Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop Extended CS4 Student Edition (OLD VERSION)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I've given PS CS4 Extended an overall four star rating. The breakdown is five stars for its capabilities averaged with two stars for the user interface.

Most of the low ratings for this student edition have to do with problems getting the software registered, rather than with the product itself. Please read the student license carefully on Adobe's site. As I recall, you have to be an active full-time four year (or graduate) student at an approved institution that grants four year college degrees. Adobe is very protective of this $199 price. Getting a retailer to ship you this software is just the beginning of the process. You then have to contact Adobe directly for permission to use it. Adobe takes its role as gatekeeper very seriously and will follow up on your student credentials. The burden is on you to prove that you fully qualify as to each and every requirement. I suspect that some of the low ratings come from people who didn't quite meet the requirements for a student license, but thought they would squeak by. Surprise.

Be aware that Adobe also markets an academic edition of PS CS4 Extended for $299. I own the academic edition. Other than the price, what are the differences between the student and academic editions? Well, the first difference is that the license for the academic edition is far less restrictive. The second is that the install code comes printed on the inside packaging. You do not need to go through Adobe for any further permission to use the software.

My understanding is that the academic edition is available to students at any grade level from 10th grade high school on up, as well as to academic faculty and staff. However, I note that one reputable retailer of academic software states: "If you are a K-12 Student, a parent of such a student or a school employee then this version of Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended is the lowest Academic pricing available." So, it's possible that some retailers are more liberal than others. Remember, the retailer is the only gatekeeper you'll have to deal with because the only code you need comes with the disk.

The full price for PS CS4 Extended is over $900. $299 for the academic edition is still a good deal, even if it is $100 more than the cost of the student edition. Many people will qualify who wouldn't have qualified for the student edition. Don't cheat yourself by trying to cheat Adobe out of a student license, or by purchasing from a vendor with a price that's too good to be true.

Update 12/8/2009:

I would lower my rating to two stars if I could. The problem is that the program has ceased to work since I upgraded to Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. $299 is a lot of money to throw out the window, and Adobe is not being helpful. If interested, please see the review that I posted today under the retail edition of Photoshop CS4 Extended.

Update 3/9/2010:

The problem noted in my update of 12/8/2009 took me about three weeks to solve. The issue turned out to be very sophisticated. Fortunately, the issue is also very rare and unlikely to affect you. See my review under the retail edition of PS CS4 if interested. To summarize, I received no assistance from Adobe, whose technical support of this product is greatly lacking in relation to the cost. My rating remains at four stars due to the simple fact that there really isn't an alternative to Photoshop.

Update 4/12/2010:

Today is the so-called "launch date" for Photoshop CS5 Extended. Little new information has been provided except that the actual release to sales will be in mid-May. It appears that Adobe will continue to offer a free trial period beginning on the release to sales date. Anyone who is seriously considering purchase of CS4 should defer to mid-May. The best information I can find states that the current "Student Edition" will become the "Student and Teacher Edition," while the current "Academic Edition" will become the "Institutional Edition." Prices will apparently remain at $199 and $299 respectively, with eligibility requirements similar to the current products.

When Adobe released sneak previews of CS5's new content aware fill feature, it was immediately obvious to me that this might (finally!!) be the solution for the ghosting problem that ruins so many HDR images. Adobe's new preview of automatic ghost removal during HDR merge suggests that its content aware technology is being used for exactly that purpose. Therefore, I suggest holding off on the purchase of Photomatix or FDR Tools until you've had a chance to experiment with the PS CS5 trial. Similarly, I would hold off on the purchase of Mask Pro 4.0 from On One Software. If (and it's a very big if) CS5 has really leapfrogged over both Photomatix and Mask Pro 4.0 -- both of which I was planning to buy -- then this is going to be a fairly easy upgrade to justify. On the other hand, CS5 could turn out to be no big deal. Be sure to try before you buy.

