6 ms·

Adobe says it is not providing free copies of Creative Studio 2

168 points by pappyo 14y ago

emeraldd 14y ago
Sounds like someone at Adobe is having a very bad day.
josh2600 14y ago
I have to believe that Adobe did this on purpose, at least from a marketing standpoint. If they indeed didn't want blogs releasing this as "free" all of these major publications (LIKE FORBES) would not be using that word in the headline. I think the PR team at Adobe labeled this as free or, at the very least, pitched at reporters that way, and I frankly don't think this is a problem or that they're upset about it.
- jspthrowaway2 14y ago
  Anybody can have a blog on Forbes, and it's not Forbes the editorial team publishing them. It's sad that Forbes hinged its brand on the occasional piles of malarky that are published on those blogs, especially since you're using the "It's Forbes!" argument here. Most "Forbes" blogs are around the quality level of Business Insider (read as: pollution).
  - armored_mammal 14y ago
    I often find Forbes blog entries more interesting than the actual magazine articles, though that is, of course, not the same as saying that the blogs are on average any good.
- eli 14y ago
  I think some variant Hanlon's razor is much more likely.
zdgman 14y ago
So, CS2 is free but it is actually not free? Interesting that they would make CS2 free as it is only compatible with PowerPC based Macs. Should have just made CS4 free and had more people jump onto the upgrade bandwagon!
- eli 14y ago
  No, I'm pretty sure it's not free at all. Yes, you can get away with using it without paying for it, but that doesn't make it free or legal.
  - fusiongyro 14y ago
    Yes, it's very clear on the forum that you need to already own a license to use this. There's just nothing in place to stop you from using it if you don't.
- fusiongyro 14y ago
  It sounds to me like they decided to decommission the activation server, then provided these binaries to somebody who called tech support because they couldn't validate their install, and the links to these binaries became public on accident. It sounds much more like some kind of internal screw up than some kind of policy decision--which is unfortunate, since many people have pointed out there are good business reasons to do this or something like it.
- macspoofing 14y ago
  >So, CS2 is free but it is actually not free Sounds like it isn't free and was never free. What they did was provide download links for CS2 products with corresponding license keys. The catch was that only those who previously purchased this product could legally use it. It's a kinda of honor system.
jspthrowaway2 14y ago
I never advocate changing titles, but this one is in need of work. It took me a bit to realize what was going on. Also, this seems like a non-issue. As I understand it, they've built a version that doesn't require activation and takes a special serial number, so they can phase out the CS2 activation servers. Some blogger (shocker, at Gizmodo) being fast and loose with the facts, well, got that wrong. Other blogs copied that mistake (a real problem in the "blogosphere"), Adobe took down the page that was linked, Monday rolls on. We're talking about software that won't even run on an Intel Mac here, people. The rest of this story is, "hey, check out the beating Adobe is taking on their forum!" Thanks, blogs. You win again.
- richforrester 14y ago
  Candidly, it's not just "in the blogosphere" - it's a staple for media in general, to the point where one could forgo labeling it a problem, and just call it an aspect. Other than that, agree with your post.
  - jspthrowaway2 14y ago
    I agree, but the entire premise of the blogosphere makes it worse. Ethically gray publishers like Gizmodo make it even worse still. Traditional journalists would be smart enough to check with Adobe for confirmation before telling the world what Adobe is doing. (Quit making me type "blogosphere". I'm going to develop a rash.)
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
  - eli 14y ago
    I agree that this problem is not exclusive to the medium, but it is endemic. I mean, many blogs speculated about Adobe's motivation for releasing "free" software, but did anyone pick up a phone or send an email to ask them about it?
    - 14y ago
drivebyacct2 14y ago
Oh, so they have a special copy of CS2 with a key that will allow it to work since Adobe's activation servers are down. That having been said, it is intended for users that already hold a CS2 license.
unreal37 14y ago
Seems an honest mistake, although it would be brilliant marketing to release CS2 for free or very cheap because people (companies) who pay $1000+ for Adobe CS would not still be stuck on CS2...
- nnnnni 14y ago
  Maybe where YOU work they're not.
- eli 14y ago
  I don't follow... wouldn't it lead to more people using CS2 not fewer?
error54 14y ago
TL;DR Blogs - "You can grab yourself a free, legitimate copy of Photoshop and the rest of the Creative Suite 2, right now, direct from Adobe. No catch."[1][2][3] Adobe - "You have heard wrong! Adobe is absolutely not providing free copies of CS2!" 1- http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/01/grab-photoshop-and-cs2-for-absolutely-free-right-now/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/01/grab-photoshop-and-cs2-for-... 2- http://lifehacker.com/5973750/download-adobe-creative-suite-2-including-photoshop-and-illustrator-for-free http://lifehacker.com/5973750/download-adobe-creative-suite-... 3- http://www.petapixel.com/2013/01/07/adobe-may-be-offering-a-free-and-legal-download-of-creative-suite-2/ http://www.petapixel.com/2013/01/07/adobe-may-be-offering-a-...
jiggy2011 14y ago
So, Adobe is providing copies of CS2 that are activation free and are providing the serial numbers with the download? So it's basically an honesty system not to pirate it?
- macspoofing 14y ago
  Yep.
- eli 14y ago
  Photoshop is one of the most pirated pieces of software. It is not hard to find CS6 online for free. One way or another it's always been the honor system, no?
  - robryan 14y ago
