Lightroom at Adobe's Education Store

[OrionsByte]

Alright, I have a fairly straightforward question, but it may be more of a philosophical one than a technical one.

I recently downloaded a trial version of Lightroom 3 and quickly discovered that it's something I want to buy. Unfortunately funds are tight and saving up $300 will take me longer than the trial period (though Amazon has it for less than $250).

Adobe has Lightroom listed in their Education store for $99 instead of $299, but obviously you have to be a student or teacher, of which I am neither. However, my mother-in-law is a full-time teacher and would therefore be eligible for the discount.

My question: if she bought a copy of Lightroom, with the discount she is eligible for, and then gave it to me (regardless of whether or not I pay her back, though I would), is that dishonest? Is that cheating?

Second question: There are two versions of Lightroom listed in the Education store, and one of them is labeled "Student and Teacher Edition" and is $10 less ($89). Does anyone know the difference between the two? I can't really tell if there's anything substantially different other than slightly different terms of use terminology that seem to basically say the same thing.

Thanks for any thoughts/opinions/insights!

 

[mwcfarms]

Teachers get ten more dollars off. To the best of my knowledge they are the exact same programs. Lol is it cheating. I think its working the system, which some will say go for and some will frown upon. Its up to you if you can sleep at night.

 

[loopy]

There is no difference between the two. The educational license is non-transferable, while it WOULD work - it wouldn't technically be legal.

 

[OrionsByte]

Alright thanks guys - that's pretty much what I thought. I'd never tried to get a student discount on anything though and wasn't sure how they're really supposed to work.

Kinda reminds me of way back when when I worked for Wal-Mart and people would ask if I could use my discount to buy something for them. When it was a bag of candy I wasn't too worried about it, but when it was a TV or something that was different.

 

[KmH]

If you have any children in school K-12, they likely qualify as students. A spouse taking higher education classes would likely qualify as a student.

 

[OrionsByte]

My daughter won't be in kindergarten for a couple years, but I'll keep that in mind once she gets there.

If either my wife or I had been considering taking a class already this would all be a moot point, but neither one of us really had any plans to do so, and taking a class JUST to get the discount... well that wouldn't make much sense either because it would almost make up the difference in price.

In the end the difference between the $100 on the education store and $250 on Amazon isn't that big a deal, and I think it's probably worth it.

 

[inaka]

OrionsByte, take a photo class. Boom, you're a student.

 

[OrionsByte]

Well I considered that of course, but I don't have much time for it, and like I said the cost of the class on top of the cost of the software with the discount is just about the same as getting the software without the discount.

I also considered signing up for a class, ordering the software, and then dropping the class within the window that still lets me get a refund; but that's more dishonest than just having someone who's already eligible order it for me.

Call me a prude, but I do tend to prefer to stay on the right side of the rules.

 

[quiddity]

the nice thing about the non-student version is that you qualify for upgrade pricing on newer versions

 

[flea77]

Well I considered that of course, but I don't have much time for it, and like I said the cost of the class on top of the cost of the software with the discount is just about the same as getting the software without the discount.

I also considered signing up for a class, ordering the software, and then dropping the class within the window that still lets me get a refund; but that's more dishonest than just having someone who's already eligible order it for me.

Call me a prude, but I do tend to prefer to stay on the right side of the rules.

Actually that sounds like justification. The software is sold to a student or teacher with the implication and intent that THEY will be using it for EDUCATIONAL purposes. Anything other than that is not only immoral, but probably illegal as well. Then again, if you can live with that, it is unlikely they will catch you.

But then I have to ask, is that how you want your daughter to think of the rules? "Daddy, you said not to sleep with that boy, we didn't SLEEP at all!"

Allan

 

[Smitty91]

I have read on another forum that adobe is offering Lr3 for $99 with a code. However I haven't been able to confirm if this is for brand new installations or upgrades.

 

[OrionsByte]

Well I considered that of course, but I don't have much time for it, and like I said the cost of the class on top of the cost of the software with the discount is just about the same as getting the software without the discount.

I also considered signing up for a class, ordering the software, and then dropping the class within the window that still lets me get a refund; but that's more dishonest than just having someone who's already eligible order it for me.

Call me a prude, but I do tend to prefer to stay on the right side of the rules.

Actually that sounds like justification. The software is sold to a student or teacher with the implication and intent that THEY will be using it for EDUCATIONAL purposes. Anything other than that is not only immoral, but probably illegal as well. Then again, if you can live with that, it is unlikely they will catch you.

I think you misread something. In the post right above the one you quoted, I said the price of the full (non-discounted) version on Amazon was worth it because it really wasn't that much more than the education version. How am I justifying anything? At the worst, I'm guilty of saying, "How wrong is it exactly?" I knew better, but sometimes it helps to have a few people agree with the little angel on my shoulder, and there was a chance that I was misunderstanding the intention behind the discounted versions so I wanted to make sure.

But then I have to ask, is that how you want your daughter to think of the rules? "Daddy, you said not to sleep with that boy, we didn't SLEEP at all!"

I don't ever, ever take things personally online, and especially not on TPF, but this statement pissed me off. I'm 100% confident that the person my daughter sees is someone who follows the rules and doesn't ignore them just because they're inconvenient once in a while, and for you to suggest otherwise - without even knowing me - just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Am I guilty of being tempted? Yes. Am I guilty of going through with it? No. How does that teach my daughter anything but that in the end, rules are rules?

EDIT: Yes, I'm overreacting. I probably shouldn't have posted the question to begin with because I knew the answer, I was just wrestling with the temptation of the opportunity to "cheat." I appreciate the options people have presented, but yeah it irritates me that someone would suggest that just because I was tempted, that I'm somehow setting a bad example for my daughter.

 

[flea77]

I apologize for the comment. It really wasn't meant to be taken that way but reading it this morning I certainly see your point. That is two I posted last night I should have just kept quiet on. I did not mean to imply you were a bad parent even though that is exactly how it sounded. Sorry.

What I meant to suggest is that decisions we ALL make today are seen by our children and we should take that into consideration when we make our choices, which it seems you did.

Allan

 

[OrionsByte]

And you're right, our kids see far more than we give them credit for sometimes. I did overreact though (I was tired and grumpy) and I think I was reacting more to the fact that I was still catching flak even after I'd already decided to do "the right thing" when I may have not really made that decision clear. So I apologize too, and I'm ready to let this thread die.

 

[Big Mike]

Well I considered that of course, but I don't have much time for it, and like I said the cost of the class on top of the cost of the software with the discount is just about the same as getting the software without the discount.

Yes but if you take the class...you gain knowledge...which may be more valuable than the actual 'cost' of the class (or the software).

Lightroom does go on sale from time to time...I remember seeing it for around $200 in fliers/e-mails from a few camera stores.
Also, you can sometimes find Adobe discounts that come along with photography products. Some cameras for example. I got a great Adobe discount when I bought my Wacom pen & tablet...and I got that on sale for 50% off.

If you do go the class route, make sure that is qualifies for the student version. It may have to be a certain number of hours, or be taught at a certified school etc.