May 13, 201016 yr Ok, I know you aren't allowed to talk about warez in the forum, but I've been using the trial for the last few weeks and I'm considering purchasing it, and claiming it back as business expense. I'm no dummy when it comes to computers, and I could get a full version of photoshop for free from the internet. I know it's illegal to use downloaded software. But why should I purchase it, if it's only me using it, why put myself out £700 when I could get it for free? Who's going to find out that I'm using an illegal version if i was to do it.
May 13, 201016 yr I purchased it, then claimed it back as a business expense. If you want to be doing this as a real profession then I think you should be prepared to pay for the tools.
May 13, 201016 yr What does warez mean? I googled it but: The word "warez" has been filtered from the search because Google SafeSearch is active. (I've got kids that use all the computers so they've all got safe search on )
May 13, 201016 yr Perhaps if Adobe priced their products more realistically the question wouldn't arise. However IMHO as you work in an industry creating software that you would be mighty p......d off if someone nicked then perhaps it's appropriate to ensure that you don't nick somebody elses.
May 13, 201016 yr no comment but CS5 is ridiculously expensive ... £1,400 on Amazon.. How can it be so expensive?
May 13, 201016 yr I know it's illegal to use downloaded software. But why should I purchase it, if it's only me using it, why put myself out £700 when I could get it for free? You've answered your own question there. You should purchase it because it's illegal not too! Who's going to find out that I'm using an illegal version if i was to do it. Anyone reading this post that thinks you're now worth a knock for a software audit. FAST for example. To be honest this sort of thing drives me around the bend. I'm trying to run a respectable and legitimate business, but remain competive against cut-price cowboys and cheap-skate hobbyists unprepared to invest in their own business. If you don't think your business is worth investing in - call it a day! I expect there are a good few 'student editions' out there that haven't been upgraded when the first paying job arrived too. A copy of PhotoShop could potentially see a return on investment within one job. Try bitching to companies investing in tools, machinery, IT systems or R&D that work to a 2-3 year return on investment and see what they think! In fact a copy of PhotoShop probably offers a better return on investment than a lot of badly designed or ill-conceived websites for that matter! There are enough people on here happy to complain about other businesses wanting a website for free. It's hypocritical to expect the tools of the trade for free. Plumbers always seem the typical analogy when talking about free websites, so apply the same logic here - can a plumber download a van full of tools from the internet? No, they have to buy the tools of their trade, claim it against the business and get on with it. People can bitch and gripe about the price all they want, but that's the price and that's the law. If you don't like the price use something else. It's not like PhotoShop is the only solution if you look around. No one is forced to buy it. Why buy it: If you want to run a serious, legitimate business, why run the risk of losing all credibility? This industry is about copyright and intellectual property. Adobe are just as entitled to have theirs protected and paid for as anyone else. It's hypocritical not to. ...and in my case, I'm a chartered professional, and see no point risking the equivalent of an MSc with bells on for the sake of a legitimate business expense with short return on investment. I disagree with Adobe's territorial pricing structure, and it is overpriced compared to buying it in the US. But I don't work in the US, it makes commercial sense for me to use it, so I decided to buy it anyway. Doesn't mean to say I had to buy and use it though - I could have used cheaper alternatives. But the Master Collecton made perfect business sense to me, so I paid for it.
May 13, 201016 yr I know it's illegal to use downloaded software. But why should I purchase it, if it's only me using it, why put myself out £700 when I could get it for free? Who's going to find out that I'm using an illegal version if i was to do it. So assuming you do download a pirated version for your own use, does that then mean I can use one of your web site designs and use it on one of my personal sites? ...just trying to make a point
May 13, 201016 yr Who's going to find out that I'm using an illegal version if i was to do it. Adobe, and your own ISP to name just two entities.
