[Update] Adobe Creative Suite CS2 Premium for free on Adobe website.

leez · 03:20 PM

As Dov Isaacs wrote on Adobe forums (http://forums.adobe.com/message/4974662#4974662):

Quote:

On behalf of Adobe Systems Incorporated ...

You have heard wrong! Adobe is absolutely not providing free copies of CS2!

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. (Special serial numbers are provided on the page for each product download.) See <http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1114930>.

You are only legally entitled to download and install with that serial number if you have a valid license to the product!

- Dov

Link to official Adobe post about problems activating CS2: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1114930
Link to support page describing the issue and with links to CS2 software: http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/p...-end-life.html

-----------------------------------

As in the title. Download here:

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitl...s2%5Fdownloads

I know it's old, but what a move by Adobe !

jessica. · Jan 7, 2013, 08:23 AM

I saw that on twitter this morning and thought that it was nice and all but aren't they on CS6 now? It is a good move, but why not offer something like CS4? Either way, free is free and that is something I don't see Adobe do.

leez · 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessica.

I saw that on twitter this morning and thought that it was nice and all but aren't they on CS6 now? It is a good move, but why not offer something like CS4? Either way, free is free and that is something I don't see Adobe do.

Yes, I'm on CS6 as well and as I said, CS2 is old (not sure if it will work on Mountain Lion).

But look at it as fighting with piracy, giving an alternative, pro alternative to GIMP etc., preparing young people to use it at work in the future (so they will recommend it and learn it) and finally to let people try it before buying Creative Cloud - which I think will be the future road for Adobe - let's wait till they announce the profit on it after first year of launch. As far as I can remember they never released any of their Suites for free.

fig · Jan 7, 2013, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessica.

I saw that on twitter this morning and thought that it was nice and all but aren't they on CS6 now? It is a good move, but why not offer something like CS4? Either way, free is free and that is something I don't see Adobe do.

CS2 isn't really that different from CS6. Most people could be using CS/CS2 and be just fine.

I've got CS3 running on Lion on my iMac at home and that works great, I'd think CS2 would work but I guess we'll see.

chrfr · Jan 7, 2013, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fig

CS2 isn't really that different from CS6. Most people could be using CS/CS2 and be just fine.

I've got CS3 running on Lion on my iMac at home and that works great, I'd think CS2 would work but I guess we'll see.

CS2 will not work, as it's only compatible with PowerPC processors, and wasn't generally compatible with 10.6.x and can't run at all in 10.7 or later.

fig · Jan 7, 2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrfr

CS2 will not work, as it's only compatible with PowerPC processors, and wasn't generally compatible with 10.6.x and can't run at all in 10.7 or later.

Good to know, thanks. Might be worth running bootcamp for to run it in an older version of Windows for some folks.

CrickettGrrrl · Jan 7, 2013, 11:14 AM

I'm still using CS2 and it works in Snow Leopard and it's quite usable, definitely not able to run it in Lion or Mountain Lion though. --Also, the site is down. Too bad Adobe didn't offer CS3, oh well...

snberk103 · Jan 7, 2013, 12:01 PM

Smart move by Adobe. Offer something for people on old hardware to get them hooked on Adobe products, knowing that the hardware will need to be replaced sooner rather than later. And that if the user wants to continue using CS they then have to buy a new version. Good marketing move.

urban.spaceman · Jan 7, 2013, 01:26 PM

"You can’t open the application “Adobe Installer” because PowerPC applications are no longer supported."
Running Mountain Lion - is there anything I can do or have I just spent the last hour putting 2.64gb on my laptop for no bloody reason?

Nermal · Jan 7, 2013, 02:19 PM

Does this include Fireworks? I know that CS3 did but I'm finding conflicting information about whether CS2 included Fireworks or not.

hvfsl · Jan 7, 2013, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by urban.spaceman

"You can’t open the application “Adobe Installer” because PowerPC applications are no longer supported."
Running Mountain Lion - is there anything I can do or have I just spent the last hour putting 2.64gb on my laptop for no bloody reason?

You could always run 10.6 in a Virtual Machine.

Jaffa Cake · Jan 7, 2013, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nermal

Does this include Fireworks? I know that CS3 did but I'm finding conflicting information about whether CS2 included Fireworks or not.

Nope, no Fireworks in CS2 – we have both the Standard and Premium versions at work and it isn't included with either.

VictorNT · Jan 7, 2013, 02:54 PM

Oops ! The site is unavailable ....

And1ss · Jan 7, 2013, 02:56 PM

Looks like adobe decided that it was giving out too many free copies...

arogge · Jan 7, 2013, 04:31 PM

It looks like the gullible people looking for free stuff got duped, as usual!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adrianki...ions-for-free/

leez · Jan 7, 2013, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arogge

It looks like the gullible people looking for free stuff got duped, as usual!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adrianki...ions-for-free/

Thanks for the link. Will update the post title and message.

ratsg · Jan 8, 2013, 09:50 PM

FYI, the link is back up.

CrickettGrrrl · Jan 9, 2013, 09:21 AM

Here's a link to an Ars Technica article about Adobe releasing CS2 (and yes, it IS available with a wink & a nod to all):

http://arstechnica.com/information-t...g-by-accident/

Peter Bright examines the ambiguity...

