Windows 10 Questions

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

For personal home use, I never moved past Windows XP & 7. Both work fine for me, and while I realize that XP is less than secure, it would be an annoyance rather than a disaster if it got corrupted.

However, I am thinking of upgrading the Win7 laptop to Win10. My questions are:

1) I understand that Win10 is some sort of subscription model. If I don't pay for a subscription, does Win10 stop working or will I just not get updates?

2) Can older Windows software, such as Photoshop from the XP period be installed on a Win10 Computer?

[Marcel Birgelen]

Windows 10 is (currently) not a subscription model, you pay one-off for the license and then you get updates for free.

Keep in mind that if your Windows install gets infected, it's often not just yourself you're "annoying", but also often others too. Your machine can become a host for malware, part of a zombie network attacking other machines and personal information of yourself and others, stored on your machine, could be stolen. Any XP machine connected to the Internet is a time-bomb with a trigger that could go off any time, measured in seconds rather than minutes...

Although there is never a 100% guarantee, most older software, like older versions of Adobe Photoshop should run fine on Windows 10. Windows 10 also offers compatibility modes for older software, which you can try if you run into complications. Keep in mind that older software, in many cases, can also be a security problem. Anything that connects to the internet really should be updated to the latest available patch-levels.

[Leo Enticknap]

As Marcel notes, W10 has not gone to the "Software as a Service" model for consumer licenses ... yet. They have changed the update model to enable this, though. Instead of Service Pack 1, 2, etc., they issue a major update every six months, with support for the predecessor continuing for a finite time, and then ceasing. The current version is 1909, signifying that it was released in September 2019. At present, at any rate, installing the major version updates is free.

I have Adobe Creative Suite CS3 and Acrobat Pro 10. They all work fine under W10 (x64), with one caveat: Premiere goes unstable, and crashes and freezes, if more than around 20 clips are imported for editing. Tried it in W7 compatibility mode, with no improvement. However, given that Da Vinci Resolve is totally free, this isn't keeping me awake at night. I also have an old MS Office 2010 license, and that works without any problems under W10, too.

[Bobby Henderson]

You're still running Creative Suite 3 software? That stuff is ancient. I was under the impression Adobe no longer has activation servers running for Creative Suite software older than version CS6.

DaVinci Resolve is quite a bargain. The basic editor is free. For $299 you get a bunch of extras, including the plug-ins for Blackmagic Design's professional editing hardware. It seems like the software is being offered as a loss leader to push those hardware sales.

[Leo Enticknap]

Adobe now lets you download a version from their website (after you've entered your original serial number) that bypasses the activation server. It still does what I need it to do (apart from Premiere having gone wonky under W10), so I see no need to cough up for a newer version.

Agreed that the rationale for making Da Vinci free is likely to promote and support Blackmagic hardware sales: it's the same principle whereby Microsoft sells a "work at home" license for corporate customers for Office for almost nothing (varies according to the size of the company, but typically $25-50 per employee). The idea is (presumably) that if you work on a Blackmagic-equipped post suite during the week, you can do a few hours at home on your PC over the weekend at no extra cost. It's a great NLE, though - an improvement on Premiere in several ways, IMHO.

[Mike Blakesley]

You're still running Creative Suite 3 software? That stuff is ancient. I was under the impression Adobe no longer has activation servers running for Creative Suite software older than version CS6.

Heck I still have Photoshop 7, which is from what, the '90s? I just installed it on a Win10 machine that I inherited from my mom-in-law, and it registered fine and seems to work OK. (I have no need to subscribe to the current nickel-and-dime PS version....my Photoshop needs are very basic. Plus this computer also has PS Elements already on it, which does a lot of what PS does....although I can't seem to figure out "layers" on Elements yet, if indeed it has that feature.

[Scott Norwood]

Something that old might not run on 64-bit Windows 10. There is a 32-bit version of Windows 10, but that will limit your choice of new software, since it will only be able to make use of (approximately) 4GB of RAM. For something that old, it might make sense to run a 32-bit operating system in a VM using Virtualbox or VMware Workstation for that software only. You could almost certainly make it work, but it might be more trouble and expense that upgrading to a current piece of software that does the same thing.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Premiere goes unstable, and crashes and freezes, if more than around 20 clips are imported for editing.

