Adobe Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Soundbooth CS4 Public Betas

[Tosser]

just a comment. soundbooth is not competing against logic/soundtrack/garageband. its competing against programs like soundforge. completely different category.

It certainly does compete with those. It even competes against Protools, believe it or not. Some places use these apps, but would be more productive with a capable, yet less cluttered, interface. And as such, this does it. Especially now that it has an easy to use multitracker (which, btw, was what made it impossible for me to "switch" completely.

Also, before this update it competed with Bias Peak - now it competes with the Peak/Deck-combo.

Does this mean that Adobe have completely ignored fixing CS3 for Leopard?

I wonder if this kind of behavior on Adobe's side is going to increase piracy... Could one justify not paying for a working (upgraded) version if the one you paid for is not working properly?

Controversial, I know. ;-)

If I had paid for a version and it didn't work, and the company at the same time had dropped support for the product, I'd "pirate" the working version in a heartbeat. Without any bad feeling in the gut – Except, of course, the one I'd have for paying (and thus supporting) a company that didn't deliver as promised.

 

[foeniox]

I still haven't used Dreamweaver for much. I didn't like it back around 2000 when I had been using FrontPage on a PC. FP is one of the few MS apps that they did well. It may have required FrontPage extensions galore, but it was easy yet did a lot of things.

Dreamweaver is a female dog. As someone else said, the UI has hardly changed. I know a good bit about HTML coding and making Web sites, although not the very advanced stuff. Dreamweaver is EXTREMELY difficult for me to use. It's like doing open-heart surgery for a mild case of heartburn. I basically have it because it's the only functional Web site app for Mac and if I take long enough, I can figure out advanced things like how to bold text.

</dreamweaver rant>

Check out Coda.
sounds like its more suitable for your needs.

i only kick up dreamweaver when i HAVE to, coda is a pleasure to use, built with great insight and often surprises me with just how well thought out it is.

 

[blackmondo]

Fireworks - Crash and Burn

Well, I was really keen to try Fireworks CS4 but it crashes about 2 seconds after I open the app - anyone else having this issue on a G5?

 

[Crtaylor]

I think Adobe is just another Microsoft anymore. They may have the most used applications for creativity in the world, but they are still far from creative in general.

I recently sent in an idea to Steve Jobs about Apple creating its own "creative suite", thus getting rid of Adobe's dependence altogether. That is how p*** poor I think Adobe's sense of creativity is!

 

[Tosser]

I think Adobe is just another Microsoft anymore. They may have the most used applications for creativity in the world, but they are still far from creative in general.

I recently sent in an idea to Steve Jobs about Apple creating its own "creative suite", thus getting rid of Adobe's dependence altogether. That is how p*** poor I think Adobe's sense of creativity is!

HA! And you figure Apple is less microsoftish in its behaviour?

 

[Crtaylor]

HA! And you figure Apple is less microsoftish in its behaviour?

Microsoft-ish behavior aside, I just think Adobe is doing the bare minimum for the applications it releases. Also, I literally sent that letter in - I addressed it and mailed it myself.

 

[Tosser]

Microsoft-ish behavior aside, I just think Adobe is doing the bare minimum for the applications it releases. Also, I literally sent that letter in - I addressed it and mailed it myself.

I guess it depends what app you're considering. I'm very pleased with how Soundbooth is turning out. Also, I find audition to be a splendid app, unfortunately only available on the PC-side of things, not to mention lightroom.

Besides, I don't want to be stuck with apple apps, since their QC on the hardware-side is mediocre at best, and seemingly grows worse with time. I want to be able to not rely on Apple's hardware. And the only way I can do that, is by finding better apps, that do not lock me into Apple's hardware, which I find lacking in so many aspects, not least quality-wise.
I guess, though, you and I are going in direct opposite directions, I'm leaving, slowly but steadily, you want them to produce the very apps I assume you need for a living, thus making you dependent on their hardware, in reality, no matter what they put out (or don't) in the future.

