[1976baby]

Hi-I'm new here, but I've been designing for about 7 years and when I started out I got what ever software I could afford at the time so all of these years later I am using note pad to author sites, swish max for flash, xara for vector images and paint shop pro for the majority of my graphics work.

I want to update my tools, but I've only got about $1000 to use. I don't have any problems with any of the applications but I'm sure that I need to update. Any suggestions?

I was looking at Studio 8? I have heard that overall flash creates smaller files than swish max, but I've also been told that swish max is much easier and faster so I'm not sure which way to turn-on the adobe site I noticed that their bundles have either flash or photo shop but not both?

[samuelcotterall]

Studio 8 is dead. Macromedia are now owned by Adobe, and Fireworks, Dreamweaver and Flash are now bundled with Creative Suite 3.

Ideally, I would recommend Photoshop (graphics), Illustrator (vector) and Flash (er, Flash) - but each of these is about £700. Then there are Creative Suite bundles, which are about $1,600 for a decent package.

What you have now, with the exception of maybe Xara and Notepad, are pretty weak, so I'd probably try to upgrade your graphics and flash applications some how. Even if it means buying an old version off Amazon or eBay (there is some legit stuff out there).

"on the adobe site I noticed that their bundles have either flash or photo shop but not both?" - A few bundles come with both.

Adobe - Creative Suite 3, Web Site Design, Graphic Design, Video Editing, Photo Editing Software

[Larixk]

you might want to look into gimp or paint.net for bitmap graphics. Inkscape for vector. Flashdevelop or asdt-for-eclipse for your actionscripting. And Aptana for your webcoding stuff.

That will cost you a total of $0.

Most of those don't really come close to Adobe CS3 stuff. But hey, if you're working a 7 year old paint shop pro right now you'll probably be fine with these.

[Snowshiro]

Looking on eBay, full copies of Adobe CS2 are going for a song now that CS3 is out. You'd have to be careful who you deal with and make sure its a full version with a valid key. But, if you can get a copy that way, you could then buy an upgrade to CS3 Web Premium from Adobe for $499 and get the whole lot for well under a grand.

If you have any connection to education (teacher, student) you can also get a pretty hefty educational discount.

[roto]

Originally Posted by Snowshiro

If you have any connection to education (teacher, student) you can also get a pretty hefty educational discount.

That, my friend, is how I was going to respond. Go that route, and you'll definitely get what you need for under a grand.

[1976baby]

Thanks for your suggestions-my nephews are students so hopefully I can save some money there

[Snowshiro]

As long as they're in an accredited (i.e. 'real') school or college you shouldn't have a problem. I think you may have to fill in some kind of form and fax it to Adobe along with their student ID to get the discount.

Anyway, the student price for (full version) CS3 Web Premium is $499. Design Premium is $599.

The regular price is $1599 and $1799 so it's a pretty serious discount if you can get it.

[samuelcotterall]

I got the student edition - all I had to do was scan in my student card and email it. Easy.

[Faaj]

photoshop, you can use it for like basically everything

[Snowshiro]

Originally Posted by Faaj

photoshop, you can use it for like basically everything

Yeah, it's just fabulous for coding PHP.

[roto]

snicker

[freelancr]

Originally Posted by 1976baby

Thanks for your suggestions-my nephews are students so hopefully I can save some money there

You might aswell download it from a torrent site, as either way you won't be operating with a valid licence, and could potentially land yourself in a spot of bother if you are using it commercially or otherwise.

Instead, go to Adobe and download trial versions of software you like the look of, they are valid for 30 days and should give you chance to test them out. Weigh them up against your current software, or the following free alternatives.

GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program
Paint.NET - Free Photo Editing Software for Windows
.:: NOTEPAD++ ::.
FileZilla Homepage - Index
Inkscape. Draw Freely.
blender.org - Home

[pgo]

Freelancr's right. That's technically illegal if you're not affiliated with a university and/or using it for commercial purposes.

I recommend the "find a cheap copy of an older release" method (if you can find one). I'm still using Photoshop 7 and Illustrator 10 at home, myself. Sure, I'd like some of the fancy newer features like being able to select multiple layers at once in Photoshop, but at what cost!

And I use PHP Designer 2007 for web/code work. A mere pittance at $50. I'm with Freelancr, Notepad++ is the best free text editor, I feel. Can't really justify buying Dreamweaver for $400 (though the Search & Replace function is unparalleled, IMHO). No text editor should cost that much (and no professional, self-respecting web designer uses WYSIWYG).

Originally Posted by Snowshiro

Yeah, it's just fabulous for coding PHP.

Oh, you.

photoshop, you can use it for like basically everything

If by "everything" you mean "two-dimensional raster graphics" but not print layout, logo design, or any other vector-required format/work, then yes.

[vasildb]

I recommend you CS3. It's great and the best.

[Snowshiro]

And super cheap!

[proc355]

Originally Posted by pgo

(though the Search & Replace function is unparalleled, IMHO).

:%s/search/replace/g

gimme vim any day -