May 13, 201016 yr What do you click if your work has a site licence and in that you have a bunch of home licences too? thats what i have. I'd say that, when you consider the money you can make from photoshop over the course of you owning it that the expense that you percieve at the point of outlay is trivial compared to tools that other trades require - i mean, photoshop never wares out, never needs expensive servicing etc, if you built furniture for a living you'd need a whole selection of tools and consumables to carry out your trade, and they would be inescapable costs. I think its just an issue for geeks because we know how to get it free without really seeing a real life victim of the crime of piracy, if you went down b&q and just stole a bunch of drills and tools etc you would see the people you were robbing and it would make you feel bad, also, its actually taking a physical product which again makes you feel worse, whereas with a download you dont 'take' something from someone, you make a copy. I dont really have an opinion about it other than that, i think if you use it to make money, via webdesign/photography/art then i think yes, you should pay for it, if you just play about with it and never profit from it or the skills that you gain from playing with it, then, from my point of view you are kind of in a grey area, i wouldnt think you were a criminal scumbag, but at the same time, if you got busted by the piracy fairies i'd struggle to have super sympathy with you. Greigy
May 13, 201016 yr Perhaps if Adobe priced their products more realistically the question wouldn't arise. Maybe if people stopped ripping them off the price could be more realistic. They wouldn't have to factor their investment in anti-piracy measures and lost revenue into the price for every legitimate buyer. Their R&D investment could potentially be shared across a greater number of paid licenses too. They are a business so they need a sufficient profit margin to keep investors happy. Extra costs and lost revenue erode the margin, so the price needs to go up to sustain it. Maybe people ripping off Adobe are actually ripping off legitimate users by a percentage as well. But if someone doesn't give a toss for Adobe's business they're probably not going to lose any sleep over mine either!
May 13, 201016 yr I don't think it's over priced, Recently bought Creative Suite 5 Master Collection, cost me over 2k, Been working with it since yesterday, word's can not explain how good this software is... worth every penny, way I see it is the cost of one website provides me with half my tool's to do god knows how many more websites, graphics etc (Other half is the computer of course) don't get why people complain about the price. If you just need Photoshop CS5 I've seen it on Amazon for £170, that's nothing for what you get and think of the return you would make off the investment, but like Darran said you can claim it back as a business expense. People who download it I hope you get shot.
May 13, 201016 yr From where I stand, most of you people are right The point, in short, is: If you intend to engage in a serious business you should by all means buy your tools, since those same tools will bring you more money than you'd have without the tools, meaning they practically pay for themselves in a while. Supporting this is also the fact that people put effort in such software and it's probably not extremely fair to steal from them. I, for one, did not buy photoshop. I downloaded CS3 just to have a good graphic software at hand, which I rarely use, so there's little point in paying for it - even if I could afford it. Such programs are, after all, over-priced. Whenever I download the latest program, game or other software I comfort myself by thinking that the authors will probably earn vast amounts of money from people who buy the products. Works for me There should always exist a healthy balance between the two sides. Without the other, one would quickly flip over.
May 14, 201016 yr I, for one, did not buy photoshop. I downloaded CS3 just to have a good graphic software at hand, which I rarely use, so there's little point in paying for it Can I rip one of your designs off for free? It's for a site that doesn't get many visitors, so it doesn't matter! Whenever I download the latest program, game or other software I comfort myself by thinking that the authors will probably earn vast amounts of money from people who buy the products. Works for me Do you go shoplifting and think it's OK because everyone else is paying to keep the shop open and stocked too?
May 14, 201016 yr Illegal is illegal - if design is your PROFESSION, then why one earth would you put yourself at risk of being prosecuted for something ridiculous like that. The fact is that, if you consider just how powerful Photoshop is, then it's actually a seriously good-value product. If you're just using it to push pixels around, then it's not worth buying. There are plenty of free products that will let you do that, just as effectively. If you're a photographer, that's when you see the full power of Photoshop - it's immense and it's saved me the money back, just from no developing costs with film, etc. I used to pay Colab in Coventry about £8 per roll for developing, more if it was something special but now I do it myself! Seriously though, loads of people think they need Photoshop to optimise their little website pictures - sure, you can do that but it's a bit like only using your Ferrari for the weekly shop. Photoshop, in my opinion, isn't overpriced. I'm sure Adobe make a lot of money from it but its usefulness is immense and more than makes up for the price! If you want it, pay for it. If you don't, try one of the (brilliant) free alternatives...
May 14, 201016 yr If you just need Photoshop CS5 I've seen it on Amazon for £170 Errr, I'd be a little wary of that if I were you - might be legit I guess but more than like that's a "boxed copy"!
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