Link via MacWorld
 Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 is a solid upgrade to an already impressive Web site design program. The latest version adds to features introduced in Dreamweaver CS3 (Photoshop Integration and Spry JavaScript tools for building interactive interfaces, for example) and also presents a completely revamped interface that more closely resembles other products in the Creative Suite. But the most significant additions to the program are aimed squarely at Web developers building sites that rely as much on JavaScript as they do on HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Dreamweaver CS4 solidly addresses the technologies that Web design professionals use and is a significant upgrade that offers a new set of tools for those who spend a lot of time with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you find yourself building more and more Web sites that rely on JavaScript and complex CSS, this upgrade is a must. In fact, if you’re an old-school HTML hand-coder, now is the time to make the switch. Even if you forego the program’s visual design tools, the enhanced workflow for multiple files, advanced text-editing, and productivity boosting Code Navigator make this one of the best Web page editors available.
If you’re a Dreamweaver CS3 user the question of whether to upgrade depends on the kind of Web sites you build. If you don’t program your own JavaScript code, and usually steer clear of raw HTML code, this update may not be necessary for you. However, you might consider upgrading if you use the other programs in the Creative Suite and want a consistent interface, want the easy-updating of Photoshop Smart Objects, and are looking for more useful Spry tools to add to your Web design toolbox.
Dreamweaver CS4 is available at an academic discount price of $199
Link via Digital Camera Review
 One question we field a lot around here – and I’m sure Adobe’s heard more than their share of this one too – is, “Will Lightroom replace Photoshop for what I do?” Entangled in this question is the issue that’s always been part of my typical response: “It depends on what you need to do with your images.” Lightroom 2, with its more involved Develop module, makes it clear that Adobe is moving toward a single-source solution for raw conversion, process/sort, routine editing tasks, and output control. And improvements in the second iteration clearly address the original Lightroom’s weakest area from this list: routine editing. Although it’s still no Photoshop (nor is it meant to be), Lightroom’s Localized Adjustments tool, improved lens correction and vignetting console, and ever-growing palette of processing controls make version two a substantial step forward for covering the basic functions that both amateur photographers and full-time pros seek in an image editor.
Not surprisingly, the package’s workflow tools – especially its keywording functions and new Smart Collections auto sort features – are also appreciably improved. And with more transparent file handling and a synchronization function for checking for changes, serious shooters are less likely to get bent out of shape over how Lightroom incorporates their files.
Although Lightroom 2 is arguably the most consumer-friendly of Adobe’s image editing options (with its limited range of controls and many presets, even more so than Photoshop Elements, I’d argue), there’s no doubt that at its core, this is not a pure image editor but rather a workflow solution designed for folks who need to manage a lot of images. For advanced work involving masking, gradients, cloning/healing, or raw conversion, hard-core image processors will still fall back on Photoshop and Camera Raw. But Lightroom 2’s better integration with Adobe’s other imaging products should help it continue to jockey for position at the front of the pack among image workflow tools, and more advanced editing options might just make the latest version of Lightroom the all-in-one organization and editing system some serious amateurs have been waiting for.
Photoshop Lightroom 2 is available at an academic discount price of $98.
QuarkXPress 8 Integration with Adobe Creative Suite (1.6 MB PDF)
Download the guide that will help you learn how Quark XPress 8 works with the new CS4 products from Adobe including Photoshop CS4 Extended, Illustrator CS4, Flash Professional CS4, Dreamweaver CS4, Acrobat 9 Professional, and InDesign CS4.
Quark XPress 8 is available at an academic discount price of $199.
The Adobe Creative Suite 4 bundles are all available at an academic discount price from Creation Engine.
Link via PC Magazine
 If you use Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, you probably like it and dislike it at the same time. You probably like that it’s the most powerful office suite on the Mac platform, with Apple’s iWork suite still playing catch-up. You probably like that it’s almost fully compatible with documents created in Office for Windows. But you probably don’t like that it’s the least Mac-like of any major Mac software, with plenty of quirks inherited from the Windows version, and some quirks of its very own. To help you find your way around the byways of the Mac version, here are some little-known tips, many of them based on techniques and methods that are well documented only in the Windows version.
Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition is available from Creation Engine for $145.
Academic Volume Licensing is also available for Office 2008 for Mac.
Link via MacWorld
 Adobe Bridge is an organizational and image-browsing powerhouse that’s been shipping with Photoshop since the inception of the creative suite. However, in previous versions it was sometimes painfully slow and the workspace wasn’t friendly as it could have been. That’s all changed in Photoshop CS4—Bridge got a makeover, a speed boost, and a new Review Mode that’ll make photographers squeal with joy.
With the workspace overhaul and speed increase, Bridge is a real joy to use. The ability to quickly zip through the images on your hard drive is very satisfying, especially for those who have a lot of imagery in their lives. The new Output module is handy for exporting PDFs and Web galleries, but the inability to save your settings as a preset is bone-jarring. After all, the module feels air-lifted right out of Adobe Lightroom where the ability to save presets does exist. For those mourning the loss of Contact Sheets and Picture Packages over in Photoshop CS4, a little customization in the Output module would have been placating. Though if the public outcry is fierce enough, perhaps we’ll see significant improvements in this module in future versions.
Photoshop CS4 Extended is available at an academic discount price of $299.
Link via VFXWorld
 As a designer at Oakley, it’s Adam Smythe’s job to bring all these elements together. It’s a demanding and varied position. One day he’s designing graphics and concept artwork for snow goggles, or digitally recreating an oil painting so parts of it can be applied to sunglass frames. The next, he’ll be developing paints and coatings for rapid prototypes. In order to create such trend-setting products, in a timely and cost-effective manner, Smythe’s relies on Wacom’s Cintiq 21UX interactive pen display. It combines the advantages of a color-accurate LCD monitor with the ergonomic performance of Wacom’s on-screen digital pen technology.
“Rather than spending hours mixing colors and applying them on frames, I can quickly render out comprehensive and photorealistic images with the Cintiq to communicate the same ideas in a quarter of the time,” Smythe said. “For the more advanced decorative finishes, this process can save me days and weeks of production time. Being able to communicate the end products before the materials to make them have been developed, allows us to be more effective and strategic in our design and approaches.”
The Cintiq 21UX is available at for $1,999 from Creation Engine.
Link via arstechnica
 The Intel Mac virtualization scene has had a couple of years to mature now, and things are finally getting exciting. Now, with the latest VMware Fusion 2 release, we’ve left the adolescent phase of Mac virtualization and entered the adult phase, where virtualized Windows really starts to operate in all the ways we expect it to. VMware 2.0’s grown-up form combines an improved interface with some major low-level features, like support for DirectX 9.0c 3D, four-way SMP, driverless printing, and tighter Mac desktop integration. That’s a pretty significant list that should make this release very appealing, even to those who’ve already bought Fusion’s main competitor, Parallels Desktop. So we put this ambitious update through a few weeks of extensive testing to see if it lives up to the hype.
VMware Fusion 2 is available at an academic discount price of $39.
Create visually rich content for virtually any media–print, web, interactive, video, audio, and mobile–using the tightly integrated tools and services in Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection software. From producing printed pages to distributing engaging content online, on film, on air, and on device, you get the ultimate design environment to keep pace with your imagination. New features enable students and faculty to review projects live online. New curriculum and community technical support help faculty implement programs that enable students to build the skills they need to excel in today’s competitive workforce.
Includes InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, Illustrator CS4, Acrobat 9 Pro, Flash CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, Contribute CS4, After Effects CS4, Premiere Pro CS4, Soundbooth CS4, OnLocation CS4, and Encore CS4.
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection is available at an academic discount price of $999.
Link via MacWorld
All of the changes in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Extended CS4 add up to a friendlier, more accessible interface (and with Photoshop that’s an accomplishment), with increasingly helpful tools that are much easier to find and use than before. The changes may take some getting used to, but in the end, you’ll come to appreciate the more streamlined and uncluttered experience. If you’re a photographer, the enhancements in Camera Raw alone may well be worth the upgrade and for everyone else, the additions along with the improvements to existing tools makes for a much more enjoyable Photoshop experience.
Photoshop CS4 Extended is available at an academic discount price of $299.
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