CS4 vs. CS4 Extended
Creative Suite 4 and Creative Suite 4 Extended (also more commonly known as CS4 and CS4 Extended, respectively) are both part of the Adobe Creative Suite. It is a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications created by Adobe Systems. The entire suite includes Adobe’s applications (such as PhotoShop, Acrobat and InDesign), which are based on various technologies (such as PostScript, PDF and Flash, respectively).
CS4 has the same features and the same applications as its predecessors. However, CS4 applications feature a new tabbed interface for working with concurrently running Adobe CS4 programs. This allows multiple applications to be opened inside multiple tabs contained in a single window. NVIDIA CUDA technology is currently available through third party Plugins – which will accelerate H.264 video encoding. CS4 has been designed to be able to perform better under 64 bit and multi-core processors. When run on the Windows platform, CS4 runs natively as a 64 bit application; however, CS4 is not natively a 64 bit application. That being said, Adobe Effects CS4 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 have been optimized for 64 bit computers. Unfortunately, no such optimization is available for Adobe applications on Max OS X.
CS4 Extended is just as its name implies – an extended edition of the CS4 application. It contains an even wider range of features and functions that are not currently available on the Standard Edition of CS4. Many of these features include being able to manipulate 2D and 3D images more extensively. The Standard Edition of CS4 has no features that make it possible to even manage or save 3D graphics, let alone convert them from 2D to 3D within the application. Along with the newer features available on CS4 Extended, the features that are available on CS4, Standard Edition are now enhanced. There are now easier ways to access video features – single key shortcuts – as well as scaling that is aware of the content being modified.
CS4, Standard Edition and Premium Edition are both intended for professional use by professional print, web, interactive and mobile designers. The difference between these two versions of CS4 is that the Premium Edition also includes PhotoShop CS4 Extended, Adobe Flash CS4 Professional and Adobe Dreamweaver CS4. There is a wide range of standalone products available for both the Standard and Professional Editions of CS4, many of which overlap – including Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional, Adobe Illustrator CS4 and Adobe InDesign CS4.
CS4 Extended includes work environment enhancements, including fluid canvas rotation, smoother panning and zooming, N-up and multiple document view, multi-touch support on Mac laptops, and profiles to support users who are colour blind. However, these extended and enhanced features come at a $500 increase to the CS4 Standard Edition, and no less than $400 to the CS4 Professional Edition.
Summary:
1. CS4 features a tabbed interface for working with concurrently running Adobe CS4 programs; CS4 Extended has new and enhanced features not found on CS4, SE.