CS5 on Mac and PC?

[walter.sk]

I've been using Photoshop since version 5 on Windows PC's.  I'm getting a Mac (probably a Mac Pro, and want to have both in play until I decide to go all Mac, or all PC again, or just to keep both for their particular strengths.

I'm about to get the upgrade version of Photoshop CS5 for PC and install it on my current computer.  Would I be able to then download the Mac version, install it on the new Mac and use my serial number to activate it on the Mac as well?  Also, on my PC I have CS4, which is an upgrade of my CS3, which is an upgrade of...going back to the original Photoshop 5.  There will be no earlier versions of Photoshop on the new Mac, of course, but will this keep me from being able to use my upgrade license number to install and activate the Mac version?

I don't want to go with the Parallels and Windows version on the Mac, but to see what the native Mac version is all about.  I have not been able to turn up the answers to these questions on the Adobe website, and phone calls to Adobe ended up in very long periods on hold, so I am posting the questions here.

[Mark D Segal]

Adobe allows you to swap a PC license for a Mac license, but not have both unless you pay for both. I expect, but I'm not sure, that if you do the swap, you will then be allowed to up-grade the Mac license to the latest version for the up-grade price, but that detail needs to be verified either with Adobe or another forum member who knows it from experience.

[jdemott]

I went through the process of switching Photoshop from Windows to Mac a couple years ago.  Adobe considers the licenses for Windows and Mac to be separate, but will allow you to transfer from one to the other free of charge (although there is a small charge if you want a hard copy of the new software rather than a download).  There are two conditions to the transfer and Adobe seems to be inflexible about those.  First, you must convert to the current version of the software (e.g., CS5).  So, if you have an older version of Photoshop, you have to pay the upgrade fee.  Second, you may have a Windows or a Mac license but not both (unless you pay for both).  In other words, you can install the software on two PCs or two Macs, but not one of each.  You have to sign some sort of document attesting to the destruction of the old version.  I had been using Photoshop from a very early version with regular upgrades and the Adobe customer service rep was able to verify the whole history so that I didn't have to go back and find all the old paperwork.

You could use the 30 day free trial offered by Adobe to try the Mac version without making a formal transfer, but after the 30 days you would need to choose Mac or PC.  There isn't any real difference in the Photoshop software between Mac and PC; and the speed of the application will depend primarily on the speed of your machine.

[walter.sk]

Thanks for the replies, guys.  I can't say I'm not disappointed, though.  More and more publishers ae allowing cross platform use on one license.  But I guess there are reasons why I'm not doing as well in my business as Adobe is in theirs

[jjj]

Thanks for the replies, guys.  I can't say I'm not disappointed, though.  More and more publishers ae allowing cross platform use on one license.  But I guess there are reasons why I'm not doing as well in my business as Adobe is in theirs

Though oddly LR's licence is cross platform.