Customer Reviews

Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Master Collection Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

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The Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Master Collection is a significant package upgrade for anyone upgrading from a previous version of the Adobe Creative Suite. I personally upgraded from Adobe CS2 Standard and Macromedia Studio 8, and both sets of programs (Adobe's and Macromedia's) have been significantly updated in this upgrade. Most of the new features you can find out about elsewhere, so I'll focus this review on two intangibles: installation and Adobe customer service.

First, installation is nearly entirely automated. CS3 detected my previous software (which was already on the system) and didn't need to ask for any of the licensing information for those products. However, it does NOT automatically uninstall former editions of the software.

The CS3 installer also automatically detects your system specifications and will not install any software which will not run on your system. It also provides the reason(s) why this is the case.

Perhaps the worst part about the installation is the length of time it takes. Between each step in the beginning process (system specification detection, program selection, etc.) the installer will pause, sometimes for a significant amount of time (likely dependent upon system resources). This appears to be normal, and given enough time the installer continues. The actual install process takes a long time (I didn't install all of the products, and still took more than an hour). It also requires that you manually feed the DVDs in sequence (there are about four or five; the length of time the discs stay in the drive probably vary dependent upon the products you install--this does not include additional content, like templates).

One other thing to keep in mind is that Adobe seems to be having some struggles with their internal systems. I originally attempted to purchase the product from Adobe itself, and it took weeks for them to complete my order (I canceled it after two-three weeks and it hadn't shipped). Adobe Customer Service is generally good, but they occasionally give different answers depending on if one is dealing with online support or telephone support. I rarely have had a technical problem with CS2 or CS3, so I don't know how they are at resolving technical issues on a more frequent basis. If you purchase from Amazon you'll escape most of the problems I've had with Adobe itself.

Conclusion:
Excellent software and excellent upgrade even from the most recent version of the products. Just be sure to budget enough time to install the products you need. And make sure to purchase from Amazon instead of Adobe directly--you'll avoid a whole lot of headache.