FWIW, it does run faster on my 2011 iMac in Snow Leopard using Rosetta & 16GB RAM than it does on my G5 PPC iMac. Some things are greyed out in Illustrator but I recently used 3D in Illustrator (first time) & was blown away that it actually worked.

It's worth downloading & running if you have SL or a VM, or an older Mac.

CrickettGrrrl · Jan 9, 2013, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leez

Update: Adobe Creative Suite CS2 Premium for free on Adobe website. Not.

I think the "Not" should be removed from the thread title, as it is available for free to all. The Ars Technica article "Adobe Does Something Amazing by Accident" explains the twists.

macstatic · Jan 14, 2013, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvfsl

You could always run 10.6 in a Virtual Machine.

Just exactly what do I need to get/set up and are there free virtual machines available?
I'm on a Mac Pro with OSX 10.6.8.

leez · Jan 14, 2013, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macstatic

Just exactly what do I need to get/set up and are there free virtual machines available?
I'm on a Mac Pro with OSX 10.6.8.

Yes, get the Oracle VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org

weckart · Jan 14, 2013, 07:11 AM

Alternatively, install Wine or CrossOver and run the Windows version in an XP bottle. Might be slightly quicker than a VM.

ratsg · Jan 14, 2013, 10:19 AM

+1

I have also had great luck with VirtualBox

Quote:

Originally Posted by leez

Yes, get the Oracle VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org

CrickettGrrrl · Jan 14, 2013, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macstatic

Just exactly what do I need to get/set up and are there free virtual machines available?
I'm on a Mac Pro with OSX 10.6.8.

It should run fine for you in Snow Leopard without a virtual machine, it has for me, with Rosetta, for over a year.

macstatic · Jan 17, 2013, 04:04 AM

Sounds good, thanks

So what's the final verdict on it being available for everybody or just those who have previously purchased CS2? There seems to be a lot of confusion and speculation on what the facts are.

Adobe hasn't even bothered posting a note about it on their download page.

Jan 7, 2013, 08:23 AM	#2
jessica. macrumors Nehalem Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Wrong girl from the right side of the tracks	I saw that on twitter this morning and thought that it was nice and all but aren't they on CS6 now? It is a good move, but why not offer something like CS4? Either way, free is free and that is something I don't see Adobe do. __________________ Because I'm an ahole.
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 12:01 PM	#8
snberk103 macrumors 601 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: An Island in the Salish Sea	Smart move by Adobe. Offer something for people on old hardware to get them hooked on Adobe products, knowing that the hardware will need to be replaced sooner rather than later. And that if the user wants to continue using CS they then have to buy a new version. Good marketing move. __________________ My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world. - Jack Layton
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 02:56 PM	#14
And1ss macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2009	Looks like adobe decided that it was giving out too many free copies... __________________ 15" Early 2011 Macbook Pro \| iPhone 4 32GB Black \| iPad2 64 Wifi+3G
	2

Jan 7, 2013, 04:31 PM	#15
arogge macrumors 6502a Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Tatooine	No, You Can't Download Adobe CS2 Applications For Free It looks like the gullible people looking for free stuff got duped, as usual! http://www.forbes.com/sites/adrianki...ions-for-free/
	0

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Jan 7, 2013, 11:14 AM	#7
CrickettGrrrl macrumors 6502 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: B'more or Less	I'm still using CS2 and it works in Snow Leopard and it's quite usable, definitely not able to run it in Lion or Mountain Lion though. --Also, the site is down. Too bad Adobe didn't offer CS3, oh well...
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 01:26 PM	#9
urban.spaceman macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: I'm a backpacker, so I could be anywhere	"You can’t open the application “Adobe Installer” because PowerPC applications are no longer supported." Running Mountain Lion - is there anything I can do or have I just spent the last hour putting 2.64gb on my laptop for no bloody reason?
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 02:19 PM	#10
Nermal Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Whakatane, New Zealand	Does this include Fireworks? I know that CS3 did but I'm finding conflicting information about whether CS2 included Fireworks or not.
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 02:54 PM	#13
VictorNT macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New York City	Oops ! The site is unavailable ....
	2

Jan 8, 2013, 09:50 PM	#17
ratsg macrumors regular Join Date: Dec 2010	FYI, the link is back up.
	1

Jan 9, 2013, 09:21 AM	#18
CrickettGrrrl macrumors 6502 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: B'more or Less	Here's a link to an Ars Technica article about Adobe releasing CS2 (and yes, it IS available with a wink & a nod to all): http://arstechnica.com/information-t...g-by-accident/ Peter Bright examines the ambiguity... FWIW, it does run faster on my 2011 iMac in Snow Leopard using Rosetta & 16GB RAM than it does on my G5 PPC iMac. Some things are greyed out in Illustrator but I recently used 3D in Illustrator (first time) & was blown away that it actually worked. It's worth downloading & running if you have SL or a VM, or an older Mac.
	0

Jan 14, 2013, 07:11 AM	#22
weckart macrumors 68000 Join Date: Nov 2004	Alternatively, install Wine or CrossOver and run the Windows version in an XP bottle. Might be slightly quicker than a VM.
	0

Jan 17, 2013, 04:04 AM	#25
macstatic macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2005	Sounds good, thanks So what's the final verdict on it being available for everybody or just those who have previously purchased CS2? There seems to be a lot of confusion and speculation on what the facts are. Adobe hasn't even bothered posting a note about it on their download page.
	0