But don't worry-you don't need to get Fireworks to do simple animated GIFs since the ImageReady frame-based animation palette is incorporated into Photoshop CS3 Standard. Adobe has axed it completely and has instead replaced it with Fireworks CS3, which is sold in a separate web suite package or as a standalone program. You'll notice what's not mentioned there: ImageReady. Don't worry though-all of the Photoshop CS2 features are in still the standard edition and both include Bridge CS3.
But CS3 isn't just a small update-it's chock full of enough new stuff that's Adobe feels it's now worth branching out into two different versions: Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended. Well, it has arrived-probably the most-anticipated program for Intel Macs has made its way to Apple's newest CPU platform, and you can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from Mac users (it's only slightly louder than the mumbles of "don't do this to us again" from Adobe). Price: Photoshop CS3: $649 (upgrade from Photoshop 7, CS, or CS2: $199) Photoshop CS3 Extended: $999 (upgrade from Photoshop 7, CS, or CS2: $349) - shop for Photoshop CS3
Most graphic designers feel comfortable working with Adobe CS3 because it is created for the designers to add automatic layer alignment, superb blending, and other valuable features of photo editing.
It needs PowerPC G4, G5 processors, and even the multi-core Mac OS X computers formed as Intel processors for the Mac users.
And for the Windows PC users, it needs at least a Pentium 4, Pentium M, or Pentium-based Xeon central processing unit to run Photoshop CS3.