It’s the season for holiday deals – and so it also can be a season for order changes and returns… Although naturally, this can happen at any time of year.

Sometimes even despite using Adobe’s free trial downloads to try out the software before buying, customers may want to exchange an Adobe product and get something else – say swapping Photoshop for Lightroom, or returning Photoshop CS5 Extended and getting the full CS5.5 Design Premium suite instead (which includes eight applications instead of one).

So did you know that Adobe offers a full money-back guarantee policy on almost all current products? This includes CS5, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, Acrobat, and so on. This offer applies even after you’ve already opened the box and/or installed the software – and what’s more, it applies even if you happened to buy the software from somewhere else besides Adobe direct (like an from authorized reseller or store in North America – though not eBay).

Yes, it’s true – if you aren’t able to return or exchange your product via any other means, you can simply contact Adobe within 30 days and provided you follow the procedure, they will take it back (after being uninstalled and deactivated from your computers, if applicable) and then issue you a refund.

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Some folks think it might be a good idea to try to save a few bucks and buy Adobe software from eBay, Craigslist, or Amazon Marketplace.  It could be CS5.5, Photoshop, Lightroom, Acrobat, or any other.

But it’s actually not a very good idea at all.  Why?

The first problem is that Adobe does not recognize these venues as valid resellers. So as a result, it’s like Adobe will not officially recognize any of those buyers as actually owning their software. Yes, you read that right.

Meaning, you think you own the genuine article but effectively you don’t. You can’t provide an accepted proof of purchase – so you can’t formally prove you own the products, can’t ever legally transfer the software to someone else, may not be able to get technical support or ever upgrade to the next version, and so on.

Why doesn’t Adobe recognize the people that go through those places? Doesn’t that seem unfair?

The simple reason is – and the real problem is – that 90% of the software sold on places like eBay is counterfeit! Yes, it’s true. And it’s not a new problem.

So you can be pretty sure that what someone’s getting on those auction and vendor sites is not legitimate, not able to be legally transferred, and possibly even quite unsafe.

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Just back from Adobe MAX 2011 and it was sensational… The keynote presentations were larger than life and filled with news and demos of new Adobe software and initiatives. The hundreds of diverse product sessions were incredibly educational. The show floor was a buzzing activity of experts, partners, and vendors… And the renowned “MAX Bash” party did not disappoint.

But perhaps the best part for those who weren’t there is the majority of the sessions were captured on video and are now offered online for free… In other words, pick your favorite Adobe product(s) and you can learn the latest tips, tricks, and techniques from the top instructors in the field from the comfort of your desktop. There are three major tracks below (Design, Develop, and Envision) with scores of different topics; most sessions are about an hour long and the collection runs to over 160 hours of video in total.

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[UPDATE — Show special!  Save 20% on CS5.5 upgrades at the Adobe Store.]

Adobe MAX 2011 – the worldwide user conference – runs this week and if you aren’t in Los Angeles, the two major keynotes will be broadcast free, with both live and on-demand streaming… The company is promising lots of big news and announcements, so if you can’t join us there in person, you can see it all unfold online.

What’s more, over 160 free hours of the best training and tutorial sessions from this year’s show will also be available.

Adobe Dreamweaver tweets, “To hear BIG Adobe MAX announcements, register now to listen LIVE to the keynote presentations Monday & Tuesday morning…”

Adobe Creative Suite posts, “The countdown has officially begun for Adobe MAX! Even if you can’t make it to the live event, you can still join in on the fun! To hear the BIG announcements we have planned, register now to listen LIVE to the MAX keynotes Monday & Tuesday morning.”

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Though the economic recession officially ended over two years ago, the job market remains pretty challenging. In the U.S. officially no new jobs were created last month, continuing a slowing trend from the spring – and this situation is currently a major focus of Washington. However, Adobe is one company that continues hiring new staff at a healthy pace, and more broadly, Adobe product skills remain in strong demand by employers worldwide.

Adobe Systems (the company itself) presently has 358 job openings around the globe (adding another 4% to their workforce) – but if you know Adobe software generally, then the opportunity is even larger. Right now there are nearly 50,000 employment openings across North America that require Adobe skills, and you can see these and browse for yourself with the free downloadable Adobe Job Feed app.

