UFApps, a pilot program for UF students that provides software programs from AutoCAD to SPSS for free, is experiencing technical difficulties, which led to being taken down several Adobe programs including Photoshop and InDesign.
Casey Juby, an 18-year-old UF architecture freshman, has been using a 30-day trial of Photoshop for her assignments. Once the trial expired, she logged onto UFApps to use Photoshop for her design studio project only to realize the program was missing.
“It’s really inconvenient,” Juby said. “Now I have to go to the CIRCA lab instead.”
The software disappeared from the UFApps website last week, causing a nuisance for the website, whose platform is based on convenience. It allows students to use expensive software remotely — even on their phone — without having to worry about licensing.
“We are working to resolve the situation, which we believe is temporary,” UF spokesman Steve Orlando wrote in an email. “It is important to note that the UF apps initiative is a pilot and not a full production. By definition, pilot programs are for trying different things.”
There is no word as to when the Adobe programs will be relaunched on UFApps. In the meantime, students are resorting to older versions of the programs and cracked software to complete their assignments.
