Just a quick word to say that Photoshop CS5 is now available for trial or for purchase (full & upgrade versions) over at Adobe. Make sure to visite the Adobe store of your country.
You can upgrade from as far back as CS2. Contrary to the Adobe Suites, there is no price difference between upgrading a CS2, CS3 or CS4 version of Photoshop. This is good news for all CS2 or CS3 users that ‘forgot’ to make the upgrade to CS4 
.
Depending on the language, the upgrade price starts from about 250 € including VAT in Europe. Make sure you choose the right language, as you can only upgrade the same language.
With new features such as lens corrections, the all new Camera Raw 6.0 plugin (the same raw engine as in Lightroom 3), the vastly improved HDR Pro module and time saving features such as Content Aware Fill and improved selections, to name but a few, I think this is a very fair price for – to paraphrase Carlsberg – probably the best Image Editing software in the world.
I think that for most photographers, the ‘regular’ Photoshop CS5 will do. If you’re also into 3D, video-editing or special applications such as medical imaging, you might need the more expensive CS5 Extended.
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I’m bewildered by the way Adobe deals with licenses. No incentive or reward for close followers.
And the language thing, as far as I understand, is even more bewildering. This means that your license key is linked to a certain language. That in addition to the fact that Adobe doesn’t let you change platform as the key is linked to a certain platform.
It is more than probably the best Image Editing software, but it has one of the most restrictive licensing schemes that I’ve seen in the industry (after 12 years in software).
Mike, regarding the Creative Suite there is an incentive for close followers: Creative Suite 4 users pay less for an upgrade than earlier users.
(Quickly switched back to English, though…)
As far as the language goes, you probably have a point. Although Adobe isn’t the only one: Microsoft does just the same thing. I usually advise people to take the English versions. Not only are they cheaper, but you find a lot more tutorials and books for the English software.
With regards to licensing, the situation is more nuanced: Creative Suite and Photoshop aren’t as locked as you suggest. At the occasion of an upgrade, it is possible to ‘switch’ from one platform (e.g. Windows to Mac) to the other, but you have to contact Adobe’s customer service: it’s not something you can buy in a regular shop. You only pay a small fee for the installation DVD’s. If my information is correct, it’s even stronger than that: as you are allowed to install the software on two machines – provided you don’t run both at the same time – you can even get a ‘volume license’ (if only for a volume of one) and install your first installation on a Mac and your second on a PC. This too should be asked at customer service, and at the time of an upgrade.
Finally, luckily Lightroom is a lot more flexible. Same price for all languages, and you can choose whichever you choose. I once chose Swedish, just for fun