The fact that Adobe now own the Macromedia brand has meant that Creative Suite 3 includes all the Macromedia software packages and to accommodate them, Adobe have invented several different CS3 variations to try and cater for all palettes.



So which one is the best for your company? Well, if you do not already own any Adobe products, this will depend on which software you regard as essential and which packages you could do without.

If you already own Adobe/Macromedia products then it's really a case of identifying the bundle which offers you the most advantageous upgrade path. Adobe software falls into three broad categories: graphic design and publishing, web design and development and video/multimedia production. The three core bundles available reflect these categories. They are CS3 Design Standard (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat), CS3 Web Standard (Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks and Contribute) and CS3 Production Premium (After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, Soundbooth and Encore).

In addition to these three core varieties, there are three composite versions of Adobe Creative Suite 3. The first two offer a cross-media mix. CS3 Design Premium adds Dreamweaver and Flash to the four basic components of CS3 Design Standard.

CS3 Web Premium adds Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat to the four packages offered in CS3 Web Standard. The third variety is the CS3 Master Collection which includes all 12 packages on offer in the other CS3 versions.

You will probably need to do some research before making a decision. Check out the Adobe web-site. It has tons of information on all their products and offers fully functional 30-day trial versions of all their software. So why not download some of it and try it for size.

And finally, whatever bundle you currently own, if your budget permits it, why not go the whole hog and opt for the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection.