They really should take the WinME out of the platforms on which it will run. You can do it, but have to tinker with your OS instead of just installing it. For best results, get Win98, 2000, or XP PRO. XP Home falls into the same class as WinME.

So far, this seems like a must have tool for creating dynamic sites. Macromedia makes awesome stuff. If you want to add more life to your website(s) this is a great tool to get started with!

"Easy to use! A good tool for Web Dev!", Ultra Dev 4 was my attempt @ Web Development & ASP. I must say that this product was easy to learn & a lot of fun to work with. It will take an investment of your time to learn how to fully utilize this application. I am into my 2nd year of using this product and it still learning a ton about VB (Visual Basic) and ASP. Ultra Dev 4 is a neat way to get a web solution up in a hurry. I strongly suggest ordering a book or two to assist you with your project as well as having the hardware to run this application effectively. (256k Ram or more)

"would have been 5 stars, but...", I would have given this product 5 stars except that it came with Dreamweaver 3 instead of 4, but no where in the advertising does it tell that part. With it being Ultr Dev 4 one just assumes that Dreamweaver will be 4 also. Then one is offered to "upgrade" to Dreamweaver 4 for only another $199, I felt a little ripped off. But I do find the software easy to use.

"Not Particularly Good for Anything", Dreamweaver may seem like a novice's dream come true, but it's quite the opposite. For one thing, not only does it create messy, convoluted code; it creates code that does not conform to the HTML standard! It doesn't even insert a DOCTYPE declaration, a *must* even if the rest of the HTML is not entirely correct.

If all you're doing is a quick, simple page, the HTML required can be learned in the 5 minutes it takes to get used to this program. Or, if you are designing anything more, you will run into its limitations and bloated code very quickly.

"The absolute be-all and end-all of HTML web design software.", This is it. People who have been using it for years know it, and people who are just discovering it are realizing: Dreamweaver is in a class by itself. Version 4 is the best yet, much better than it needed to be considering there wasn't any competition as it was. From beginning web-designer to experienced coder, this is one POWERFUL program. Combine it with Fireworks 4 (Macromedia's much better version of Adobe's Image Ready) and you haved it all.

Dreamweaver allows you to: -meticulously organize your sites, make master templates for page uniformity, use Cascading Style Sheets to easily customize and format various page elements, the ability to convert the CSS atributes to HTML tags for use in older browsers, update entire sites with one click, view your page in html code view OR wysiwyg OR at the SAME TIME (you can drag open a table let's say and watch the code get written like x-ray vision, OR, conversely, edit the underlying code while watching the effect on your page in front of your eyes), covert tables to layers and back again, edit graphics in Fireworks without having to enter Fireworks and re-export your work (a VERY VERY VERY timesaving feature), insert frames, tables, Flash buttons, rollovers, swap images, and other JavaScript behaviors with a simple "drag and drop".

Dreamweaver will automatically clean up messy HTML (deleting extra font tags for instance) as well as debug JavaScript behaviors. The code that version 4 writes is MUCH cleaner than version 3, and any ...programmsers have TOTAL access to the code to customize it how they see fit. You can preview your work in as many browsers as you have on your computer, and then FTP to your server right from Dreamweaver in the best FTP interface on the market. Dreamweaver automatically keeps track of all updates to any page or graphic and asks you if you would like to update other pages. For sites that will be worked on by a team there are many features to organize the work flow such as "Check In/Check Out" that keeps track of who did what to what part of the site as well as leave comments for other parts of the team. There really are too many features to list here.

Fireworks 4 has a new "button editor" that makes it ridiculously easy to generate rollover buttons or the currently trendy "dropdown menus". I personally don't like them, but they are there to use. Included are a bunch of really useful effects such as bevel and glow. The best part about this program is that vector graphics REMAIN as editable vector graphics EVEN AFTER YOU APPLY EFFECTS. You don't have to permanently convert your graphic to a bitmap first. This alone is worth the whole program. You can also set the program to use all your Photoshop plug-ins (although using SOME of them DO require you to do the evil conversion from editable vector to bitmap). Fireworks also feature "selective" JPEG compression for optimizing certain parts of the SAME image with a different JPEG compression setting (let's say 30% for a background and 70% for a detailed foreground). What other program does that? Fireworks is also THE animated GIF software. You can make them as many frames as you want as well as set the duration of each frame. Overall I think that Fireworks 4 is not as totally developed as Dreamweaver 4 is, but it does what it is supposed to do, and works flawlessly with Dreamweaver.

I can't even tell you how easy they have made it to produce 100% professional sites. The bottom line is: this package is the ABSOLUTE best web development software in existence. There is no equal. And for all you hand-coders who swear by BB-Edit or "anti-WYSIWYG" programs, you CAN entirely hand-code in Dreamweaver too. Just use code view. There is no reason to not use this program. Once you do, you will NEVER use anything else. You'll see.

