Has anyone purchased or tried out CS4 yet?

[Thurisaz]

I heard the biggest improvements as far as the design premium was concerned were made in Illustrator. I just purchased CS3 last year, and a lot of people are saying I should hold out. Any feedback?

 

[Pindar]

I heard the biggest improvements as far as the design premium was concerned were made in Illustrator. I just purchased CS3 last year, and a lot of people are saying I should hold out. Any feedback?

I went to the Adobe presentation for CS4 Web Premium and it looked a lot better than CS3.

Hope to get my hands on it in the new year.

Illustrator looked good but I have never used it so don't know what previous versions were like.

Isn't there anything on adobe labs to give you an idea of the differences?

 

[Hitman]

I acquired the programs individually, but Photoshop CS4 has improved significantly. The GPU use in particular is gold. I also like the new layout, with the abolition of the top bar.

 

[Pingfah]

I've used every version of Illustrator from 8 to CS4, and as far as I am concerned Adobe are gouging designers for cash. Illustrator CS should be 2 releases not 4, they are releasing too many versions with too few changes.

I can't really speak to the other CS software as I am a Quark Man, and I don't do much photo manip so my experience with Photoshop is more functional than indepth.

 

[DarkHelmet]

I purchased the CS4 Web Premium.

Lovin' it. Between Dreamweaver, Soundbooth and Photoshop, I think it's worth every penny.

Depending on which Suite you have, you are eligible for different upgrade prices on CS4, some very significant.

 

[KDoug]

I heard the biggest improvements as far as the design premium was concerned were made in Illustrator. I just purchased CS3 last year, and a lot of people are saying I should hold out. Any feedback?

I bought the Design Premium package for home recently. It's the first time I upgraded since the original CS (although I currently use CS3 at my workplace). I probably haven't done much to really put it through its paces, but so far, I don't see a lot of truly significant changes from CS3. If you'd like to read them, there are reviews for several CS4 programs at MacWorld, including Illustrator:

http://www.macworld.com/browse.html?type=3&cat=231

Their closing thoughts on Illustrator are:

Adobe Illustrator CS4 is a time-proven production drawing tool with a clean, efficient interface, and well-thought-out tools that work seamlessly with the rest of the Adobe creative suite. The addition of multi-page capabilities and the Blob Brush Tool make it must-have upgrade.

MacWorld review of Illustrator: http://www.macworld.com/article/136705/2008/11/illcs4.html

 

[dreadpiraterose]

I've used every version of Illustrator from 8 to CS4, and as far as I am concerned Adobe are gouging designers for cash. Illustrator CS should be 2 releases not 4, they are releasing too many versions with too few changes.

I can't really speak to the other CS software as I am a Quark Man, and I don't do much photo manip so my experience with Photoshop is more functional than indepth.

I'm with you here. There should be significant changes before asking people to shell out that much money for the next upgrade. I just don't see enough change to make it worth upgrading when the cost is so steep. CS3 works just fine for me.