We're usually using Avid Media Composer, as this is somewhat of an industry standard. But ever now and then, a Premiere project comes along and I hate it for the frequent crashes, even in the 2020 version they're currently pushing.

We're also looking to move some editing stuff over to DaVinci Resolve, but old habits die hard and Resolve used only to be the color-grading tool in the past...

You're still running Creative Suite 3 software? That stuff is ancient. I was under the impression Adobe no longer has activation servers running for Creative Suite software older than version CS6.

The "pre-CS" versions of Adobe products mostly didn't need any on-line activation, they used either a central license server or simple serial key asked during installation. The caveat was that you could not run two copies with the same serial on the same broadcast network. They would detect each other and the one copy launched later would refuse to restart. I remember some of their software like After Effects even requiring a dongle, but my memory could be hazy.

[Mike Blakesley]

The "pre-CS" versions of Adobe products mostly didn't need any on-line activation, they used either a central license server or simple serial key asked during installation. The caveat was that you could not run two copies with the same serial on the same broadcast network.

I guess that's what's saved me with the old Photoshop.... I've probably installed it on at least 10 computers over the years. It just asks for the serial number.

[Bobby Henderson]

Adobe now lets you download a version from their website (after you've entered your original serial number) that bypasses the activation server. It still does what I need it to do (apart from Premiere having gone wonky under W10), so I see no need to cough up for a newer version.

That's good to know there's a way to get an old copy of Creative Suite running if need be. I still have installer discs from past versions of Creative Suite (and earlier), including the CS 5.5 Master Collection. Adobe let registered users download an unlocked version of CS2, but they didn't do that with the later versions (probably for the reason you mentioned).

I've been using the "Creative Cloud" applications for the past few years. The newest versions of Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects and a few others have too many critical improvements for me to do without. Astute Graphics makes a bunch of terrific plug-ins for Illustrator that are not backward compatible with old Creative Suite versions. The Typekit/Adobe Fonts service is a perk worth a fortune on its own. At my workplace we need to be able to open Adobe-based files from clients without any hitches. I'm in the beta testing program for Adobe Illustrator. An Adobe CC subscription is pretty expensive; I would only recommend it to anyone using it for actual paid work. Students can get it at a decent discount, but I think you have provide proof of enrollment.

Given what I feel may be potentially self destructive moves by management at Corel I might be shifting a whole lot more of my large scale sign design work into Illustrator, particularly if Adobe adopts some changes frequently requested by users (like enlarging the maximum canvas size limits). Corel has changed hands from one private equity company (Vector Capital) to another (KKR). They're forcing active users into one of two subscription setups even though they don't have the kind of "must have" leverage over users like Adobe has. Plus they seem to be unaware of competition from lower cost rivals: Affinity Designer, Autodesk Graphic, Vectornator and Inkscape.

Heck I still have Photoshop 7, which is from what, the '90s? I just installed it on a Win10 machine that I inherited from my mom-in-law, and it registered fine and seems to work OK. (I have no need to subscribe to the current nickel-and-dime PS version....my Photoshop needs are very basic. Plus this computer also has PS Elements already on it, which does a lot of what PS does....although I can't seem to figure out "layers" on Elements yet, if indeed it has that feature.

Photoshop 7 was released in 2002; it was the last version of PS prior to the introduction of Creative Suite in the fall of 2003. If it can run under Windows 10 it should cover most of the basics. But like Scott said, it's a 32-bit application and won't have access to more than 2-3GB of RAM. The first 64-bit version of Photoshop shipped in Creative Suite 4. I don't like Photoshop Elements at all. The interface is too dumbed-down, limited and constrained compared to its big brother application.

After all these years the Photoshop development team still has a sense of humor, hiding Easter Eggs in the application. The "Big Electric Cat" has made a return to a hidden splash screen in Photoshop CC 2020. Unfortunately he doesn't burp when you click on his nose.

PS-BlackjackEasterEgg.png

The "pre-CS" versions of Adobe products mostly didn't need any on-line activation, they used either a central license server or simple serial key asked during installation. The caveat was that you could not run two copies with the same serial on the same broadcast network. They would detect each other and the one copy launched later would refuse to restart. I remember some of their software like After Effects even requiring a dongle, but my memory could be hazy.