All major tools are represented here: Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat, Premiere, After Effects, and so on. You can drill down to sort by city/state or ZIP code for jobs in your area, and then view the complete descriptions and even apply for positions directly from within your web browser.

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You know all the usual reasons software makers give to register your software – to receive tech support, news, updates, offers, bug fixes, and so on.  Adobe adds another reason – to get free gifts. They’re called “complimentary benefits,” and they’re offered worldwide…

For example, if you register your Creative Suite 5 product, depending on what you own you could choose from one of these bonuses:

• a free copy of onOne Software’s PhotoTools 2.5 Standard plug-in for Photoshop,
• a complimentary copy of Red Giant Software’s Magic Bullet Quick Looks plug-in for video,
• 30 days of free training at Lynda.com with more than 1,500 hours of Adobe training,
• a free download of the new and versatile text typeface font family Adobe Text, or
• a 30-day trial of the Creative Edge online library with thousands of books and videos.

Doing the same for Adobe Acrobat X gets you some similar choices – or a 10% discount coupon for anything at the Adobe Store, or four special edition Acrobat X PDF Portfolio themes, or discounts plus free access to Safari Books Online, Total Training, or Peachpit. Registering Acrobat also enables you to use services at Acrobat.com.

Users of older versions like CS4 and Acrobat 9 or 8 can qualify for exclusive benefits as well. Registering Photoshop Elements enables you to use Photoshop.com.

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“Adobe MAX is an experience unlike any other — an opportunity to learn from the experts and connect with thousands of the most influential designers, developers, and decision-makers in our industry.”

If you’d like to go to Adobe MAX this year in L.A. (October 1-5) and save $400 in the process, just purchase (full or upgrade) any one of the products listed below from the Adobe online store and you’ll receive a special promo code that will discount your regular full confer­ence pass price by US$400…

But since the upgrade price for many of these products is less than $400, basically you’re getting the software for more than free!

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[UPDATE (June 6th) – MAX registration is now open!  Save $200 with an early-bird discount - or an even better promotion, save $400 with coupon code from Adobe product purchased.]

MAX is the big annual conference for all-things-Adobe. One of the best aspects of MAX last year was the key presentations and announcements were webcast live, and most of the rest of the talks and lectures were offered later on-demand. These sessions are still available for viewing and are a fantastic free resource (see the list) for learning about Adobe software. There are more than 200 recorded videos on topics ranging from Photoshop Tips, Techniques & Power Shortcuts to “Deep Dives” for Dreamweaver and Flash.

This year, MAX will happen from October 1-5 at the Los Angeles, CA Convention Center. It’s a great time to tune in online or to attend in person for the news, excitement, training, gather­ings, and giveaways (last year all attendees received free Motorola Droid 2 smartphones and Google TVs) – plus the chance to meet the experts and ask your own questions.

(…not to mention, enjoy all the hilarious fake commercials for Adobe products!)

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This year, as in years past, Adobe is sharing a holiday greetings card online that’s attracting thousands of visitors… And their card this year is all about finding inspiration.

Only this year, the tradition is even better – because for each viewer, Adobe will make a $1 donation to Mercy Corps to help children around the world. Mercy Corps is a global aid agency dedicated to helping people in the world’s toughest places through crises of natural disaster, poverty, and conflict.

So please take a moment to view Adobe’s Holiday Card 2010 (and be inspired), and you’ll also be helping Adobe and Mercy Corps help millions of young people around the globe.

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Adobe’s big annual user conference MAX has been going on this week and you can watch all the keynotes and hundreds of sessions free, online, and on-demand – but one of the best bits was the assortment of parody commercials that highlighted yesterday’s keynote, User Experience: The Next Generation.

Some of these were truly hilarious and we’ve put together a reel of the best ones below. Perhaps the funniest of the 10-minute collection is the first one about new Adobe Acrobat X, but we’ll let you decide… Here’s the playlist:

Which one was your favorite? Share your vote and thoughts below…