Adobe InDesign CS4
Buy Adobe InDesign CS4
Price: $99
InDesign CS4 is the sixth version Adobe has released since the application was born about ten years. That equals a new version of InDesign every 20 months on average, an aggressive update schedule that's hard for many users to maintain. To upgrade or not becomes a complicated decision based on your finances, the type of projects you create, and the technology you have in place. Depending on your mix of variables, InDesign CS4 itself may not convince you that it’s time to shell out more cash to Adobe. But in context with the other Creative Suite applications, InDesign CS4 is certainly worth serious consideration. And if you spend a lot of time on longer documents or interactive documents, InDesign CS4 is also worth a look even if you don't use other applications in the suite. But look only if you’ve got pretty powerful hardware. CS4 requires a PowerPC G5 or multi-core Intel processor Mac -- it won’t install on a G4 Mac. On Windows, you’ll need a minimum 1.5GHz or faster processor running XP (with Service Pack 2) or Vista (Home Premium or better).
The latest release of Adobe InDesign, the print and online publishing powerhouse, packs terrific new features. For example, users whose efforts appear on paper will be thrilled to find that with InDesign CS4 ($699 direct) they can create precisely balanced designs with drag-and-drop ease. And if your work ends up on the Web, you'll love that InDesign lets you create interactive Flash documents that retain the original layouts. Not every user will need every feature, but my testing in Microsoft Windows Vista and Macintosh OS X Leopard (where a vast amount of desktop publishing gets done) convinced me that you'll find enough useful additions and improvements to make this a worthwhile purchase.
Now, InDesign CS4 has Conditional Text and Cross References, not to mention Smart Guides, GREP nested styles within paragraph styles, and a whole lot more. If you use InDesign, this is one of the best upgrades in many years."