New Changes in Adobe [Why is support for Win 8, 10 (some) and El Capitan being dropped?]

[shawn_starc]

As I goes through the blog : Upcoming Changes to Creative Cloud OS Support for Windows and Mac | Adobe Blog

Can anyone give me a reason why they are removing technical support for Windows 8.1, Windows 10 v1511 and v1607 or Mac OS 10.11 (El Capitan)?

[John Waller]

You're unlikely to get a definitive reply from Adobe.

Online articles suggest that it's "In an effort to simplify its product development process while still taking advantage of new OS features."

Adobe To Drop Support For Older OSes In Creative Cloud - ExtremeTech

Like any software vendor, Adobe drops older OS support for new releases occasionally. At least, they now tell us in advance.

Does this affect you directly?

[Samoreen]

Hi,

This announcement raises a particular question. Contrary to what is said here and there, it's not a problem of not supporting older OS because newer versions have more features. Windows 7 is supported, Windows 8.1 and early versions of Windows 10 are not and recent versions of Windows 10 are supported. So, there's something inconsistent here, and it's legitimate to wonder why intermediary versions like Windows 8.1 are neglected.

As a Windows developer, I can testify that Microsoft (almost) always maintained ascending compatibility of the programming interface. Exceptions have always been very rare and were always justified. So I don't think that it's an API issue. So, what has changed or what is missing in Windows 8.1 that is available in Windows 7 and more recent versions of Windows 10 ? The only thing I can think of is : device drivers. I guess that it's not really a programming issue. Just, compatible device drivers are not available and nobody wants to write them.

So the above statement from Adobe ("In an effort to simplify its product development process while still taking advantage of new OS features.") is irrelevant. Hardware vendors were not interested in supporting Windows 8.1 and early versions of Windows also had their share of problems in this area. In the latter case, you can upgrade (I admit, not always). However, if you fell in the Windows 8 trap, you're out of luck.

My two cents.

[Test Screen Name]

Simplifying the development process is going to include reducing the number of different operating systems on which apps need to be tested and supported, and for which testbeds need to be kept live for tech support. Why lose Windows 8?... Have you looked at the marketshare recently?

[TheHaggis01]

We use Windows 10 for business. It's only version is 1607(CBB). We have no idea when W10fB will be upgraded. Are we required to purchase new copies of Windows 10? Or am I missing something?

Photoshop system requirements

Windows 10 release information

[Test Screen Name]

Near as I can tell, CBB is an obsolete label, and there will never be another CBB. That doesn't mean Microsoft intended that people freeze on this now ancient version: it's continued with twice yearly updates, lagging the consumer version by a few months. The only supported ancient version is LTSB: made for power stations and medical kit, Adobe don't expect people to run Photoshop on it. Microsoft Support for 1607 ended 6 months ago!  Windows 10 release information

CB, CBB & LTSB are dead - Microsoft Tech Community - 91554