If you’re a student, you’d qualify to purchase Illustrator CS4 for $199 at academicsuperstore.com.

And if you’re not a student, find one to buy it for you! I bought InDesign through academicsuperstore. MUCH cheaper than it is otherwise.

Thank you both! But I’m still in high school. Will I still qualify?

edit: I just read more on the website. I qualify! :)

Yeah you can buy it for free on Demonoid ;).

@JesusWasAJewbot: Stealing someone’s property is certainly no way to go about obtaining anything. Aside from pirated software being illegal, it’s unethical, it hurts developers and legitimate users, and it opens your computer up to all sorts of malware. Bad, bad idea.

And yes @cerealforannie, you qualify.

Yes, @cerealforannie, it still counts – you just have to prove you’re a student using a ”valid eligibility documents” as they call them. Also, before you order it yourself, ask your art teachers that you’re planning to do this. They might be able to get the program for you through the school.

@JesusWasAJewbot Yeahhhh, you can (and honestly I have done that before), but it’s a lot more dangerous in terms of both your computer and potential legal action. I wouldn’t risk doing it again, not with something worth as much as Adobe software.

@simpleD just because something is pirated doesn’t mean it’s harmful to your computer. And Adobe makes enough from every business that buys their programs and buys a license for multiple machines to run the software, and writes it off as business expense.

For every day people who need it, its far too expensive when you need multiple programs.

@wenn: You’re right – because it’s pirated does not mean it’s bad. But why chance it? If you’re serious about doing good work with quality software, why chance hosing your system, or worse, turning it into a zombie for propagating more malware and contraband.

And your argument that Adobe is rich enough already has no bearing. If something belongs to someone and you use it without their permission, it’s theft. Audis are too expensive for me, but I don’t just go into a lot and grab one. If you can’t afford it, you should find an alternative. If you steal it, it makes it more expensive for legitimate users and pros to obtain it and get support they’ve paid for when they need it.

yeah but you don’t need an audi, you can get by without one. and i didn’t say Adobe was rich enough. and I do have quality software, and i do my work well with it.

As a young web designer, I both need and cant afford those programs. I dont have enough income to buy thousands of dollars worth of programs. and the few alternatives like GIMP just aren’t robust enough in my opinion.

Why chance getting what i need to do my work, why don’t i just not do it?

It’s not a perfect world out there, sometime things need to done. If i had plenty of income to spend on software I probably would buy it, but i don’t, so i can’t, but my work still needs doing. so i do what i gotta do, so get over it.

but ill make you a deal since your all about paying for things. Give me $100,000 to pay off my school loans and Ill go right out and purchase CS5 master collection when it launches with my little to spare hard earned money. Deal?

if you can afford it find an alternative. I did, it was called a torrent.

@wenn: So it’s okay to steal if you really need to? How do you know I don’t need an Audi? I really need to look good when I drive up to meet my potential clients, so they’ll pay me what I think I deserve. I’m glad the burglar who couldn’t afford presents for his kids didn’t decide to break into my house and take them from me.

If you had to put on a mask and break down a door to get to your torrents, would you still do it? Or does the thought that you know you can’t get caught make it less criminal?

Okay, you didn’t say “Adobe was rich enough.” You said they can afford to have people steal from them, because they budget for it. Yes, they do – by charging me more.

Hey, I really need a new Web site for the new business I’m starting. I just got out of school, and I can’t afford to hire someone with the skills. I saw some of your work online though, and it looks great. Just what I need. I guess I can just copy the HTML and CSS from your server, plug in my own business name, and I’ll be good to go.

Seriously – you think it’s okay to profit from someone else’s labor without giving them credit? I can’t imagine hiring a professional with those standards.

Why can’t you just use GIMP?

@jerv GIMP is great unless you’ve already been trained in Adobe. Then it makes you want to tear your hair out. :) Also I don’t know if it works in vectors, which I figure annie needs or she’d be wanting InDesign or Photoshop, not Illustrator.

@fireinthepriory The GIMPshop variant is specifically designed for those familiar with Photoshop. Therefore, I consider that a non-issue, though I can see how it would be if you only tried the base, vanilla GIMP.
As for other issues, I yield to professional graphics designers since my own graphical needs, while not totally basic, are relatively meager compared to those that do graphics for a living.

@jerv Good to know there’s a Photoshop-like variant. I do admit to giving up rather quickly when I tried GIMP… The buttons made no sense!! I was so fast on photoshop at that point that trying to switch to the “normal” GIMP was like pulling teeth.

Beware eBay. Some of those things you buy will have registration keys that are no good and Adobe won’t honor an upgrade.