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Think Secret is reporting that Adobe is working hard to release Creative Suite 3 before the end of year. Adobe is also receiving significant help from Apple to get the software package into customer hands this year. For Mac users, Creative Suite 3’s will have native support for Apple’s new Intel-based systems. The new Creative Suite, code-named Banana Split, will pack new versions of Adobe’s flagship applications and will require Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, although sources have suggested Adobe may also be taking advantage of features built-in to the yet unannounced Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Adobe is leaning towards releasing two versions of the software, with the Premium edition packing additional functionality geared towards the video and science markets. Both versions will offer Live Filters, providing non-destructive editing, as well as speed enhancements that will take advantage of video card (GPU) acceleration, Camera RAW 4, and Rotating Canvas. Video I/O and rotoscoping tools will remain exclusive to the Premium versions. The new version of Photoshop is also said to feature an InDesign-like interface with similar palettes and an all-new scriptable graphics and programming engine.

Illustrator CS3, code-named Jason (a play on the Friday the 13th movie franchise, as Illustrator CS3 will mark the thirteenth version of the software), will mark a return to Illustrator 8-like performance levels, or so Adobe is hoping. The software will feature video setups like Photoshop currently does, as well as an eraser that mimics the behavior of the equivalent Photoshop tool. A new Live Color palette will function as a color picker on steroids, automatically selecting complement colors and creating an appropriate palette when a user selects just a single color. Sources also report Adobe is spending a significant amount of effort enhancing the software’s integration and compatibility with Flash, which Adobe gained control of after its purchase of Macromedia.

Details surrounding Adobe Acrobat 8, code-named Atlas, and InDesign CS3, code-named Cobalt, are more sparse at this time.

Read [Think Secret]