We're in the last few months of 2018, and Adobe Flash's expiration date feels just within reach. That's not just wishful thinking, either — Adobe has stated it will officially end support for the ailing web plugin in 2020.

In a perfect world, we’d all have a feature-packed, free PDF editor that can do everything you might need whenever you’re given an important document to fiddle with.

Adobe has been one of the "go to" providers of software for creative professionals for a long time. But they've struggled to convert that into market success with consumers. And now that we live in a time when shooting and uploading video is commonplace, they're doing their best to enter that market. Project Rush is all about shooting, editing and uploading video as quickly as possible.

Like many people, I've had an account with Adobe for many years. That account has been used for downloading free software, a Creative Cloud subscription and for using the company's cloud services. I don't use the software anymore and have no use for their online services - which is more about my needs than a statement about their service quality.

But when I decided to delete my account this week I hit an unexpected hurdle. There's no option for a user to delete their own account.

Adobe isn't the easiest company to displace from the top of the photo processing pile. In fact, you could say it's nearly impossible. But that hasn't stopped a slew of developers from having a go. So, what are your options in 2017? Turns out, you have a few.

I recently wrote about the creeping costs associated with subscription services. So, in an effort to better manage my monthly spending I've been looking at where I'm spending my dollars. One of the services I've been subscribed to is Adobe Creative Cloud. For almost $30 per month I had access to one app - InDesign - that I was using with one client. But I no longer need the app. And I discovered Adobe's exit fees were nothing short of exhorbitant.

As editor-in-chief of 99U, Adobe's publication for creative professionals, Matt McCue oversees stories about topics such as client work, storytelling and productivity, and involving creatives from the worlds of art, design, advertising, music, tech and media. In addition to 99U, he's written for outlets such as Fortune, Fast Company, GQ and ESPN. We asked him about his own creative work.

The classic combo of mouse and keyboard has flexibility on its side, but any gamer can tell you that for some types of games, nothing beats the speed of a console controller. Funnily enough, the logic remains sound when you move to the realm of productivity -- in this case, editing images. As NZ photographer Ben Stewart shows, a PlayStation joypad can have its place beside your Wacom tablet in certain scenarios.

Adobe has announced it will stop developing and distributing Flash at the end of 2020 and is encouraging content creators to move their content to open formats such as HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly. The times, they are a changin'.

When it comes to design software, the Adobe Creative Cloud suite is king, and anyone looking to make a living as a graphic designer or video editor needs to know it inside out. Programs like Photoshop and Illustrator have a rep for being complicated, but thanks to this Adobe CC Essentials Training Bundle, you can master the suite in no time.

Android/iOS: Using your phone to scan documents isn't anything new. With apps such as Scanner Pro and Turbo Scan out there, if you own a smartphone there's pretty much no reason you need to break out the ol' flatbed scanner to digitise anything any more. Heck, even just snapping a photo of a document sans app could probably get the job done in most cases. Even if you've already found a favourite scanning app, Adobe's new app, aptly named Abobe Scan, is one you're definitely going to want to try.

On June 5, Adobe is jacking up its Creative Cloud (CC) software prices by a whopping 25 per cent. A 12-month subscription to the CC suite will now set you back $869.85 - compared to today's asking price of $695.88. In other words, if you plan to sign up to Adobe or renew an existing subscription, do it before June 5.

Adobe's Creative Suite is one of the best software packs out there for professionals, but the suite is prohibitively expensive for most people - and it's about to get even pricier in Australia. If you can't drop the cash, you can still get a similar experience with free or cheap software. Here's how to build your own Creative Suite.

Adobe Creative Cloud is about to get even more expensive in Australia. From June 5, all software in the CC suite will increase by a whopping 25 per cent. The good news is that you can pay the existing price for another year if you renew your subscription early.

It was once the case that if you wanted to do serious video editing, your choices were limited. Outside of expensive commercial options from the likes of Sony and Adobe, you'd have to make do with Windows Movie Maker... or worse. These days, free options abound. The hardest part is actually picking one.

There are plenty of high-value skills you can add to your resume, but few give you as many options as mastering Adobe's design tools. Whether you're trying to master photography or dive into web design, the Adobe CC Essentials Training Bundle can turn you into a multi-faceted design pro with training in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premier Pro.

When it comes to photo-editing software, Adobe leads the pack. So, whether you’re pursuing a career in design or just looking to pick up a new skill, the Adobe Super Bundle is the perfect way to start.

Adobe's venerable Flash extension is, slowly but surely, going the way of the dodo. HTML5 is quickly replacing it in every corner of the Web with faster, quicker-loading and more lightweight tools that are responsive across desktop and mobile devices. But there's an argument for preserving Flash on the 'net.

When you use an app from a big software company, it can be easy to forget that there are individual people behind those logos. One of those people is Rick Treitman, with the unique title of 'entrepreneur-in-residence' at Adobe.