Be Excellent To Each Other

Can you use one licence, but install on both PC and Mac?

Can guarantee that it would only be used on one machine at once.

I think the serials are totally different mate.

At least they were years ago. Also? No. Adobe has more protection than Durex and Jiffy combined. It's all done via DLC and their software checks all the time.

If they are the same I certainly wouldn't chance it.

No. It's not unheard of but Adobe don't offer it. Closest they come is offering cross-platform upgrades (e.g. move from CS3 on Windows to CS5 on Mac and get the upgrade price).

You seem to be assuming that I am using unlicensed software or borrowing someone elses key.

These are incorrect assumptions to make.

Ah, OK.

Basically, I am looking at getting the Web Premium edition. Mrs P needs Photoshop and Illustrator for her Mac, I would be looking at using Dreamweaver and InDesign.

Edit: Not Web Premium edition. One of the other ones.

You need to find Bizarro World you and Mrs Plissken and do swapsies!

Hmm. That's not using Photoshop on both computers, though.

I know!

I'll probably have to drop Adobe a line, but like I say, I'm not looking to run the same software on two machines, just different components of the suite.

No what I said was Adobe installs a DRM (sorry it wasn't DLC) into your computer and constantly checks your serial and compares it. If it sees it more than once? G'nite.

How much more spendy is buying the products separately?

Here's a sort-of solution which unsurprisingly involves JC being wrong: Adobe lets you install CS5 onto a desktop and a laptop at the same time (but you can't use them at the same time).
Assuming one of the PCs mentioned is a laptop, you could install the Windows version on the Mac using Boot Camp.

Design Standard - £198
Design Premium - £278

Premium includes

Dreamweaver - £94.51
Flash Pro - £119
Fireworks - £119

And Photoshop Extended, rather than Standard.

Edit: Interesting. The PC is a laptop, and the Mac is a desktop. Not going to Boot Camp unless I really have to though.

If not being able to use the software at the same time is going to be bothersome, bear in mind that Windows sometimes struggles to get to certain web addresses that might be checking the information.

especially if your hosts file got, er, 'infected'

That could be the solution then. You might need another copy of Win7*, though.

*Or whatever version of Windows you use

To keep within the licensing rules you would have to, I'm afraid. Adobe make it quite clear that you can't have a mac/PC crossover.

There is that. But I'd like to explore the legit options first. The priority is to get Photoshop and Illustrator on her Mac, the other stuff would be a bonus.

Adobe are bastards.

The final nail in me switching to Final Cut was the fact that with Premiere if I wanted to install it on a desktop and laptop they would allow that but you had to transfer the activation every time.

Imagine getting on-site or arriving home for the weekend to find that you'd forgotten to transfer the activation. Doh!

Apple on the other hand just tell you its cool to install Final Cut on a laptop and desktop just don't use both at once. And you only get stopped if both machines are on the same network and you try to start the second copy.

Actually what I said was -



Which is completely right. So maybe you can install it on a laptop and get away with it? fine. But that isn't what I said. So what I said was perfectly correct.

BTW just to clarify that. Tell me you can install it on both a PC and a MAC (forgetting the laptop part) and I will be wrong.

Except, of course, it isn't. What with the "seeing it more than once" part. And the "constantly checking" part, come to that.


viewtopic.php?p=431022#p431022

So why does hacking it and getting it to run involve black listing it in your firewall to prevent it doing just that?

http://www.adobe.com/products/activation/

But of course, activating it doesn't look at your serial at all. So you can just keep on activating it as much as you like.

As for the checks? I know first hand it checks as I installed a hacked version and forgot to block it with my firewall. It connected to the internet, sniffed the dodgy serial and stopped working.