[II2II]

> What's the alternative? I suspect users would be equally upset if they were charged per use of the software (eg. $5 per photo edited).

For the publisher: offer the customer a choice. I doubt that many businesses and enthusiasts that depend upon a product are going to dump a subscription if it is tied to product support and upgrades. Occasional users who aren't interested in support or upgrades may end up purchasing a perpetual license. It's not exactly a new concept. From the descriptions I've seen, this is pretty much what JetBrains does.

As for fee per use, that $5 is a deal if you only have a half dozen photos to edit. (The least expensive way to access Photoshop for a one-time task is $35/month.) Granted, that's probably not the type of service that Adobe is interested in. Which is fine. There are plenty of companies that would be more than happy to develop a product that is better suited to that market.

As for myself, I have found a much better solution for infrequent tasks: open source software. In my younger days, I would have considered less expensive commercial options but I have been burnt too many times by "perpetual" licenses being temporary licenses. So instead of businesses getting revenue, they end up with nothing at all.