    With the difference being that to most people it would appear the second method is advocated by Adobe whereas no one expects that Adobe wants you to pickup Photoshop from pirate bay.
    - escaped_reddit 14y ago
      I disagree. Adobe actually relies* (not that they could care to admit it and they shouldn't) on college kids pirating their software so they get familar with it and when they leave for jobs they can put on on their resume.
- andrewfelix 14y ago
  Anyone who can't make enough money off the back of Adobe is probably not worth Adobe fighting for anyway. A lot of these pirates will be younger and or students who will go on to work in the industry and help Adobe maintain it's software hegemony.
  - FredFredrickson 14y ago
    That's absolutely it. All it takes is one or two decent jobs and you've paid for your Creative Suite. It's a lot of money overall, but not as much as it appears when you're new to it all. It's a little regrettable that Adobe maintains so much control over the market, but as a creative professional myself, I can't find much that can actually compete with their software, especially for the price.
bernardom 14y ago
What's the legality of this? Would it be illegal for me to download proprietary software from the owner's domain if the owner didn't mean to make available for free? If a movie studio broadcast a brand-new movie over the air for free by mistake, would it be illegal for me to record it? Would I have to delete it? I'm pretty sure I couldn't put it up on a server for free download, otherwise I could do that with NFL games right now. Does the fact that they require a license key (or make you click a box saying "I own a license") change this from legal to illegal?
- tantalor 14y ago
  > Does the fact that they require a license key (or make you click a box saying "I own a license") change this from legal to illegal? Definitely not. They should have released a version that doesn't not require a license key to use, but they were too lazy to open up the source code so they're giving out the special keys instead. The fact is the program is their copyright, so you can't download it (or use it, or share it) without a license, under penalty of a lawsuit.
  - bernardom 14y ago
    At what point does something enter the public domain, though? (I know the Disney/Sonny Bono 70-odd years rule for copyrights, but this seems different) If an algorithmic trading company that is killing it happens to mistakenly leave a link to the copyrighted source code, can I use it? What if they publish their algorithm on the front page with no explanation? What if they publish it on the front page with a note saying "Free, take it!" but then retract that, saying it was a rogue employee? What if the CEO sends it to the WSJ or posts it to a comment box on another site? What if they make t-shirts with it, and a huge banner on the side of their building? Basically, at what point of ridiculousness does the protection break down (if any)?
    - marshray 14y ago
      You're conflating copyright on the text of the source code with the algorithm itself. Go read a little about the differences between copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents. It's not that hard to get the basic ideas.
hanleybrand 14y ago
If problems is shorthand for "has a lot of cease and desist paperwork to file" I agree. I'm not clear what Adobe did wrong here, other than actually try to not completely screw people running very old versions of their software. Sadly, no one would seriously make an accusation that they were screwing up if they had just shut off the validation servers and posted an note to their knowledge base, ID #FU-CS2-15-01734-81-CS6-plz.
brador 14y ago
Does it really cost that much to keep an activation server running? How much are we talking here?
- unsignedint 14y ago
  I think it's not only the actual cost of running an activation server, but supports associated with it. (E.g. People maxing out activation count, etc.)
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    Seems like the best approach would be to replace the activation server with something that says "Yep, you're activated." That way you can gather potentially useful data, and perhaps change your mind later, while not requiring any support and resources beyond 0.001% of a CPU somewhere.
    - unsignedint 14y ago
      That's probably the approach Microsoft is taking with their activation, not sure if Adobe incorporates similar scheme. Not that Microsoft's server always respond "yep, you're activated" but I heard from somewhere they do reset activation counts after a certain period after last activation. (Something like 6 months.)
- campnic 14y ago
  How could anyone give you an estimate? We have no idea the amount of corporate drag associated with this. In theory, it could be a large cost considering this is a large enterprise which has to meet many, many customer information and privacy regulations.
codysoyland 14y ago
Awful title. I half-expected to see bankruptcy proceedings.
campnic 14y ago
IBM has done this forever. Its called soft licensing. (or at least that is what their term was) It not a free copy. If you use this and they have proof, you would be sued for violating the licenses. Its the same as stealing. Just because they aren't locking you out doesn't mean you can use it.
- jamiequint 14y ago
  It's not the same as stealing. When you steal something the person who formerly had it no longer has it. This term is commonly used inappropriately when talking about software and media licensing.
  - campnic 14y ago
    Well, we can split hairs on language, but 'steal' - 'to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully'. This pretty much sums up the situation described by the article. Notice that I'm not making some philosophical point about software, I'm saying if the license to something says that you must have purchased it to use it, to use it without said license is to "appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully". http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stealing http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stealing
