Why do constant CC updates matter? Adobe is not putting out many essential updates anymore.

Question

Reading these posts on CC I have continually come across people who claim that to be a serious professional in a creative field you need to have your Adobe software up to date. How does one compete if they are using old Adobe software? As someone who has been working in the field for a long time I don’t see how this could be any further from the truth. Yes, I do believe that you need software that is relatively up to date but I don’t believe you need the new software that is coming from Adobe. The software that I really need has been coming from third party plug-ins. This is probably the main reason I have a problem with the rental software; it keeps pushing new updates on you even when they are the wrong updates. Below are many examples at how over the past several years the 3rd party has constantly delivered and Adobe has faltered.
When I first tried out InDesign’s automatic text flow feature I couldn’t get it to work even after asking around on several different online forums. I was told about some plug-ins that could do auto text flow and after I tried it everything worked.
I later found that when I would add or delete a page that had facing pages my layout would get completely messed up. How could I fix this problem? By upgrading to a new version of ID? Nope, new versions of ID didn’t fix that. I fixed the problem by buying a plug-in.
I once had a client who sent me a Word file that was loaded with grammar errors. In a perfect world the content editor should be the one mostly in charge of fixing grammar but as we all know we don’t live in a perfect world. Unfortunately ID does not provide grammar checking at all. This feature has been available in Word since like, what, 1988(?) but it won’t work on the absolutely latest version of ID. It will work with a plug-in.
The history panel is a feature that has been available since about PS 5. It has provided some of the most basic functionality of a graphics program; the ability to go back a few steps. Since this is such a basic feature it’s made it’s way to other apps like Fireworks and Lightroom. It’s even available in consumer apps like PS Elements. So how can you run this basic feature in a professional program like ID FIFTEEN YEARS after it was released in PS 5? Get a plug-in.
Hey look! The new features page says that CC finally comes with built in barcode support! Hallelujah!! Praise the Lord! Now there is a feature that I can use! True, I needed the feature three years ago when I was making ID badges and, yes, I already spent hundreds of dollars buying a plug-in that can more then adequately do that functionality already, but hey better late then never right? Good things surely do come to those who wait!
Huh? What is that I am now reading? The barcode software only supports the pattern type of barcodes and not the standard line type found on just about every kind of merchandise know to mankind? My client needed the standard kind of barcode. When is that going to be released? Do I have to wait another three years?
The fact of the matter is that Adobe has come out with THREE major updates since I last upgraded and I can still barely find enough important features that would make the update worthwhile. New features this time around include things like font management (even though every serious designer already has font management software) and a different color interface.
This shortage of new worthwhile features is certainly not due to there being enough features that need improvement. For an example doing a very simple data merge with a basic layout is still immensely complicated. I would be overjoyed if they made that process as simple and powerful as it should be. Instead what we will get is more pointless updates that will only break the important plug-ins that I rely on to get my work done on tight deadlines. You know how web browsers with bi-monthly updates (Firefox, Chrome) keep breaking your browsers plug-ins except this time instead of breaking goofy trivial plug-ins that let you do things like check the weather they will break important ones that you need to rely on to get work done.
The plug-ins developers will have to dedicate an enormous amount of time checking to see if their software works with every little ID update that comes out. This means they will have less time to working on features even though they are the ones making the best advancements.

Answer 1

Yes, I realize that Firefox is free, but that doesn't really negate the validity of anyone's frustrations. I just wish they would warn people better about the problems that the updates can cause before asking people to update. Most people rely very heavily on their computers for work, etc. and not everyone has the time or ability to easily undo the problems that the updates cause. Again, if it was just a one-time thing that I've had to deal with, I wouldn't mind as much.