The REAL problem with getting the student product serial number is that the instructions have a typographical error. The instructions say to go to a web site: "my.identit-E.com/adobe-student-edition"
The period after the "my" is in error. Is should be
"myidentit-E.com/adobe-student-edition"

I have yet to get my serial number, but do be adivsed you have to jump through a bunch of hoops to prove you are a student -- most onerous procedure I have had to go through. Student ID, photo ID (copy of your driver's license), invoice from the school. I guess I should be thankful they didn't ask for biological samples too.

Because I was taking the course online and am older than the average college student, Adobe not only denied me a student license. but put my product code on a list so that I could not attempt to register again. I was told to contact the seller for a refund. Amazon gave half my money back and a full refund for the accompanying textbooks.
I know I am not the only one who has had trouble registering this software. Before you buy, I would recommend going to the Adobe support site, look for the student edition of Photoshop and check out the thread on licensing issues.

My five star review is for Amazon and The product.....not Adobe customer service! I originally ordered this for more money directly from manufacture website after reading some reviews here. I felt it might be easier to deal directly with the company. I had uploaded copy of my daughters student I.D. to them immediatly. I recvd 3 seperate emails threatening to cancel my order because they claimed they never recvd. I faxed in copys, uploaded copys and emailed them. They were all sent through a link on their website so I know that there was no error. I also emailed their customer service department twice and never got an answer. I was out of town on a Wed. evening and got a email that my order had been canceled. I went online to Amazon and ordered it because my daughters birthday was closing in and I have had very good luck with everything else I have ever ordered from them. I was Shocked to see the package waiting for me when I returned home Friday afternoon. I cut and pasted the link that another reviewer had posted to register the product. I uploaded the I.D and withing 3 hours had the code to register it. My daughter is extremely happy with this software. By the way.....Over a week 1/2 later Adobe finally responded to my emails telling me that they had recvd the proof AFTER my order was canceled and if I still wanted it to respond. I would HIGHLY reccomend buying this product from Amazon and using the link to upload proof. I installed product on her computer and was up and running in about 20 minutes. I also bought her the idiots guide to cS4 (all in one) as she was used to cS3 at her school. She said the book is really helpful.

I purchased the student version of CS4 extended at my school bookstore today and had no issues getting a serial number just now. I'm already up and running. It seems like there's some confusion on how to get it though so this is what I did: inside the plastic case there's a piece of paper with a "coupon code". Go to www.adobe.studentlicensing.com and enter your coupon code. It then asks you for all your personal info, name, address, student ID and school. When that is all entered you click on "confirm". When I did this, immediately my serial number popped up and it also sent me a confirmation email. No sweat.

The roadblocks Adobe threw at us while we tried to get a serial number were unreal. Everything from typos in their documents, to bad screens incorrectly rejecting our product code, to having it lock out our computer because we kept trying. Add to that a useless overseas tech support staff, with no answers and a lot of forwarding, and you get the picture - a half day wasted. It's the worst I have seen it twenty years ob buying software.

It took less than 2 days for me to get the student product serial number from myidentit-e.com/adobe-student-edition and I started late on a Saturday and had the serial number first thing Monday morning.

I almost didn't order this software because of the horror stories.

You need to be able to upload a digital copy of your dated photo student ID. I scanned my student ID with the product code showing in the background and rezized the JPG down. The upload needs to be at a maximum 3 mb.

If you don't have a photo student ID or it doesn't have any dates or term/year that the ID is valid for on it, you need to read the instructions under Adobe Student Edition Eligibility Criteria under the link in the product description, and have a digital copy of something else that they will accept.

Looking back, I feel pretty stupid that I did not comprehend their definition of "higher education student". Must be my literalistic nature.

