The $999 Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Standard package is built for Web page designers and animators who don't need to build or edit graphics from scratch with the help of Photoshop and Illustrator. Its key components include the updated Dreamweaver and Fireworks for dynamic Web design, plus Flash for animation. You'd spend around $1,400 buying these programs one by one. We've rated Web Standard excellent despite its exclusion of Photoshop and Illustrator, mostly because we like the big improvements to Flash. Those who need graphics and audio editing may want to consider the $1,699 Web Premium package. The charts below detail the contents of and pricing for this and other CS4 suites; please click on the images of individual applications to learn what's new inside each of them.
The release of Adobe Creative Suite 3 in 2007 was the first to incorporate former properties from Macromedia, such as Flash. With Creative Suite 4, Adobe has unified the interfaces of all the applications for a more seamless experience. Work space adjustments to CS4 include panels that are more nimble than its predecessors, and handy pull-down menus with preset styles enable you to shift among work space layouts quickly.
Setup and interface
The Web abounds with complaints about Adobe's installer and updater, and most are justified. Every Windows application installer suggests you close any running applications, but you can usually ignore it and 99 percent of the time everything works out fine. Adobe forces you to close your browser and all Microsoft Office applications, because many of the programs in the suite spread like tentacles throughout your working environment. That's pretty appalling in and of itself, but in addition to wasting a large chunk of time installing, you can't do anything else but play Solitaire while it's happening. And as before with the updater, you'll get to relive this delightful close-your-apps-or-else experience on a regular basis. Plus, the installation "progress" bar bears no relation to reality whatsoever, with its two steps forward and one step back movement.
Unfortunately, it took us nearly two hours to install the Adobe Master Collection CS4 on Windows Vista and XP machines (We didn't test CS4 thoroughly on a Mac). That's still less time than with CS3, and installing the much smaller Web Standard will likely take less time, especially since it lacks Acrobat 9. Adobe's custom installation still lets you pick and choose which components to embrace or reject, but there's no mechanism for migrating your settings and all your custom tools from CS3 and earlier.
To install Creative Suite 4 Web Standard, Windows users need at least Windows XP SP2 or Vista, with a 2GHz or faster processor. The necessary available disk space is 9.1GB, perhaps more during installation. Mac users will need a PowerPC G5 or Intel-based machine with at least Mac OS X version 10.4.11, as well as 1GB of RAM and 11.2GB of available disk space. For either Windows or Macs, installation comes via a DVD. The display must be 1,280x900-pixel resolution with 32-bit video card and 16MB of VRAM. Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0 may also be necessary. These system requirements are less stringent than for those suites involving video, such as Production Premium and the Master Collection.
Features
If you rely on Adobe software for digital animation, then CS4 is worth the plunge, more so than CS3 was. Flash takes a big leap forward by slashing the steps required to build animation. Dreamweaver beefs up tools for CSS sites and feels more stable than its predecessors. It's easier to make round trips among the applications, such as by exporting Fireworks designs as CSS, then bringing them into Dreamweaver. There's greater integration from one application to the next, with support for the latest formats for Web sites and mobile phones, including desktop Adobe AIR applications. See the charts below for reviews of individual applications and the other CS4 suites.
Service and support
We almost hate to rate Adobe's tech support as excellent due to the extreme expense of live, personalized help from the company. However, the software industry has been moving away from free customized assistance for years. At least Getting Started help for installation issues and other speed bumps lasts for 90 days. Adobe's comprehensive, self-serve options include embedded and online look-ups, tutorials, and excellent videos. Also, the company has expanded its help-yourself and peer support online. The new Adobe Support Portal requires an Adobe log-in and password. Newbies would be wise to get up to speed with the interactive tutorials and maybe even third-party books and Web sites. Web-based forums with other users, as well as the Community Support in beta testing, may be the best bargain for getting hands-on advice.
Don't bother trying to seek extra help without a registered serial number; the days of "borrowing" copies of heavy-duty Adobe software from friends are long gone. Help with a live Adobe representative continues to be expensive. Each year we find the pricing options harder to find on Adobe's Web pages. The Bronze level of support, for five prepurchased incidents, is $175. Unlimited Silver support costs $1,200, three times the price of some applications, like Dreamweaver. Such pricing is clearly set for corporations rather than freelancers.
Applications in Adobe CS4 Web Standard
Adobe Creative Suite 4 packages
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Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Standard 
