http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/main.html

The Adobe® Creative Suite is an integrated design environment that combines full versions of Adobe's latest creative tools with innovative file-management features, a smooth Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) workflow, and comprehensive design resources to let you create and publish content for print and the Web faster and easier than ever before.

Now all I need to do is, uuhhhhhh, sell my car.

lol, yeah the price is a little absurd.

Just a little bit -- Especially for a relatively new small business... Geez!

Maybe another reason why Macromedia kicks so much royal butt!

Hrmmm. Studio MX 2004 ain't that cheap, bucko. But the upgrade prices are a little better. Another thing -- I bought both suites through an educational discount, and only Adobe lets you upgrade as though you purchased a full price product. Macromedia's upgrade is a miserly discount.

Long live both. I couldn't do my print stuff without Adobe, web stuff without Macromedia. And we won't talk about Quark. Ever.

Anyone interested in purchasing a Kidney? Maybe my first born child? LOL, Crazy software prices!
Thank god for friends, I usually get most of the Adobe stuff at a price that I can't mention (or I would have to kill you all!).
Looks like a cool program though, give it a year and it will be reasonably priced, or like ebenson said the educational version is almost exactly the same as the original and is much cheaper.

Standard Disclaimer here, though. Educational versions are not to be used for commercial work.

I don't want to get in trouble with people at Adobe or Macromedia.

I love you, baby.

true, good catch ebenson, I don't feel like getting in trouble either for making the suggestion. buy commercial versions

Keep in mind though that both companies offer corporate discounts, particularly if you're purchasing in volume.

In a nutshell:

Macromedia MX 2004 Studio
Full version: $900.00
Upgrade: $400.00

Adobe Creative Suite
Full Version: $1230.00 (Gasp)
Upgrade: $550.00 (Gasp again!)

The key here is 'upgrade'. See if you can ebay an earlier version for a couple hundred dollars and then purchase the upgrade. You may also be able to save some dollars by purchasing the software through a 3rd party vendor, which is who Macromedia and Adobe want you to buy their software from. Keep in mind their prices are higher to push you to their dealers. You can find third party vendors by using tools such as:
http://www.pricewatch.com
http://www.mysimon.com

Also, these companies have trials for a reason. They know you're not made of gold and want you to purchase their software, use their 30 day trials... uninstalling and reinstalling if necessary. During that time, SAVE! You should be able to pickup and start using an earlier version for cheap and then purchase the upgrade later. Remember, in most cases you CAN pile upgrade upon upgrade, as long as you upgrade with every version. Skipping a generation of upgrades usually does not work.

Buying business software is always a big deal and it takes planning. Plan right and you should be able to get the software you need without any problems. Hope this helps.

I know, both lines are so pricey! I love both Adobe and Macromedia, but a new update like every 8 months is very hard to keep up with, and even updates are expensive.