One of the biggest software development companies in the world is Adobe Systems Incorporated and they have just released the newest version of the popular Creative Suite. CS4, as it is more commonly known, went public on Tuesday, September 22, 2008. This new version is expected to generate revenue increases in excess of $70 billion and will be released in 25 countries around the world, including Romania, Turkey, and Poland.

CS4 Has a Lot of Power

Professional web design companies and professionals see CS4 as more of an upgrade than a new software development. The biggest difference between CS4 and CS3 is the large number of new web development features that are available, making your work faster and easier. The biggest bonus is the ability to combine various types of media onto one website without sacrificing download speeds, page quality, or browser compatibility. The speeds should be about 30% faster than those created by CS3. For example, a Windows Vista user should be able to use Adobe Photoshop to edit large image files without utilizing very much of their hard disk space.

CS4 includes about 13 different Adobe software applications. All of the popular ones are there, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Dreamweaver, and Flash. Flash is a program that was purchased by Adobe from a competitor named Macromedia. Purchasing this software means that you will have an all around powerful software base that can be used for photo editing, web design and desktop publishing.

Adobe Dreamweaver has some really interesting updates in CS4. Workspaces can be customized through the use of pull-down menus and the collapsible panels are now easily and conveniently resized. Web development features are now enhanced, especially where CSS is concerned. In Dreamweaver CS4, all you need to do is hover over the area you are working on and you will see the codes required to make the formatting correct.

System Requirements

In order to run the software effectively, your graphics card must be 2.0 compatible. Your screen should have a resolution of 1280 x 900 and MAC's may need a multicore processor. Your hard drive will require 25 GB of free disk space and 2 GB of RAM. A support will be needed for Shader Model 3 if you plan to work on videos. Users with Vista or XP SP2 should be sure that they have a 2GHz processor or better for working with videos that are in HD format.

The Price of Adobe CS4

Painful though it may be, the suite is very expensive. You will be able to purchase the Creative Suite 4 Master Collection for $2,499. If you already have CS3 and just wish to upgrade, you will need to pay between $899 and $1,599. The price will depend on what components you already have and what you wish to purchase. A freelance web designer or a student may find the suite more expensive than they can afford without saving up for a long time, but, if the program would be useful for you and help you to generate an income, you probably will not mind spending money on it. There are discounts available, but they hardly make a dent in the price of the suite.