Rating: 
Summary: Stable and powerful
Review: First, you should know that my perspective is not that of a coder - it's primarily of a designer (although sometimes I do dig into the code a bit).I've worked with a number of web development packages, including Frontpage, and have found the Dreamweaver series (Ultradev and now Dreamweaver MX) the absolute best choice for anyone serious about developing interactive web sites. It doesn't require any coding experience for many basic design/development goals (although of course the more complex your site is, the better it will be to work in the code). The software is extremely stable on Windows 2000, and easy enough to use within minutes of installation. I'm amazed at the power of the package - the advanced features take a while longer to learn, but leave you plenty of room to grow. Beyond the software itself, Macromedia has a very helpful exchange on its site which allows you to add to the functionality of MX by installing "extensions". These extensions extend the functionality of MX and make it even easier to add interactivity. Bottom line: Strongly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreamweaver MX 2004 - good for PHP, bad for people
Review: I am a big fan of Dreamweaver 4 and have been trying MX 2004 because my DW4 broke. All i can say is it's a great for writing PHP scripts and not much else. Once i switch to design view, i am confronted with stupid things like the cut and paste feature messesing with my code. If you Google the phrase "Dreamweaver 4 compatible editable regions", you'll find a hack useful in helping all who still stick to the old DW4 template syntex.
Rating:
Summary: Dreamweaver MX 2004 - good for PHP, bad for people
Review: I am a big fan of Dreamweaver 4 and have been trying MX 2004 because my DW4 broke. All i can say is it's a great for writing PHP scripts and not much else. Once i switch to design view, i am confronted with stupid things like the cut and paste feature messesing with my code. If you Google the phrase "Dreamweaver 4 compatible editable regions", you'll find a hack useful in helping all who still stick to the old DW4 template syntex.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful morass of overwhelming features
Review: I began editing HTML in 1997 with Dreamweaver 2. Shortly after that I swithced to Front Page, which was far more appropriate for the kind of web design I was interested in--the text content is far more important than the graphics and doohickeys. On the recommendation of various web developer friends of mine, I decided to buy and try Dreamweaver MX last June 2003. I am first and foremost a teacher. Web development is a useful tool for me, but not my main interest. I keep three very large Front Page based web sites (all three are in the 100-300 page size range, and very much text based). FP really made this easy for me. Dreamweaver MX is targeted at those who develop sophisticated sites with active content--databases, forms, cgi scripts, media (Flash/Shockwave). It you are that type of developer, then it is clear that Dreamweaver is an excellent choice. FP is just not up to handling that sort of complexity and flexibility. But, if you maintain large html based sites that require rapid expansion and reorganization features with a minimum of training, FP is lightyears ahead--easy to learn, extremely intuitive, transparent and very fast. I can see that if I had started with DW-MX and built it from there that things would have been easier. A big part of the problem is that Macromedia has not created effective support for making the switch, and their product is definitely not as self-explanatory as FP. Still, after a few hours I did figure out on my own most everything else that I needed to make use of the initially overwhelming displayed features. If you have some experience with HTML, it isn't that difficult to figure out. But it's definitely not a good choice for a beginner without some classroom training. It is an impressive package. But, here are the real downsides: If you depend on FP's shared borders and navigation bars and themes, and your site is bigger than ten or twenty pages, then migrating your web site will be an unbelievable nightmare. Expect to have your shared borders altered and no longer controllable. Your site will be locked the way it was when you converted it, and new pages will not integrate into the FP navigation structure. You'll have to rebuild your whole site structure from scratch.
Further, as near as I can tell after spending about 12 actual hours probing the manual, help and just plain pushing buttons, I cannot find any feature that is equivalent to the combination of FP's theme, shared border and navigation bar feature. I find this to be highly undesirable. Therefore, Front Page is the superior choice for the beginner, and for the more advanced developer who wants a really streamlined and quick way to create and maintain a large but basic site without having to learn what cgi, asp, php, cold fusion, ODBC, test servers, etc. are all about. Oh, and if you have Windows XP Home Edition, don't even bother, because Dreamweaver MX can't work properly without the server features included in the Professional Edition.
Rating:
Summary: Programming in .NET? Look no further...
Review: I couldn't stand the previous versions of Dreamweaver, and was a firm believer in Frontpage 2000. Dreamweaver just looked a lot more complicated than Frontpage and didn't seam to have any useful features. That's all changed with DreamweaverMX. I had to try Dreamweaver after the frustration I had with Frontpage 2000 and its inability to handle .NET aspx files (unless you specified as a text file, but then you might as well use Notepad). Take the following *essential* features Dreamweaver has over Frontpage: .Net pages
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Not only does DreamweaverMX handle .aspx pages, it has syntax highlighting for VB.Net and C#, with the ability to customize other languages. In the design view, you can even see .Net components such as a DataGrid, similar to WebMatrix. It's a shame Microsoft's own Frontpage can't even do that... *Powerful* site management
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Are you constantly going through the hassle of creating your pages, then opening your choice FTP program, search through the directories, and upload? All that is done for you with DreamweaverMX's powerful site management tools. After you have defined your site, anytime you edit your page, click the 'Put' icon, and it's uploaded to your server in the corresponding folder. Better yet, switch to 'Remote View', edit your page, save, and wham! Page is instantly updated online! The amount of time saved by skipping your FTP program starts to add up substantially. Want to prevent two people from editing the same page at the same time? The 'Check in/out' feature will solve that problem for you. Efficient Layout
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The first time I opened Dreamweaver, it looked too cluttered. But start using it after creating a few sites and you'll wonder how you did without the 'Properties' window.