    - daurnimator 14y ago
      "take" and "appropriate" imply that the original owner is no longer in possesion of the item.
      - klodolph 14y ago
        "Take" has so many meanings it's ridiculous. It doesn't imply just one thing, it implies several. You take after your father. Did you take the test? She didn't take much time. He took quite a beating. I took a dump. We'll take a look at it. I'll take a stab at it. "Appropriate", the verb, is also flexible and also does not imply depriving someone of something. You can "appropriate" something when you create art, and you can be accused of "cultural appropriation", but in neither case is anyone deprived of what you appropriated. So shut up. The argument about semantics is shit and you should stop repeating it.
djt 14y ago
A good marketing ploy to save money by decommissioning their Validation servers. Would be interesting to see the cost of maintenance versus. Having said that, this is bad for the GIMP guys
toyg 14y ago
It might have been a screw-up, but Oracle does the exact same thing for all their products: you are free to download and install everything you want (and they provide universal license codes for acquired products that might still need them), but you're not actually allowed to run anything past 30 days (with some exceptions, like Enteprise Linux, SQLDeveloper, XE etc). Nothing in the software actually forces you to stop, but should Oracle sue you, you're screwed. It's a win-win for everyone: users can easily train themselves, and Oracle gets mindshare and goodwill without renouncing their expensive support contracts and license renewals.
- shadowmint 14y ago
  Adobe is trying to use it's 'creative cloud' to do this, without the risk of tonnes of people just taking the software and never paying for it. This whole CS2 thing is total screw up.
mxfh 14y ago
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." Henry Ford https://twitter.com/Adobe/status/288382433391435777 https://twitter.com/Adobe/status/288382433391435777 If this is meant to be related it's borderline genius.
nthitz 14y ago
Looks like they released a statement via their blog http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2013/01/update-on-cs2-and-acrobat-7-activation-servers.html http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2013/01/update-on-cs2-a...
- loudandskittish 14y ago
  And yet, it still doesn't say outright that random people hitting the download page aren't allowed to use it. Just: "While this might be interpreted as Adobe giving away software for free, we did it to help our customers."
ynniv 14y ago
Lots of comments here say that this doesn't really change anything for Photoshop, but I think that it does. Compare downloading a cracked version to downloading this version. The cracked version might contain terrible malware. It might still contain activation code that will phone Adobe with your serial number. You probably downloaded it from BitTorrent, which we know is easily trackable. If a serial number is still required, you will be using a number that is well known as a pirated number. This version will not contain terrible malware (it may even come with updates from the vendor!) It has been modified by the people who wrote it to definitely not contain activation code. You will have downloaded it directly from Adobe at their request, along with their other paying customers. If your serial number is ever reported, you are indistinguishable from a legitimate user. The bar has been raised from "this IP reports a pirated copy" or "this IP downloaded a pirated copy" to individually auditing possibly legitimate customers in person. Adobe can't even include the hash in the list of hashes that will trigger ISP copyright enforcement alerting systems such as "six strikes". Unlike existing cracked versions, the risk for using this is very low. I too was expecting an interesting business announcement when I clicked the link, and I too was disappointed. However, if you think this is a harmless mistake and no different from the existing Pirate Bay release, you aren't thinking very scrappy. This could easily make CS2 the version of choice for students and startups. (And Mac users can run it in VirtualBox on WinXP)
sycren 14y ago
Why have they not changed the information on their download page yet? http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html For news sites that have not redacted or said something about this error, many of their readers are still going to be pushed towards downloading a free 'legitimate' program.
yuhong 14y ago
For older Macromedia products they just provide special serial numbers: http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/macromedia-legacy-activation-error.html http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/macromedia...
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
001sky 14y ago
What is true is that Adobe is terminating the activation servers for CS2 and that for existing licensed users of CS2 who need to reinstall their software, copies of CS2 that don't require activation but do require valid serial numbers are available. ==From Adobe
orionblastar 14y ago
'Own Goal'! http://normanconquesttech.blogspot.com/2013/01/adobe-scores-major-own-goal.html http://normanconquesttech.blogspot.com/2013/01/adobe-scores-...
tuananh 14y ago
[that page](http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html) is still up for me with serial #. I didn't even purchase CS2.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
doodyhead 14y ago
What I find surprising is that the download page itself contains no mention whatsoever of licensing. It lists the system requirements and has a big graphic up the top apparently attempting to upsell you to CS6 / Creative Cloud. Would it have been so hard to say something like, 'These downloads and keys are provided for users who already possess a valid CS2 license. If you have not paid for any of these products, you are not entitled to use them.' ? Makes me lean more towards publicity stunt.

