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.