It had to happen. I got a new Mac desktop computer (iMac) with
a new operating system (OS X 10.10 Yosemite), and I couldn't install
Adobe Creative Suite 5 on it. I'm not sure what the problem is,
there do seem to be some problems with CS5 and OS X 10.10, or maybe the
CDs are no longer completely readable, or both. Anyway I can't install
it.
So now I have to deal with Adobe's subscription plan, Creative Cloud.
Of the programs in the current offering, I do use Lightroom quite a
lot. So I rather reluctantly signed up for the Lightroom + Photoshop
bundle at $120 a year. I do also use Photoshop, but only basic
features, and I could replace it with something else, but the only way
to get Lightroom is in the bundle with Photoshop.
The other Adobe program I use is Dreamweaver, their website editor and
manager. Again I only use the most basic features (I am trying to
simplify my site, not complicate it), and a subscription is going to
cost me $240 per year. Goodbye Dreamweaver! (And I'm not going down
the Adobe Muse route.)
What I need to replace Dreamweaver is a plain text editor that is
adapted for HTML and an FTP client. I have been using the TextWrangler
editor (http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/) for some time.
I think it would do what I need, but it has a "big brother" BBEdit
(about $60 AUD, one-off purchase) that has more features specifically
for HTML; I will probably buy BBEdit.
TextWrangler already has some FTP facilities, but I may go with the
(free) FileZilla FTP client, which has the split-panel display I am used
to from Dreamweaver. The TextWrangler FTP facilities seem more adapted
to downloading files from a remote site, but I am creating files
locally and uploading them.
The only problem with FileZilla (as with many other free programs) is
that of finding the right place to download it from. Download.com,
CNet.com and now SourceForge.net have become notorious for loading up
installers with what is now termed crapware: search bars that take over
your
browser and other junk that nobody wants and that can be hard to get rid
of. With SourceForge the developers of the software may get a little
money if someone downloads the extra junk, but the all-round damage to
reputation is considerable. Moral: download from the developer's
website, which is what I did with FileZilla.
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