That's pretty cool. And CS2 can really do just about anything you need PS to do.
Not many know that Adobe no longer supports CS2 and has stopped registering serial numbers as well. They offer a free download of any CS2 product along with the serial number for you to use forever.
Link
Photoshop CS2 runs just fine on Windows 8.1, not tried with 10 yet but should be no problem when using compatibility mode.
And if you want the latest and greatest photoshop, Adobe now rents it to you for $9.99 USD per month. So it's easier than ever to use photoshop free, or on a budget now.
That's pretty cool. And CS2 can really do just about anything you need PS to do.
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Open to cartographic commissions. Contact me: christian [at] stiehl.net
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Note that that link specifically requires that you have purchased a license for CS2 in order to use that information (Quote: "Only customers who legitimately purchased CS2 or Acrobat 7 and need to maintain their current use of these products may use the serial numbers provided during the download.") They are not offering a "free for anyone to use" product (unless you have no personal moral code, of course; in that case, feel free to grab it and go!)
I do admit to having a bit of an attitude about software licensing. I make it a point not to use unlicensed (or intentionally incorrectly-licensed) copies of software in the hopes that people will return the favor and not refuse to reward my hard work for my commercially-released products like Fractal Terrains. I realize that many people are rabidly against the idea of paying for software. For those people, I recommend learning to program and writing their own rather than going with the theft route.
Last edited by waldronate; 01-23-2016 at 03:41 PM.
The CS2 thing is really really weird. "Hey guys, you own it legitimately right? Just tick this box and download it! We'll take you on your word!"
It seems more like they are simply fulfilling that copyright clause where they are expected to take some steps to protect it. You don't upload something to the internet publicly and expect everyone to play by the honour rules. =P
I suppose it is down to the individual whether they feel OK about downloading it or not.
Last edited by Larb; 01-24-2016 at 01:14 AM.
My new Deviant-thing. I finally caved.
Yeah, the lawyer-speak says it's not really free. But they're hosting the download and giving you a serial number. It's in Adobe's best interest that photoshop, as a brand, is widely used. It maintains that it's the preferred software used in the industry. The action speaks louder than the words.
Awww, and here I am really excited that photoshop might be free. Oh well, I can stick with my Paint.Net and Gimp.
The reason that Adobe did this particular thing is that it's expensive to keep the old activation server running and they are cutting costs releasing a no-activation version. Some companies abandon old software packages, but Adobe did something slightly different.
As has been pointed out many times over the years, locked doors keep honest people honest and don't deter criminals even a little.
I don't buy that one bit to be honest. Adobe isn't some tiny enterprise that is naive about the internet. Furthermore server costs have been falling for years now. It hardly requires a huge commitment to keep an activation server running especially for a company like that. On top of that - adobe moving to creative cloud was their "slightly different" approach to both getting around piracy, ensuring a steady income and (the bit I actually like most) making their software affordable for users like me.
They knew exactly what they were doing when they put CS2 up for download on their website gated by nothing other than a checkbox.
My new Deviant-thing. I finally caved.
Speaking as someone who does software for a living, it's a royal PITA to support old software, especially server images. You have to keep the old software and OS patched, which is a non-trivial level of effort. If the software in question is generating zero dollars in revenues, then any expense is too much for a profit-driven company to sustain long-term.
Let's just say that it's a bad idea to leave an old server running without patches and OS upgrades in your data center unless your goal is to be running a virus and malware distribution center.