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Adobe CS4 Master Collection, changes the game when it comes to interoperability and functionality. Unlike CS3, Adobe has put a lot of effort in making practical, professional grade software that works well from within all areas of the production process. From drafting, production, to post-production; CS4 unifies the entire experience and enhances the workflow of projects.

Compared to previous versions, users that are upgrading will be surprised by the change of the interface. CS4 has been completely overhauled and the interface makes utilizing commonly used functions very easy and accessible. The interface functions (such as zooming) have been greatly enhanced by the use of hardware acceleration technology improving the experience overall.

Recently, our test-centres began running the BETA release of Windows 7 64/32bit and we did do extensive future application testing on this software. Without some advanced configuration and alteration of program settings, it is currently not possible to run the 64-bit version of Photoshop and other 64-bit CS4 applications. However, it is important to note that though this functionality is not available, it is also not listed yet as a supported operating system at this time.

Separately, one of our noted concerns from our readers is that Adobe currently does not make the software update process easily manageable. Many of our readers and lab technicians, noted that they would like to see improvements when it comes to the software update process and also how it is distributed. This is due to the fact that the software updates are begin unannounced to the user, and only after the process has begun can user intervention occur. Some also cited that a similar experience similar to Microsoft Windows Update would be greatly preferred; as it would improve the level of control during this process. Though this experience did not have a significant impact on our review, we believe that this concern should be noted and improvements to this process could be made.

Summary

In summary, we found that CS4 fundamentally isn't exactly an over-whelming upgrade compared to CS3. Current users may not find significant value in upgrading at this time; yet new users to the Creative Suite family will be impressed.  Generally, we were satisfied with the improvements that have been made and look-forward to any future improvements to this software.

Lab Results :