CS4 - Academic Superstore

sara505

Hi. I'm just finishing up what could be my last semester as a matriculated student for a while and want to take advantage of Academic Superstore one last time. I got a great deal on LR 2 recently ($98), after jumping through several verification hoops, but it was worth it.

I'm looking at a long-awaited PS upgrade, and what I see at AS are three versions of CS4: Premium Student Version for $398; Standard Student Version for $298; Extended Student Version for $198.

I don't hear much about CS4, I hear more about CS3 - is CS4 what I want, and if so, which version? how do the versions differ? Am I missing out on something by not buying a straight version, rather than student version, of CS4?



Thanks!

arodney

I'd go CS4 only because you can get the deal and you'll have parity in Adobe Camera Raw with your 2.0 version of Lightroom (and the content scaling is pretty slick, even if you only use it rarely).

sara505

arodney wrote:

I'd go CS4 only because you can get the deal and you'll have parity in Adobe Camera Raw with your 2.0 version of Lightroom (and the content scaling is pretty slick, even if you only use it rarely).

Thanks, arodney. The question is, which CS4? Design Standard CS4 or Design Premium CS4? I'm confused by the nomenclature.

arodney

sara505 wrote:

Thanks, arodney. The question is, which CS4? Design Standard CS4 or Design Premium CS4? I'm confused by the nomenclature.

There's really only two Photoshop's. There's CS4 and CS4 Extended. Few need the extended but I'd check the spec's to see if there's some feature you have to have. I suspect the Premium package includes the extended version of Photoshop.

Design has other applications besides Photoshop (like InDesign etc). So do you want those other apps?

aj986s

sara505 wrote:

Thanks, arodney. The question is, which CS4? Design Standard CS4 or Design Premium CS4? I'm confused by the nomenclature.

You may want to check with Adobe's site for more details. I believe that Standard, Design Premium, etc. are "suites" of applications that come packaged together. Photoshop will be the same in either one. I don't know the details, but I recall one includes Adobe Acrobat and other publishing stuff. Another package includes a bunch of web publishing apps, like Dreamweaver (IIRC).

Something else not mentioned yet, is that the Academic versions are supposed to be "not for profit" use only. Not sure how Adobe will catch you, but if their Academic use software is used in large scale business activity, Adobe will not be happy. YMMV

sara505

aj986s wrote:

You may want to check with Adobe's site for more details. I believe that Standard, Design Premium, etc. are "suites" of applications that come packaged together. Photoshop will be the same in either one. I don't know the details, but I recall one includes Adobe Acrobat and other publishing stuff. Another package includes a bunch of web publishing apps, like Dreamweaver (IIRC).

Something else not mentioned yet, is that the Academic versions are supposed to be "not for profit" use only. Not sure how Adobe will catch you, but if their Academic use software is used in large scale business activity, Adobe will not be happy. YMMV

Thank you - I did check Adobe's site. I'm a little clearer on what is being offered, think I'll go with the standard edition.

I am not a full-time photographer - photography makes up a very small portion of my income, so I don't think it's a problem.

I think this issue has been raised in the past. I think the main issue is redistributing the soft-ware. It would be difficult to argue that I am not entitled to the academic discount, and by AS standards, I do qualify. I don't believe Adobe is into nit-picking the specific use. As stated at AS:

"What's the catch?
There is no catch. Adobe understands that if you're a satisfied customer, trained on their products, that you'll be a lifelong customer. They provide their software to Academic Superstore at a reduced cost, and we pass that savings along to you."


Anyway, I've been a student for most of the past 6 years, and there have been some semesters when I've needed PS more than others, so no, I'm not worried about the particular ethics or legality of my purchase, and I'm a pretty straight-shooter, as a rule.

Thanks for the replies - very helpful!

Art Scott

If the AS site doen't list the differences then their web master is getting lazy or has been relieved of duties......from past experience with AS there should have been a very good list of whats on each disk or package.

They used to have excellent customer service and would answer every little question in good detail, whether by phone or email.......I'd try emailing them my concerns.

When I dealt with them they did not list anything as student versions, as that usually meant something was missing out of the package....like a lite version and AS did not believe in selling anything but full retail products for a lower price.

Good Luck with your endeavor......oh most of the extended versions of Photoshop had a utility for doing animation work with in photoshop....

might just want to consult Adobe.com for all the nitty gritty.....they have a decent answer base but you have to make an account and sign in and all that to post questions.

sara505

Art Scott wrote:

If the AS site doen't list the differences then their web master is getting lazy or has been relieved of duties......from past experience with AS there should have been a very good list of whats on each disk or package.

They used to have excellent customer service and would answer every little question in good detail, whether by phone or email.......I'd try emailing them my concerns.

When I dealt with them they did not list anything as student versions, as that usually meant something was missing out of the package....like a lite version and AS did not believe in selling anything but full retail products for a lower price.

Good Luck with your endeavor......oh most of the extended versions of Photoshop had a utility for doing animation work with in photoshop....

might just want to consult Adobe.com for all the nitty gritty.....they have a decent answer base but you have to make an account and sign in and all that to post questions.

Hi, Art. I think most of the confusion was on my part. I found AS to be very helpful for my last purchase (LR2), and expect the same this time.
No, I definitely do not need extended version. I checked the contents at Adobe, and am satisfied that the standard version will suit my needs.
I'd be embarrassed to tell you what version PS I've been plodding along with, since my early days working for the Martha's Vineyard Times (almost ten years ago). I thought $600 was a lot to shell out at the time, so REALLY wanted to get my money's worth. I guess I did.

Hyperiate

aj986s wrote:

Something else not mentioned yet, is that the Academic versions are supposed to be "not for profit" use only. Not sure how Adobe will catch you, but if their Academic use software is used in large scale business activity, Adobe will not be happy. YMMV

That's no longer true (though I have no doubt that it used to be). As long as you qualify for the educational pricing at the time of purchase you may continue using the software just like any other license type forever with the one exception being that you cannot transfer the license to someone else.

I just checked the current license agreement (available on Adobe's site) for CS4 and did a pretty thorough check of the site itself (though their educational pages seem to subscribe to the "plate of spaghetti" theory of navigation) to confirm.

Anyone purchasing the academic versions should ALSO check to see if Adobe has their school on their academic pricing. Large schools will have TREMENDOUS discounts beyond even the student pricing. I can get some products for an additional 50% off even the educational prices through the school book store.

Cheers,
Tom B

hotchip

this is a little old, but i thought i would address some of the issues just to clear up any questions, as i do some work with the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Student Editions team.

I don't hear much about CS4, I hear more about CS3 - is CS4 what I want, and if so, which version? how do the versions differ? Am I missing out on something by not buying a straight version, rather than student version, of CS4?

you can get the Student Editions (providing you're enrolled as a student at an accredited institution) for up to 80% off the fully-priced product, and they have all the features and functionalities of the commercial editions. after you can purchase the upgrade to the commercial versions after you graduate.

When I dealt with them they did not list anything as student versions, as that usually meant something was missing out of the package....like a lite version and AS did not believe in selling anything but full retail products for a lower price.

nothing's missing out of the student editions of the Adobe Creative Suite 4. you can also find any information about the student editions at http://studenteditions.adobe.com/.

if you guys have any questions, please let me know.