Is Adobe CS 2 worth it?

brclark82brclark82
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Hi, I just found out that I am able to get Adobe CS 2 premium for $200 through my school license (yes the $1200 one). I really need Acrobat (which I could get for $50) but don't really know how much I would use the other apps. I use iPhoto now for my pictures but don't really do anything but store them on my computer. I guess my question is, are the learning curves for the other apps so steep that I'll probably never even use them, or are they handy even for an occasional user like me, and do you think they would be worth the extra $150 to me.



Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    trowatrowa Posts: 176member
    Do you do any graphic/web design? Is this something you would be into doing on an occasional basis?



    $200 for CS2 premium is a great price. But if you find yourself only opneing up the programs every month or so, then I wouldn't purchase it. Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign have steep learning curves. you can get by if you play around, but it requires reading the manual or purchasing another book if you want fast results.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    admactaniumadmactanium Posts: 812member
    the learning curves for the adobe pro apps are pretty steep. that price is amazingly cheap but it all depends on what you're going to do with it. if you just want to poke around with it, it might not be that fun for you although plenty of folks like messing around with photoshop. illustrator, indesign and golive probably won't be as interesting to someone who doesn't work in graphic design.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    brclark82brclark82 Posts: 182member
    Thanks guys, that's exactly what I was looking for.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    at the academic price, the suite is a no-brainer. but one word of caution (well, several words, actually): all of the apps have had many revisions built upon years of eccentricities that regular power users have become accustomed to. that translates, as was mentioned earlier, into a tremendous learning curve.



    for example, the layers palette alone now has a gazillion different possible functions depending upon where you click, double click, option click, shift-click, shift-option, double-click, etc. an entire cottage industry has been built out of training for photoshop alone, since you could never plumb all the depths of the program in a single sitting.



    also, some things have remained in the suite strictly for the purpose of backwards-compatibitlity. one item that comes to mind is "views" in illustrator. way-back-when, it was the only way to view different looks of your single file, short of duplicating the file and turning stuff off. now we have layer comps that do a MUCH better job, but views are still there, too. which, lemme tell you, you can make yourself utterly crosseyed if you accidentally cross a file with both custom views AND layer comps.



    so buy it now, and start watching things like the photoshoptv podcast, and learn the little tricks that build into more advanced techniques that get you to be a pro.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    brclark82brclark82 Posts: 182member
    Yeah, even though now I realize the learning curve is pretty steep, I always need something else to waste hours of my time on. I may still give it a try since it's such a good deal. Any other ideas on where to learn about the different apps?
  • Reply 6 of 8
    brclark82brclark82 Posts: 182member
    One more thing, I use a PB G4 1.67 with 1.5 GB (the last 15" revision), will this be suficient to run all the apps smoothly. I know it meets the minimum req's but I'm not very good at waiting on apps.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    theapplegeniustheapplegenius Posts: 584member
    it should work very well.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    I would get CS2 (9.0) if you only have 7.0. If you have CS (8.0) I would not get it.
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