Technology Corner

Farewell Adobe CS3, We barely knew you

by Julio Palleiro

It feels like we just upgraded to Adobe CS3 about a year and a half ago. Well… according to the calendar we DID upgrade a year and a half ago. What’s the deal with all these quick upgrades? Is Adobe just pumping out software to turn a quick buck every 18-24 months?

If you are looking for a full review (like I had hinted in the last issue) then you are out of luck. There are hundreds of reviews on Adobe Creative Suite 4 on the net and in magazines. Instead I want to use the new upgrade to discuss something slightly different…

Are Adobe’s speedy major upgrade releases beneficial or just loaded with fluff?

Our initial reaction to the quick turnaround for the CS4 upgrade was somewhat negative.

First off, we finally got acquainted with all of the ins and outs of CS3 and the interface.

Second, we were skeptical of the quick turnaround; Because CS3 developers had little time to implement the newly acquired Macromedia apps (Flash, Dreamweaver and Fireworks), we expected CS4’s major feature to be improved integration of these three apps.

Third, typically when there is a software upgrade, it runs slower on our systems, forcing us to upgrade the hardware as well.
I will stop my list here because it goes on and on.

Now, after playing around with Photoshop CS4, our expectations were wrong and we are quite impressed.

Without going into all the new CS4 features (I’ll leave you to read up on them), there aren’t many brand new features for still imaging. However, there are many, MANY re-invented features. Adobe finally started listening to us and began improving existing features, and they did in a big way.

The newer interface, the integration with all the other Creative Suite applications, and the fixes to existing tools make the workflow 25% faster. We ran a speed test on our oldest computer, (a Mac G5) and results show that CS3 and CS4 ran at the same speed. Quite impressive indeed, the upgrade does not demand a hardware upgrade for most of the non-3D functions.

Now that I’m done with my recap on CS4, lets tackle another point…

Why upgrade every generation if I’m satisfied?
This question is directed towards non-pro’s more than industry retouchers… but not totally. As a pro, it’s our business to have the most recent software or computer systems; it is our business after all, it’s common sense to re-invest. But there are some pro’s and many amateurs that will not upgrade for a generation or two. Obviously, finances are the number one reason not to upgrade; if you aren’t receiving your main profits from this type of work then it makes sense not to shell out 400+ bucks every 18-24 months.

For the others that just choose to stay with there older software, they are making a mistake.

It sometimes appears that the software (Photoshop in our case) receives minor tweaks and updates, but they add up VERY quickly in two generations, almost to the point that you may have to re-learn how you work in that application.
A major reason to keep your software up to date is functionality with your system. They are CONSTANTLY working out bugs and kinks to make the software run faster and more efficiently on your particular system configuration.

This is just some friendly advice from the guys at Rich Imaging, Inc.

Check out CS4, it’s got plenty of goodies for everyone. The other applications have made some pretty big advancements as well. Flash, In Design and Premiere Pro have some great new features.

You can check them out free for 30 days at Adobe.com. 

December 2008

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