Educational Software, hmm?

Way too good to be true?

[OhMyPixel]

I'm currently considering purchasing educational version of Macromedia Studio MX it is only $199 (compared to the $799). I am an economically struggling student and I do qualify for the discount but the question is - What are the limitations, effects, warnings you guys have come across with such "educational" versions? How do the educational versions work with future updates? Are there any differences in the program?

[hasbeen]

I have the educational versions of both Fireworks 4 and UltraDev 4 at home, and the full versions at work. So far, I haven't seen a difference and I don't believe that the educational version restricts upgrades in any way. Maybe others will have more insight.

[korkus2000]

I started out with education software. Photoshop, freehand, flash, dreamweaver, and lightwave. I had no problem upgrading. The only real limitation is you can get busted for using for commercial projects. It is not supposed to be for commercial use. There was no limitation at all on the functionality.

If you can, do it. You will save hundreds of dollars.

[mivox]

There generally isn't a functional difference at all. It's just a discounted price... there may be licensing differences, but I'm not sure about that part.

[txbakers]

Absolutely no differences. Buy it at that price it's an incredible bargain!

[Drastic]

Like korkus mentioned, they often put a non-commercial use statement in the license agreement. It's generally the same product with a modified license.

[OhMyPixel]

Are there anyways to tell if the finished product (a graphic or HTML file) was made with an educational version over commerical? I would think not.

[txbakers]

I don't think so.

[JamesR]

You can't use Macromedia educational versions for commercial purposes:

[macromedia.com...]

I empathize, I looked into the same thing a few months ago. Adobe does however, allow educational versions to be used commercially, there are no restrictions after I could find after scouring their website and speaking with a sales rep.