Adobe Photoshop CS3 [Mac] [OLD VERSION]

I'm not going to attempt to give an extensive review because I'm not a power user. However, if you are considering using Photoshop for the first time, and you can get past the high price, and you have some time to invest in learning it, and a lot of time to invest using it...it's an amazing piece of software. I just do occasional nick nac graphics work and I can't live without it. Ive been using Photoshop for about 10 years and probably don't use 20% of it's power or features, but it is indispensable. I use it to create web graphics and save, touch up and modify all kinds of graphic files. The best thing about Photoshop is that you work in layers and can save and view any number of layer combinations which keeps your graphic alive and oh so usable. If you're even considering paying the high price for this AND you are going to actually use it, go ahead and buy it. You will never regret owning Photoshop.

This was what has become typical of large software companies. The installation kit was one disk but after a long time of seeming to be installing, it asked for another disk that wasn't in the package. I suppose I was expected to hunt it down on the web and download it, burn it and then continue, but for that price it can go look for it itself. Adobe has fallen a long, long way. I ended up returning it for a refund.

Having grown up with Photoshop from 4.0, Photoshop has certainly grown up with me! CS is perfect, although it takes some getting used to if you're used to 7, but once you adjust, you'll love the new features. Plus, if you get stuck, the help menu contains plenty of walk-through video tutorials.

It's almost pointless to review Photoshop: If you need a high-end photo editor, there's really no competition to it. That being said, I'm very happy with CS3: it runs quickly on my Intel Macintosh (no lag, as someone else has pointed out), has all the features I could want, and is robust enough that I'm always learning new ways to use it.

Don't buy CS3! The only major refinement is the integration of Image Ready. But you'll pay a huge price in the constant nagging for the software to be activated & reactivated. After 3 weeks of this I uninstalled it and sent it back to Amazon for a refund. I'm back to CS (version 1) and it works just fine without the activation headaches. And I've got $200 back in my pocket from the upgrade. Please vote NO with your dollars by telling vendors this kind of annoying copy protection will not be tolerated. What Adobe needs is a competitor to Photoshop. How about it Apple?