Free Alternatives to Adobe Creative Suite

[Nexus]

Not sure if this is the right section but oh well

If you are a hobbyist or don't really want to buy the Adobe CS here is some free Open Source alternatives to it

Replace Photoshop with...
GIMP(Windows, Mac, Unix)
GIMP stands for GNU Image Manuipulation Program. The program has the ability to edit bitmap images and photos. It saves files in formats that will work with other bitmap editors, including Photoshop (jpeg, tiff, gif...). There is also a modified version of the client for Windows called GIMPshop, which "skins" the interface to emulate Photoshop.
Replace Illustrator with...
Inkscape (Windows, Mac, Linux)
This program creates scalable vector artwork. It can import and export SVG, Illustrator (.ai), PDF files, and also handle many common raster format files (jpeg, png, gif..).
Replace InDesign with...
Scribus (Windows, Mac, Linux)
This open source program is designed for desktop publishing. This program supports PDF/X-3 standards and comes with a limited amount of vector tools. It supports SVG importing and Open Type fonts.
Replace Flash with....
Synfig (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Flash serves a dual purpose for designers, as a means to animate/present content or to use as an interface. It can export to a variety of video formats, including Flash (.swf), mpeg, and SVG. This program also supports ActionScript.
Replace Dreamweaver with...
Nvu(Windows, Mac, Linux)
This HTML editor allows code view and WYSIWYG design view, similar to the way Dreamweaver does it. It also allows users to handle their files neatly, integrate forms, and more. This is a great program for those learning web design. It also offers a clean source code view for the people that like to create their HTML from scratch.

There is a lot more in the Creative Suite but I find these the most useful programs for what I do.

Hope this helped thanks!

-Nexus

[OldRod]

I've been looking for something like Dreamweaver... have you used NVu at all? Does it work well?

Another alternative - I picked up Photoshop CS3 Extended Version - brand new/unopened - on EBay for less than $100. It's not the latest version, but it does way more than I am capable of doing with it.

I see auctions for Dreamweaver on there a lot, but they generally go higher than I want to pay - I'm still looking though

[Nexus]

I have it's pretty good, I also use Bluefish which is extremely fast and reliable. Another recommended one is Kompozer. I haven't used its but I might give it a try.

[Jackolantern]

Another (semi-)alternative to Flash CS# is FlashDevelop. It doesn't have a timeline or frame-based animation, but it is a much better ActionScript IDE than Flash itself, and is really more on par with Flash Builder. For game developers, who typically work more in AS3 than with the timeline, it is a good alternative.

Also, while it isn't a 100% replacement for Adobe Audition, Reaper is a very powerful audio editing package that could do a lot of the same things.

EDIT: Oh snap, Reaper isn't free! Someone linked it as a "free alternative", so I guess at one time it was free. Oh well, it is still cheaper than Adobe Audition. However, there is a $60 discounted license that should cover pretty much everyone here (a business with less than $20,000 a year in revenue).

[Nexus]

Yeah Synfig has the downside of not being able to make games...does FlashDevelop run on Linux? A great free open source audio editing is Audacity that replaces SoundBooth.

[Jackolantern]

FlashDevelop is in the same project family as SharpDevelop, so I believe it is written in .NET. I am unsure if it can run under Mono, though, and it may be worth a shot. I don't think it uses many, if any, of the spacey .NET extensions that don't work under Mono.

[62896dude]

Yeah Nexus, Audacity is a REALLY good audio editor (for being free) I highly recommend it to all

[Ark]

Or... you can just crack the programs got ps and dw CS5 found them googling

[Nexus]

For moral reasons I gave up on doing that.

[Jackolantern]

Yeah, we don't really talk about that on here. It is against the forum rules