Lateral upgrades

[Stinky The Clown]

Here's one for ya .......

I just moved over to a Mac. I installed fresh, legal copies of most of the software I use. I also bought some new Mac-only software and installed it. (Parallels & MS Office 2008.)

I'm not interested in pirate software. I use this for making a living and I just feel its fair to pay for what I use. I am not, however, averse to saving a few bucks legally. For example, I used an old WinXP/SP2 for my Boot Camp install. The PC on which it was installed is long ago dead and buried. That kinda thing is just fine by me.

So here's my question. Can I upgrade from my old PC software, to newer software for the Mac? Let's use Acrobat as an example. I first installed Acrobat Professional as version ... I dunno .... 3? ..... 4? I am now up to AcrobatPro 8. The latest is 9 that just came out. An upgrade for the Mac is $140. The full version is $445.

Can I use my old PC software as the qualifying product and go with the upgrade or do I get bitten in the ass and have to buy a full version?

[PatGund]

1. It depends on the company....

Some companies allow cross-platform upgrades. Others don't.

This may help

http://www.tylernichols.com/apple/adobe-cross-platform-upgrade-how-to/

"Early in 2007 I purchased the Adobe CS3 Web Premium addition for Windows because I was still using a PC for web development. Later, I decided to get rid of that system and go 100% mac. I was now left with the dilemma of what to do with my CS3 suite that I shelled out $1500 for. After some poking around the adobe website and making a phone call to customer service I found a solution. Adobe offers a “cross platform” upgrade for software owners who want to transition from Windows to Mac, or god forbid, the other way around. :p

Here’s what you do.

Call Adobe customer service and explain that you are changing platforms and you would like to exchange your registered product to the other platform version.

You will be assigned a Case Number by customer service and will need to pay them for the new media costs / shipping fee, which was $5 when I did my exchange.

After making payment, you will need to download a “letter of software destruction” form, fill it out and fax it back to adobe at 800-955-1610. Although Adobe doesn’t ask for the software back they do disable your old serial number as soon as you fax the LOSD form over to them. So no selling your old copy on eBay to make a few extra bucks. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will be without your Adobe product during the time it takes for your new software to arrive.

It takes about 2 weeks in total from the time you fax the LOSD to receive your updated software and new serial number."

also

http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2007/05/cs3_switching_p.html

"CS3: Switching platforms, free upgrades
Q. Can I switch my product from Windows to Mac or vice-versa?
A. Yes. Just call Adobe Customer Service (800-833-6687 in the US; 020 7365 0733 in the UK; more country-by-country numbers here) for assistance. The process, as I understand it, involves signing an agreement stating that you've destroyed the product on one platform, and in return Adobe will send you the product for the other platform. According to the service folks, there may be a cost involved; verification of product is required; and restrictions apply. "