168 points by pappyo 14y ago

Sounds like someone at Adobe is having a very bad day.

I have to believe that Adobe did this on purpose, at least from a marketing standpoint. If they indeed didn't want blogs releasing this as "free" all of these major publications (LIKE FORBES) would not be using that word in the headline. I think the PR team at Adobe labeled this as free or, at the very least, pitched at reporters that way, and I frankly don't think this is a problem or that they're upset about it.

jspthrowaway2 14y ago
Anybody can have a blog on Forbes, and it's not Forbes the editorial team publishing them. It's sad that Forbes hinged its brand on the occasional piles of malarky that are published on those blogs, especially since you're using the "It's Forbes!" argument here. Most "Forbes" blogs are around the quality level of Business Insider (read as: pollution).
- armored_mammal 14y ago
  I often find Forbes blog entries more interesting than the actual magazine articles, though that is, of course, not the same as saying that the blogs are on average any good.
eli 14y ago
I think some variant Hanlon's razor is much more likely.

zdgman 14y ago

So, CS2 is free but it is actually not free? Interesting that they would make CS2 free as it is only compatible with PowerPC based Macs. Should have just made CS4 free and had more people jump onto the upgrade bandwagon!

eli 14y ago
No, I'm pretty sure it's not free at all. Yes, you can get away with using it without paying for it, but that doesn't make it free or legal.
- fusiongyro 14y ago
  Yes, it's very clear on the forum that you need to already own a license to use this. There's just nothing in place to stop you from using it if you don't.
fusiongyro 14y ago
It sounds to me like they decided to decommission the activation server, then provided these binaries to somebody who called tech support because they couldn't validate their install, and the links to these binaries became public on accident. It sounds much more like some kind of internal screw up than some kind of policy decision--which is unfortunate, since many people have pointed out there are good business reasons to do this or something like it.
macspoofing 14y ago
>So, CS2 is free but it is actually not free Sounds like it isn't free and was never free. What they did was provide download links for CS2 products with corresponding license keys. The catch was that only those who previously purchased this product could legally use it. It's a kinda of honor system.

