Adobe Creative Suite

Adobe Creative Suite
Developer(s) Adobe Systems
Initial release September 1, 2003; 8 years ago (2003-09-01)
Stable release Creative Suite 5.5 / April 12, 2011; 9 months ago (2011-04-12)
Operating system Windows (32-bit; 64-bit for Vista and 7). Mac OS X (32-bit; partial 64-bit)
("Premiere" and "After Effects" require a 64-bit OS)
Available in Multilingual
Type Digital media creation and editing
License Proprietary
Website Adobe Creative Suite

Adobe Creative Suite (CS) is a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications made by Adobe Systems. The collection consists of Adobe's applications (e.g., Photoshop, Acrobat, InDesign), that are based on various technologies (e.g., PostScript, PDF, Flash). The latest version, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 (CS5.5), was released on April 12, 2011.[1]

Contents

Applications

Brief descriptions of the applications in the various Adobe Creative Suite editions:

Editions

Adobe sells Creative Suite applications in five different combinations called "editions", these include:

Below is a matrix of the applications that are bundled in each of the software suites for CS5:

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5
Software Design Web
Premium
Production
Premium
Master
Collection
Standard Premium
Photoshop CS5
Photoshop CS5 Extended
Illustrator CS5
InDesign CS5.5
Acrobat X Pro
Flash Catalyst CS5.5
Flash Professional CS5.5
Flash Builder 4.5 Premium Edition
Dreamweaver CS5.5
Fireworks CS5
Contribute CS5
Premiere Pro CS5.5
OnLocation CS5
Encore CS5
After Effects CS5.5
Adobe Audition CS5.5
Shared features, services, and applications
Bridge CS5
Device Central CS5.5
CS Live
Dynamic Link

Windows versions of Adobe Premiere CS5.5 and Adobe After Effects CS5.5 are 64-bit only and require at least Windows Vista 64-bit or a later 64-bit Windows version. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is not supported.

Adobe Version Cue, an application that enabled users to track and manipulate file metadata and automate the process of collaboratively reviewing documents among groups of people, and the Adobe Creative Suite Web Standard edition, previously available in CS4, have been dropped from the CS5 line-up.

Adobe Encore and Adobe OnLocation (formerly Serious Magic DV Rack HD2) are included as part of Adobe Premiere Pro and are not released as standalone products.

Adobe InCopy, an application closely integrated with Adobe InDesign, is also part of the Creative Suite family, but is not included in any CS5 edition. It can be ordered from Adobe, third party plug-in developers, or systems integrators.

Adobe Audition, a professional audio-editing program, will replace Adobe Soundbooth in CS5.5.

History

Creative Suite 1 & 2

The first version of Adobe Creative Suite was released in September 2003[2] and Creative Suite 2 in April 2005.[3] The first two versions (CS and CS2) were available in two editions.

The Standard Edition included:

The Premium Edition also included:

Creative Suite Production Studio

Adobe Creative Suite Production Studio (previously Adobe Video Collection) was a suite of programs for acquiring, editing, and distributing digital video and audio that was released during the same timeframe as Adobe Creative Suite 1. The suite was available in standard and premium editions.

The Adobe Production Studio Premium edition consisted of:

The Standard edition consisted of:

Since CS3, Adobe Production Studio became part of the Creative Suite family. The equivalent version for Production Studio Premium is the Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium.

Macromedia Studio

Macromedia Studio was a suite of programs designed for web content creation designed and distributed by Macromedia. After Adobe's 2005 acquisition of Macromedia, Macromedia Studio 8 was replaced, modified, and integrated into two editions of the Adobe Creative Suite family of software from version 2.3 onwards. The closest relatives of Macromedia Studio 8 are now called Adobe Creative Suite Web Premium.

Core applications from Macromedia Studio have been merged with Adobe Creative Suite since CS3, including Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks. Some Macromedia applications were absorbed into existing Adobe products, e.g. FreeHand has been replaced with Adobe Illustrator. Director and ColdFusion are not part of Adobe Creative Suite and will only be available as standalone products. The final version of Macromedia Studio released include:

Creative Suite 3

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) was announced on March 27, 2007; it introduced universal binaries for all major programs for the Apple Macintosh,[4] as well as including all of the core applications from Macromedia Studio and Production Studio.

Some Creative Suite programs also began using the Presto layout engine used in the Opera web browser.[5]

Adobe began selling CS3 applications in six different combinations called "editions." Design Standard & Premium and Web Standard & Premium began shipping on April 16, 2007, and Production Premium and Master Collection editions began shipping on July 2, 2007. The latest released CS3 version was version 3.3, released on June 2, 2008. In this version Fireworks CS3 was included in Design Premium and all editions that had included Acrobat 8 Pro had it replaced with Acrobat 9 Pro.[6] Below is a matrix of the applications included in each edition of CS3 version 3.3:

All of the above editions included shared applications and services including Adobe Bridge, Adobe Version Cue (except Production Premium), Adobe Device Central, Adobe Acrobat Connect and Adobe Stock Photos. Adobe Dynamic Link, Adobe OnLocation (Windows only) and Adobe Ultra (Windows only) were included in Production Premium and Master Collection editions.

CS3 included several programs, including Dreamweaver, Flash, and Fireworks that were developed by Macromedia, a former rival acquired by Adobe in 2005. It also included Adobe OnLocation and Adobe Ultra that were developed by Serious Magic, also a firm acquired by Adobe in 2006.

