[tether]

Howdy, I wonder if yous'd mind if i pick your brains.

i'm thinking of getting adobe illustrator and possibly some other programs - a page layout program that will create pdfs - maybe Indesign; possibly photoshop, and maybe a html editor such as dreamweaver.

I want to figure out the lowest cost way of getting set up with these - starting with illustrator. i thought second-hand software on ebay would be a good idea but when i search for "illustrator cs" i get only one item for the Mac - it has a buy-it-now price of $192

am i going about my search the right way? any ideas on what i should be paying?

thanks.

[larkost]

All of these things are professional-level tools. If you are going to be making money by using them, then they are worth the investment. If you are not going to be making money with them, then they are not for you and you should find something more appropriate for your level.

Note that all of Adobe's applications now require registration, so you are unlikely to find anything legitimate for "used software". I may not like the first-sale doctrine problems with that, but they do have a point about people buying one copy and running the whole company with it.

[Veltliner]

eBay used to sell tons of "used" software, which wasn't but pirated software.

You can still see pirates offering "used" software on craigslist.

Don't go for it.

The real cost of software is your learning it, which will take you quite a while until you reach a mastery level.

You can get used software legally, but ALWAYS INSIST - in case of Adobe software - on a certificate/a license transfer document from Adobe.

I, for example, may sell my copy of Lightroom as it doesn't meet my quality standards. But because selling software is such a hassle, I probably will keep it and dump it into a drawer. This is why there's so little real and legitimate used software out there.

[Chuckit]

There are cheaper alternatives to these programs if you're not doing pro-level graphics work (and in some cases, the alternatives are actually solid even there).

Freeverse Lineform is a great vector editor along the same lines (no pun intended) as Illustrator. Doesn't do everything Illustrator does, but it has the core functionality down pretty good. It's currently on sale for $50, normally $80.

There are several lower-end bitmap editors. There's the free GIMP, which aims to be a full free Photoshop replacement (note "aims"); Flying Meat's Acorn, which is the most original and well thought-out of the bunch IMO; and PixelMator, which is also a Photoshop clone but aims to be more Mac-like and make efficient use of Mac hardware.

With discounts being offered right now, Lineform + Acorn will run $100.

[OreoCookie]

There may also be legal problems, depending on where you live. In Germany, you can buy and sell software licenses, as long as you haven't purchased them online via download.

Microsoft, for example, has sued, because many companies who thought they didn't need Office 2007 with all the bells and whistles and were content with Windows XP bought `used' licenses from companies that no longer needed them (because they upgraded). MS has lost the case.

As said before, make sure you get legit licenses with the software, otherwise you've wasted money on a pirated copy.

[tether]

thanks.

a couple more questions:

how about if i do the following - would it present any problem?: since it seems tricky to get hands on used software, maybe it would be easier if i look out for a machine for sale that has the software with it. For cost reasons i'd be looking for a cheap, maybe even broken machine, but with software - i then load the software on to my computer..?

and on pirated software - what drawbacks would there be with that?

[Chuckit]

Getting a hard disk with unlicensed copies of the software isn't any more legal than getting them on DVD.