[tim60]

With Adobe you can only update two revs back usually with the update price. The price goes up the older your update copy is. This actually sucks for creative suite 6, since they are counting CS 5.5 as a full rev

Its much better to get the education price if you can find someone who is enrolled in some class somewhere.

For most software, teachers or university academics also are eligible for 'academic pricing'.

Academic licences enable use for private, non-profit making activities. If a university is doing paid consulting work etc, they need to buy the full licence, not the academic licence.

[NiftyFifty]

Running Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS2 again is something. I knew CS6 was freaking slow to load but watching CS2 load up like THAT with all the same plugs is just amazing. The tools in CS6 are more advanced, but I'm not too sure that I don't like CS2 better. It doesn't take 3 minutes to load while "measuring memory" or whatever it's actually doing. (Or pause so long when applying a plug.) It doesn't sputter and cough and flat out refuse to running so many of my older plugins either. I'm beginning to remember why I actually enjoyed working in Photoshop again playing with it.

I'd forgotten it had non destructive editing too. Thought it went back beyond that but that's not so. CS2 is still darned useful, I think. It runs a sight faster on Win 7 with 8 gigs of memory than it's supposedly better descendant does and that's just weird considering CS6 is touted as being faster, NOT. Oh and it's not nearly as picky about my video card that I had to UPGRADE to suit CS6, and that it still doesn't seem to be able to use properly all the time even though this card was supposed to be compatible. I guess it's true what they say sometimes "newer" doesn't always equal better. I mean technically CS6 is more sophisticated can do a bit more in terms of 3D and all that, but the disadvantages that it has really negate a lot of that for me.

I just hate waiting for it all the time. It's just so freaking slow even with the updates in place. I'm on a fast computer with 8GB of RAM and have a souped up graphics card. CS6 should be flying but it works like I'm on a 10 year old computer sometimes...

CS6 could just be a gigantic resource hog. I had to buy Production Premium CS6 for my MFA program. Reading the required tech specs, I knew my quad core, 8GB RAM setup was not going to work and that I had to get a new computer. The recommended specs Adobe (and others) list are the bare minimum that will let the program start and run, BUT if you want the programs to run WELL you have to go above and beyond those minimum recommendations.

My CS6 programs take a few seconds to open, probably no more than ten for the "slowest". Photoshop takes no time at all, but to be fair my computer is optimized for speedy encoding/rendering of huge broadcast-quality HD video files using Premiere Pro. Anything less system taxing than the "big dog" Premiere Pro will open and work really fast.

If you're waiting 30 seconds for Photoshop to open, but you have 8 gigs of RAM and a compatible graphics card (is it on Adobe's approved CS6 list?), then I think your CPU, or background programs/processes within Windows, could be causing your slow down. Are you using at least a quad-core processor? Have you turned off all the non-essential Windows programs that run in the background by default? Is your computer free of adware, a lot of which is downloaded and installed unknowingly with free third-party Internet toolbars or freeware programs?

[magkelly]

All that. I run a very tight ship computer-wise. No bugs, no junk, no loading of non-essential stuff. Computer is fairly new, has the required hardware. It has something to do with security permissions and using a more advanced firewall I'm told. It's been a problem for a lot of people. Not just me. There's a few discussions of it going on different forums I frequent. The more hardline your firewall is set up to be the longer it takes for CS6 to load and it just plain doesn't like certain ones apparently. But I've tried 3 good security software suites now and Win 64 bit just doesn't like but the one that I've got and like now and I do want and need a firewall that has it's features unfortunately. It's also partly that I have a Dell and the Dell Win 7 64 Pro can be a picky beast in terms of what software it will run and compatibility mode isn't worth shiz in most cases. I'm stuck between Adobe and what Dell Win 64 will run...

