May Upgrade
A lot of my response applies to upgrades in general, not just CS2. The good news about upgrading is that I almost always get something better. I like to stay up-to-date for the reasons you cited (more efficient and/or creative features), plus I feel by staying updated, I get better technical support from the vendor, and I put my support behind the companies I believe are doing the best job.

This new Adobe upgrade has left me somewhat flummoxed. First, I have been a Photoshop and InDesign user since their inceptions. I have dutifully paid for upgrade after upgrade, finally culminating in a purchase of the CS Premium last summer. Now Adobe wants another $750 from me for CS2 premium without knowing how the Macromedia merger will affect any of these products. I'm afraid of being left out of the upgrade loop altogether, but I don't want to upgrade to something that may change again in a year resulting in yet another upgrade, possibly new products, and another learning curve. I don't have the luxury of getting all the latest and greatest technology whenever I want, as I am self-employed and don't have corporate, educational, or any other big-dollar backing behind me. However, I also already have Tiger [the latest Macintosh operating system] in hand although not yet installed. If CS2 is better with Tiger, than I certainly want to take advantage of that.

This is the most complex set of upgrades I've had to work through ever. I still don't know what I'm going to do. Hope that more information will become available that will swing my decision one way or the other.

-- Gini Cornila

I'm on a G5/OSX using the Premium CS for designs that take me from print to the Web in a freelance capacity. My wife is working with the same set-up although her focus is more on the illustration side so she also uses Painter in her work. She also teaches Illustrator. I use Flash in a lot of my Web work and am quite anxious to see how Flash will become more Adobe-like (a positive move) in the upcoming months (probably in the next 12 to 18 at the earliest -- CS3?).

Now to whether or not CS2 is coming to our desktop soon. This is going to be a tough one. Even though I'd love to dive in, I don't see it happening right away. At a cost of around $550 (current bizrate.com cost) it is nearly half of what I paid for the first CS and that was back in November (when I upgraded from my G4 - another $2,000). The upgrade features always sound so cool in reviews (you guys aren't much different), so who wouldn't want them? On the other hand, when all the programs are lumped into a larger suite it is more difficult shelling out that kind of cash when you end up using only one to three of the programs. We're starting to use InDesign (goodbye Quark) and GoLive is gathering dust since we use real programmers for the Web designs we do. Yet it was cheaper to go the Suite route than the individual program path. Now we're stuck buying upgrades for the whole suite. $550 is not a cheap habit to maintain every 12 to 18 months but that's what lies ahead for all of us. I'm sure once Flash becomes incorporated into the suite, the cost will rise again.

Ultimately, we'll give in to the market monopolized by the 600-pound gorilla from Adobe. Once the Macromedia acquisition is complete, not much stands in their way to overtake Quark. In the long run this may turn out to be OK, but for the daily user, an 18-month $500 to $600 upgrade does not come as a welcome but more as a necessary cost of doing business. With graphic design salaries being relatively stagnant for the last 10 to 15 years, it won't come easily.

My wife (who teaches Illustrator) is hesitant about getting CS2. The program has major shortcomings when it comes to going to press. I strongly agree. I just wish that some of these shortcomings would be brought to light by folks like Creativepro.com, MacAddict, and Macworld, rather than focus on the latest bells and whistles.

Don't get me wrong -- we love these programs, but to see shortcomings remain while new features are added makes me angry. There will always be new things to add, but make the expected features work solidly and intelligently and you'll get a stronger following from us users. I'd like to see the basics become rock solid. It will help in teaching what the program does and insure a smoother path from concept to print.

-- Zenon Slawinski, Zenarts Design Studio

To read comments from readers who will be upgrading, go to Page 3