Several sites are reporting that Adobe is offering CS2 for free today.  It includes Illustrator and Photoshop (older versions, of course).

Their server is getting hammered, not surprisingly, so if you get a 404, try again later. You need to set up an account at Adobe.com first, if you don't already have one.

Forgive me for being skeptical, but could you post some links? Don't see anything at Adobe.

I posted one, which includes a link to the relevant Adobe page (at the bottom of the post).  Here are others:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2013/01/07/adobe-giving-away-free-copies-of-cs2-software-package-including-photoshop

http://gizmodo.com/5973730/grab-photoshop-and-cs2-for-absolutely-free-right-here

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/adobe-creative-suite-2-is-a-free-download/

Some people are getting around the server jam by using the Adobe servers meant for overseas users.  (.de, .fr etc. - but you might end up with the software in a foreign language).

well if it's not legit.. then Adobe are sure slow in taking their own pages offline ... they must be seeing the huge spike on their own servers ;)

This was listed on both GHacks and Gizmodo...both legit sites.

Laurie

Supposedly, the reason they are doing this is because they don't want to keep the activation servers running for this older product.  So they're just making it free.  So maybe there's no need to rush? 

There might be some issues with installing it on newer operating systems, but there are solutions on the web if you Google a bit.

It's from Adobe folks..their servers are just getting overwhelmed.

Laurie

I'm sorry, I missed the link in your first post where rendo's font styles for links are so close to the regular text. I do thank you for the info though.

I got it, its real from Adobe, but you need some trial to get the link working. Its not only PS but the whole Creative Suit CS2 with Premiere 2 pro, Indesign, Illustrator and other stuff. Its about 10GB of things to download for Win users and I got it running fine in Win 8 Pro. The funny thing is that mi Photoshop Elements 8 crash in Win 8!

Please, what do you mean you need a trial? Trial for what? I'd love to get even an old copy of ps and this is about the only way for me to get it.

Its a mistake:  http://forums.adobe.com/message/4974775#4974775

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adriankingsleyhughes/2013/01/07/download-adobe-cs2-applications-for-free/

Whoops!

what a mess... I wonder how adobe are going to handle this? there are now a few hundred thousand copies out there...

Yeah, that's a big whoops ;).

Laurie

Oh sure get my hopes up. oh well some year...

Jan 7, 2013 1:50 PM
Confusion abounds..

Not according to Adobe.

The web is full of rumours about free CS2 - may or may not be false at this stage.

Dov Isaacs (Adobe employee):

"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.

This is a direct quote for their site.

well the genies out of the bottle now. by this time, I'd say a few hundred thousand copies are now out there.

*what are adobe going to do? they were the ones that put it in a place that was freely acessable with serials and no security. they also left it for several hours after this went viral, even when their servers were undergoing such a hammering it was effectively a DDOS attack and they would have damn well known what was going on.

right now, if they are smart, they turn this into a PR event and save face and gain trust...

but it's adobe...

Latest forum post on Adobe, is that an "official statement" is pending from Adobe Exec's...

Crossing fingers now...switched into lurk mode. 

Ha! Now this is going to be interesting. :D

The link is dead and it looks to be a mistake.  Quite a few people got extremely lucky over a screwup.  Nothing to see.

well apart from studying how a major firm handles a screwup like this..... so far.. I'm not sure what they are doing...the "statement" thats been issued.. frankly makes no sense at all. as in english sense.

Quote - The link is dead and it looks to be a mistake.  Quite a few people got extremely lucky over a screwup.  Nothing to see.

Actually, all the download links still work.  The serial codes are common and are all in the public domain...and Adobe's official response is not really condemning anything.  Its just stating the original intent.  They are just now using this relatively benign statement as the formal response at this time.

LINK

Other 2 forum links:

Link1

Link2

Problem they have is in those threads.  They acknowledged that it was out there for public consumption, not even the software said anything about purchasing, but just obtaining.  This led a whole lot of sites and folks to believe they were doing something that was OK...now they say, oops, that was not really the plan.

The official statement does not say you "cannot" use it, which may be there way of trying to thread the needle here between condoning and condemning.

Its really an interesting story to see unfold

Well, I dunno about the rest of you, but I'd want them to say yes you can use it. LOL. Saying nothing on the subject isn't really saying yes ;).

Laurie

I had no problem downloading it, although I had just done so for curiosity's sake, as I have PSP...

EDIT: The page is back up at Adobe...

I don't think they will say Yes or No.  I think they will leave it at that. 

