So you want to pirate Photoshop CS3?

Send to a friend Print

Help more people find out about this story

Del.icio.us
StumbleUpon

Dan Warne27 March 2007, 7:18 AM

Adobe has revealed the details of Photoshop CS3: destined to continue to be one of the most pirated applications in the world. But Adobe says people who snaffle a copy of CS3 from work might not be pirates after all.



Adobe has lifted the wraps on Photoshop CS3: destined to continue to be one of the most pirated applications in the world. But Adobe says people who snaffle a copy of CS3 from work might not be pirates after all.

In fact, Adobe Pacific marketing manager Mark Cokes points out that a little-known fact about Adobe applications is that most come with a two-computer licence - one for work and one for home.

However, Adobe is hoping to squeeze a few extra dollars out of its genuine customers by adopting a Microsoft-style marketing tack, selling both the basic version of Photoshop ($1,125) and a new super-premium version, "Photoshop Extended" ($1,725), hoping most people will opt to spend the extra bucks for the top version.

Photoshop Extended includes high-end features that most people will probably never touch (targeted at 3D and motion graphics producers, architects, engineers, healthcare workers and scientists.) It will be included in all of the Adobe suites.

For those with an insatiable thirst for Adobe apps, the software giant will also be selling a new $4,300 suite that includes virtually all of
its apps in one box. In what will inevitably become the favoured pirate distribution for markets across South-East Asia, the all-in-one installer will include Indesign CS3, Illustrator CS3, Photoshop CS3 Extended, Acrobat 8 Pro, Flash CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, Fireworks CS3, Contribute CS3, After Effects CS3, Premiere Pro CS3, Encore CS3 and Soundbooth CS3.

The Macromedia name and "MX" monikers are completely gone from the new CS3 application suite: all the apps are Adobe-branded and CS3-versioned. Also gone are the flowers, feathers and butterflies for app icons: they've been replaced by very literal icons with the application's initials for easy recognition.

Adobe has dropped its web optimisation app, Imageready, in favour of "Adobe Fireworks" (but, in truth, most of Imageready's functionality was already built into Photoshop's "save for web" function).

Favourable academic pricing continues to be available to students. They can snaffle the all-in-one pack mentioned above for just $1,666 - a good reason in itself to go back to school.

Post your comment



Reader Comments

RSS feed Email alert

Anonymous_:

What is it with your fixation with piracy?

drewbee3:

You lot go on about piracy, torrents, porno in torrents...if you don't like it don't comment.

You don't condone piracy but you write about it? Go figure.

Sim:

I'm glad they've introduced student dicounting. $4,300 would have been a touch high -- might have had to sacrifice a night out to pay that -- but at $1,700, it's a bargain! I mean, even the most destitute student has a few odd thousand lying around their digs somewhere.

I just pity the poorest one or two percent of students who might *not* be able to afford this. I mean, someone who can't scrape up $1,700 for some software might not be able to afford such essentials as Champaigne with Strawberries for breakfast everyday! (Or even worse -- there's a chap in halls opposite from mine who was forced to switch from Don Perignon to *Bollinger* (the horror!) after blowing $25k on Microsoft content management server).

Ah, never mind, I'm sure it's not that bad; there's probably no student who can't afford this -- after all, £1700 is only 17 cigars lit with $100 bills, and me an my mates can get though that in a single night!

Ooh, gotta go -- Faberge eggs benedict for lunch at the student union cafeteria (again!).

- Simon

Nila:

Best reply I ever heard posted anywhere :)
lol.

Well done!

Anonymous_:

The Microsoft "It's Not Cheating" has made current academic pricing almost laughable.

I agree with you Simon - almost all the students I know would rather spend $1700 on rent and food instead of software that will probably cost more than their own personal computer.

Some of the better educational institutions have computer labs which students can use free of charge and have Photoshop and other software installed with a site licence. All the student needs to do is bring their own storage media.

Any suggestions on how to support educational institutions in improving such resources for their students?

isa:

It's been 283 days since Simon posted his comment, but I still had to say... I LOVE IT!

ROFL!!!

Good one Simon *thumbsup*

David Ozols:

a $1,700 price tag is enough to drive any uni student to piracy. A week or so of plundering Spanish gold and you might just afford it.

john:

When will dopey companies like M$ and Adobe ever learn: extraordinary high software prices encourage piracy.

stehakeem:

I had a really good read on this, very detail, and very useful information.
Thanks.