I have a friend at Adobe. He's basically told me I have to get rid of my firewall to use it. That I need a less capable one for it to be fully compatible because PS needs more access to the internet and my machine than I am willing to give it. But I really don't see why I should have to sacrifice my computer's security to please CS6 and make it load faster. The real problem is Adobe's software is running about a million loop back checks these days and it insists upon doing that every time you boot up. I know that because I watch it load in the firewall. It's got to call out do background checks of some kind every single time I load it. It goes to a local IP whatever it's doing, checking licensing and sometimes calls Adobe to recheck activation after that I think.

I've noticed it takes even longer when I'm not connected to the internet so I'm thinking it has to do with activation and the firewall rules. But I'll be darned if I can figure out anything I can do to get it to speed up. I don't particularly like the idea that Adobe gets to connect to my machine whenever it wants but I don't see much way around it with this new activation thing they have going on. It's a real PITA so far, and yes my copy is 100% legal. I just don't particularly like letting any program have free reign to do whatever it wants all the time but put PSCS6 behind a good firewall, limit access and apparently it just slows down to a crawl, and btw he admits that, that I'm right. There's a post on the Adobe forum, same explanation basically Too much firewall, too many security rules. Tells the person to scale back the firewall...

The whole point of a good security software suite is to keep programs isolated from the net and unauthorized usage. To keep malware off your machine but basically the way the Adobe PS application is written lately you do that and it thinks you are the bad guy and starts slowing down. Might even deactivate on you from what I'm told if you're offline where it can't check long enough. They have some kind of workaround for that for corporations and such but for regular users this new activation check thing it's really not been all that great. There have been a lot of issues with it. People are getting a bit grouchy about it. It's not just me...

I think I'd just yank it and go back to running CS5 or even CS2 except that I really like some of the new tools and the new version of Camera Raw. The Camera Raw for CS2 is almost primitive by comparison. CS5 is awesome but again your dealing with a really stupid activation system. With CS2 I can avoid all that. Basically it's live with the slow load or ditch the firewall. It's annoying to wait, but it's even more annoying to have bugs on your machine because enough access for Adobe means too much potential access for something else so I'll stick with the slow load. Might use CS2 for a lot of basic editing now though. Keep CS6 only for when I need the more advanced tools...

[NiftyFifty]

All that. I run a very tight ship computer-wise. No bugs, no junk, no loading of non-essential stuff. Computer is fairly new, has the required hardware. It has something to do with security permissions and using a more advanced firewall I'm told. It's been a problem for a lot of people. Not just me. There's a few discussions of it going on different forums I frequent. The more hardline your firewall is set up to be the longer it takes for CS6 to load and it just plain doesn't like certain ones apparently. But I've tried 3 good security software suites now and Win 64 bit just doesn't like but the one that I've got and like now and I do want and need a firewall that has it's features unfortunately. It's also partly that I have a Dell and the Dell Win 7 64 Pro can be a picky beast in terms of what software it will run and compatibility mode isn't worth shiz in most cases. I'm stuck between Adobe and what Dell Win 64 will run...

I have a friend at Adobe. He's basically told me I have to get rid of my firewall to use it. That I need a less capable one for it to be fully compatible because PS needs more access to the internet and my machine than I am willing to give it. But I really don't see why I should have to sacrifice my computer's security to please CS6 and make it load faster. The real problem is Adobe's software is running about a million loop back checks these days and it insists upon doing that every time you boot up. I know that because I watch it load in the firewall. It's got to call out do background checks of some kind every single time I load it. It goes to a local IP whatever it's doing, checking licensing and sometimes calls Adobe to recheck activation after that I think.

I've noticed it takes even longer when I'm not connected to the internet so I'm thinking it has to do with activation and the firewall rules. But I'll be darned if I can figure out anything I can do to get it to speed up. I don't particularly like the idea that Adobe gets to connect to my machine whenever it wants but I don't see much way around it with this new activation thing they have going on. It's a real PITA so far, and yes my copy is 100% legal. I just don't particularly like letting any program have free reign to do whatever it wants all the time but put PSCS6 behind a good firewall, limit access and apparently it just slows down to a crawl, and btw he admits that, that I'm right. There's a post on the Adobe forum, same explanation basically Too much firewall, too many security rules. Tells the person to scale back the firewall...

