Hey folks, ive been using photoshop for a long time. IM not great at it but i get the job done. Lately ive upgraded my hardware and picked up vista 64bit. Well i think that was a mistake, a lot of my software just does not like vista..or something about it.  At the moment i just dont want to back out of vista and move to xp pro.. seeing how xp is on its way out the door anyhow. Linux might be an option in the future but not at the moment.

I currently use a very old build of photoshop and thought i could just toss that and image ready on the drive and take off. Photoshop works fine it seems but imageready is locking up every single time. So i go looking for updates, and instantly hit the wall of confusion.

Whats the standard photoshop package nowdays? I cant afford 1200 for ps and all the extras, i need photoshop and something that replaces imageready. So i figured id ask here.

I make gif animations for various clients and need something that will have the same control, specifically the ability to lock the pallet so when an image is rezised the pallet remains untouched. Most of this is for Myspace layouts and similar networking sites.

Thanks for the time
Lloyd

CS3 is 650$ if Im not mistaken, CS3 Extended is 1200$ or so. Option for importing 3D models and few other gadgets dont worth double price to me anyway :)

If you need Image ready just for gif animations, then rather buy some shareware app for 50$ max. ;)

Tihomir

Attached Link: Imageready equivalents

thanks for the help. I found some software from Ulead that might do the trick but its not as PS friendly as imageready heh. I really dont have another 600 bucks right now, and cs3 will not save a gif animation sequence that im aware of. heres hoping Ulead does the trick.

I just wish these networking sites would release more info on what they use for gif compression. Biggest issues i have lately are peoples avatars being shrunk down (which is normal..but the pallet changes and many get what i call Death by strawberry pixels..its annoying but so far nothing fixes it..shrugs)

anyhow ty for the tips.
Lloyd

If your not in a hurry CS4 should be out around Oct 1st  will be 64bit and will enjoy a speedboost if your running a gen 8 or 9 nvidia card.  It'll be taking advantage of the gpu's from that point on.

PS CS3- make your anim in layers, then goto file-export for web
many pallete options to choose from, preview your gifs before committing.
CS2 did the same thing, but in a companion program called ImageReady (I miss it!!) 

One caveat: I can't get used to the new timeline system, so I usually switch it to the traditional frame animation system.

Is your copy of PS so old that it does't have an animation capability? You'll love this feature.

CS3 works on Vista - CS2 didn't. They (Adobe) fixed it with last year's release.

Although I've never done it, or had the need to do it, i thought all versions of PS after v5 could do animated GIFs...?
Yeah, Extended will give you 3D model import, as well as an After Effects-like timeline where you can do animations and special effects but with all your Photoshop tools and filters. If you don't have any use for that, just go with Standard.
Hope this helps - good luck!
-Lew ;-)

My rule on updates, from the computer to software, is get what you NEED plus a bit more. I don't have CS, mostly because I just don't NEED it. I do everything I need to do quite well with Photoshop 7. My only real problem is that the newer filters and actions and such at Adobe Studio Exchange are all made for CS. But I can live with that really.

My deepest sympathies on getting stuck with Vista. I don't know anyone that likes it or is happy with it.