jspthrowaway2 14y ago

I never advocate changing titles, but this one is in need of work. It took me a bit to realize what was going on. Also, this seems like a non-issue. As I understand it, they've built a version that doesn't require activation and takes a special serial number, so they can phase out the CS2 activation servers. Some blogger (shocker, at Gizmodo) being fast and loose with the facts, well, got that wrong. Other blogs copied that mistake (a real problem in the "blogosphere"), Adobe took down the page that was linked, Monday rolls on. We're talking about software that won't even run on an Intel Mac here, people. The rest of this story is, "hey, check out the beating Adobe is taking on their forum!" Thanks, blogs. You win again.

richforrester 14y ago
Candidly, it's not just "in the blogosphere" - it's a staple for media in general, to the point where one could forgo labeling it a problem, and just call it an aspect. Other than that, agree with your post.
- jspthrowaway2 14y ago
  I agree, but the entire premise of the blogosphere makes it worse. Ethically gray publishers like Gizmodo make it even worse still. Traditional journalists would be smart enough to check with Adobe for confirmation before telling the world what Adobe is doing. (Quit making me type "blogosphere". I'm going to develop a rash.)
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- eli 14y ago
  I agree that this problem is not exclusive to the medium, but it is endemic. I mean, many blogs speculated about Adobe's motivation for releasing "free" software, but did anyone pick up a phone or send an email to ask them about it?
  - 14y ago

drivebyacct2 14y ago

Oh, so they have a special copy of CS2 with a key that will allow it to work since Adobe's activation servers are down. That having been said, it is intended for users that already hold a CS2 license.

unreal37 14y ago

Seems an honest mistake, although it would be brilliant marketing to release CS2 for free or very cheap because people (companies) who pay $1000+ for Adobe CS would not still be stuck on CS2...

nnnnni 14y ago
Maybe where YOU work they're not.
eli 14y ago
I don't follow... wouldn't it lead to more people using CS2 not fewer?

error54 14y ago

TL;DR Blogs - "You can grab yourself a free, legitimate copy of Photoshop and the rest of the Creative Suite 2, right now, direct from Adobe. No catch."[1][2][3] Adobe - "You have heard wrong! Adobe is absolutely not providing free copies of CS2!" 1- http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/01/grab-photoshop-and-cs2-for-absolutely-free-right-now/ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/01/grab-photoshop-and-cs2-for-... 2- http://lifehacker.com/5973750/download-adobe-creative-suite-2-including-photoshop-and-illustrator-for-free http://lifehacker.com/5973750/download-adobe-creative-suite-... 3- http://www.petapixel.com/2013/01/07/adobe-may-be-offering-a-free-and-legal-download-of-creative-suite-2/ http://www.petapixel.com/2013/01/07/adobe-may-be-offering-a-...

jiggy2011 14y ago

So, Adobe is providing copies of CS2 that are activation free and are providing the serial numbers with the download? So it's basically an honesty system not to pirate it?

macspoofing 14y ago
Yep.
eli 14y ago
Photoshop is one of the most pirated pieces of software. It is not hard to find CS6 online for free. One way or another it's always been the honor system, no?
- robryan 14y ago
  With the difference being that to most people it would appear the second method is advocated by Adobe whereas no one expects that Adobe wants you to pickup Photoshop from pirate bay.
  - escaped_reddit 14y ago
    I disagree. Adobe actually relies* (not that they could care to admit it and they shouldn't) on college kids pirating their software so they get familar with it and when they leave for jobs they can put on on their resume.
andrewfelix 14y ago
Anyone who can't make enough money off the back of Adobe is probably not worth Adobe fighting for anyway. A lot of these pirates will be younger and or students who will go on to work in the industry and help Adobe maintain it's software hegemony.
- FredFredrickson 14y ago
  That's absolutely it. All it takes is one or two decent jobs and you've paid for your Creative Suite. It's a lot of money overall, but not as much as it appears when you're new to it all. It's a little regrettable that Adobe maintains so much control over the market, but as a creative professional myself, I can't find much that can actually compete with their software, especially for the price.