Anyway, I hope you letter is read and taken to heart by them. Some competition would be good for us consumers.

 

[Darkroom]

The same way we are "forced" to use Office. With Adobe however, there are even fewer alternatives to their product than there are to Office and they are quite a bit crappier.

When it comes to Office, a die-hard MS-hater could always find something a little uglier and harder to use, but at least it still worked. Now with iWork from Apple there is a serious alternative at least on the Mac.

With CS suite, there aren't even viable alternatives for some of the products IMO.

i totally use iWork on my mac - i find it much stronger than office, although i'm not a hardcore Excel user and assume that if i was i might find Numbers to be a bit lack luster. i do, however, find that Pages kicks the pants off of Word... but for PC/Linux, i can't tell you how many people i know personally who use Open Office because they've had it with MS Office years ago.

there's also Gimp as a photoshop alternative - can't vote nah or yay for it though, as i only used it a few times years ago.

As a professional web designer I don't use Dreamweaver. I hand code everything. I find DW to be bloated and confusing and for me it serves no useful purpose except to make a task 5 times longer to complete than if I were to hand code.

I like CS3 though, but as a freelancer I won't be rushing out to purchase CS4 it's just way too expensive to try and keep up with the Jones'. I don't like how Adobe have a monopoly on the design industry which enable them to charge what ever they like at the mercy of small businesses, but it's the only choice we have.

*cough* bit-torrent

 

[MacFly123]

EVERY DAY WITHOUT FAIL in Photoshop CS3 on Leopard my selection tool starts to blink and won't work unless I restart Photoshop. Seriously can Adobe do anything right??? It would be nice to get an update that actually fixes the countless bugs in your programs sometime this century!

ADOBE, always late, always buggy crap, always last!

 

[stainlessliquid]

Does this mean that Adobe have completely ignored fixing CS3 for Leopard?

Of course not, Adobe hasnt released a major patch for their products in several years. I think they stopped bothering with real patches after photoshop 5.5. They dont fix bugs anymore, they just wait for the next version.

 

[thedommer]

It certainly does compete with those. It even competes against Protools, believe it or not. Some places use these apps, but would be more productive with a capable, yet less cluttered, interface. And as such, this does it. Especially now that it has an easy to use multitracker (which, btw, was what made it impossible for me to "switch" completely.

BAH. I dont know soundbooth well but it certainly cant compete with logic (where I write music) and protools (where I mix it). I like soundbooth. but its not even close to where those other 2 programs take me. however as 3 programs they all have their purposes(certainly not bashing it. as I said I use it quite a bit).

 

[thedommer]

EVERY DAY WITHOUT FAIL in Photoshop CS3 on Leopard my selection tool starts to blink and won't work unless I restart Photoshop. Seriously can Adobe do anything right??? It would be nice to get an update that actually fixes the countless bugs in your programs sometime this century!

ADOBE, always late, always buggy crap, always last!

I get that pretty much every day too. weeeee bit annoying. especially when a bunch of files are open!

 

[thedommer]

Check out Coda.
sounds like its more suitable for your needs.

i only kick up dreamweaver when i HAVE to, coda is a pleasure to use, built with great insight and often surprises me with just how well thought out it is.

I dont know about coda but I do know programers in my office who have never touched dreamweaver (possibly they use coda) and freelancers who swear by their code based only programs. and the one thing we always notice is they are ALL DAMN SLOW on any complicated web site. why? because there is 2000 lines of code on one page. in dreamweaver I use the design window to click on the section that needs to be edited. then in the coding window im there immediately. I use dreamweaver pretty much exactly how they use their coding programs except with the awesome advantage of a really detailed map. other then that though dreamweaver is reaaaaaaally flawed. tried to integrate alot of the new CS3 stuff into my workflow. none of it really helped. CS4 looks very promising for beter CSS support though. kinda excited about that. until then dreamweaver will remain my glorified website gps

 

[Tosser]

BAH. I dont know soundbooth well but it certainly cant compete with logic (where I write music) and protools (where I mix it). I like soundbooth. but its not even close to where those other 2 programs take me. however as 3 programs they all have their purposes(certainly not bashing it. as I said I use it quite a bit).

