Adobe CC: Clouding the Issue

Caught in the Cloudburst
Adobe is the industry's 800 pound gorilla. As the old joke has it – "Where does a gorilla sit in a movie theater? Anywhere it wants to." Well,  Adobe has just entered the theater and is about to sit down. Some people will think that its doing so is a fine idea, while others are likely to get squished. Which one are you; and for that matter, which am I?
To clarify this tortured analogy; what's happening is that Adobe is ceasing to sell the products in its Creative Suite (most importantly for us photographers: Photoshop) and instead will only be making them available for rental via the Cloud. This means that instead of being able to purchase Photoshop or any of the other Creative Suite products as a download, or in a physical box, you will only be able to rent it or them, on a monthly or an annual basis.
What are the implications of this? Firstly, the program itself will continue to reside on your computer. You will be able to use it as you wish, the...