Monday, May 31, 2010

Cheapest The Print Shop 22 Deluxe [OLD VERSION]


I received my order quickly and was totally satisfied with the product. It was exactly what I was expectingGet more detail about The Print Shop 22 Deluxe [OLD VERSION].

Cheap Corel Photo Album 7 Deluxe


This is a very nice little photo editing program that allows even the novice (me) to fix photo faux pas without spending hours poring over a manuel or a help screen. Wanna whiten teeth, no problem and it looks good too. Wanna add a suntan, you can do that easily as well, though that doesn't look all that good. Wanna make a calendar or a fake magazine cover, you can do it with Corel Photo Album 7 and you can do it without reading the manuel. You can make greeting, birthday, Christmas or any other kinds of cards too, so no more shopping at the Hallmark Store for that perfect card, because you can design one just the way you like.

Again I'll say it, this is a nice little program that does just what I want it to do, plus it automatically organizes your photos, I had almost five hundred photos on my computer and the program had no problem with them. I like the way I can turn a photo into black and white or sepia without any effort and I like the automatic color enhancement. So far every time I've asked the program to automatically fix the color it's improved the photo. I don't see how anyone could go wrong with this software.

Oh yes, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the excellent redeye removal that this software does. That's way cool. Nobody wants their little darlings to look like little devils.Get more detail about Corel Photo Album 7 Deluxe.

Buying Apple iLife '06 (Mac DVD) [OLD VERSION]


The main programs I use are Iphoto and Itunes. Since Itunes is free (and if you have an Ipod, you have no choice), I'll concern myself with Iphoto and not rate the other programs in the suite. I have not upgraded to Ilife 08, nor do I have any plans to.

Although Iphoto is not free, a lot of programs rely on it (such as ComicLife) so not using Iphoto is almost not a choice.

First of all, if you have a substantial photo collection (mine is over 40,000 images), you need to have memory. I found that Iphoto was very slow until I put 2gb into my Mac Mini (which is the most mine will take). Now it's just a little slow. Second, Iphoto is VERY picky about your photo collection. Once you've "imported" your photos, Iphoto doesn't like you to touch them, except in Iphoto. Although Iphoto allows you to keep originals outside the Iphoto library, this makes the library extremely fragile and prevents some features from working properly because Iphoto simply stores each photo as a symbolic link to the original. When you "export" your photos to a CD, you get a CD full of useless symbolic links. I keep my entire library on an external drive. This keeps the library together, and everything works (and - I can back up the entire library). There is no obvious provision for doing something to a photo outside of Iphoto (for example, if the "photo" is actually exported from a graphics program, or "printed" from a document). Unlike Itunes (which is a master of background processing), Iphoto forces you to sit through tedious "progress" screens whenever you do anything time-consuming (which is most batch operations). If you (for example) create a movie from a slideshow, you cannot do anything else in Iphoto except watch the progress bar. Even duplicating a photo takes a little while. Iphoto gives you albums, smart albums (albums based on some selection criteria), and folders (and folders of folders) to organize your photos, however it does not let you create an album in a folder (you have to create it and drag it into the folder) and does not provide the option of sorting albums within a folder (you get to do this manually - a real pain). Although you can have more than one Iphoto library, you cannot have more than one open at once, or easily copy between them (there are external programs which do this, but these simply issue Iphoto commands, so you get to sit through the whole tedious process, and these sometimes lose information like album comments).

Once you get used to Iphoto's many quirks, it's a great program. I've never been able to access all of my photos so easily. The thumbnail views are resizable (so you can have tiny to quite large thumbnails, depending on what you are looking for) and the full screen view gives you some limited (but usually sufficient) editing options. The slideshows (using the Ken Burns moving picture effect) are beautiful, and one can export these to Quicktime movies for making DVDs (this is a better choice than creating the slideshow in Idvd, unless you like tiny pictures). One can also create books, calendars, order prints, and there are plug-ins for exporting to various photo sites (such as Picassa). One can also create emails with photos (which is a great feature - it's the only way to create an editable document containing a set of photos sized for printing), export photos (in various sizes) and create very bare-bones web albums (without exporting to iweb).