For those who downloaded or installed it under stated info, they aren't going to get bad publicity to say remove it.  At the time, they did not break any rules.

For those who have not downloaded or installed it, if they care about the intent, they won't take advantage of the situation.

For those who have not downloaded or installed it, if they don't care about the intent, it's probably better for Adobe for them to run a licensed copy of old CS2, versus pirating CS6.

They won't get good or bad press, in this way. 

Quote - EDIT: The page is back up at Adobe...

So it is. How strange....

Laurie

Quote - EDIT: The page is back up at Adobe...

That's interesting.  An Adobe login is also no longer required...

They really don't have a lot to loose buy giving it away at this point.

Cats out of the bag, and they may even get some sales of newer versions out of it as well.

Seems unlikely that running the lic. server was draining their resources - unless they were having trouble getting 486DX replacement parts. I agree that free CS2 might conceivably be an alternative to some instead of pirated newer versions. Throw in a $200 credit on an upgrade while they're at it and make lemonaid.

They may be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Reading some of the posts on their forums the license says it is legel as long as the software and serial number were obtained from adobe. People are getting the stuff from them and the download page does not it is only for those who already own it. While they might not out right give permission, it's likely they realize they may not have a whole lot of legel standing. "Uh judge we accidently gave software and keys to everyone but we meant only to give it to a few people. Can you still arrest them all even though the license says it's legel if they got it from us?"

Yea, I had it all downloaded, but not installed.  I probably won't install unless they say its OK to do so.  Darn conscience...  ;-)

It was a big waste of my time (and bandwidth).  It does make me less of an Adobe fan, how it all played out.  Rather they officially say, "Sorry our mistake, please remove the software if you are not licensed for it"...versus the guilt trip.

To be honest with Gimp and Paint.net, there's not much I can't do except for the occasional filter or plugin that was made for Photoshop, but same effeect not available in others.

Since it can be downloaded legally, I would think any issues about its use would be a matter of civil law, not a criminal act, but I'm just a crazy chemist...

Yeah, I don't see how they can possibly go after anyone (tho I ain't a lawyer either)...lol. I mean, the EULA says if you OBTAINED the software from Adobe you can use it (which, these programs were obtained from Adobe...lol). Maybe their lawyers advised them to keep the wording in their announcement vague on purpose, although I don't understand why. They really screwed the pooch on this one and maybe they realize it but still don't wanna out and out say "To those who downloaded in good faith, it's fine to use it" It IS Adobe after all ;).

Having said all that, I do find it strange that they put the CS2 download site back up with the links AND serials with still not so much as a word to say that it's for current CS2 owners only. You would think they'd make that clear after this huge cluster****.

Laurie

grabbed them too but not installed yet not sure I ever will now ;-) misguided fool or robber only Adobe can decide boohoo  (funny thing is I put strangeways hotel on(mike harding )

please... they have the page up with no login required with ID when I checked. Essentially they are saying "take this, don't take this". It makes no sense, and neither does ambiguous hints (with winks) of some kind of higher morality in the face of something so black and white.... what does make sense is that I now have Illustrator and Acrobat (ironic that the Mac downloads only work on PPC, which I have).

Thanks Adobe! I'll sleep fine tonight.

Strikes me as cunning marketing :biggrin:

What's the betting at some point in the near future there's a special offer on upgrading from CS2 to CS6 . . .

Quote - Strikes me as cunning marketing :biggrin:

What's the betting at some point in the near future there's a special offer on upgrading from CS2 to CS6 . . .

Not likely. As of last year you can only upgrade to the newest version fom the previous version. The only way to upgrade to CS6 is to own CS5. If they had a special offer on upgrading from CS2 to CS6, there would be a LOT of pissed off people who only have CS3 and CS4.

Coldrake

This is ALOT of download!

If I download **Creative Suite 2, **will it contain everything on the list?

                                         "This is ALOT of download!"

You're kidding, right?

Never cease to be amazed... I just downloaded the apps I've been dying to have for years, I already owned PS CS (Vr.8) and have it set up with plug-ins and such the way I like it so CS2 wasn't much of a temptation... There's really no substitute for Acrobat pro and up to now Inkscape was my Illustrator stand-in.The door is still open, BTW. Bizarre.

*"You're kidding, right?**Never cease to be amazed..."*Well, bekieve it or not, not everyone has a high speed connection :-)

*"If I download Creative Suite 2, will it contain everything on the list?" *

AFAIK, yes. * *

maybe it's all some kind of strange boobytrap?!...

you ever see one of those trap-door spiders?

