Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Standard review

With Creative Suite 4, Adobe has unified the interfaces of all the applications for a more seamless experience. Work space adjustments throughout CS4 include panels that are more nimble than its predecessors, and handy pull-down menus with preset styles that let you shift among work-space layouts quickly. Adobe aimed to improve the options for making round trips between the applications without rebuilding content. There's greater integration from one application to the next, with support for repurposing designs for the latest digital formats, including desktop Adobe AIR applications.

Service and support
We almost hate to rate Adobe's technical support as excellent because of the extreme expense of live, personalized help from the company. However, the software industry has been moving away from free customized assistance for years. At least Getting Started help for installation issues and other speed bumps lasts for 90 days. Adobe's comprehensive, self-serve options include embedded and online look-ups, tutorials, and excellent videos. Also, the company has expanded its help-yourself and peer support online. The new Adobe Support Portal requires an Adobe log-in and password. Beginners would be wise to get up to speed with the interactive tutorials and maybe even third-party books and Web sites. Web-based forums with other users, as well as the Community Support in beta testing, may be the best bargain for getting hands-on advice.

Don't bother trying to seek extra help without a registered serial number; the days of "borrowing" copies of heavy-duty Adobe software from friends are long gone. Help with a live Adobe representative continues to be expensive. Each year we find the pricing options harder to find on Adobe's Web site. The Bronze level of support for five prepurchased incidents is $175. Unlimited Silver support costs $1,200, three times the price of some individual applications. Such pricing is clearly set for corporations rather than freelancers.