realized with creative cloud I could charge the= cost of each months subscription directly to whatever project I'm on at tha= t time, not much different than billing for music or stock footage expenses.= So far, my accountant hasn't seen anything irregular about this. Effectivel= y it sure seems easier to charge the small cost of a Creative Cloud subscrip= tion to a project than to ask a client to shell out for a full license of Ma= ster Collection. Regarding the idea of "software ownership". When the Creative Cloud was firs= t introduced, my knee jerk reaction was indeed negative. I'd always "owned" m= y software, and it seemed that once I paid for it it was mine to use, foreve= r and for free. I would only have to upgrade if I decided I could afford it.= It just didn't feel right that that I'd have to suddenly keep paying Adobe a= "ransom" in order to continue using the software and accessing my own work.= But that's in fact a myth. We've always been paying to stay current. How els= e to explain why I have a shelf full of installers for every version of Afte= r Effects (and plenty of other apps), almost all long ago abandoned? AE3, 4,= 5, 6, 6.5, CS3, 4, 5, 5.5! That's a lot of licenses. I'm a professional in t= his game, and that means I'm expected to have a working knowledge of the lat= est tools of the trade (things I'd want anyway). I collaborate frequently, a= nd I can't be the guy who says "I'm still on CS4, is that OK?". A cloud sub= scription actually makes it cheaper and easier to stay current, as opposed t= o buying new "perpetual licenses" every 18-24 months. And cloud licenses are= portable, a big plus if I have to work elsewhere for a while. But about that emotional need to "own" the software. Really. First, as I poi= nted out each version is usually outdated after a year or two anyway, and se= cond, the day will come when I simply don't need to open any of those old fi= les anymore. I was only half joking when I mentioned retirement (like that w= ill ever happen!), but who knows what the future holds. Everything changes, a= nd that seems especially so in this industry. When the time comes for me to m= ove on to something else, it will likely sneak up as opposed to occurring li= ke some kind of scheduled event. That's just how things happen. A lot of goo= d all those perpetual licenses will do me then. I'm sure if someone calls ye= ars from now to revive some ancient project there will be somebody somewhere= who can open it. Suddenly finding myself desperate and unable to open a pro= ject file one day is really not something I believe will ever happen. I understand some people have special circumstances, but 98% of the fears an= d complaints I read are either uninformed emotional reactions or based on mi= sinformation. This is not the end of the world. So my advice (FWIW) regarding the Creative Cloud is: Keep Calm and Carry On.= I'd make a graphic but that'd be so yesterday. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I have on occasion received NFR software l= icenses in exchange for testing or demonstrating Adobe products, but that do= esn't change my perspective on this topic) Rob Birnholz Absolute Motion Graphics, Inc.=20 Longwood, Florida www.absolutemotiongraphics.com (sent from a mobile device) On May 6, 2013, at 10:38 PM, Todd Kopriva wrote: > Rob, >=20 > Would you mind explaining to folks what you've figured out regarding taxes= and billing with subscription software? You have a very interesting (and I t= hink universally useful) take on this. >=20 > On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 4:08 PM, Rob Birnholz = wrote: >> I've been "on the cloud" for a year now --Apple-Mail-5352A589-4992-4801-9458-8A44093ABB12 Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Well, if Todd wants me t= o elaborate, who am I to say no?

I'm a one man shop and as such I str= ive to keep things simple. When purchasing software or upgrades in the past I= 'd simply expense them out on my taxes. Paying for the cloud is not so diffe= rent-- it's not a purchase exactly, but its still an operating expense. I ca= tegorize it the same as I always have, as a software expense. I also realized with creative cloud I could charge the cost of each months s= ubscription directly to whatever project I'm on at that time, not much diffe= rent than billing for music or stock footage expenses. So far, my accountant hasn't seen anything irregular about this. Effectivel= y it sure seems easier to charge the small cost of a Creative Cloud subscrip= tion to a project than to ask a client to shell out for a full license of Ma= ster Collection.

Regarding the idea of "s= oftware ownership". When the Creative Cloud was first introduced, my knee je= rk reaction was indeed negative. I'd always "owned" my software, and it seem= ed that once I paid for it it was mine to use, forever and for free. I would= only have to upgrade if I decided I could afford it. It just didn't feel ri= ght that that I'd have to suddenly keep paying Adobe a "ransom" in order to c= ontinue using the software and accessing my own work.

But that's in f= act a myth. We've always been paying to stay current. How else to explain wh= y I have a shelf full of installers for every version of After Effects (and p= lenty of other apps), almost all long ago abandoned? AE3, 4, 5, 6, 6.5, CS3,= 4, 5, 5.5! That's a lot of licenses. I'm a professional in this game, and t= hat means I'm expected to have a working knowledge of the latest tools of th= e trade (things I'd want anyway). I collaborate frequently, and I can't be t= he guy who says "I'm still on CS4, is that OK?".  A cloud subscription a= ctually makes it cheaper and easier to stay current, as opposed to buying ne= w "perpetual licenses" every 18-24 months. And cloud licenses are portable, a= big plus if I have to work elsewhere for a while.

But about that emotional need to "own" the software. Re= ally. First, as I pointed out each version is usually outdated after a year o= r two anyway, and second, the day will come when I simply don't need to open= any of those old files anymore. I was only half joking when I mentioned ret= irement (like that will ever happen!), but who knows what the future holds. E= verything changes, and that seems especially so in this industry. When the t= ime comes for me to move on to something else, it will likely sneak up as op= posed to occurring like some kind of scheduled event. That's just how things= happen. A lot of good all those perpetual licenses will do me then. I'm sur= e if someone calls years from now to revive some ancient project there will b= e somebody somewhere who can open it. Suddenly finding myself desperate and u= nable to open a project file one day is really not something I believe will e= ver happen.

I understand some people have special circumstances, but 9= 8% of the fears and complaints I read are either uninformed emotional reacti= ons or based on misinformation. This is not the end of the world.

So m= y advice (FWIW) regarding the Creative Cloud is: Keep Calm and Carry On. I'd= make a graphic but that'd be so yesterday.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, I have on occasion received NFR software= licenses in exchange for testing or demonstrating Adobe products, but that d= oesn't change my perspective on this topic)


Rob Birnholz
Absolute Motion Graphics, Inc. 
Longwood, Florida

(sent= from a mobile device)

On May 6, 2013, at 10:38 PM, Todd Kopriva <toddkopriva@gmail.com> wrote:

Rob,
Would you mind explaining to folks what you've figured out r= egarding taxes and billing with subscription software? You have a very inter= esting (and I think universally useful) take on this.

On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 4:08 PM, Rob Birnholz <absolutemotion@birnholz.com> wrote:
I've been "on the cloud" for a year now
= --Apple-Mail-5352A589-4992-4801-9458-8A44093ABB12--