# If buying last standalone CS6: Mac or Windows version for longevity?



## cayenne (May 10, 2013)

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy the CS6 Production suite. I have a macbookpro. I'm wondering which version of CS6 I should buy?

I would prefer the OSX version, however, it occured to me, that with upgrades to OSX, at some point in the not too far future, the Adobe tools might no longer work.

I have VMWare running on this mac, and it can happily run Win7 for the few tools I need windows for....so, wondering since I can more easily 'freeze' Win7 in time with the VM, maybe I should get the windows version.

Am I correct in saying that you HAVE to choose which OS you get for the Adobe tools? That you don't get 'both' OSes for one price? That you have to buy it twice if you want a version for each OS?

Thanks in advance!!

cayenne


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## privatebydesign (May 10, 2013)

Even when, and that could be many years, your Suite is no longer supported on OS X Shiny Goat, you can still dual boot a Mac with whatever OS does work. 

For an example just look at Rosetta, which will run just about any old Mac program or driver, on a brand new machine.


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## dswatson83 (May 10, 2013)

You should look into the new Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe will only be offering limited support now to CS6 products and there will likely be no update (CS7) for you thus it probably does not make sense for you to pay the huge upfront cost for CS6 when there is no upgrade path. 

Also, on the new creative cloud, you can use both Windows & OSX versions and interchange them if you ever switch platforms. This would be the best for you

There is a good write-up on the new Creative Cloud and how Adobe is ditching the CS6 standalone at: http://learningcameras.com/tips/5-all/142-adobe-creative-cloud-the-future-is-now-the-present

Check it out. It will go over the positives and negatives of the new subscription model that Adobe offers. You would be looking at $50/month but would get ALL Adobe products


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## RLPhoto (May 10, 2013)

cayenne said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm looking to buy the CS6 Production suite. I have a macbookpro. I'm wondering which version of CS6 I should buy?
> 
> ...



That is one of the main reason's I ditched apple. I was Running XP + CS3 for years and Updated to Win 7 64-bit and My CS3 still works. If you got a copy of Win 7, It's a good backup in-case apple does ditch older software.


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## cayenne (May 10, 2013)

dswatson83 said:


> You should look into the new Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe will only be offering limited support now to CS6 products and there will likely be no update (CS7) for you thus it probably does not make sense for you to pay the huge upfront cost for CS6 when there is no upgrade path.
> 
> Also, on the new creative cloud, you can use both Windows & OSX versions and interchange them if you ever switch platforms. This would be the best for you
> 
> ...



LOL, you've obviously not seen my posts on the anti-CC move by Adobe.

Sufficed to say...I refuse to *rent* my software. I buy it (if you want to get semantically correct, I license it) for stand alone use for as long as I wish.

I will not be forced to rent software that requires a connection to the internet for phone home capabilities. I will not be held hostage for my files by a company with these policies.

I don't foresee anything in CS7 that I would just have to have over CS6. 

Hence, my investigations on how to best buy CS6 Production suite for long term usage till either Adobe changes their policy, or a competitor comes out with a comparable product.

Thanks for the reply, but this research I'm doing is specifically to avoid renting software and having my files held hostage by a corporation.

Thanx,

cayenne


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## lilmsmaggie (May 10, 2013)

Yes - you have to choose which OS. If your configuration plans include continuing to use VMWare, you have to decide which interface you prefer and if there is a performance difference between running in OSX vs. WIN7 -- Have you considered Parallels Desktop VM rather than VMWare? 

Will you only install CS6 on the Macbookpro or do you plan on having a desktop for more robust editing, storage, etc?






cayenne said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm looking to buy the CS6 Production suite. I have a macbookpro. I'm wondering which version of CS6 I should buy?
> 
> ...


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## jcollett (May 10, 2013)

Without a doubt, programs made to run in Windows have the advantage of an environment that does not deprecate applications like the Apple environment. If Apple decides something should not run in their OS, they just make it so. There are millions of PCs out there running software from 15-20 years ago and Windows OSes are often supported for much longer than Apple. Windows XP was introduced in October of 2001 and they fully supported that for 7 1/2 years with continued security support ending in 2014! I don't think Apple supports an OS variant for even 2 years.
Get a PC with Windows 7 and CS6 and it should last you until at least 2020. The PC hardware will probably crap out long before the OS support does.


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## ksagomonyants (May 10, 2013)

I myself have Mountain Lion and if I were you, I'd get a Windows version of CS6. I really like Mac, but like some other people mentioned already, they put too much limitation on what software you can run on their new OS/machines (too many examples to list here but they're very frustrating). Let's say your laptop broke and you want to get a new one which comes with the new OS which doesn't support CS6, what're you going to do? In addition, if you run VmWare Fusion or Parallels, you can always run Windows-based CS6 in your virtual machine. 

