I feel its just a short term deal, and prices will start going up after 6 months.
Adobe is undoubtedly hurting. Let them hurt.
Adobe's 2nd Quarter report for 2013 shows.
Cash flows:
Net Income
six Months ending 6/1/2012 $409.085,000
six Months ending 5/31/2013 $141,663,000.
They are hurting for cash, and as more members drop than signup, a CEO is going to be booted out.
Adobe ran the numbers before adopting the subscription model, they don't expect to gross more than in 2012 for three years,
http://www.dslrbodies.com/accessories/software-for-nikon-dslrs/software-news/older-2013-software-news/the-financial-side-of-the.html but the subscription model is on track and is being well received by the target audience, judging by the share price.
https://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:ADBE&sa=X&ei=sPsnUpi4PIb49QTh6oCIDQ&ved=0CCoQ2AEShare prices are near the highest levels ever and so is the company valuation.
The vast majority of CR posters are not the target audience, they are almost certainly generally in the 10% that Adobe estimates are individuals working at home (enthusiasts, hobbyists, retirees, semi-pro photographers, etc.) And no, at the corporate level that 10% of casual users are just not that important, especially when you factor in the number of them that are using vastly discounted "educational" copies and, like many of the posters in this thread, are not regular updaters.
Adobe makes practically no money from us, they don't care what we have to say, they make money from core business creative professionals who don't care about $50 a month subscription charges but just care about how integrated their apps are and how much time that can save them. Meanwhile Adobe work out how they can leverage their platform into as many creative professionals as possible and the truth is a complete package at $50 a month with apps you might not try otherwise makes a lot more business sense than a limiting $1,500 or $2,999 suite of apps. They might not have introduced drop dead must have new PS features, but the cross apps integration work they have been doing, which is far more important to their target market, has been very good.
To see why it makes sense to Adobe you have to understand how unimportant they see us 10% as, special offers like this are nothing more than publicity stunts to calm the waters, it will not divert them from their corporate cash cow subscription model, even if the current model is a disaster, and the company valuation is certainly not suggesting it is, they can't divert from their subscription model for at least two more years anyway.
P.S. Lightroom 5 is a killer app with some very cool new features, it might still have a bug or two but the clone brush, the radial filter and smart previews are killer additions, bearing in mind a perpetual license can be had for $99 on regular special offers I don't think Adobe are screwing us either.