Customer Reviews:
 Excellent program students - But get it in the Adobe Design Suite package! November 16, 2008
T. Clarke (UK)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Being a creative (and gemini) type, I've accepted just about every type of college and university course going. Luckily I've settled down into Popular Music Studies, but I've needed various pieces of software for both work projects and uni documents. One of them was Photoshop; a program I was practically made to Marry for 2 years if I wanted to complete my Graphics Art course. It was CS2 I used back then on the iMac's, so naturally, I was worried if all my knowledge would be lost on the new CS4.
Thankfully, I was 'as usual' panicking over nothing (hereditary?). But their was a genuine reason for my concern. Like yourself, maybe, I had read endless reviews for CS4 before it was released, and gasped at the screenshots of a horrid grey-background and interface, and a new layout. "How could they have changed it?" I thought. The fact is, all these reviews were based on the BETA version of CS4, and have very little relevance apart from the new features to that of the complete product. So as a first piece of advice, ignore the BETA reviews from BEFORE release date - they do not count to the final product.
Installation was pretty quick given the size of the package, and the amount of extra apps Adobe pile on top of your for your Mac's Apps folder. Even before placing the CD in, I was genuinely (and rather sadly) made up with the contemporary packaging that's a real graphic designers dream, in terms of functionality and materials. Inside the blue slip case is a card box which has a 'cap' at the top, revealing the eventual CD case.
Though it has to be said, Adobe are making a wonderful effort into destroying the rainforest with this style-over-efficiency ethos. And even more crazily, the download version is more expensive! They need not prove they can make wonderful packaging with 3 types of card. The outer case does state that recyclable materials were used, but at the end of the day, card is card...
Of course, before you use the program without the trial period limitation (of as Adobe suggest, before even installing) you need to send off your Proof that you are student. Or Proof that you are using your aunties, cousins, friends, brothers, sisters, daughters Student ID card (which, admit it, is a tad tight!). Adobe say you must provide either;
- A student ID card
- A confirmation letter that YOU have enrolled onto the course
- A form of comprehension that suggests you are a Teacher, Lecturer, or Student
I scanned my ID card and Enrolment Form together, went onto the the provided Adobe website (it's on the White Instructions Card) and simply filled out the details, along with my attached scanned image. I got an email under 24 hours later with my Serial Number (on the PDF, if you can't find it) and plenty of helpful blurb. Fantastic service! Who would honestly use Snail Mail these days? This process also creates an Adobe account for you, making it easy to contact them, and register future products.
Also included in the DVD case is a second disc called 'Creative Suite', which gives you tutorials and help on your program. It's universal, so will apply to all Adobe products in the creative line. Nice one guys!
As stated earlier, the last version I used, CS2, was designed for PowerPC based Mac's, so naturally I was looking forward to this native version. And it doesn't disappoint. I installed this on my White MacBook ('08 version) 2.1 GHZ and it runs an absolute dream, starting up in a matter of seconds, and rarely lagging when making multiple or quick options on a document. It's definitely a major leap compared to the software from a few years ago, which proves Apple were right to go for the Intel chips. Even the footprint of the program is impressive; it's used less than 1GB on my HDD with all options installed. Luckily, Apple are releasing Snow Leopard next year, so with an even further reduced HDD footprint, theirs little excuse to scratch heads at the required specs. Ahh, if only Adobe were committed to reducing their carbon footprints too... (I still can't get over the pricing scheme for Download/Boxed version. Little things for little laughs)
The main interface looks and feels very similar to CS2 (and CS3 from what I've seen). Renenber what I said about the grey background? This is in fact an option - it is not a compulsory interface. The reason for this option is quite simple; as many designers will know, the transparency of the standard Photoshop background can lead to clashing or false interpretations when studying colour composition. So by having the grey background as an option, you can remove your sill desktop wallpaper and concentrate on work. Other new view options include a 'tabbed' effect for documents (like on a new Web Browser) and tiled arrangement.
It didn't take to long to get back into the jist of things; all the tabs and click-boxes have had a nice make over, but are still all recognizable thankfully. New modes that have a genuinely welcome in my books are the '3D' options, that allow you to change the angle of your document. The principle is odd at first, but offers a quite brilliant set of possibilities, given your piece of work can be 'captured' onto a rendered object, allowing you to create a quite unique piece of imagery. Such an idea may not be 'the thing' for everyone, particularly photographers that just want to edit hues/saturations etc, but people like myself that do alot of club night Flyers/Posters/CD covers, I expect to really play around with this further. The only problem is that such a feature would suit new MacBook's or just iMac's. Even with my standard white MacBook, the rendering process takes a long time and causes token fan whirling. The CPU temperature sky rockets and it's already crashed on me once. Obviously once the process is done then the effects are great, but it's not something I'd do regularly (within minutes) given the power consumption and heat generation.
Most of the other changes, or additions to the program lay in small areas, of which there are too many to list. One of the most notable ones you'll find will be the main tool bars below the Mac's main window pane. Luckily it's customizable, as I'm still unfamiliar with certain options, but their is a nice 'Essential' tabs on the far right which houses... guess? Essential options.
However, before you go buying this software, it's worth noting that their is a "much" better valued package out there from Adobe that includes this Photoshop CS4 Extended. 'It's called Adobe Design Premium' and as a Student Edition again, works out 1/6 of it's original price! But what you get for this hundred quid more is;
- Photoshop CS4 Extended (this very program0
- Illustrator CS4 (Hand draw/trace with mouse or tablet)
- In Design CS4 (Create flyers/posters etc)
- Acrobat 9 Pro
- Flash Pro CS4 (Create your own Flash programs/apps)
- Dremweaver CS4 (Create your own website with either HTML coding OR drag 'n' drop)
- Fireworks CS4 (Make your own web apps and animations)
Yes I heard you... Wow indeed. As a student myself, I know this is insane value.
Back to this product however, I feel these I've covered the most important changes. As stated, their are plenty more new additions, but these are small options which would take forever to highlight. At it's current price, CS4 is a real bargain given the usual RRP of the non-student version, which is confusing in it's self, and I would even go as far as saying that Adobe Illustrator should be accompanied in the box for such a large price (which is of course another great addition that bridges beautifully). Illustrator sadly doesn't have a Student Edition, so all the more reason to get the Design Premium package.
If you're serious about graphic design or you're a creative wizz like moi, then it's likely you'll already know this is the professional standard. If not....
... then IT is!
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