Acrobat.com
When using CS Live, Acrobat.com provides the online workspace where you can upload your CS Review image files and share them with a customer or members of your team. Other options on the site are a PDF creator, an online presentation development tool, private online meeting rooms which give you the ability to share the contents of your screen with others.
Performance
CS Live's services work relatively well. Adobe Story works great if you’re using IE and Firefox. But if you prefer Chrome (like me) or some other less-common browser as your default, and then you try accessing Story, you’ll get a “browser not supported” message. You’ll then have the option of clicking a link that reads “Start Adobe Story with an unsupported browser.” Story then opens in Chrome, and after bookmarking the page, you can bypass this error message in the future. I should note that Adobe claims Story works fine in Chrome version 6 (I’m running 6.0.4), and a quick review seems to validate this; however, I’d recommend removing this error page if Chrome is fully supported as it gives the impression there could be potential problems.
BrowserLab and CS Review work as designed. Neither crashed any browsers, and both seemed to work with all browsers I tested them in, including Chrome and Opera. SiteCatalyst® Net Averages proved very useful as a way to gauge user habits and Internet trends. After logging in, the interface functioned perfectly. It uses Flash player, so make sure you've downloaded the latest version before accessing this service; otherwise, it won't load properly.
Acrobat.com is an easy to navigate site. Of course, its main use as it pertains to CS Live is using its shared workspaces to view uploaded image files from CS Review. However, even if you're interested in using it as a way to create PDFs or set up a meeting online it offers these services hassle free. However, it's important to note that you are limited to only a certain number of workspaces, PDFs and some other minor limitations with a free account. This is a little confusing since Adobe is including Acrobat.com as part of the complimentary CS Live service.
Adobe Story provides users with a comprehensive online
collaboration
tool that you can use from pre- to post-production
Value
Considering it’s a complimentary 12-month subscription if you sign up before April 30, 2011, why wouldn’t you give CS Live a try? After that date, however, the subscription will cost you anywhere from $19.99-$39.99 per month, or $199-$299 per year (prices in US dollars). Adobe hasn’t settled on an exact amount, but I think some will be hard pressed to invest this amount unless some of the earlier mentioned kinks have been worked out.
Another issue that needs clarification is whether or not you'll need to pay for an Acrobat.com account separately or if it'll be included in the CS Live subscription fee. As it stands now, there are certain limitations with using Acrobat.com that the other services don't have. For example, you can only add more than one workspace by upgrading to a premium account. So, will the CS Live subscription cover all services, including Acrobat.com, or will access to the site require its own monthly payment? If that’s the case, be prepared to shell out an additional $14.99 per month ($149 per year) for the Basic plan, or $39.99 per month ($399 per year) for the Pro plan. Adobe Story, CS Review, and BrowserLab are definitely worth the eventual subscription price, if you’ll use them. For busy film and video professionals, Story and the way it integrates with Adobe Production Premium CS5 could potentially save you hundreds of hours in production and post-production time. This should definitely be a consideration for anyone using any of the CS5 products as part of their workflow
Final Comments For hobbyists, the CS Live Online Services are overkill, but for busy, working media professionals there's a lot to like here. All the apps in CS Live, save Acrobat.com, are still relatively new and will hopefully improve as Adobe adds new features .I was impressed with the wide range of options CS Live provides. This was especially true with CS Review and Adobe Story. I'm not sure what price point Adobe will settle on (although, the current Acrobat.com subscription rates seem like a pretty obvious hint), but just by using the metadata embedded in your Adobe Story script across Production Premium CS5 the time you save would be more than worth it. Of course, with a 12-month free subscription how can you go wrong? So, give CS Live a try. If you like what you see, then start socking away those pennies now...
Ease
of Use
9.0
Depth
of Options
10.0
Performance
8.0
Value
vs. Cost
9.0
Overall Score
9.0
Joel G. Robertsonco-wrote and directed the feature The Whole Town Is Sleeping and has made numerous shorts, including Shadows of the Dead, a winner of Fangoria's First Blood Drive competition. He also runs the site Forgotten Flix, which is dedicated to championing movies, both old and new, that deserve more attention.
