The following is a list of recommended software and hardware purchases that are a must need to stay on top of the design standards of the industry.

Apple.com

Anything Apple will serve you well in the design field.  Coming from doing all our design work on PC’s and Windows operating systems, we have found that less stress and frustration lies within buying a Mac.  The ongoing argument will tell you otherwise, but being experienced and well-versed in both, you have our ’stamp of approval’. Suggested products for our type of work: MacBook Pro or MacPro.

Visit MacMall.com for discounts and clearance items.

Adobe Creative Suite

At Ameliorate, we are currently designing with CS3, but will soon be making the jump to CS4.  Adobe has created an amazing design suite that dominates the industry. Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, InDesign and After Effects are the most common that we use to accomplish tasks. Price ranges from the different suite collections that they offer.

Another place to shop for software is JourneyEd.com.  If you are currently a student, teacher, or non-profit entity, you are eligible for screaming discounts from this website.

GoDaddy.com

With their uncanny support and services, GoDaddy is by far the best hosting solution that we have found.  All of our sites are currently hosted under GoDaddy, and we wouldn’t see it any other way.  Visit their site to see how affordable their monthly hosting and yearly domain rates are.