I purchased the Adobe Photoshop Extended CS4 Student Edition through Amazon for my daughter, who is the historian for the high school student body and is creating layouts for documentation. It is for her higher education. What they *meant* was

"A higher education student is defined as a full or part time student enrolled at higher education institutions defined as an accredited public or private university or college (including community, junior or vocational college) that grants degrees requiring not less than the equivalent of two (2) years of full-time study. School employees, K-12 students, Home Schools and students of non-accredited Higher Education Institutions are not eligible for this program." <---- this clarification was sent to us when she tried to register the product. This clarification is NOT on the Amazon order page :-(

and therefore denies her eligibility for the Adobe Photoshop Extended CS4 Student Edition. This means Adobe has closed the product code for the software we purchased. Now I have spent $199 for a software program, for my daughter, which will not work.

I have written Amazon and spoken with Adobe customer service in an attempt to obtain options.

I will update this review as the issue is resolved.

UPDATE:
1/29/10 After writing to Amazon, Adobe and their 3rd party ID check group, still no satisfaction. For the first time ever, I am applying for a refund for something I've purchased on Amazon. We shall see what happens.

Title: Adobe Photoshop Extended CS4 Student Edition
Quantity: 1
Reason: Defective/Does not work properly
Return Details: Purchased 4 higher education/the Amazon web page description.However ADOBE's 3rd party ID ck denied us an access code & have closed the product code, therefore we have a product which doesn't work.
Action Requested: Refund

UPDATE:
Monday Feb 1, 2010
Case Number: XXXXXX000

Dear Adobe Customer Care,

Thank you for your letter of concern, however, no progress has been made in resolving the closed code on my daughter's Student Edition of Photoshop CS4.

We have applied for a refund from the "seller", but have not heard back from Amazon.

We have contacted VISA to deny payment to Amazon for this transaction. <-- Which really isn't fair, is it? After all, it is your responsibility to correct this deficit, not Amazon's.

We are distressed a third party, Identit-E LLC, is being used by Adobe to limit Adobe's liability. A "buffer-er", if you will, for Adobe to increase profitability while eliminating responsibility. Adobe's lack of responsibility for this product does not speak well for Adobe.

We are very disappointed at present, but know you have the ability to correct this.

UPDATE:
Tues Feb 2, 2010
Adobe kindly updated me on their evaluation and stated they consider the case closed. Interestingly enough, they then asked me to fill out a Customer Care Survey. I did :-D They asked how Adobe could have done better:

"By taking responsibility for errors. How does it help my daughter to give frequent update of resolution when there has been no resolution?
Adobe closes the case w/o resolution and asks for customer satisfaction survey? Your kidding, right?"

The paper that comes with the program that is supposed to give you instructions on getting it registered sends you to a web site that is no longer active. E-mailing to the address included bounces back. I am not the only one that has this problem - just the first to mention it here! The software is great - but it is odd to feel so adrift with such a well known company. Very odd. I found a web site by using goo.gle, but it is not clear that it will help either. The software will shut down in 25 days or so unless they help me out. Probably would have been better to buy at the student store???

GM

When I called Adobe, they said to call identit-e which is a third-party and isn't their problem. I explained that people have already discussed their inability to register the product on Amazon reviews and that this is a consistent problem with Adobe, not whoever they want me to register my identity with ... I am an Adobe customer. I didn't buy a product from identit-e.

Moreover, the identit-e website specifically states, if your product code isn't recognized, you must contact the manufacturer of the software.

I asked to speak with a manager and was left on terminal hold. This after I was given a 9-digit "customer ID number" that I was told to use next time I call. No likely I'll be able to find the piece of paper I scrawled my random number on.

REALLY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE ... so bad in fact, that the software will be come a useless lightweight paperweight in 7 days.

I was able, after asking for a manager, being told that the manager would also tell me it isn't their problem and waiting and finally getting a manager. When I explained to him that I was writing a review on Amazon that other reviewers had mentioned this same problem and asking if they were aware of the bad publicity their product was getting from users like me who are writing reviews on the Internet, I got a number to activate my product. But, I was told THIS IS A ONE-TIME EXCEPTION to our standard policy. The manager instructed me to go to a customer service site to upload my college credentials and then after he viewed them, gave me the activation code.

It's interesting to note that mentioning writing reviews on Amazon helped me get my software activated.