In the first installment of a multi-part series, we’re going to begin the process of creating an XML-based quiz engine using ActionScript 3 in Adobe Flash CS4. We’ll start slowly today by figuring out what features we want to include and how those features will translate to the structure of the XML template we’ll eventually use to populate the Flash playback engine. So, to kick things off, let’s ask the obvious question: what do we want this thing to do?

In what has become something of a Macworld tradition, Roxio once again used the annual gathering of Apple faithful as the backdrop for the unveiling of version 10 of its stalwart Toast Titanium media management product. As in past years, more features have been added and the upgrade price is still terrible, but this year there's a new wrinkle. Let's dive in to see what's changed this time around.

In the spirit of the four year hiatus between versions (and accompanying uncertainty as to the dead/not dead status of the product), it's only fitting I let almost a year roll by between the announcement/release of Director 11 and finally getting around to reviewing it. In any event, Director is back from its long slumber, so let's take a look at what the eleventh release of the former king of the multimedia hill brings to the table.

Last summer I got curious. With the advent of Intel Macs, Boot Camp, and Universal builds of After Effects, for the first time it was possible to forget about all the Intel vs. PowerPC benchmarks that had been run to that point and effectively remove hardware from the equation, focusing solely on the OS and how well AE was tuned to it. XP took the prize back then, but I'm curious again, and with Mac OS X Leopard, 64-bit Vista, and After Effects CS4 at my disposal, it's time to find out where things stand today.

I have a confession to make: while I covered the initial announcement of Adobe Fireworks CS3 in the spring of last year, I never followed up with a full review. Why? Because, frankly, there wasn't much to it. It seemed like a quick port, done under duress and ultimately boasting only a thimbleful of largely forgettable features, not to mention the seemingly halfhearted attempt to give Fireworks a new purpose as a prototyping tool. The good news is that the situation couldn't be more different with the latest version of the former Macromedia stalwart, so let us count the ways.

It only took the better part of a decade, but Dreamweaver CS4 finally adds enough features and enhancements to earn a reprieve from what I thought would be the inevitable call to nuke it from orbit. And while it doesn't get all the way to where I'd personally like to see the product, Dreamweaver CS4 seems to have reversed its slow (and sad) decline, and for the first time in a very, very long time, I've come to like where things are going.

I have bad news for those out there who were expecting Flash CS4 to, well, suck: It doesn't. Far from it. Adobe certainly seems to have responded to the pressure of having viable Flash competition by delivering a polished upgrade that is chock full of thoughtful improvements and useful new features. So despite the fact that I've spoiled the ending, I hope you'll come along as we explore the latest and greatest in the most recent release of the Flash authoring tool.

It's almost hard to believe that Photoshop has been around for close to two decades, and to say that it has come a long way from its humble beginnings would be something of an understatement. It's also similarly hard to believe that Photoshop CS3 was only released last year, so what does the CS4 version (11.0 for those keeping track of traditional version numbers), which is now shipping only a scant 18 months later, bring to the table? Let's dive in and find out.

Such is the nature of the upgrade cycle: just as creative types were getting used to the CS3 line, Adobe goes and announces CS4. And while you've likely seen myriad press releases and first looks and other introductory stuff by now, here are a few "below the fold" observations based on the the experiences I've had with the CS4 betas over the last several weeks.

Naturally, questions are going to be raised when any software product takes a four-year hiatus, especially when the program in question happens to be a stalwart multimedia veteran like Director, the eleventh version of which was finally released several months back. Enter Adobe's Director Evangelist, Allen Partridge. Allen started out in design, but eventually dove headfirst into Director programming, giving him a unique perspective of the product from several different angles. Allen was kind enough to sit down recently for a candid discussion on where Director has been, is now, and where it may be going.