Adobe has announced a subscription service for Adobe CS6; access to just about every application in the Creative Suite along with file sharing and collaboration tools. The cost is USD $50/month (if paid in yearly installments) or USD $75 on a month-to-month subscription.

The cost for Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium is USD $1900. I'd have to assume that CS6 would be priced accordinginly.

This might make access to some of the best tools (and certainly industry standards) for digital creativity within reach for many of the folks that have had to simply settle for other products or outdated versions (if available).

But I'm curious as to what you think about this; is it just a way to milk the consumers for an extended period, or is it actually a viable method to get their product into the hands of creatives? What are the upsides and downsides of this? Will it change freelancing and design in a positive way, or will it make it even harder to get into the business of freelancing by tacking another $600 a year onto the cost of doing business?

The link to the Adobe Creative Cloud