The big news about both versions is that Photoshop is now a Universal Binary application that will run natively both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs (as well as Microsoft Windows XP /Windows Vista). That means speed boosts, which will, hopefully, mean sales boosts for Apple's pro systems (the MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro). But even if you don't require the extra oomph, the new versions contain some nifty new features, such as Smart Filters (more on those in a moment).

For example, the interface has been spruced up. It's more attractive and better organized (though it was hardly ugly and messy before) thanks to, among other things, resizable palette buttons with pop-out abilities. You can shrink the buttons to a small size. You can "tear off" the palettes and place them where you wish on your screen. And you can set them in either one or two column views.

The revamped interface also simplifies the use of palettes. For example, to switch layers, click a palette's tiny icon, and -- voila! -- the full palette pops open. Click the layer you want, then click back to your image, and the palette automatically closes. With Photoshop CS3's new Quick Selection tool, selecting the portions of your image to act on is easier as well. Instead of holding down the Shift key to add to your selection, just click the areas of the image you want.

The Refine Edge tool is another nice addition. Make a selection and you can adjust its radius, contrast, and smoothness by using the tool's sliders. It's an easy way to remove rough edges and unnecessary pixels.

Black and white conversion has been simplified thanks to a new Black and White Adjustment command (that aids you in remapping the colors in your image to monochrome) and enhancements to the Channel Mixer.

Also nifty is the Sources palette, which lets you set offsets for the source in Clone Stamp procedures, as well as save up to four sources for the Clone Stamp tool, for easy switching back and forth. There's also a new Stacks feature for grouping photos, and the ability to import data into the Bridge from digital cameras.

Okay, now about those Smart Filters, which apply the traditional Filters at render, rather than on the bitmap, resulting in nondestructive, re-editable effects. In other words, they're non-destructive and remain live and re-editable at all times. This means you can go nuts with different filter combinations and settings without having to back up your original images.

You can now export images for Zoomify, which deconstructs images into smaller tiles and creates a small Flash movie that you can embed into a Web page, effectively allowing you to zoom in on larger images. And the automatic Photomerge will certainly appeal to panorama constructors.

What's more, Photoshop CS3 sports new features for advanced compositing. For example, designers can automatically align multiple Photoshop layers or images based on similar content. The Auto-align Layers command analyzes details and moves, rotates or warps layers to align them, and the Auto-blend Layers command blends the color and the shading to create a smooth, editable result. With the latest version of Camera Raw, photographers can process raw images faster and have support for over 150 raw formats, JPEG and TIFF files, compatibility with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, and new tools such as Fill Light and Dust Busting.

Photoshop CS3 Extended software includes everything in Photoshop CS3, plus additional specialized features such as support for 3-D and video workflows, animation and in-depth image analysis. With support for 3-D formats, creatives can render and incorporate 3-D content into their 2-D compositions, including texture editing on 3-D models.

Using the Enhanced Vanishing Point, designers can measure in perspective and also export from Enhanced Vanishing Point to a 3-D model. For video post-production, Photoshop CS3 Extended now includes video-format and layer support to edit video files frame by frame. The resulting video can then be exported to a variety of formats, including Flash. The Measurement Log palette calculates a range of values within an image, the Scale Marker adds a scale graphic to any image, and the new Count tool tallies features in an image by clicking on them. All these features sound good, but our evaluation was done with Photoshop CS 3 Standard.

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Admittedly, some of the Photoshop CS3 Extended features are for specialized applications and will only appeal to certain users. But the Standard version certainly has enough improvements to appeal to the rest of us Photoshoppers. Of course, both versions are overkill for many users; if your image editing needs aren't hardcore, check out the excellent Adobe Photo Elements. It has a much easier learning curve.

But if you work with complex images, or simply want every image manipulation bell and whistle imaginable, Photoshop CS3 will make your day.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended will begin shipping next month to customers in the U.S. and Canada, and will be available through Adobe Authorized Resellers and the [url=http://www.adobe.com]Adobe Store[/url]. The estimated street price for Adobe Photoshop CS3 is US$649 and $999 for Photoshop CS3 Extended. Upgrade pricing is available. Photoshop CS3 can also be purchased as part of the [url=http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/adobe_unleashes_creative_suite_3_product_line]Creative Suite 3 bundles[/url].

Macsimum rating: 9 out of 10