“Adobe next week will unveil Creative Suite 4, a new version of its media design bundle set to ship the following month with features such as enhanced options for working with 3D objects in Photoshop, new Flash document exports from within InDesign, and a new animation model for Flash,” Prince McLean reports for AppleInsider.
“The San Jose-based software developer has confirmed the package to include new versions of Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Flash Player, InDesign, Photoshop, and Soundbooth, but will also bundle minor updates to the suite’s remaining components,” McLean reports.
“People privy to private demonstrations of Creative Suite 4 say the update will generally be minor, with only a few new features tacked on to each application,” McLean reports. “‘The lack of compelling new features has been the discussion among many employees and customers that are testing the software,’ one of those people said, ‘with many relating CS4 to a maintenance release rather than a complete new version.'”
“People familiar with Adobe’s plans say the company will continue to offer multiple versions of the Creative Suite, continuing with the same suite configurations. Upgrades for the most popular suite, Design Premium, are expected to be priced at $699,” McLean reports.
Much more in the full article, including screenshots, here.
You’re missing the real story here.
Dreamweaver CS4 now uses Webkit!
The most popular tool for web developers will finally have true WYSIWYG through the Webkit rendering engine. This will make it even easier to make websites that are work with Safari.
http://www.macworld.com/article/133640/2008/05/dreamweavercs4beta.html
I really don’t think Adobe is going to fair well with this update I think they are going to enhance Photoshop speed, not so much by optimizing it for better processing, but by moving part of the processes down to the GPU. I would much rather if they would optimize for multithreading, since that seems to be the trend as far as hardware.
I think I will be skipping this upgrade my self too.
the only update coming from Adobe has been to their pricing, and that hasn’t been very compelling.
Still strong on CS1.
@ CrabApple
“$700 for an upgrade?????? and a minor one at that???????????? I need some of that cool aid they drinking!!!!!!!!”
My thought exactly with a few more ???? and ???????? and !!!!!!!!! tossed in for good measure.
*BIG SURPRISE!*
This is what happens when a company establishes a monopoly. Without competition a company:
A) Overcharges
B) Gets L A Z Y, so long innovation
C) Treats their customers as pests
Here we go again. Let’s clink our Molotov cocktails and light a toast to Adobe, Microsoft and all the monopolies everywhere! Cheers! We’re all hosed.
Next stop: OpenSource! Everybody out!
ElderNorm sez: “See what happens when sales starts to run the company???”
Well, that has been an issue at Adobe for some time. When I knew one of their developers circa 1997 he made it quite clear to me that the company had its technical head up its rectum. Rather than gather in the latest innovative ideas, developers had to bloody their head against a wall of management ignorance and resistance to change.
IOW their leadership stank, and I can only guess that the cause was the infiltration of marketing staff who, oddly enough, have the exact opposite personality to those who are inventive and productive. Productive people can learn to put up with relational (marketing) personalities. But relational personalities go out of their way to destroy productive personalities in their midst. This is how companies implode and die. It’s happening to Microsoft right now. This is typical of the corporate aging process.
The sad reason why, the one I am aware of, is the often psychopathic need of relational types to attain power over others. It has something to do with the need to manipulate others that occurs in THE DARK SIDE of relational personalities. Some relational people love and live to serve others and will give you anything to help you. But on the other side are those who will hate and give you any lie they can conceive of to get your love so they can take total control of your life and ruin it. Example? Can’t you think of one off the top of your head? Clues: Politics. Washington. William Kristol. Project For The New American Century. Iraq manifesto. Cheney… You’re getting warmer! Then bring that right up to date: AIG bankrupt. Then consider the response from their big boy pals in Washington, the ones who only last week refused to give out corporate welfare. That’s how this ‘relational’ madness game is played. It has nothing at all to do with productivity or innovation. It will be called The Bush Depression.
THE 64 BIT HILARITY!
First: What applications can you think of that could use significantly more than 4 GB of RAM all to itself? CS4 perhaps? And you’d think a developer who made such applications would happily oblige users the ability to access more than 4 GB of RAM, right?
How long has Apple been TELLING developers to go Cocoa? Since the announcement of Cocoa circa 1999. So how long has Adobe had to go Cocoa? About NINE YEARS. And CS4 will be 32 bit on Mac because why? Because Adobe never adopted Cocoa. Because Adobe stuck with ye olde Carbon programming. Because ye olde Carbon programming was never fully ported to allow 64 bit programming, nor should it have been, DUH. Because Adobe are STOOPID and L A Z Y.
And the utter hilarity of it all is that nearly ALL the demand for 64 bit CS is from the Mac platform, where every single Mac made since the arrival of the G5 chip in 2003 has been 64 bit. That’s five years ago.
How much demand is there for 64 bit CS on the Windows platform?
