"I was thinking about the upgrade to Photoshop CS. What do you think
of the new version?"

I am more impressed with the Photoshop CS upgrade (PS7 to PSCS) than
the PS7 upgrade (PS6 to PS7). I didn't necessarily recommend PS7, but
recommend PSCS. If you are on any version prior, there is enough in
the upgrade to justify making the change -- if you are a serious
user. You can get it on Amazon:

Full License:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DBOAX/newwriting/
Upgrade:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DBOBZ/newwriting/

There are many more features that make a difference for the
professional. The ability to use 16 bit in much broader
circumstances, log tracking for what steps you take with an image,
large file support (up to 300,000 x 300,000 pixels), inclusion of the
camera RAW plug-in, nested layers sets (up to 5 levels), and
conditional actions and SWF saves for Image Ready. Some of these may
be too specific for general users, but they may be indispensable for
professionals with access to equipment powerful enough to make use of
these features.

Several items are more useful for the general user, like healing to a
layer, text on or in a path, the Filter Gallery and customized
shortcuts.

*Healing to a layer gives the user more opportunity and flexibility
to use the healing results less casually and potentially
destructively, and so the user can manipulate the result after the
fact.

*Text on a path has always been a sore point for users who creatively
use text in their images and had to turn to Illustrator to do the
job.

*The Filter Gallery is finally a way to implement filters creatively
as they should be used: in sets. You can rarely get an interesting
and desirable creative effect applying Filters one at a time, and
this enhancement makes grouping possible.

*With customized shortcuts, gone are the days when you have to
research out a shortcut that you knew you used once...and you get a
new productivity boost by keying in your own without having to create
separate actions and use F keys. Not only do you have access to the
shortcut listing from within Photoshop, and a very well presented
interface for changing shortcuts, but you can print them all out. You
can copy that shortcut file and take it with you to propagate on
other machines, and customize personal sets for multiple users on any
machine.

For newer users, the possibility of adding content to the Help menu
will probably be a huge boon. Many experts will be interested in
providing quality information— probably for free — to include on the
menu.

I don't see a lot of negatives except what might have been sadly over-
looked in broadening the implementation of enhancements. However,
Adobe needs something to keep you wishing for...

For a broader perspective there is a review of what the experts think
on: http://bermangraphics.com/press/photoshopcs.htm

For many more casual users, Elements will be the ticket -- despite
the attractive upgrade packages for Photoshop. Elements can do quite
a lot and is often the best value for home users and more casual
hobbyists. Elements users can get some free tools here:
http://hiddenelements.com

Hope that helps!

Richard Lynch