P.S. If I remember correctly, when I contacted Adobe customer support, their representative said that starting CS6 you can use the same license for Windows and Mac versions of CS6. But take it with a grain of salt. Hope this helps!


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## EdB (May 10, 2013)

RLPhoto said:


> I was Running XP + CS3 for years and Updated to Win 7 64-bit and My CS3 still works.



The ten year old PS 7 works on Win7 as well.


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## Chris Geiger (May 10, 2013)

Over the years I have used both mac and pc systems. I settled on the pc because I like building my own systems and deciding what to put into it. I also like that I can choose from many vendors if and when I want to replace or upgrade part of my system. Microsoft supports its OS for far longer than Apple. After a system is just a few years old Apple stops supporting it and stops parts and software updates for it. Apple tends to follow a similar mind set as Adobe and I don't really agree with it. Yes we need tools to do our job but these tools are making the tool vendors for more rich than those doing the actual work. Yes I need a hammer to build a house, and I understand that I have to pay for the hammer but it should not cost me $50 to rent my hammer each month. 

I don't support the idea of renting software and I can see Adobe taking advantage of the situation by raising rates when they discontinue the purchase option. Personally I think that Photoshop has gone about as far as it can so Adobe is switching to renting as a way to continue the revenue stream. That last big update that photoshop has is the new blur filter. I believe that other vendors will develop similar filters that can be used as a plug in or standalone.

I purchased a legitimate copy CS6 and it is my plan to use it as long as I possibly can. I hope to find a pirate version of my CS6 as I know that sooner or later I have will have activation issues as Adobe tries to push us all into the cloud offering one way or another. I will continue to purchase updates to Lightoom for my RAW intake/processing.


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## cayenne (May 10, 2013)

lilmsmaggie said:


> Yes - you have to choose which OS. If your configuration plans include continuing to use VMWare, you have to decide which interface you prefer and if there is a performance difference between running in OSX vs. WIN7 -- Have you considered Parallels Desktop VM rather than VMWare?
> 
> Will you only install CS6 on the Macbookpro or do you plan on having a desktop for more robust editing, storage, etc?
> 
> ...




My macbook pro is beefed up to the max...max CPU, and I put 16GB ram in it (it is a late 2011 model).
It runs fine, I do FCPX on it, I run Davinci Resolve Lite on it...seems to run ok

I have off laptop storage that is running fine for now. I do my main jobs on the local harddrive, when done with a project I move them off to NAS and also to a usb 'station' that I can manually switch 1TB harddrives out of...

I use my mac laptop as a workstation, I have a nice Dell U2711 hooked to it, old style IBM heavy clicky keyboard....etc. 

Ok...I'm now leaning towards getting CS6 as Windows, and running it in the VM on the mac.

Decisions, decisions...

C


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## camlars (May 10, 2013)

You know that it will suck to run PS in a VM right?

What version of Photoshop are you using now? Why not stick with that as long as you can instead of throwing good money at the sinking CS6 ship?


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## cayenne (May 10, 2013)

camlars said:


> You know that it will suck to run PS in a VM right?
> 
> What version of Photoshop are you using now? Why not stick with that as long as you can instead of throwing good money at the sinking CS6 ship?



I don't have a version of PS, I was gearing up to buy CS6 Production Suite when all this hit.

So far, I've not run into any performance issues running anything in my VM. Heck, I've run things like the Labview programming environment in VM with Win7, and my mac doesn't even seem to feel the hit at all.
Is PS more resource intensive than say, running Davinci Resolve? Granted, Resolve isn't in the VM, but I've had it running as the same time as VM of Win7 with apps running in it, and there doesn't seem to be any perceptible performance hit.

Is it 'well known' that PS doesn't work well with a VM?

Just curious....I've not had any problems running stuff in VM so far....

I've got a macbook pro (late 2011 model), maxed out cor i7 processor for that model, and 16GB ram. Would that still not be enough to run PS in a VM of Win7 in your opinion?


cayenne


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## privatebydesign (May 10, 2013)

As I have already said, I have done it and I wouldn't do it again. Of course there is a performance hit.

But you are missing my point. I have half a dozen HDD's with old OS's on them, I can plug any of them into either of my current Macs and boot in them. Even when CS6 no longer runs in the current version of OS?, whenever that might be, you will still be able to use your programs.

I still have a drive with Leopard and Rosetta on it that allows me to use any kind of legacy hardware, even an ancient $100 scanner. You are over thinking this.