I'd give Iphoto more stars if it made organization easier (create album in folder, keep folder sorted, smart folders of albums), was less dependent on drag/drop (tedious with huge lists of albums), worked better with other graphics programs (having to duplicate a photo first to create a variant of it is a real pain, and not automatically refreshing thumbnails makes working with native Photoshop originals exported as JPGs a real pain), and was better at background tasks.

one note about the other programs in the suite..
Itunes - one of my favorites. I'm running the latest and it keeps getting better (I gave Iphoto less stars, since I know that Apple knows how to do background tasks when they want to).
Iweb - this is NOT a general purpose web editor (like Dreamweaver or Frontpage), but an editor for a templated web site. If you export all of you albums to Iweb, you will quickly get a rather awkward site. It is not easy to create a site which looks any different from the somewhat gimmicky templates.
idvd - take Quicktime movies and photos and create DVDs for playing in a DVD player. Photo slide shows are rather primitive compared to what you can do in Iphoto.
imovie - never used. I find the "pro" version of quicktime (with cut/paste features) much easier to use.
garageband - never used.
Obviously lacking in this suite is anything to do with creating documents which combine words and images. I guess you need to buy Iwork (and get some more unneeded programs).Get more detail about Apple iLife '06 (Mac DVD) [OLD VERSION].

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Purchase Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade [Mac] [OLD VERSION]


This version of Photoshop works very well on my Mac. If you are familiar with Photoshop, then it will not surprise you. I had no difficulty registering the product. I was more than satisfied with an older verions , CS2, but since I bought a new iMac I needed to upgrade because CS2 will not run on an Intel-based Mac.Get more detail about Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade [Mac] [OLD VERSION].

Order Photo Explosion Deluxe 4.0


I recently made some blog cards using a business card template from the Photo Explosion Deluxe software. It had a colorful selection of backgrounds, as well as a variety of text and graphic effects. I almost couldn't make up my mind which text effects I liked best.

The picture editor is very useful, and there's no need to use the free one online because this one does so much more. I look forward to using the greeting card and postcard templates in the near future to send to personal contacts.


*This review was posted by a member of the Nova Development User Community (NDUC). NDUC members are real people who use Nova Development products and share relevant feedback about the products they use in order to help other users. More information about NDUC, its programs and members is available on the Nova Development website.Get more detail about Photo Explosion Deluxe 4.0.

Where To Buy Adobe Photoshop CS4 [OLD VERSION]


Having used Adobe Photoshop at work and school since the age of 17, I can safely say that I've had a fair amount of experience both with the software and the company in general. However, everything after CS2 has been complete rubbish. Adobe has the NERVE to charge over 700 dollars for a product that has only one or two additional features from the version previous.

Not only that, but this software is so bloated with anti-piracy this and that, that it's incredibly difficult to install properly EVEN IF YOU BOUGHT IT LEGITIMATELY. I cannot begin to describe the BS that I had to go through with their customer service staff in trying to get the program functional. After many hours (I did), I noticed that it had installed a multitude of spyware on my computer without asking or even informing me. No thanks. Screw this, I'm going back to my copy of CS2. By the way Adobe, you've lost an honest customer for life. I'll probably inevitably end up buying their newest crap software simply because my work forces me too, but it'll be forced on me like a pulled tooth.Get more detail about Adobe Photoshop CS4 [OLD VERSION].

Shop For Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade [OLD VERSION]


I received CS4 yesterday and found no performance issues at all. Of course, it was installed on an older Extreme. I installed it on two systems and I did have trouble installing it on the notebook. A cache file needed deleting.
ReneeGet more detail about Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade [OLD VERSION].

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Pantone huey MEU101 Top Quality


The device was very easy to install and is very easy to use. I haven't printed any images at the lab yet, but I have printed some images at my own photo printer and the colors printed did closely match my computer screen. I believe the difference I experienced was due to the photo paper I am using and not the huey's calibration. That said, if you are looking for an exact match, I would recommend you spring for the more expensive version. I would, if I were a professional. The price and performance are just right for me. YMMVGet more detail about Pantone huey MEU101.

Pixelmator This instant


I am an intermediate-level Photoshop user - not an expert by any means, but pretty good. Anyway, I had the opportunity to try Pixelmator and I love it! For the price, it's amazingly powerful.