As I mentioned, it depends what you use it for. There are more to audio than to write and mix music.

 

[thedommer]

As I mentioned, it depends what you use it for. There are more to audio than to write and mix music.

exactly. and thats where soundbooth shines. sample editing, 2 track mastering, or anything that doesn't involve a lot of tracks.

 

[Tosser]

exactly. and thats where soundbooth shines. sample editing, 2 track mastering, or anything that doesn't involve a lot of tracks.

Yes, and now that we have multitrack, plus support for more formats, this will mean that a lot of the people in, say, the broadcast industri will have one more choice. Most of the people I know in this business use protools, which, frankly, is one of the crappiest out there for that use. Soundbooth had the promise to deliver to "folks" like us, and it looks like they're bloody damn close to being the perfect app for this, as an app for day-to-day use.

(edit: It's not just "sample-editing", but ambience, interviews etc.). There's more to it than "sample-editing"… Go check out Bias Peak. It's close to perfection. Close, but still I find Soundbooth better in many ways)

 

[thedommer]

Yes, and now that we have multitrack, plus support for more formats, this will mean that a lot of the people in, say, the broadcast industri will have one more choice. Most of the people I know in this business use protools, which, frankly, is one of the crappiest out there for that use. Soundbooth had the promise to deliver to "folks" like us, and it looks like they're bloody damn close to being the perfect app for this, as an app for day-to-day use.

(edit: It's not just "sample-editing", but ambience, interviews etc.). There's more to it than "sample-editing"… Go check out Bias Peak. It's close to perfection. Close, but still I find Soundbooth better in many ways)

by sample editing I was referring to any sample. I do conference recordings also and use it for editing that. no point using protools as realtime bouncing sucks and protools (LE) just isn't reliable...especially on leopard as its not supported yet.

 

[Tosser]

by sample editing I was referring to any sample. I do conference recordings also and use it for editing that. no point using protools as realtime bouncing sucks and protools (LE) just isn't reliable...especially on leopard as its not supported yet.

Ah, we agree

 

[kidtronix]

DW CS4b crashes on me at start, won't start.

Got a 2.6ghz MB with 4gb ram (os 10.5.3). What's up with that?

Tried to reinstall it, same thing. Got a licensed CS3 suite with DW that works fine.

 

[MacsAttack]

What is up with everyone pissing and moaning about the upgrades coming too fast and thinking that CS4 should be a free upgrade to CS3 users????

Given that Adobe decided I could pay 75% more for CS3 than users in the US - yes - I think they owe me a free upgrade.

One of the excuses given for that price hike? Apparently it costs Adobe more to hold events in Europe. Odd that I should be expected to sub Adobe for that. I would have though the cost should only be passed on to people who actually attend such events...

CS3 was a "necessary" upgrade for anyone getting new hardware (though CS2 was not too bad on Rosseta). Adobe milked their user base over that one. CS4 is going to be a much harder sell for them and with some of the stunts they are pulling I expect to see a lot of Mac users sit out CS4. Anyway, Apparently CS5 will be along before you know it.

 

[gonnabuyamac]

hmm... you must have to have the full version of CS3 to beta test or something. i have a CS3 upgrade, and it won't accept my serial number.

the point of buying upgrades is that it's not as expensive. they've already got a healthy portion of my life's earnings, why am i being punished?

 

[thedommer]

DW CS4b crashes on me at start, won't start.

Got a 2.6ghz MB with 4gb ram (os 10.5.3). What's up with that?

Tried to reinstall it, same thing. Got a licensed CS3 suite with DW that works fine.

dont worry. its not really usable anyways. I spent a day with it yesterday. lots of bugs. some cool features though