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The Affinity and Canva Pledge (affinity.serif.com)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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An update from Affinity and Canva on the acquisition of Affinity/Serif by Canva. They have made 4 pledges, including to maintain perpetual licenses.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (8 children)

Long story short:

They pledge to keep the status quo. (IE perpetual licenses in new versions)
Development is going to speed up.
Subscriptions are 99% coming. (Albeit optional at least at the start)
Free in schools. (IE training new artists in the Canva ecosystem. So they can be milked later. Here's a personal anecdote: Maya, the paid 3D alternative to Blender is free in schools. Come out of school and it's 235$ a month)

Now throw all those pledges out because words mean nothing. This is not a partnership, this is an acquisition, and unless the contract is provided for us, in writing of the agreed upon terms. Nothing else matters but the actions that we'll see in the near future.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago

This all feels a lot like any low- or mid-range CAD suite that gets acquired by Autodesk, Siemens, or PTC. Promise enough to avoid a revolt, but start eroding with the next release.

The educational licensing for lock-in is also par for the course. It can be done well (Rhino 3D is legendary for letting small-shop designers use their cheap edu license forever, even commercially), but generally it's just there to maintain the supply of baby drafters and get subscriptions from employers.

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