Difference between the Retail box and the download?

jasonditz · Post by **jasonditz** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:28 pm

I notice that Amazon.com has but ASP in my Gold Box offers today... and while I was considering buying the downloadable version before the end of the month (my demo just expired), Amazon's version only costs a few bucks more.

So is there a big difference? Does the retail box come with any added documentation or anything?

Post by **Víctor Paredes** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:01 pm

today i read somewhere here that there is not difference but the box.

jasonditz · Post by **jasonditz** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:14 am

Thanks for the info. I ended up getting the retail box anyhow.... it wasn't much more, and I like taking advantage of my Amazon Prime account

jasonditz · Post by **jasonditz** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:16 am

Yeah... just got it today, its literally just a CD with the same .dmg that you'd download as a demo (actually an older version) in a paper sleeve with a serial number to unlock the full version.

Very uninspired packaging for a program that costs $200. When I bought Macromedia Director years ago it came with 4 books describing its various uses... this doesn't even come with a one page installation guide like a budget PC game.

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 1:43 am

jasonditz wrote:When I bought Macromedia Director years ago it came with 4 books describing its various uses...

And it cost $1200.

-vern

jahnocli · Post by **jahnocli** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 1:11 pm

heyvern wrote:And it cost $1200.

That's not an excuse.

jasonditz · Post by **jasonditz** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:39 am

heyvern wrote:
jasonditz wrote:When I bought Macromedia Director years ago it came with 4 books describing its various uses...
And it cost $1200.

-vern

Actually it was an old version and cost like $60, but point taken. Still, 4 books there, couldn't we get at least one for $200?

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:16 am

jasonditz wrote:... Still, 4 books there, couldn't we get at least one for $200?

I'm sure they are working on it.

I don't consider myself a "genius" of any kind and I learned a lot just from the help and tutorials and experimentation... and of course this forum. The tutorials and sample files were the most helpful.

I don't think many people realize the huge costs involved in printing a manual to place in all those boxes. Having a digital manual file saves a TON of money and keeps the price down for the application. Plus all the dead trees, the added weight for shipping, the chemicals used in printing that go into the environment. You really want that?

Printed manuals I think are on the way out. I rarely use them anymore. I would much prefer just getting a disk in a small tiny package with out an expensive box no matter what the cost.

-vern

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jasonditz · Post by **jasonditz** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:05 pm

heyvern wrote:
jasonditz wrote:... Still, 4 books there, couldn't we get at least one for $200?
I'm sure they are working on it.

I don't consider myself a "genius" of any kind and I learned a lot just from the help and tutorials and experimentation... and of course this forum. The tutorials and sample files were the most helpful.

I don't think many people realize the huge costs involved in printing a manual to place in all those boxes. Having a digital manual file saves a TON of money and keeps the price down for the application. Plus all the dead trees, the added weight for shipping, the chemicals used in printing that go into the environment. You really want that?

Printed manuals I think are on the way out. I rarely use them anymore. I would much prefer just getting a disk in a small tiny package with out an expensive box no matter what the cost.

-vern

I'm going through the tutorials too and they seem really good. It'd be a lot easier with a printed manual though, because ASP doesn't behave like any OSX app I've ever seen before. It minimizes the entire application every time you switch to the web browser to view the tutorials, so its not possible, for instance, to have them side-by-side on the screen while learning.

slowtiger · Post by **slowtiger** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:38 pm

It minimizes the entire application every time you switch to the web browser

Not on my system. I am sure there's some OS setting which fucks up the behaviour. Do you use 10.5?

jasonditz · Post by **jasonditz** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 8:33 pm

slowtiger wrote:
It minimizes the entire application every time you switch to the web browser
Not on my system. I am sure there's some OS setting which fucks up the behaviour. Do you use 10.5?

No, I use 10.4.11

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:34 am

I switch back and forth all the time without trouble. I can be working on something else in another program and still see the render progress bar.

I usually have a reference in view while using AS instead of the other way around though.

-vern