So, let’s start with the app that impressed me most with its real, functional changes for the better: Dreamweaver. The workflow and changes in the mix for video professionals are pretty magnificent, so I’m going to save that for an entirely different review. This is an overview, so I’ll be concentrating on the major six apps used in print and online work: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, and the Flash twins.

Now there are new ways to facilitate document reviews via online sharing in Adobe CS Review and speed up proofing methods via Adobe BrowserLab. Connectivity between applications is, in fact, much simpler than it has been before, and Adobe is building in connections via its new line of CS Live online services, most of which we began using in simple ways (such as Kuler, in CS4). I immediately saw a difference in my workflows the app overall boots faster and operates more smoothly now that it’s addressing all of my processor power. The big story for me is that Photoshop is now fully 64-bit compatible across all platforms, and, as such, is about ten times faster for some operations. Adobe has concentrated, with this release, on improving existing workflows, honing points of user difficulty, and rewriting underlying technologies to enhance them. While CS4 was a decent step forward from CS3, I would recommend that CS5 is the step to make from CS3 if you decided to stay behind.

Adobe’s new release of Creative Suite 5 is now available for preorder, and it’s got a lot of power under its hood.

Adobe master suite