Just got my CGSociety January Newsletter and in it they have this thread directing you to this page:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1087583&utm_source=CGSociety+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CGSNL%232Jan2013&utm_content=ang-c%40earthlink.net

There they have a link directing you to an Adobe site:

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html

Here they have a list of older Adobe products which include:

Creative Suite 2
Acrobat 3D 1.0
Acrobat Standard 7.0
Audition 3.0
GoLive CS2
Illustrator CS2
InCopy CS2
InDesign CS2
Photoshop CS2
Photoshop Elements 4.0/5.0
Adobe premiere Pro 2.0

And the serial numbers for both Mac & Windows versions.

Don't know what's going on but some say it was a big mistake and someone will be fired for it and others say it's an attempt to close down open source software like GIMP. I have no clue what the deal is but it's worth a look.

Sounds like a great deal...some may say; "Too good to be true". I've downloaded a couple items but have yet to install them so I don't know if they even work. Thought I'd pass this on to you guys and gals and if you find anything out, please let the rest of us know.

According to Agent Smith that offer was originally intended for customers who needed to do a reinstall and Adobe was tired of supporting the server that handled those re installs but it seems to have gone viral and if it's still up it would seem they've decided to just let any one have these ancient (10 yr old) versions.

Ancient or not, if you can't afford Adobe, here's a chance to try these progs out at your own leisure. My experience with Photoshop has been that they haven't really changed all that much unless you go into the extended 3D versions. So the question is, I must imagine, are they a legal download?

Although it's a Mac story this has some info on this deal that might be useful for both platforms:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57562515-263/adobe-releases-creative-suite-2-for-free/

I truly wish Adobe would officially and publically declare these as free to use by anyone, which they have not. Technically, these assets are for paying customers only. But, as it stands Adobe themselves directly provide all the install programs and the full, permanent serial numbers for anyone to download, install and use. And, Adobe has had every chance to remove the download/serial page for many days now and the haven't, nor have they ever said that they would take action if a non-paying customer did install and use these programs.

So, imho, its annoying that Adobe won't just go ahead and give it an official, public blessing on all this. People are going to most likely get them and use them anyway, it would be nice for people to feel comfortable admiting to it in the light of day.

Plus, how could this be bad business for Adobe? (i.e., I wonder if all of this wasn't planned from the very beginning by Adobe themselves, lol)

AS

starting to reek of a loss leader ain't it...

Really don't know Bobby, here it is Jan 12th whereas that article in CGSociety was posted on the 7th. One would think that it's a nothing operation to close down a web page but nevertheless it lingers on. Obviously they'er not supporting the server for those products and Adobe are not saying one way or the other whether it is legal to download and use these packages. I could only imagine that a large portion of the graphics community have downloaded these packages and are already using them at will free of charge. The question still remains; are these then considered pirated goods since Adobe continues to keep the page with the downloads and their serial numbers open?

Personally I would be pissed if I had paid $600+ for Photoshop CS2 and now find that it's openly available for free to anyone who wants it.

Yeah, the story and links broke out wide on the 7th. I got the info and links from both gizmodo.com and cnet.com, Adobe is not saying anything one way or another and more importantly, Adobe is NOT asking any of those websites to remove those articles. THAT is very telling, imo that Adobe could be choosing to just look the other way (or, that this was even maybe planned).

Ah, I wouldn't be too upset if I had bought CS2 and its now free, it is 7 years old at this point which is forever in terms of software. In fact, I was quite happy when Bryce 5 started to be given away. It always means more users. And, also in this case, Adobe knows it.

Besides, as a paying customer, we get to use upgrade prices. I've been doing that with Photoshop for wow, 12 years now.

AS

I bought Photoshop CS3 outright and find their upgrade prices to be outrages. I won't upgrade until my next computer upgrade. I personally don't find all that many meaningful changes from Photoshop 7 which I also own to their present version. Perhaps their new brushes module require a look see.

Yeah, with any program, it depends on what the user actually uses the program for. For me, Since Photoshop 7, the difference in Photoshop CS6 is light years ahead (with all the things I use it for) and I would cry like a baby if I had to go back to v7, lol.

Still the various programs in CS2 could do a lot of good to the huge amount of people who do not currently own/use them. Again, I wish Adobe would publically sign off on it all.

BTW, just ran across this;

http://www.cgchannel.com/2013/01/download-pd-pro-5-for-free/

Project Dogwaffle 5.0 has just been officially, legitimately made available for free to anyone.

When it rains, it pours?

AS

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

AgentSmith; "...and I would cry like a baby if I had to go back to v7, lol."

Oh, I'm sure, so would I if I used the extended 3D aspect of the program LOL. No doubt different people use it for different purposes. Now to take a look at Dogwaffle.

Well, it seems Forbes is willing to come foreward even if Adobe isn't. Thanks for that post Danny_Gordon it sure helps clarify the situation. But I'm left wondering why Adobe doesn't post anything on the page? By now I'm sure tons of people are playing with their PS CS2.

Thanks for the Dogwaffle link AS...always wanted that Amiga like program and now can afford it

Like AS said, mistake or not, Adobe is choosing not to shut things down.  I feel they are going to use the turn of events to introduce people to their products via the old versions same as Daz did with Bryce.  I, myself, would like a spin on Premier with a little more time to learn it before possibly purchasing.  Yeah, yeah, you may say I can download a 30 day demo but honestly 30 days is short if someone has a life beyond sitting at a computer trying to learn an in-depth piece of software.

This will offer me a chance to learn a little at my own pace, perhaps then a demo and lastly a full bore upgrade.   I applaud Adobe for not undoing things if it were a mistake.  It could be a smart business move. 

Thanks for the heads up.  Now I can learn photoshop.

I have just installed Photoshop CS2 downloaded from the link here.  The read me says that it will need to be activated, but it is working for now.  The activate link in the help tab is greyed out.

The main reason Adobe did all this was to not have to have any of these CS2 programs have to activate themselves anymore. Specifically, the activation server for CS2 has now been turned off and these specific serial numbers will "tell" the programs they do not need activation. Ever.

(So, I am assuming that is why the activation is grayed out as it is not needed)

Thanks for the info.

Thank you! I have a student version of Adobe Photoshop 7 from ten years ago when I took a community college Photoshop course, and still use it, but this is two versions better!

Yeah... but mabe in 30 days (like a trial) it will not work anymore.