1) kshj ksdjhflksdjhf
2) skjdf lskdjhf lksjdhf lskjdhf
3) fuck off
If you offer trials then give them away and that's it, don't force the almost certainly false registration. Why would you want a ton of bogus data in your marketing and sales database? Anyway, previously that was the only annoying thing.
I don't know exactly when Adobe outsourced downloads to Akamai, maybe they did it long ago, but not until recently you need to install either an ActiveX or a Java Applet to get your download. W-T-F???
If you want people to try your software for free so they can assess if it's worth buying, make the process as simple as possible: open an anonymous FTP account, distribute it via P2P or torrents... if you want more ideas check out any Linux distro downloads page, here's Ubuntu's.
You are not reducing piracy at all, just bothering legitimate users. It's the same as those stupid threatening ads before a movie when you go the cinema. Think about this: they are showing anti-piracy ads to people that have already paid. Nonsense. Plus, the guy that gets a knock off copy has a better user experience because he sees no threats.
If anything, I think Adobe should move to something like this (via Crunchgear, via Serge Jespers):
When I read that Adobe was firing 600 guys there was this bit that caught my attention:
...lower than expected sales of Adobe CS4 (due to the economic situation)...
Ummmm, well, maybe. But where's the auto-criticism? Is it everybody else's fault and not a bit from Adobe? Because I've been reading that CS4 launching campaign hasn't been the best, that you are forced to buy a software package when you only want a tiny bit and of course the all time favourite of Adobe and other big companies that is ripping off customers outside the US.
I agree Adobe can partially blame the economic situation for lower sales, but there're quite a few thing they could do to improve the customer service too.