Adobe dropped the following programs (that were previously included in CS2) from the CS3 software bundles:[7]

Adobe had announced that it would continue to develop Audition as a standalone product, while GoLive had been discontinued. Adobe GoLive 9 was released as a standalone product on June 10, 2007. Adobe Audition 3 was announced as a standalone product on September 6, 2007. Adobe had discontinued ImageReady and had replaced it with Fireworks, with some of ImageReady's features integrated into Photoshop.

Creative Suite 4

Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4) was announced on September 23, 2008 and officially released on October 15, 2008.[8] All applications in CS4 featured the same user interface, with a new tabbed interface for working with concurrently running Adobe CS4 programs where multiple applications can be opened inside multiple tabs contained in a single window.[9]

Adobe CS4 was also developed to perform better under 64-bit and multi-core processors. On Windows, Adobe Photoshop CS4 ran natively as a 64-bit application. Although they were not natively 64-bit applications, Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 have been optimized for 64-bit computers.[10] However, there were no 64-bit versions of CS4 available for Mac OS X.[11] In early testing of 64-bit support in Adobe Photoshop CS4, overall performance gains ranged from 8% to 12%, due to the fact that 64-bit applications could address larger amounts of memory and thus resulted in less file swapping — one of the biggest factors that can affect data processing speed.[12]

Two programs were dropped from the CS4 line-up: Adobe Ultra, a vector keying application which utilizes image analysis technology to produce high quality chroma key effects in less than ideal lighting environments and provides keying of a subject into a virtual 3D environment through virtual set technology, and Adobe Stock Photos. Below is a matrix of the applications that were bundled in each of the software suites for CS4:

Creative Suite 5

Creative Suite 5.5

Following the release of CS5 in April 2010, Adobe changed its release strategy to an every other year release of major number installments. CS 5.5 was presented on April 12th, 2011, as an in-between program. The update helps developers optimize websites for a variety of tablets, smart phones, and other devices. At the same time, Adobe announced a subscription based pay service as an alternative to full purchase.[13]

On July 1, 2011, Adobe Systems announced its Switcher Program, which will allow people who have purchased any version of Apple's Final Cut Pro (or Avid Media Composer) to receive a 50 percent discount on Creative Suite CS 5.5 Production Premium or Premiere Pro CS 5.5.[14]

Future versions

During an Adobe conference call on June 21, 2011, CEO Shantanu Narayen said that the April 2011 launch of CS5.5 was "the first release in our transition to an annual release cycle," adding, "We intend to ship the next milestone release of Creative Suite in 2012, and it will include an updated version of Photoshop."[15] A person posting as an Adobe employee on Adobe's forum said on May 27, 2011, that "CS6 is scheduled for release around May 2012."[16]

References

  1. ^ "Adobe launches Creative Suite 5.5 with subscription option". DP Review. http://www.dpreview.com/news/1104/11041106creativesuite55.asp. Retrieved 2011-04-12. 
  2. ^ "Adobe Creative Suite Press Release". Adobe.com. http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200309/092903CREATIVESUITE.html. Retrieved 2010-04-04. 
  3. ^ "Creative Suite 2 Press Release". Adobe.com. http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200504/040405CreativeSuite.html. Retrieved 2010-04-04. 
  4. ^ Adobe Systems (2006-01-31). "Support for Intel-based Mac computers" (PDF). Adobe Systems. http://adobe.com/products/pdfs/intelmacsupport.pdf. Retrieved 2006-09-29. 
  5. ^ Borg, Johan (2007-03-28). "9.2 Beta – By Opera Desktop Team". Opera Software ASA. http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2007/03/28/9-2-beta. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
  6. ^ "Press Room: For immediate release". Adobe. 2009-07-14. http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200806/060208AdobeCS3.3.html. Retrieved 2010-04-04. 
  7. ^ Adobe Systems (2006-09-18). "New Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional Enhances Adobe Creative Suite 2.3". Adobe Systems. http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200609/091806CreativeSuite.html. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  8. ^ "Adobe Creative Suite 4 Now Shipping" (PDF). Adobe Press room. http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/pdfs/200810/101508AdobeCS4avail.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  9. ^ "Adobe Creative Suite 4 Software Brings Unprecedented Efficiency via a Unified Application Interface". Atelier-us.com. 2008-10-07. http://www.atelier-us.com/consumers-and-ecommerce/article/adobe-creative-suite-4-release-brings-unprecedented-efficiency-via-a-unified-application-interface. Retrieved 2010-04-04. 
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ "Adobe CS4 will be 64-bit, but only on Windows". Betanews.com. http://www.betanews.com/article/Adobe_CS4_will_be_64bit_but_only_on_Windows/1207258861. Retrieved 2010-04-04. 
  12. ^ "Adobe Photoshop CS4: FAQ". Adobe.com. 2009-07-14. http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop/faq/. Retrieved 2010-04-04. 
  13. ^ Introducing Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Product Family. 2011, April 10. http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/04/introducing-adobe-creative-suite-5-5-product-family.html
  14. ^ Don Reisinger, CNET. "Adobe tries discounts to woo Final Cut Pro ranters." Jul 1, 2011. Retrieved Jul 1, 2011.
  15. ^ "Q2 Fiscal Year 2011 Earnings Call Script". Adobe.com. http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/invrelations/pdfs/Q211_Script_FINAL_Draft_FOR_RELEASE.pdf?PID=2159997. Retrieved 2011-10-02. 
  16. ^ "Audition CS5.5". Adobe.com. http://forums.adobe.com/message/3705280#3705280. Retrieved 2011-10-02. 

External links