Filed under: Software, Universal Binary, Beta Beat
Rumor: Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta to be released soon
Think Secret is reporting that unnamed sources have advised them that Adobe will be releasing a beta of the Photoshop CS3 Universal Binary as early as this week. In true Adobe fashion, however (and assuming it's true, which we don't really know) Open GL-based image zooming, which is what will make CS3 "feel" so fast, will be disabled in beta - and it might not even be ready when they release the final product! Is there a new definition of "final" that I'm not aware of?
The other catch, if this rumor is true, is that The Photoshop CS3 public beta won't really be public at all. It will be open only to registered owners of Photoshop CS2 and a valid serial number will be required to download the beta, which will be the "standard" version, not the "premium" version. Details on what features differentiate "standard" from "premium" are still fuzzy, however.
Enterprise and Pro users will likely rejoice if this rumor is true, but why must all Mac-love coming from Adobe these days be so conditional and half-hearted?
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jabberjaw said 3:20PM on 12-11-2006
yep, it's true. A little beta tester birdie told me so
Reply
wyang said 3:21PM on 12-11-2006
Whats up with the Adobe bashing? Im sure nobody even expected a beta before this rumor, and I see nothing wrong with limiting it to people who own licenses--at least that limits the testers to people who actually have experience with Photoshop.
Reply
Bob said 3:23PM on 12-11-2006
I heard from a source that registered users will receive an email on Dec 15th with a link to the download. Also, the "standard" version is similar to CS2 with CS3 goodness but the "premium" version will have video editing specific capabilities that sound a lot like Shake and After Effects on top of the standard features. Bridge apparently is still intact and has not been jettisoned in favor of Lightroom which makes me a happy camper.
Reply
Smittywerbenjaegermanjensen said 3:50PM on 12-11-2006
Public beta or not, odds are that those that want to partake in the CS3 love will be able to find it on a torrent the same day.
Reply
Lokheed said 4:28PM on 12-11-2006
@wyang
yeah, all those struggling artists that can't afford PSD and acquire it through other means don't actually have experience with it.
Why don't you dig your head out of your...
Reply
wyang said 4:55PM on 12-11-2006
@Lokheed
Yes, its a shame that Adobe is inconveniencing those people who acquired it through "other" means. As #4 stated, there is nothing stopping them from doing the same with the beta. I am defending the programmers who don't want to deal with people with simple usage questions when there are real beta bugs that need to be addressed.
Lokheed, if you wanna take the side of those who "aquire through other means", by all means try. I do not envy your position.
Reply
innocentchild said 5:17PM on 12-11-2006
The concept of "Final" has been lost much like the correct use of "beta" has. With potential release of a CS3 beta, I think it's safe to say that it will be a true beta. What happens at the time of the *final realease to the public* is a different story. Just because it went out as a shipped product doesn't seem to mean it's a finalized product. The PS3 is shipping as a "final" product but is more beta//final release candidate.
I could digress into how many "web 2.0" sites are "beta" sites, but are launched as "final" with the cliche "beta" tacked onto their Photoshop gradient-lighting-effects-drop-shadow joke of a logo...
Reply
Spasso said 5:51PM on 12-11-2006
Yah, they even had a (broken) link for the beta up briefly on the Adobe home page late last week.
Reply
Thomas Fitzgerald said 6:53PM on 12-11-2006
funny how think secret "broke" this story several hours after Apple Insider posted a similar story. ..
Im just sayin'
Reply
Daveed V. said 10:30AM on 12-12-2006
The latest entry at http://photoshopnews.com pretty much confirms the rumor.
Cannot wait...
Reply
Navvy said 5:22PM on 12-12-2006
I would expect Adobe to use internet activation for the Beta to keep track of users (as its used in CS2).
Reply