Did you buy your Photoshop or Lightroom or download it illegally?

[shiro_kuro]

I do think Adobe does somewhat benefit from kids downloading their products illegally. It somewhat secures their market dominance as kids are learning photoshop instead of a cheaper competing program. Once these kids get older and enter the professional world they might not want to take the risk of doing something illegal so they buy the product (or they work for an employer that buys the license for them).

If Adobe found a way to block all illegal uses of photoshop tomorrow, I don't think they would do it. It would be bad for business because all these users would switch to a cheaper of free alternative like GIMP etc. and they would possibly be lost as customers forever.

Also, if you look at the NYT's recently established paywall, it's quite obvious that they made it intentionally easy to circumvent. They are surely aware that anyone can reset the 30 free articles/month counter by simply deleting the cookies from the browser which is perfectly legal . The reason for putting up such a lax paywall is obviously to generate revenue from people who actually want to pay while still retaining a high readership overall to make money with ads.

I recently also heard that an increasingly large part of the budgets for blockbuster movies is getting financed through product placement deals. And of course the companies that have their products or brands in the movie don't really care whether or not the audience has paid for seeing the movie. They just want as many people as possible seeing it.

I think the way we have to look at piracy should not always be focused on the money. It's not always necessarily the case that companies are losing money through piracy. We should be more concerned with how it might reshape an industry in ways that are not exactly desirable.

Well said .... I recently read that 60% of Adobe PS users are using a pirated copy . Also Adobe profits in 2011 was in the neighbor hood of 1 billion dollars .... true or not Adobe seems to encourage it for various reasons as it is very simple to download a CS5 trial from Adobes site and get it to work past the trial period . Wouldn't it be easy for Adobe to implement some measures to stop the use of their software from those that did not purchase it ? They certainly are creative enough to come up with something if they wanted to . Well actually I think that may be the creative part as it gets the youth hooked on their products which in the end generates income for Adobe when these youths finally enter into jobs or start business that have a need for Adobe software ..... they buy it .

 

[whitecat]

I think they are both overpriced but we need them.

 

[jsrockit]

Not enough options. I didn't buy the software, but I didn't steal it either...

 

[rxmd]

Not enough options. I didn't buy the software, but I didn't steal it either...

Just check "Didn't pay for my X", after all the fact that you didn't pay for it doesn't mean that you stole or illegally downloaded it 😀
Watch out for the trigger happy software neighbourhood watch, though 😎

 

[jsrockit]

I received mine with my Leica X1. I guess I paid for it really... but I don't consider it that way.

 

[rbsinto]

My astonishment at someone asking such a ridiculous question is only surpassed by my astonishment at people actually answering it.

 

[nrb]

My latest PSE came with my present PB computer. But I had paid for 2 previous versions directly.

 

[venchka]

Bought Lightroom 1 & Lightroom 3 on CD. My answer does not astonish me at all.

Wayne

 

[jsrockit]

My astonishment at someone asking such a ridiculous question is only surpassed by my astonishment at people actually answering it.

How about those who had to comment on their astonishment? 😉

 

[Guaranteed]

I had a friend who gave me her copy of CS2 when she started a new job and switched to a Mac. Later on that computer ate it so when I got a new one I picked up a copy of PSE8 when I noticed it on sale. Every now and again I'll take a random class at one of the colleges in the area and while attending I snagged LR2 at the student pricing. Fast forward a bit and I got an email from Adobe offering CS5 at a pretty steep discount($250 IIRC) so I jumped at the offer.

 

[Sparrow]

... I'm seldom astonished these days

 

[Mudman]

I bought LR, didn't buy Photoshop. It came on my Mac when I purchased it used.

 

[shadowfox]

Lightroom is *not* overpriced for what it does.
It is probably the best software out there for anyone who uses a digital camera where files can accumulate at an astounding rate. With film, you can't shove a pile of big binders of negative out of the corner of your mind if you keep hitting your toes on them.

I paid for mine gladly, and since I married a black-belt coupon queen, I don't have to worry about full price either 😀

And lest you think I'm an adobe weenie, I also use darktable (1.0 is out, yo!) and GIMP. Each has its own strength.

 

[Steve M.]

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it may incriminate me 🙂

However, I do confess to kidnapping a hamster from Woolworth's over 50 years ago. Stuck him in my pocket, and he bit me as I was going out the store's front door. Herbie was a swell pal, but he was nocturnal. He had a cage with a squeaky hamster wheel (paid for w/ my allowance), and would run in it late at night. It never bothered me, but it dd my folks, so Herbie and his wheel were exiled to the back porch at night by my mom. Unfortunately, one night we had an unexpected cold spell and Herbie froze to death. I still haven't gotten over it. So, if you acquired your imaging software in a less than optimal manner, things could be worse. You could have been born into our family, where we excelled at stealing and murdering.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it may incriminate me 🙂

However, I do confess to kidnapping a hamster from Woolworth's over 50 years ago. Stuck him in my pocket, and he bit me as I was going out the store's front door. Herbie was a swell pal, but he was nocturnal. He had a cage with a squeaky hamster wheel (paid for w/ my allowance), and would run in it late at night. It never bothered me, but it dd my folks, so Herbie and his wheel were exiled to the back porch at night by my mom. Unfortunately, one night we had an unexpected cold spell and Herbie froze to death. I still haven't gotten over it. So, if you acquired your imaging software in a less than optimal manner, things could be worse. You could have been born into our family, where we excelled at stealing and murdering.

When I was a kid, one of my cousins had a hamster that got eaten by her cat. The cat figured out how to unlatch the cage door! One day, he decided he wanted fresh meat for lunch, and that ended the hamster!

 

[rxmd]

When I was a kid, one of my cousins had a hamster that got eaten by her cat. The cat figured out how to unlatch the cage door! One day, he decided he wanted fresh meat for lunch, and that ended the hamster!

By and large those are incompatible pets, a bit like cats and goldfish.

 

[Lancer]

Spent 1300 bucks last year to upgrade from CS2 to CS5. Upgraded to the Master Collection. Then had to buy Lightroom as its a stand alone program, thanks Adobe.

I dont mind, the software has made me lots of money over the years so its money well spent.

Next up is to get the NIK plug-ins. I did the trial and they are great. Soon, very soon.