The whole point of a good security software suite is to keep programs isolated from the net and unauthorized usage. To keep malware off your machine but basically the way the Adobe PS application is written lately you do that and it thinks you are the bad guy and starts slowing down. Might even deactivate on you from what I'm told if you're offline where it can't check long enough. They have some kind of workaround for that for corporations and such but for regular users this new activation check thing it's really not been all that great. There have been a lot of issues with it. People are getting a bit grouchy about it. It's not just me...

I think I'd just yank it and go back to running CS5 or even CS2 except that I really like some of the new tools and the new version of Camera Raw. The Camera Raw for CS2 is almost primitive by comparison. CS5 is awesome but again your dealing with a really stupid activation system. With CS2 I can avoid all that. Basically it's live with the slow load or ditch the firewall. It's annoying to wait, but it's even more annoying to have bugs on your machine because enough access for Adobe means too much potential access for something else so I'll stick with the slow load. Might use CS2 for a lot of basic editing now though. Keep CS6 only for when I need the more advanced tools...

I see. I use Windows Firewall and my wireless router has a built-in firewall as well. So, I'm behind two of them, plus I have a good antivirus/adware program running. I have no problem with security or the performance of my software. I also don't buy pre-built manufacturer's desktops like Dell, etc. They're overpriced for their options and (like you said) tend to be finicky. I prefer to spec out and build my own. I hope you find a compromise you're satisfied with.

[amoringello]

I have a friend at Adobe. He's basically told me I have to get rid of my firewall to use it. That I need a less capable one for it to be fully compatible because PS needs more access to the internet and my machine than I am willing to give it. .

Hate to say it, but that guy doesn't know what the "F.E.double-hockey-sticks" he's talking about!!
It really pisses me off when uninformed people talk with some sort of authority about a subject they know nothing about!

The biggest problem I have ever seen is these damned companies requesting that you disable your anti-malware software before installing! NO F'ing WAY!!

Do everything you can to prevent "bad software" from getting into and out of your machine!
A lot of anti-virus (or more correctly "anti-malware) software is very poorly written and bloated. i.e. McAffee and Norton/Semantic.
I must say that the free Microsoft Security Essentials is actually pretty darned good. And it uses very little system resources.




And...
Somewhat unrelated, but on the note of this CS2 accidental release, I've seen some mention on other places to "get" CS2 or other versions via other means.... Hacked software and documents is a major pathway to allowing access into an otherwise secured network.

Firewalls are great, as are anti-malware/anti-virus softwares... until the malware is smart enough to attach to communications allowed by the firewall, and attach to processes that are allowed by anti-malware/anti-virus software. (Firewall and NAT'ing router is really only useful to prevent incoming attacks, it cannot do much for communications started from within your own network and thus talking to an outside attacker).

Both a firewall and antl-malware software are a good first line of defense against doing something stupid (i.e. going to whitehouse.com instead of whitehouse.gov :-) ) But don't fall into a false sense of security believing that the "bad guys" could not have figured out how to bypass your protections and that these two protections give you free and clear ability to run potentially dangerous software.

[aoeu]

Adobe - CS2 Downloads

I got it installed in 64 bit Windows 7

Three tricks were needed that the PDF misses:
Set the Files to extract as XP SP3 with admin rights. (Right Click/Properties/Compatibility)
Extract the files in the order indicated. 2, 3, Extras, 1. It seems weird but the PDF is clear on this point.
Make sure that they land in the proper default locations. They didn't in my case and I don't know why. I had to browse to get them in the right places.
After running 1 the install starts automatically. It also has a problem with the default location.

Replace "C:/Program File (x86)/Adobe" with "C:/Progra~2/Adobe". The installer may not "light" the OK button. If so, click the browse button then the cancel button and "OK" should activate.

This goes back to 16 bit DOS . . .