As is true for any software, how it performs on any given computer is contingent on a variety of factors. However, some applications are bigger resource hogs than others and take a considerable amount of time to load (Sony Vegas 9 comes to mind). That said, Dreamweaver CS5 won't bog down many systems. Of course, if you are running Dreamweaver using a Pentium 4 with 1 GB of RAM (the minimum system requirements are P4 and 512mb for windows), then it will take considerably longer to load up than someone using a Quad-core with 6 GB of RAM. Same goes for a Mac, although for the purposes of this review, Dreamweaver was tested on a Windows machine. That said, Dreamweaver ran like, well, it ran like a dream on my system running Windows 7 with a 3.0 GHz Quad-core with 6 GB of RAM. The application loads in seconds, and in the month or so I've been using it, it hasn't crashed once.
Since most of you reading this are, I assume, on a micro-budget, it stands to reason that the price tag on Dreamweaver represents a sizeable investment. Even if you have a previous version and are considering the upgrade, it might seem hard to justify the extra expense. Of course, since value is primarily subjective, I'll have to say that, for what it does, Dreamweaver is definitely worth the price tag. With the extra features and user-friendly functionality, developers can rest-assured they are getting what they've paid for. The content management system features and new CSS controls alone make this a tool worth buying.
But for those with little interest in web development beyond their immediate need for a web site, it might be harder to justify spending several hundred bucks on something that will get minimal use. Likewise, if you are someone who really enjoys hand-coding and developing sites the "old-fashioned" way, well, then you'll have little use for this or any other development tool. However, if you are in the market for something that will help expedite your development time, then you really can't go wrong with Dreamweaver CS5. After all, from a developer's perspective, anything that can improve your workflow and save you countless hours of frustration is definitely worth it.
In the world of microfilmmaking, marketing is usually one of the last considerations. It's a given your film will need a website to help promote it. The question becomes: how will you develop the site that best represents you and your film? If you have the development skills, or are willing to learn, Dreamweaver is an effective, robust tool that will help you create and customize a dynamic site that you can use as a powerful marketing piece to help promote your film. However, if you aren't interested in learning a relatively complex application, or have someone who's willing to do it for you, you might find Dreamweaver's price tag a deal breaker.