*"If I download Creative Suite 2, will it contain everything on the list?" *

No, just Photoshop CS2, InDesign, Adobe Bridge, Illustrator and something called Version Cue. If you want the rest you have to download each installer and serial separately. Right now I am getting Premier Pro 2, so far everything is still there on the downloads page, no mention of  any "Do Not Download Or Use This Software Unless You Meet X Requirements" anywhere on that and it was all working when I installed. I figure it's legit. 

The CS disks (three disks), do not not work as far as I'm aware. The individuals all work.

FWIW, I installed AND registered everything the first day (well, the stuff I was interested in....didn't download everything). I've gotten not so much as a phone call or an email and they now have my address, name and phone number...lol. At least they can't say I was trying to put one over on them. LOL I still don't feel good about using it tho, so I'll wait for some sort of "no ya can't or yes ya can". If I don't get one, I'm not quite sure what I'll do since, technically, everything I have is fully registered.

Laurie

There are instructions on how to get the disks to work correctly on the SlickDeals post, wiki portion, about this.

Perhaps they can file a DMCA complaint against themselves for facilitating piracy.

Apparently, whoever has the authority/intelligence to fix a nasty PR problen is still recovering from a holiday debauch  in some Panamanian brothel.  By now, even the janitor would have told them to kill the links or at least put up a bold clarificstion on the download page.  At this point, just the bandwidth must be costing as much as some junior VP's monthly expense allowance. I doubt it's some clever ploy, but the alternative makes them seem decidedly incompetent.  Maybe it's one of those psychology experiments to see how many kids will take the cookie after they've been told not to. Hopefully, they'll at least share the results with us.

It will be interesting to see what sort of face saving climb down they try do do on this. If they don't want to give CS2 away then need to stop making it available and tell the people who downloaded it to use it in good health - with no support - and try to upsell them. Of course, that would be the smart thing to do and at present, the evidence of their ability to do that isn't much in evidence.

Well, for my part, I downloaded and installed (and registered) before the news hit that it was an Adobe boo-boo. I'm sort of in a holding pattern - I'd like to feel free to use those programs I installed, but I'm sorta dubious too - and I'm fairly certain Adobe has said all they are going to say on the subject, which is vague at best. I guess I'll eventually do as my conscience allows and since Adobe has left the door wide open (even left the links and keys up as a free-for-all), I tend to lean on the side of "I got it in good faith at the time, even registered it, haven't heard anything to the contrary, so I may use it" LOL. We'll see.

Laurie

Well, I am logged into my Adobe account and the whole thing is still on the downloads page, no changes from yesterday. Still working too, so I guess they know about it. Far as I can tell, there is not much support other than in the forums and a few updates/patches and there is no upgrade path. But it does work on Windows 7 and, I've heard, even on Windows 8 with a little bit of tinkering. Which makes it still useful; if Adobe's smart they'll use this as a bit of positive publicity/creative marketing to promote the latest CS version.

Not only did they leave the page up, you no longer have to log in to access it.  If they truly don't want people downloading this stuff, they have an odd way of showing it.   

True, I have never seen a snafu like this before. Some years ago -- I think it was back when Jasc owned PSP -- there was a similar "accidental" giveaway of version 9, which turned up when I checked for updates and did not even require a serial number, let alone creating user accounts & registering. When they found out it was quickly pulled but they let everyone who had already downloaded know it was OK to keep -- which was a big plus for them in my books when it came time to buy the newest version a couple years later. 

You haven't heard the latest news now have you? Adobe is almost bankrupt and this is their way of getting money. Just wait for the letter to arrive in which they are sueing everyone who downloaded. Before you know you're bankrupt and Adobe is out of trouble again.

Anyway, it's odd, they still have it up and running. Now I've got a paid and legit CS5 license here at home. I'm just having one problem with Photoshop CS5, it's slow when editing large images (for posters and such). I've got other image editors (less powerful) which have no trouble handling large sizes, but CS5 is chocking on it. So, I've download CS2, tried Photoshop and it has no trouble at all with the huge image sizes. I may stick to it for editing these images.

I haven't heard anything about Adobe being close to bankrupt. Where ya getting ur info?

Laurie

Quote - Not only did they leave the page up, you no longer have to log in to access it.  If they truly don't want people downloading this stuff, they have an odd way of showing it.   

Indeed Oo

Thanks to the poster of this thread, I hadn't heard about this before !