Even though I am only webmastering a website about my family--Dreamweaver 4, Fireworks 4, Flash 5 and Freehand 9 have made my site look better than the other personal pages that I encounter on Netscape and Geocities. You can do much without being an HTML pro or web design professional, and the browser preview check is always a hepful feature--I have to worry about IE and Netscape functionality. Fireworks 4 allowed me to create cycling gif banners for my site--with a little Javascript code.

The programs are easy to learn--even if you have never used Dreamweaver or Fireworks (in that case buy the full package not the upgrade)--by just reading the instruction manuals and playing with around the tutorials. I recommend Dreamweaver 3 and 4 over other WYSIWYG editors, especially FrontPage, and for non-Adobe types it's the best out there. I am a non-Adobe type because the software packages are nutty-priced--even with my educational discount the price of the full suite package equals that of a year's tuition study at a small state college.

"Great HTML Editor Plus so much more", With program that so fluidly integrates with both Flash and Fireworks, a great looking website is a snap. The object libraries make it easy to create complex effects, and the javascript support is superb. If you have been using other editors like FrontPage, step up to what the pros use and what the rest of the industry uses. The online support is great and the program itself is eas to learn and takes almost no time to master.

"The Best Program For Web Development", I am a owner of a web design firm. I use this program daily and love it. I have tried many other programs and they just don't compare. It lets you do so much more than any other web program I have tried. I recommend it to all people who want a good looking web site and a site that works. Very easy to use! - Great for someone just starting out or a professional web designer.

"Enough new features to be worth the upgrade", The DW/FW 4 Studio upgrade is well worth the price. Dreamweaver seems to have gotten the lion's share of the new and exciting features which takes this WYSIWYG editor to a new high. The latest version:

- Allows you to create flash buttons and text banners from DW. A very nice feature which is easy to use and, in the case of the buttons, has enough variety for any style of site. The only downer is lack of access to .fla files for the buttons which makes producing a non-flash graphic a little harder than it needs to be.

- Has a (finally!) good raw code editor built in. Many Dreamweaver users are accustomed to flipping over to Homesite if one needed to edit raw HTML. While having Homesite around is still a good idea, Dreamweaver 4 now features a really good integrated code editor (no more popping open another window) and a split WYSIWYG/code screen. Additionally, a HTML code reference is now available.

- An Asset Manager now tracks all types of web media, making it easier to keep track of what goes where.

- Integration of the Extension Manager, which allows you to download and install all of the additional features written by Dreamweaver users to make life easier.

Fireworks still works pretty much the same way, but the integration with Dreamweaver has been improved. Adding behaviors to slices and hotspots is marginally easier, but not overly so.

"Macromedia is earning their place in corporate America.", With more and more businesses turning to the powerful capacities of web-based data-active solutions, B2B development is growing where dot coms have failed. With fundamental developments occuring in how businesses manage their data, new challenges arise to corporate developers and webmasters in how they can rapidly deliver integrated solutions for their companies. Macromedia's Dreamweaver UltraDev 4.0, Fireworks 4.0 bundle is a powerful solution for the needs of a rapid application web development environment and high-impact web graphics tools.

Dreamweaver UltraDev 4.0 enhances features of the first version of UltraDev, coupling in new levels of integration with existing Macromedia development tools, while capitalizing on the need for data-active development. Adding objects, such as flash components, with ODBC connectivity to data-active functions is a matter of a few simple clicks of the mouse and defining the variables.

The only complaint I have is that the text editor functions of UltraDev are pretty simplistic, with little extra functionality to tap into into features available only in the graphical design mode of the program. As a die-hard text-editor fanatic myself, I find the lack of utilities available in the text editing interface a bit lacking. Overall though, Dreamweaver UltraDev 4.0 still shaves hours off of concept development time and days off of project time.

Simple to use for the beginner, yet powerful enough to speed-up development in a professional environment, UltraDev4.0 is rapidly earning a solid foot-hold in the office and a permanent place in my development toolbox.

Fireworks 4.0 builds upon Macromedia's powerful Fireworks graphics suite. Highly integratable with virtually all web graphics tools, Fireworks has been a long-standing champion of rapid vector-based graphics engines. From designing complex image-mapping to developing vector-based logos, Fireworks 4.0 is a capable tool.

As with any program, both Dreamweaver UltraDev 4.0 and Fireworks 4.0 can be intimidating for the average beginner, with such a vast ammount of functions, the new user can find themself lost and wondering where to begin. As with all Macromedia products, the tutorials and help-files are the best in their class. With easy to follow, step-by-step tutorials, a beginner will find that in a matter of just a short period of time, Dreamweaver UltrDev 4.0 and Fireworks 4.0 will have greatly empowered their designs and opened new opportunities for creative functionality. Give this product a try. You will be amazed at the results.