Buy CS2 now or wait?

[Aelyrin]

Hello!

I was in an apple store on driday night discussing some things with a gentleman in the store and he suggested that I should wait to purchase my mac software for my new 17 stock C2D. Apparently there is a new version of Photoshop coming in 2007?

I am a web/application developer and the programs I use daily are Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook. I am brand spankin new mac user with zero experience, but I am extremely excited to be making the conversion finally. I am wondering what the best options to get into for this software is? I have seen a few packages on apple.com but am not sure what I should get.

I have heard that Photoshop is not running as well due to something that is not supported? (Not sure what it is called off the top of my head, dual layer something or other maybe?) Anyway, the guy in the apple store suggested that waiting may be a better option as once something else comes out (santa rosa?) then Photoshop should be performing much more admirably.

Any knowledge, suggestion, direction, or help is extremely appreciated! Thank you very much!

- New Mac User

 

[fivetoadsloth]

right now photoshop is not intel based and runs, though very slowly, through rosettta in the pring cs 3 is due for release and will be a UB and should be significantly faster on your iMac.

 

[72930]

Congratulations

Photoshop CS2 is not universal. As you may know the new apple macs are intel, not PPC. The old programs (e.g. CS2) are made for PPC, and run slower on intel (with rosetta), while newer programs are 'universal', and run very fast on intel macs. CS3, which will probably come out in Q2 2007, will run much faster than CS2.

 

[WildCowboy]

Right...apps need to be ported over to run on the new Intel chips. In the meantime, the old apps can run on those machines using a fast "emulation" technology called Rosetta. Unfortunately, Adobe has been slow in getting Intel-ready versions of its apps to market, so we are left running the old versions through Rosetta. (To be fair, moving CS2 to Intel is a huge project, so they're just folding it into the CS3 release instead of doing anything with CS2.)

Unfortunately, the old CS2 apps can be rather slow running under Rosetta. Lots of RAM helps, but it's still not natively-fast. Ideally, you'd want to wait until CS3 is released next year, but it looks like it may not be out until late spring or summer.

There's an interim version of Creative Suite (2.3) coming this week, but it's not Intel-compatible yet.

 

[Aelyrin]

Hmmm, sounds like i should try to hold off till those new versions come out. The 1k + prices tag on that software is pretty steep for me still so I would rather hold out until I had the intel based generation software instead of stuck with the old stuff!

What about for programs such as the Office for Mac with word/excel/powerpoint etc. Are those running on rosetta as well or is it safe to buy those now? Same deal with Dreamweaver, flash, fireworks? Safe to get now, or is it the old generation stuff as well that was intended to run on PPC?

Thanks so much for your help everyone!

 

[WildCowboy]

If I'm not mistaken, Adobe hasn't released universal versions of any of their software. I don't know how those other apps perform under Rosetta.

Office is not universal yet either, but I think most people find it runs pretty well under Rosetta if you have enough RAM. A universal version of Office isn't due until late summer or fall of next year.

Most apps out there are now universal, but Adobe and Office apps are the big ones still outstanding...they're such complex packages that it's taking them quite a while to get up-to-date.

The old apps are definitely usable under Rosetta, but they're not as snappy as people would like. It's hard to hold out until the universal versions come around, so it's a tough decision to make.

It's the major drawback to Apple's switch to Intel.

 

[monke]

I've been thinking about buying the Web Designers Suite as of late, but incase I buy another Mac in the future (which WILL happen ) I don't want to have to buy it all again. Having a PPC Mac is making the decision that much more difficult, but I can get by with trial software and the PC until I decide to buy.

 

[Aelyrin]

So, if the new universal apps for office/adobe are coming out next year, are they going completely replace the old software?

MEaning, will the old stuff that requires rosetta to run be updated, or just if you bought it so sorry so sad you have completely outdated software now?

Then we will have to buy the brand new stuff and use the old stuff as coffe coasters...

Or...

If I buy the current software, somtime next year they will release an "upgrade" or whatever that makes it run natively on the intel chip?

Thanks again for the help!

 

[bearbo]

If I'm not mistaken, Adobe hasn't released universal versions of any of their software. I don't know how those other apps perform under Rosetta.

isn't lightroom and adobe acrobat 8.0 universal? and their little soudn program (wait, this is intel only)?