Think about it. How many people do you know who have 64 bit capable PC hardware? ANY?! Of those who do, how many have been willing to update to 64 bit Windows with all the driver horrors and security lock down user-abuse it entails? I am willing to bet that not only haven’t you heard of any, but that instead you have heard of those who are AVOIDING IT LIKE THE PLAGUE.
Brilliant Adobe. Congratulations on creating a product nearly no one wants. You blithering, self-destructive idiots.
his, in-and-of itself, is not a bad thing — if Adobe can maintain a feverish development pace for all CS applications. This CS release may be the first indicator that Adobe can’t easily maintain that pace for each CS application. —HD Boy
Since when has Adobe ever maintained a “feverish development pace?” As good as it is, Photoshop has changed relatively little since version 3, released in 1994) which introduced Layers. And the entire Creative Suite features an ugly, outdated interface that is sadly in need of a major facelift. Personally, I think Adobe has lost its way; and I hope they manage to find it again. Otherwise, I hope another developer (Apple maybe?) steps up to the plate and knocks Adobe off its throne. They have done precious little in recent years to demonstrate that they still have the wherewithall (or the will) to push the envelope.
It wasn’t that long ago I upgraded to CS3. We’re still finding our feet with that version in our office. In fact, it takes a lot longer to migrate a whole office workflow to a new version than just one person.
We need a couple of extra licences too, perhaps I can pick up CS3 cheaper next month, thanks to CS4.
I guess Adobe need some extra dosh right about now, otherwise why else would they release CS4 so soon after CS3??
“Adobe Creative Suite 4 to be minor update”
Every suite comes with your own sixteen year old that knows more than you.
I’ve had CS3 for months now and I still can’t update the pieces due to the nightmare updating system Adobe “engineered” for mac. Think I’ll pass on CS4 if possible.
@alansky: “Photoshop has changed relatively little since version 3”
Overstated a bit much, I think. While IMO the CS versions have offered only minor improvements from one to the next, going back to version 3 or even version 7 would be a huge loss. I use the CS-era features all the time, and even find some of the additions in CS3 very beneficial.
I mean, if all you are doing is cropping and spinning photos, sure. But for pros? Come on!
They should have called it Creative Snow Suite 3.
derekcurrie “Brilliant Adobe. Congratulations on creating a product nearly no one wants. You blithering, self-destructive idiots.”
Couldn’t agree more with your post. Adobe is not the company it used to be. Sad to see what being lazy, fat, undisciplined, old, and unchallenged monopoly can do to a once amazing company.
Snow Job Leopard,
Except Snow Leopard will be fully 64 bit native, with performance enhancements, and fully Intel Native with optimization for multiple processor cores and significant new technology to allow other software to more fully utilize multi core hardware.
CS3 will have new icons.
“Except Snow Leopard will be fully 64 bit native, with performance enhancements, and fully Intel Native with optimization for multiple processor cores and significant new technology to allow other software to more fully utilize multi core hardware.”
Microsoft’s been shipping all that for years, nobody cares. New icons would make more difference to every body’s daily life.
P.S. Gotta laugh at Granny Steve in the Apple Mac house in the new Microsoft ad. “She’s been here 12 years…”
Yawn,
Microsoft has not shipped a fully 64 bit OS that was compatible with 32 bit programs or drivers.
Microsoft has no answer for Apples multicore services which will be shipping with Snow Leopard.
“Microsoft has not shipped a fully 64 bit OS that was compatible with 32 bit programs or drivers.”
You might be right about the drivers, but not about the programs.
The point remains, nobody cares or they’d all be running 64 bit windows on their 64 bit PCs, since almost every PC sold today is 64 bit capable and 64 bit desktop PCs hit the market first in 2005.
“Microsoft has no answer for Apples multicore services which will be shipping with Snow Leopard.”
Windows already scales to 128 cores. The Mac OS X kernel has historical issues with a lot of cores. This is not a leap ahead by Apple, just a clean up of the kernel and playing catch-up to where Microsoft and Linux already are.
Funny how you people will believe any little piece of trash you find on the interwebs.
>.<
-c
“Funny how you people will believe any little piece of trash you find on the interwebs.”
Chrissy we just can’t wait for your mighty employer Adobe to ship it’s next really non boring update.
Is that better?
So you DID miss me.
Thought so. =)
{kisses!}
-c
I’m using Photoshop CS4 right now. And whoever offered up this report is an idiot. The Bridge update is worth the update alone! And what comes in Photoshop CS4?
All I can say is you will not be disappointed.
No new features and an interface uglier than Windows Vista? No thanks Adobe, you can suck it.
@ IDArgyll
Quark killed itself by sticking to old APIs for way too long and by refusing to convert to Cocoa. Adobe got some of that business just by being around.