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Illegal Photoshop or genuine Aperture?

J

joefinan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
595
0
Kingston-Upon-Thames, UK
When Apple finally decide to bring out a new MacBook Pro, I'll be on the list.

My current PowerBook has an illegal copy of Photoshop CS which I use regularly and at which I have become fairly competent. But I won't be able to transfer the app onto my new MacBook (will I?).

I want to try and keep all my apps genuine and there's no way I can afford £850 for CS3 so do I get Elements 6 for £70 or Aperture 1.5 (which I've never used) for £200?

Any ideas or input appreciated...
 
i use pirated software all the time, my logic is, if i use it for more then enjoyment, then i pay for it, photoshop i just play around with add some wings to myself, light-sabers, taht kinda crap. iWork i own as i use it for school, and Aperture i own as well, as the aspect of each detail i can modify. So if you want to go totally legal i suggest aperture, easy to use and amazingly powerful.
 
i don't believe the current elements is compatible with leopard

System Requirements
G3, G4 or G5 processor
Mac OS X v10.3 or 10.4
256MB RAM
750MB free hard-disk space
1024 x 768, 16-bit (XGA) display
CD-ROM drive

new will be available in march (don't know if this will affect your decision, but just thought you should know!)
 
Aperture is great, but is more of an up-market cataloguing application (think iPhoto on steroids) - it isn't a direct photoshop competitor.

My advice would be to give Pixelmator a try - it feels rather more like a 'Photoshop Lite' than Photoshop Elements does, and may well do all that you need. ($60 shareware).
 
Pixelmator has some ups and downs. It's incredibly fast, but lacks a lot of features. Enough that I can't use it for work. But, I think it's at least worth a test drive for most folks. We all have different needs.
 
joefinan said:
I didn't know that - thanks!

As for Pixelmator, I'd rather stay with mainstream software.
Click to expand...

The irony is that you'd rather stay with mainstream pirated software...clearly. ;)
But to answer your question, unless you were smart enough to download PSCS and put the install on a disc you cannot transfer it to your new computer when it comes unless you still have the install file then yes, you can simply transfer it like any other file. Aperture is not meant to replace Photoshop imo. I do believe that the idea of Pixelmator and Aperture isn't a bad one but I understand it's harder to find a pirated version of Pixelmator therefore making it impossible for you to use. It's understandable.

My advice would be to get your new computer and stick with your mainstream (free) software. Good luck.
 
jessica. said:
The irony is that you'd rather stay with mainstream pirated software...clearly.
Click to expand...

That's where you're very wrong. I bought the PB second hand and it had CS on it. I have no plans to purchase pirated software because, however you dress it up, it's theft.

You've confused me with GeneKam (see above) "i use pirated software all the time, my logic is, if i use it for more then enjoyment, then i pay for it". I don't use my car for work, just enjoyment, but it doesn't mean that it's 'morally right' for me to walk into a dealer and steal a car. I feel the same about software.
 
Perhaps time to get back OT.

I think that the main question that you should consider is what you use the software for. I have and use CS3, Aperture, and Lightroom. Currently, I am transitioning from Aperture to Lightroom, since I love Lightroom's development module, while it is IMHO not as nifty in stacking and organizing photos as Aperture. However, Aperture is also quite slow, even on a C2D MP with 9GB RAM, while Lightroom feels very snappy. Aperture has also not been updated for a long time.

I find that Aperture and Lightroom are both excellent tools for organizing pictures, and doing certain kinds of global edits, like color and exposure correction. However, if I want to do more complex tasks, or a local edit
on a picture, I use Photoshop.

Thus, in my mind, Lightroom or Aperture are neither a substitute for Photoshop, unless you do only global edits. Since you don't state your needs wrt editing, it is hard to say what is good for you.
 
Photoshop or Aperture should be an easy decision. If you want a convenient way to organize your library and make global changes to images, Aperture is the program for you. If you want to be able to use the program for graphic design or extensive spot editing, and don't care about having a robust system for organizing a large photo library, then go with Photoshop.
 
I understand not wanting to pay Adobe's UK prices for CS3. I certainly didn't. What I did was pick up a cheap (<£300) legal copy of CS2 on eBay (it took weeks to get one at the right price that didn't get sniped from under me) then bought a CS3 Web Premium upgrade in the US (it works fine in the UK) for $500 (around £250). So all in it's only cost me around £500 for a fully licensed legal copy of Photoshop CS3 Extended and as a bonus I have DreamWeaver CS3, Flash CS3, Illustrator CS3 and InDesign CS2. Not bad...

If you only need Photoshop you could probably go this route all in for under £250...
 
CanadaRAM said:
Nice sentiment. But in reality, you already have purchased and are using pirated software. "Came with it on the drive" is not an excuse, it's still theft.
Click to expand...

That is true - I didn't know it was on there when I bought it and I should have deleted it. I used it as a 'demo' without realising it was £850 to purchase a legal copy.

But we all make mistakes and I'm now putting it right.
 
I have Pixelmator (paid for) and I like it, I hope it improves further and it has a lots of potential. But assuming the new (Leopard + Universal) version of Elements is as good as previous versions, there isn't any comparison right now, IMHO (in Elements' favour that is, Pixelmator has a long way to go to catch up).

I haven't used Aperture or Lightroom myself, but as others say, I think it depends what you want from the software - personally I'd say if it's sorting and basic editing of lots of photos then maybe Aperture is the one, but if you want most of Photoshop's graphics manipulation then Elements should work great alongside iPhoto.

Owners of Aperture may disagree! I would recommend The next release of Elements and then see where Pixelmator is in a couple of years.
 
marykay9507 said:
i don't believe the current elements is compatible with leopard

System Requirements
G3, G4 or G5 processor
Mac OS X v10.3 or 10.4
256MB RAM
750MB free hard-disk space
1024 x 768, 16-bit (XGA) display
CD-ROM drive

new will be available in march (don't know if this will affect your decision, but just thought you should know!)
Click to expand...

Er... Adobe elements V6 page...

Macintosh
PowerPC® G4 or G5 or multicore Intel® processor
Mac OS X v10.4.8 through 10.5
512MB of RAM (1GB recommended)
64MB of video RAM
1GB of available hard-disk space (additional free space required during installation)
1,024x768 display resolution
DVD-ROM drive
QuickTime 7 software required for multimedia features
Internet connection required for Internet-based services
Now runs natively on PowerPC or Intel based Macs
Experience native performance on Intel® and PowerPC® based Macintosh computers.

So It WILL run on new Intel Macs with Leopard...only after March 24th

You pays yer money ( or not!) ...
 
Shagrat said:
Er... Adobe elements V6 page...

Macintosh
PowerPC® G4 or G5 or multicore Intel® processor
Mac OS X v10.4.8 through 10.5
512MB of RAM (1GB recommended)
64MB of video RAM
1GB of available hard-disk space (additional free space required during installation)
1,024x768 display resolution
DVD-ROM drive
QuickTime 7 software required for multimedia features
Internet connection required for Internet-based services
Now runs natively on PowerPC or Intel based Macs
Experience native performance on Intel® and PowerPC® based Macintosh computers.

So It WILL run on new Intel Macs with Leopard...only after March 24th

You pays yer money ( or not!) ...
Click to expand...

um yeah...that is why i said it is available in march
 
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