So, if the new universal apps for office/adobe are coming out next year, are they going completely replace the old software?

MEaning, will the old stuff that requires rosetta to run be updated, or just if you bought it so sorry so sad you have completely outdated software now?

Then we will have to buy the brand new stuff and use the old stuff as coffe coasters...

Or...

If I buy the current software, somtime next year they will release an "upgrade" or whatever that makes it run natively on the intel chip?

Thanks again for the help!

they won't re-release the old application to make them universal.. if you buy the PPC only ones, you will be "so sorry so sad you have completely outdated software now" and "will have to buy the brand new stuff and use the old stuff as coffe coasters"

 

[Blue Velvet]

Wait. The 1st of May will be your lucky day...

 

[Westside guy]

I am a web/application developer and the programs I use daily are Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook. I am brand spankin new mac user with zero experience, but I am extremely excited to be making the conversion finally. I am wondering what the best options to get into for this software is? I have seen a few packages on apple.com but am not sure what I should get.

I'd say wait at this point, even if CS2 was universal rather than PPC. The new CS3 should be out in spring sometime.

I will say that I've found Dreamweaver runs at least as fast under Rosetta (on my new 2.16 Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro) as it did on my PPC Powerbook 1.25GHz. But Dreamweaver was never exactly a speed demon anyway; and neither was the Powerbook.

 

[Aelyrin]

Wait. The 1st of May will be your lucky day...

*sigh* not what i WANTED to hear, but can't have everything i spose! Oh well, the office is buying a few licenses for CS2 windows based, Ill prolly just run under windows til may I guess.

Does photoshop run well in Parallels based windows? Or should i be running it under bootcamp?

 

[failsafe1]

If you are going to wait until May 1st to get software that may not show up you might want to wait on your new Mac until then. If you plan on running PS under Bootcamp or Parallels those are two new sets of considerations. BC requires a reboot into Windows and Parallels could be just as slow or slower than Rosetta. If your office is getting a bunch of PS licenses could they at least get one license for Mac and you run under Rosetta until the new stuff comes out?

 

[hqsbud]

I've replied about CS2 performance on a 2.33GHz MacBook Pro with 2GB RAM on another thread, in which I said I'm very happy with its performance compared with its performance on my previous machine which was a 1.5GHz Powerbook G4 with 2GB RAM. I now have some numbers to give some guidance, though it doesn't prove all that much.

I made a short Photoshop Action which loads an 8 megapixel Canon RAW file at 16 bits, does a Lens Correction by adding a vignette and fisheye effect, scaled the image larger, converted to 8 bits, then saved the file as a PSD. I timed it from the moment I started the action until the action stopped running at the end of the file save.

On the Powerbook G4, it took 40 seconds (probably accurate to about a second with my reactions and an analog stop watch). On the MacBook Pro, it took 24 seconds. I ran tests multiple times to avoid effects of needing to load code from the hard disk.

In actual usage, I'm happier with CS2 on the MacBook Pro than on the Powerbook G4. Very large brushes would stutter on the Powerbook G4, but flow smoothly on the MacBook Pro. Scrolling is obviously faster, and all filters I use feel faster.

 

[shecky]

considering i am coming from a 1GHZ G4 TiBook to a 2.33 C2D the above is very good to hear.

sweet.

 

[fall3n]

wait for CS3. It'll be Universal which means it'll run very very fast and smooth. As others have said CS2 has to run in rosetta which signifcantly decreases it's performance, so just wait or you'll have to spend even more money to upgrade come Spring.

 

[Aelyrin]

If you are going to wait until May 1st to get software that may not show up you might want to wait on your new Mac until then. If you plan on running PS under Bootcamp or Parallels those are two new sets of considerations. BC requires a reboot into Windows and Parallels could be just as slow or slower than Rosetta. If your office is getting a bunch of PS licenses could they at least get one license for Mac and you run under Rosetta until the new stuff comes out?

I just cant wait any longer for my MMBP, I need it for work travelling purposes and I have waited for years for this machine to come out

I work for a small design agency and the 1100 price tag on software we will upgrade in several months for our mac users is too spendy.

Getting an extra license for PC use is safe as we are growing and bringing in new designers and need software for their workstations.

Ill just have to use the PC based software in parallels/bootcamp for the duration until the new mac stuff is released.

Stinks, but I can deal i guess!