Pre-CS Adobe applications didn't require online activation, the user just had to enter the serial number (which was often printed on the disc jewel case or slip cover). I never tried installing more than one copy of the same application on a network. Adobe's Creative Cloud applications are account-based. You can install the software on 2 machines, but not on the same network. It has to be an arrangement like a work desktop and one at home. The mobile apps for iPad and Android don't affect the installation number.

I don't think any of Adobe's software ever required a dongle. A decent amount of industry specific graphics applications have required dongles in the past. We've gone from dongles requiring a LPT1 port to USB-based dongles. Most applications have moved away from hardware dongles in favor of online activation. Our shop still has two applications that require dongles, both of them large format printing RIP applications (Onyx Thrive and RasterLink Pro) for a pair of HP Latex printers and a Mimaki flatbed.

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

Yes, Photoshop 5.5 does not require any kind of server authentication. Yes, I know that is an ancient version originally coded on papyrus scrolls, but it meets ALL of my home needs.

Buried in an off site storage garage, I have a Windows 3.1 computer with Aldus Photostyler software. In 1994 Adobe bought Aldus and incorporated all the features and functionality of Photostyler into Photoshop.

[Mike Blakesley]

I got my earliest desktop publishing experience with some crappy little home publishing program at first, which I forget the name of, but then a friend (who was in college) gave me the "Educational version" of Aldus PageMaker. She had gotten it in some kind of bundle and didn't need it I remember it only cost $149, while the standard version (which was identical, as far as I could tell) was something like $750. I upgraded it a few times, and that Educational serial number always got me a great deal. I remember moving from PageMaker 3 to 5 and being amazed that it could finally ROTATE TEXT AND GRAPHICS! It's a pretty clunky old thing now and I haven't used it in a while. I designed my first website on PageMill which was a "sister" program to PageMaker.

Lately I've gone over to Microsoft Publisher for most of the signs, posters and stuff that I need to make. It's impressive in many ways but it's (as Bobby calls it) dumbed-down to where it's about unbearable.... it keeps trying to think for me. (Same thing Photoshop Elements does, I suppose!) If I ever need to do something with a lot of graphics, or text that is artful in some way, I usually use Photoshop. If it's mostly plain text, I'll use Publisher since it makes editing easier.

I'm kind of a hybrid when it comes to this kind of stuff.... I don't need all the bells and whistles, but what I do need, I like to have control over and not have the program think it's got a better idea. I know what I want it to look like.

[Marcel Birgelen]

We're pretty much dependent on files we receive from external sources. Those guys tend to use Adobe products for graphical work and Microsoft products for standard "office related" files like text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Professional editing is mostly done in Avid Media Composer for video and ProTools for audio. That way, you're pretty much locked into an ecosystem, defined by the industry around you. This is also, why switching to Linux is practically impossible. Switching to Mac would technically be possible, but even then there is software that we'd to run in stuff like Parallels. Also, Apple has really let down the professional industry by neglecting their workstation offerings for years on end. I like the flexibility of Windows desktops and workstations, where you can easily upgrade stuff like RAM, harddrives and GPUs, without trashing the entire system.

For all those who are not so much dependent on external workflows, there are nowadays quite some powerful alternatives for the likes of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I encourage everybody to take a look at Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher. You can download a free demo version and the full versions are available for a reasonable price, without the need for a rather expensive subscription, like with the Adobe products.

[Scott Norwood]

I worked for a publishing company from 2012 through mid-2015. They produced both books and magazines. The whole Adobe thing is completely entrenched in that business, as others have mentioned above. I believe that the thought of moving to a different software vendor was considered to be too scary to contemplate at that time. Part of the problem is that these businesses don't just use Adobe software, but they also use other software that works with the Adobe products and is useless without them. For another vendor to enter that market, even with a superior product, the barrier to entry would be very high.

It's kind of sad when a company like that comes to dominate an entire industry, but, here we are.

I suppose that the only good thing here is that, in the case of publishing, the design software is just a step on the way to the final product (the book or magazine). It's not as if data live in Adobe-land and are locked up and inaccessible without Adobe keys. That is Oracle's business model....

[Frank Cox]

I use https://www.gimp.org/ and https://www.scribus.net/ both of which are free (and are also available for Windows). My needs aren't particularly complex, I mostly just create a weekly ad and edit the odd graphic, but my wife uses Gimp to create and edit quilt patterns and a friend of mine has a print shop/publishing house and uses Scribus to lay out a weekly classified ad publication and other odds and ends like fridge magnets and shipping labels.