bernardom 14y ago

What's the legality of this? Would it be illegal for me to download proprietary software from the owner's domain if the owner didn't mean to make available for free? If a movie studio broadcast a brand-new movie over the air for free by mistake, would it be illegal for me to record it? Would I have to delete it? I'm pretty sure I couldn't put it up on a server for free download, otherwise I could do that with NFL games right now. Does the fact that they require a license key (or make you click a box saying "I own a license") change this from legal to illegal?

tantalor 14y ago
> Does the fact that they require a license key (or make you click a box saying "I own a license") change this from legal to illegal? Definitely not. They should have released a version that doesn't not require a license key to use, but they were too lazy to open up the source code so they're giving out the special keys instead. The fact is the program is their copyright, so you can't download it (or use it, or share it) without a license, under penalty of a lawsuit.
- bernardom 14y ago
  At what point does something enter the public domain, though? (I know the Disney/Sonny Bono 70-odd years rule for copyrights, but this seems different) If an algorithmic trading company that is killing it happens to mistakenly leave a link to the copyrighted source code, can I use it? What if they publish their algorithm on the front page with no explanation? What if they publish it on the front page with a note saying "Free, take it!" but then retract that, saying it was a rogue employee? What if the CEO sends it to the WSJ or posts it to a comment box on another site? What if they make t-shirts with it, and a huge banner on the side of their building? Basically, at what point of ridiculousness does the protection break down (if any)?
  - marshray 14y ago
    You're conflating copyright on the text of the source code with the algorithm itself. Go read a little about the differences between copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents. It's not that hard to get the basic ideas.

hanleybrand 14y ago

If problems is shorthand for "has a lot of cease and desist paperwork to file" I agree. I'm not clear what Adobe did wrong here, other than actually try to not completely screw people running very old versions of their software. Sadly, no one would seriously make an accusation that they were screwing up if they had just shut off the validation servers and posted an note to their knowledge base, ID #FU-CS2-15-01734-81-CS6-plz.

brador 14y ago

Does it really cost that much to keep an activation server running? How much are we talking here?

unsignedint 14y ago
I think it's not only the actual cost of running an activation server, but supports associated with it. (E.g. People maxing out activation count, etc.)
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  Seems like the best approach would be to replace the activation server with something that says "Yep, you're activated." That way you can gather potentially useful data, and perhaps change your mind later, while not requiring any support and resources beyond 0.001% of a CPU somewhere.
  - unsignedint 14y ago
    That's probably the approach Microsoft is taking with their activation, not sure if Adobe incorporates similar scheme. Not that Microsoft's server always respond "yep, you're activated" but I heard from somewhere they do reset activation counts after a certain period after last activation. (Something like 6 months.)
campnic 14y ago
How could anyone give you an estimate? We have no idea the amount of corporate drag associated with this. In theory, it could be a large cost considering this is a large enterprise which has to meet many, many customer information and privacy regulations.

codysoyland 14y ago

Awful title. I half-expected to see bankruptcy proceedings.

campnic 14y ago

IBM has done this forever. Its called soft licensing. (or at least that is what their term was) It not a free copy. If you use this and they have proof, you would be sued for violating the licenses. Its the same as stealing. Just because they aren't locking you out doesn't mean you can use it.

jamiequint 14y ago
It's not the same as stealing. When you steal something the person who formerly had it no longer has it. This term is commonly used inappropriately when talking about software and media licensing.
- campnic 14y ago
  Well, we can split hairs on language, but 'steal' - 'to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully'. This pretty much sums up the situation described by the article. Notice that I'm not making some philosophical point about software, I'm saying if the license to something says that you must have purchased it to use it, to use it without said license is to "appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully". http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stealing http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stealing
  - daurnimator 14y ago
    "take" and "appropriate" imply that the original owner is no longer in possesion of the item.
    - klodolph 14y ago
      "Take" has so many meanings it's ridiculous. It doesn't imply just one thing, it implies several. You take after your father. Did you take the test? She didn't take much time. He took quite a beating. I took a dump. We'll take a look at it. I'll take a stab at it. "Appropriate", the verb, is also flexible and also does not imply depriving someone of something. You can "appropriate" something when you create art, and you can be accused of "cultural appropriation", but in neither case is anyone deprived of what you appropriated. So shut up. The argument about semantics is shit and you should stop repeating it.