Hint: Press CTRL+` to quickly switch between code and design view Flash
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Since Macromedia also created Flash, there is nice integration with Dreamweaver. You can even edit the site in design mode with your flash movie playing. Frontpage probably does that, but not nearly as good as DreamweaverMX. Clean Code
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No more ugly code and redundant tags left by Frontpage. Dreamweaver even takes out unnecessary tags (ie. having without < P>), leaving clean code. If you looked at the source you'd swear it was HTML coded by hand.There's a lot more to be said, but these were the features that immediately made me consider the migration from Frontpage to Dreamweaver. If you're a .Net developer, there is no other solution as powerful as this for design and code maintenance. Again, I loved Frontpage, but the fact it does not support its own .Net technology is a shame. I'm not sure if Frontpage 2002 handles .Net aspx files any better, but there is no point paying for the upgrade for a feature it should have had in the first place. If you're serious about web development, DreamweaverMX should be a serious consideration.
Rating:
Summary: The Total Package
Review: I did a website a long time ago. Then after a few years in graduate school where I didn't touch HTML at all I returned to Graphic and Web Design. I admit that I was REALLY hesitant to deal with HTML again. I had forgotten 90% of what I knew. I started using Dreamweaver and I have regained ALL of what I knew and I have learned SO much more! Anyone who thinks it is to hard to learn is not trying to learn it. It is a valuable tool and is head and shoulders above it's competitors.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth it..
Review: I don't own this product, but I have used it to (try to) make my website, and to tell you the truth, it's at best just as easy as using notepad and internet explorer. What you do in this program is type the code, and click on the bottom half to see progress as it happens; there are a few tools like frame maker that simplifies the process, but is also somewhat confusing. The folder management is a nuiscance (it makes its own folder and you have to put all the files into that). If I were you, therefore, I would keep my 200 bucks and spend it on something more useful.
Rating: 
Summary: Is Macromedia actually beginning to listen?
Review: I have never cared for Macromedia products, give me the corresponding Adobe product and I'm happy. However, Dreamweaver MX seems to indicate a new direction for Macromedia, its almost like they're listening to customer feedback for a change. For instance - Previously, Dreamweaver was plaqued by those sinister floating palletes. I was always having to move them out of the way to see anything I was doing (and I have a big-screen high-res monitor). With this release, on the other hand, one is given the option of how to configure the application: like dreamweaver 4, the new MX mode, and a Homesite model. Being an Allaire Homesite handcoder from way back I chose the latter and this has made all the difference in the world. The addition of the the open source PHP/MySQL combination for site backends is also greatly appreciated, and once again indicates a Macromedia more responsive to customer needs. This new version of Dreamweaver ships with its very own version of Homesite (Homesite +). I, and apparently many others have experienced some minor consternation with this underdeveloped effort. I have three screen which pop up at every start with an access violation report. Everything works fine once I click 'ok' three times, but it is nevertheless an annoyance which Macromedia support cannot seem to solve. Also, the new Homesite does not retain the funtion present in Homesites of old whereby one could adjust the ordering of the toolbar tabs so that your most commonly used functions are readily available. Again, a minor problem (apparently related to long-running legal conflicts with Adobe) but one that costs time every day. The new Homesite also has been handed the Coldfusion Studio torch, and sports several coldfusion toolbars (along with jsp, asp, the previously mentioned php, and more). Overall I must say that it is a definite improvement from previous offerings, and if Macromedia continues to listen to the consumer they may garner a few more dollars from my coffers, though they'll have to make some serious revisions to Fireworks before I bother with it again as the MX still did not do it for me.
Rating:
Summary: Macromedia DreamWeaver MX , My New Favorite
Review: I have recently been taken by the Internet as a means of communication and self expression. I have tried numerous software products to get my message across, and have liked every one. Macromedia DreamWeaver MX is my new favorite, replacing Microsoft FrontPage 2002. Like many others, I had heard the horror stories of Macromedia DreamWeaver. I had been told, and even gave as advice, not to use DreamWeaver unless you were a serious web professional. But, FrontPage wasn't quite cutting it for me. I felt confined using FrontPage, because so much had to be there for my sites to work. I couldn't even properly optimize my site, for fear of FrontPage messing up my design. With DreamWeaver MX, my worries are over. I was able to jump right into DreamWeaver MX, and create sites that were not only visually attractive, but also containing clean HTML. The best part, I was able to do it faster and easier than I had in FrontPage. I don't know what prior versions of DreamWeaver were like, but DreamWeaver MX is very easy to use. After using DreamWeaver MX, I will never go back to Adobe GoLive or Microsoft FrontPage again.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive
Review: I laugh when I hear people trying to compare Adobe GoLive 6 to Dreamweaver MX- you just can't do it. Dreamweaver is something bigger than a normal wbe authoring application, but even its power in that field is stronger than that of any other program you'll find on any other platform. The interface is very clean and its extremly easy to find your way around. The new support for PHP and MySQL is great, and the integrationg DWMX has with other Macromedia apps is superb. I know that people say, "If you're a novice user, choose something easier, like Frontpage". Well, not only is that wrong because Frontpage is a boring app, but I was a novice user to Dreamweaver(v.4), and I found it extremly easy to use after you fool around with it for a while and take some simple tutorials. Now the DWMX interface is even simpler, so basically anyone can use it. But I'm planning on using it for creating a dynamic site that hooks up to a MySQL database, so it will serve you much better if you plan to use it like this. DWMX is the Photoshop of web apps, it has so many features that you'll have to read thousands of books just to get them all. But, fortunatly, unlike Photoshop, the only thing you really need to use it is a through knowledge of HTML. Ease of use and tremendous power, what more can a person ask?
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