Graphics and publishing

The Bottom Line: A majority of home users will appreciate Corel Digital Studio's feature set, its interactive projects, and wide support for photo and video formats.

Specs: Complete package, Intel Core Duo, AMD Athlon, Intel Core Duo, AMD Athlon

The Bottom Line: Apple iLife '09 is a great application suite for simple media organizing and editing, and the addition of features like face recognition, geotagging, and music lessons makes it worth the update.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Apple MacOS X 10.5.6 or later, Intel PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 (867MHz or faster) 867 MHz, Intel Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster), DVD-ROM, Intel PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 (867MHz or faster), Intel Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster), 867 MHz, MacOS, QuickTime 7.5.5 or later

The Bottom Line: While Adobe Illustrator CS4's most compelling new feature--pseudo-multipage support--can be frustrating to use, overall it makes CS4 a worthwhile upgrade for current users.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G4 1 GHz, PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: If you work with 3D, Photoshop Extended is a must-have upgrade; ditto if you think you'd use more of Standard's tools if the interface were less opaque, if you need to upgrade other suite applications, or if you qualify for an academic discount. All things considered, while Adobe Photoshop CS4 makes some improvements over CS3, it might be worth skipping this generation and waiting for the next.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1.8 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore 1.8 GHz, PowerPC G5 (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, 1.8 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1.8 GHz, Windows, OpenGL

The Bottom Line: If you work with 3D, Photoshop Extended is a must-have upgrade; ditto if you think you'd use more of Standard's tools if the interface were less opaque, if you need to upgrade other suite applications, or if you qualify for an academic discount. All things considered, while Adobe Photoshop CS4 makes some improvements over CS3, it might be worth skipping this generation and waiting for the next.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1.8 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore 1.8 GHz, PowerPC G5 (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, OpenGL compatible graphics card, 1.8 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1.8 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.2 or later

The Bottom Line: Flash becomes friendlier and more fun to explore as CS4 introduces a faster approach to animation, making this a worthwhile upgrade for both beginners and seasoned programmers.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore 1 GHz, PowerPC G5 (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.1.2

The Bottom Line: Best for coding and design pros, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 is perhaps the sharpest, swiftest tool for developing and editing dynamic Web sites.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore 1 GHz, PowerPC G5 (Mac), DVD-ROM, Internet connection, 1280 x 800 monitor resolution, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 1.5 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore (Mac) 1.5 GHz, DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, 1.5 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore (Mac), 1.5 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.4.5

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1.4 GHz or faster for DV, 3.4 GHz for HDV 2 GHz, Dual 2.8 GHz for HD (Windows), Intel Multicore (Mac), DVD-ROM, Sound card, 1280 x 900 monitor resolution, 7200 RPM or faster hard drive, OpenGL compatible graphics card, 1.4 GHz or faster for DV, 3.4 GHz for HDV, Dual 2.8 GHz for HD (Windows), Intel Multicore (Mac), 2 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.x

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore 1 GHz, PowerPC G5 (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows