So, Adobe is providing copies of CS2 that are activation free and are providing the serial numbers with the download? So it's basically an honesty system not to pirate it?
Photoshop is one of the most pirated pieces of software. It is not hard to find CS6 online for free. One way or another it's always been the honor system, no?
With the difference being that to most people it would appear the second method is advocated by Adobe whereas no one expects that Adobe wants you to pickup Photoshop from pirate bay.
I disagree. Adobe actually relies* (not that they could care to admit it and they shouldn't) on college kids pirating their software so they get familar with it and when they leave for jobs they can put on on their resume.
That's absolutely it. All it takes is one or two decent jobs and you've paid for your Creative Suite. It's a lot of money overall, but not as much as it appears when you're new to it all.
It's a little regrettable that Adobe maintains so much control over the market, but as a creative professional myself, I can't find much that can actually compete with their software, especially for the price.
Honestly curious - was money not an issue would you be able to find something better? Is Photoshop and the likes from Adobe truly "high-end" or is there something less popular, more expensive, perhaps harder but "better": technically, in it's capabilities?
The Autodesk creative tools (Maya, Inferno, Smoke, etc.) probably fit the 'more complex and used in big creative industry, super expensive' ticket that you're looking for.
Don't think there's really a replacement for photoshop though. The autodesk tools are more to replace the After Effects / Premier / etc. parts of the creative suite.
Shadowmint touched on what I meant by that - other companies make creative software which doesn't directly compete with Adobe's lineup, but which costs 2x - 4x more.
As someone who uses this software and occasionally tries the alternatives, I would say that there isn't really anything better out there than Adobe software. But it's also quite affordable when you put it in perspective with how much you can do with it over time.