djt 14y ago

A good marketing ploy to save money by decommissioning their Validation servers. Would be interesting to see the cost of maintenance versus. Having said that, this is bad for the GIMP guys

toyg 14y ago

It might have been a screw-up, but Oracle does the exact same thing for all their products: you are free to download and install everything you want (and they provide universal license codes for acquired products that might still need them), but you're not actually allowed to run anything past 30 days (with some exceptions, like Enteprise Linux, SQLDeveloper, XE etc). Nothing in the software actually forces you to stop, but should Oracle sue you, you're screwed. It's a win-win for everyone: users can easily train themselves, and Oracle gets mindshare and goodwill without renouncing their expensive support contracts and license renewals.

shadowmint 14y ago
Adobe is trying to use it's 'creative cloud' to do this, without the risk of tonnes of people just taking the software and never paying for it. This whole CS2 thing is total screw up.

mxfh 14y ago

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." Henry Ford https://twitter.com/Adobe/status/288382433391435777 https://twitter.com/Adobe/status/288382433391435777 If this is meant to be related it's borderline genius.

nthitz 14y ago

Looks like they released a statement via their blog http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2013/01/update-on-cs2-and-acrobat-7-activation-servers.html http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2013/01/update-on-cs2-a...

loudandskittish 14y ago
And yet, it still doesn't say outright that random people hitting the download page aren't allowed to use it. Just: "While this might be interpreted as Adobe giving away software for free, we did it to help our customers."

ynniv 14y ago

Lots of comments here say that this doesn't really change anything for Photoshop, but I think that it does. Compare downloading a cracked version to downloading this version. The cracked version might contain terrible malware. It might still contain activation code that will phone Adobe with your serial number. You probably downloaded it from BitTorrent, which we know is easily trackable. If a serial number is still required, you will be using a number that is well known as a pirated number. This version will not contain terrible malware (it may even come with updates from the vendor!) It has been modified by the people who wrote it to definitely not contain activation code. You will have downloaded it directly from Adobe at their request, along with their other paying customers. If your serial number is ever reported, you are indistinguishable from a legitimate user. The bar has been raised from "this IP reports a pirated copy" or "this IP downloaded a pirated copy" to individually auditing possibly legitimate customers in person. Adobe can't even include the hash in the list of hashes that will trigger ISP copyright enforcement alerting systems such as "six strikes". Unlike existing cracked versions, the risk for using this is very low. I too was expecting an interesting business announcement when I clicked the link, and I too was disappointed. However, if you think this is a harmless mistake and no different from the existing Pirate Bay release, you aren't thinking very scrappy. This could easily make CS2 the version of choice for students and startups. (And Mac users can run it in VirtualBox on WinXP)

sycren 14y ago

Why have they not changed the information on their download page yet? http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html For news sites that have not redacted or said something about this error, many of their readers are still going to be pushed towards downloading a free 'legitimate' program.

yuhong 14y ago

For older Macromedia products they just provide special serial numbers: http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/macromedia-legacy-activation-error.html http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/macromedia...

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001sky 14y ago

What is true is that Adobe is terminating the activation servers for CS2 and that for existing licensed users of CS2 who need to reinstall their software, copies of CS2 that don't require activation but do require valid serial numbers are available. ==From Adobe

orionblastar 14y ago

'Own Goal'! http://normanconquesttech.blogspot.com/2013/01/adobe-scores-major-own-goal.html http://normanconquesttech.blogspot.com/2013/01/adobe-scores-...

tuananh 14y ago

[that page](http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html) is still up for me with serial #. I didn't even purchase CS2.

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doodyhead 14y ago

What I find surprising is that the download page itself contains no mention whatsoever of licensing. It lists the system requirements and has a big graphic up the top apparently attempting to upsell you to CS6 / Creative Cloud. Would it have been so hard to say something like, 'These downloads and keys are provided for users who already possess a valid CS2 license. If you have not paid for any of these products, you are not entitled to use them.' ? Makes me lean more towards publicity stunt.