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## lilmsmaggie (May 10, 2013)

Uh ... I think you can squeeze a bit more out of it. I would check with OWC http://www.macsales.com/
if you haven't already. You may be able to double your RAM to 32GB -- Apple ain't gonna tell you that you can do it, but if you follow Diglloyd's Macintosh performance http://macperformanceguide.com, he talks about trick'n out Macs.



cayenne said:


> My macbook pro is beefed up to the max...max CPU, and I put 16GB ram in it (it is a late 2011 model).
> It runs fine, I do FCPX on it, I run Davinci Resolve Lite on it...seems to run ok
> 
> I have off laptop storage that is running fine for now. I do my main jobs on the local harddrive, when done with a project I move them off to NAS and also to a usb 'station' that I can manually switch 1TB harddrives out of...
> ...






camlars said:


> You know that it will suck to run PS in a VM right?



Only because the OP's main computing platform is a laptop. Moving to a MacPro or PC desktop with the lastest CPU chip, SSD as boot drive, more RAM and storage space, should help elevate that problem. 
The VM is in essence emulating or "virtualizing" what's already there e.g., OS, CPU, RAM, Storage, etc.

VM's are like that plant in the movie Little Shop of Horror's -- ya gotta feed them ;D


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## FunPhotons (May 10, 2013)

Digital rot is much faster on OS X than Windows. Apple gleefully obsoletes API's and releases code that breaks old applications. On the flip side PS is probably the most stable application on OS X as Apple probably tests it before release, and also tacitly supports is going forward.


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## camlars (May 10, 2013)

cayenne said:


> I don't have a version of PS, I was gearing up to buy CS6 Production Suite when all this hit.
> 
> So far, I've not run into any performance issues running anything in my VM. Heck, I've run things like the Labview programming environment in VM with Win7, and my mac doesn't even seem to feel the hit at all.
> Is PS more resource intensive than say, running Davinci Resolve? Granted, Resolve isn't in the VM, but I've had it running as the same time as VM of Win7 with apps running in it, and there doesn't seem to be any perceptible performance hit.
> ...



IMO it is 'well known' that all resource intensive apps runs slower in a VM than as native apps.

If you are working with a Photoshop tool and it lags even a little extra because you are running it in a VM it will be a pain to work with.

Since you are not already using PS, why not just try out Pixelmator for a while instead? It is not Photoshop, but it is cheap and pretty good.

But really, the best option would be to take a deep breath, relax, rid yourself of the subscription fear and subscribe to Adobe CC. If you were planning on getting the Production Premium you want to edit video as well, right? Adobe CC is a pretty good deal if you use PS + Premiere + LR. Buying the boxed version might allow you use it indefinitely, but in a few years time you probably don't want to...


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## cayenne (May 11, 2013)

camlars said:


> cayenne said:
> 
> 
> > I don't have a version of PS, I was gearing up to buy CS6 Production Suite when all this hit.
> ...


Well, thing is. I refuse to *rent* software, plain and simple.
I don't rent other things like music or videos of things I want to keep, and use as I see fit. I buy CD's for my music, bluerays for the few videos I want to keep, etc.

I'll buy the last CS6 suite I can get.

These days, hardware is becoming quite cheap and powerful, and running things in VMs is so easy today....most people buy modern computers and barely ever strain the CPUs or utilize all their RAM or GPUs.

This isn't just about this Adobe change. I refuse to be a consumer in this fashion for any software.

From what I've seen so far on Pixelmator from their tutorials, it doesn't appears to be nearly as sophisticated of a tool as PS. It *is* only $15, so I'll likely get it to play with, but I want PS to have to work with plugins I already have like the NIK software ones, etc.

I'll get the last one, and just use it for years to come till something else happens, either Adobe changes from renting software or till a competitor comes up that is up to PS level.

I'm seriously guessing, this move by Adobe will open that market up now.

And yes....corporations DO change their minds.

The dismal acceptance of Windows 8 comes to mind, and there are already rumblings of MS's next version reverting back to what customers want, the regular desktop instead of the 'metro' paradigm that the majority of people have balked at.

The consumer can still vote with their wallets.....it still does work.

So, whining is not a bad thing, if you don't want it, and enough people don't buy it...they WILL listen.

cayenne


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## smithy (May 13, 2013)

cayenne said:


> Well, thing is. I refuse to *rent* software, plain and simple.
> I don't rent other things like music or videos of things I want to keep, and use as I see fit. I buy CD's for my music, bluerays for the few videos I want to keep, etc.
> 
> I'll buy the last CS6 suite I can get.
> ...


I don't believe in renting software either (especially at those prices), so I'll probably go down the same path and buy the last boxed version of CS6.

The thing I do rent though, is music - but that's because it really does save me a small fortune. My premium monthly membership for Spotify costs me about half the price of a new-release CD, and I'll listen to literally dozens of albums every month, on multiple devices. If I like a particular album a lot, I'll buy the CD (for the lossless audio quality and versatility of the format)...


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