Imaging Software other than Adobe?

Hi All,

I'm just about to pull my hair out dealing with Adobe trying to move CS2 from Mac to a PC. Long story short, I have bought both upgrades from PS5 to CS and CS2. I have thrown away all the PS5 stuff long ago so I don't have the serial number to the original, so they won't honor the cross-platform fee of $5.95 and want me to pay the full blown price for CS2 for Windows. I will not do it. Screw 'em!

So here's the question: What other imaging software is out there to allow me to use the PC? Or am I stuck with Mac?

Thanks!

Jerry

Bummer, Jerry, unfortunately, it's an Adobe world out there. Photoshop is the program. We all understand PS (your mileage may vary), we all talk PS and there is an industry teaching Photoshop. Nothing else even holds a candle to it.

Corel Paint Shop Pro X isn't too bad. I use CS2, but PSPX has layers, color managment, 16 bit image editing, a raw workflow package for $79.00. It isn't photoshop, but it can handle most things and I believe it works with plugins and such and it has some advanced editing features. You can download a fully functional 30-day trail to evaluate. I'd give it a go and see what you think. Version X has quite a few improvements to it from previous versions. You can also get it packaged with Corel Painter Essentials, which is a pretty cool program too. I'd give it a go, Photoshop talks big and it is powerful, but how many of its advanced features does the average photographer use? I think that is up for debate.

Take a look at Picture Window Pro. It has full color management, RAW support, layers (I believe) and a bunch of other stuff.

There's also a free open source program called GIMP. But, I've never used it.
PaintShop Pro (PSP) and Adobe Elements seem to be the runner ups after PhotoShop.

Are you sure Adobe didn't keep your upgrade info? Seems kinda questionable to me as it's in their best interest to track their users even if they won't admit it. Maybe go through Adobe tech support and ask how you would find your old S# in order to reinstall your upgrade.

Try using Adobe Lightroom Beta. I tried it for a very brief 30 minutes and it has a ton of features. Since its beta, you won't have to shell out a penny. Other options :

GIMP - Open Source, pretty complex to use and ofcourse no support agreements etc.
Photoshop Elements - simple, more or less similar to iPhoto and costs 75 bucks ( it comes bundled with 20/30D if you own one ) and can deal most of the day to day PP needs.
Google Picasa - Very good at organizing, but lacks support for layers, USM etc.