One of the first things that struck me about Pixelmator is its speed. On my quad core iMac, there's really nothing I can throw at it that it can't handle with blazing speed. I also love the fact that many effects are rendered in real-time - for example, if you draw a gradient, you see what it looks like as you're drawing the gradient line. An amazing feature that isn't in Photoshop, where you only see the gradient once you've drawn the line. I also appreciate the fact that there are multiple levels of "undo" - having to use "step backward" in Photoshop always bugs me.

The interface is beautifully designed, and it's a Mac-only program so it's very much tailored to the OSX experience. As a Mac user and lover of good design, it makes me very happy! There's just so much to like about Pixelmator and I keep finding more. Press "F" and you enter full screen mode so you can focus on your work with no distractions. Press "TAB" and all the palettes appear or disappear. Want to install new brushes? Just drag the brush file onto the canvas, and voila - they're automatically installed! As much as I love Photoshop, it's quite a bloated piece of software. Those times when I want to do something quickly I'll be using Pixelmator.

If you've used Photoshop before you'll have no problem using Pixelmator. It's pretty much the same in terms of layers, brushes, etc. If you're new to graphics programs, the manual is excellent and this program is very easy to learn. There are some fantastic tutorials on the official Pixelmator website that are definitely worth checking out so you can see just what this program is capable of.

Although I'll continue to use Photoshop, I'll definitely be using Pixelmator a lot. Its speed, simplicity and power make it an irresistible purchase. I highly recommend it, either as a standalone graphics program or as a very useful companion to Photoshop.Get more detail about Pixelmator.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Photo Explosion 4.0 Best Quality


I am pleased with my initial impression and experience with this photo editing software. It is user friendly with a comprehensive manual. One of my favorite features of this program is the step-by-step tutorial that appears in a sidebar for every editing option and tool; no searching for help with a particular action! I also like the built-in photo organizing system, it is very straightforward and uncluttered. While this program may not be advanced enough for the professional photographer, it seems very well suited to the amateur's needs. I look forward to experimenting with the countless other tools of this program, including the many frames and embellishments, the artistic photo effects and the makeover studio.
Get more detail about Photo Explosion 4.0.

Mac Box Set Family Pack (with Snow Leopard) Get it now!


This set is a great buy price wise and I received it quickly from this seller. It is authentic APPLE MAC software just as advertised and I am glad I found it on Amazon where I saved a significant amount of money compared to purchasing it directly from Apple.Get more detail about Mac Box Set Family Pack (with Snow Leopard).

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate Buy Now


Two main reasons:
1. Bad post sale support. I bought my new version of Paint Shop a few month ago. One of the portion of the software had installation error that caused by bad CD section. However, I found it is imposible to contact Corel customer service by any means.
2. I've been using Paint Shop for years. I found the old version could not keep the photo taken date on Windows Vista and Windows 7 (Windows XP was OK). Then I verified that Paint Shop Pro X2 is Vista compatible, and I bought it. However, the lost photo taken date problem still there. I managed to get Corel technical support for this issue. The support seemed did not know what they were doing. They pumped many useless information to me. Eventually, I was able to let them escalate the issue to up level support. It took long time to hear the response: there was a bug in the X2 version. Their recommendation: I should spend more money to buy their newer release, X3 version. Even worse, they were not sure if the issue was fixed in the new version.Get more detail about Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 [OLD VERSION] Order Now


I did a lot of research on this to make sure that this older version had the capabilities that I needed instead of spending a ton more on the newer version. It did and I'm totally satisfied especially since I saved myself about $50.00.Get more detail about Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 [OLD VERSION].

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Photomatix Pro Decide Now


Do not buy this software from Amazon. The CD was loose in the box and came scratched. Amazon seems to be going down hill.Get more detail about Photomatix Pro.

Nero 9 Right now


I found this very difficult to to use, I thought the older version much better.Get more detail about Nero 9.

Lowest Price Nikon Capture NX 2 Full Version


I use it mainly for batch conversions of my RAW Photos coming out of my camera to preview them as jpegs and weed through them. Once I pick the ones I am interested in I will tweak them and crop them in the software. Works well and have no issues with it. Running it on an 2.16ghz Dell laptop with XP pro and 2GB of RAM. Works just fine as long as I don't have a bunch of other programs running all at the same time. Will batch process 300 raw files to jpeg in 10 minutes.

Make sure to watch some of the tutorials on nikons webpage about the software to get an idea of the things this software can do. Really pretty powerful stuff, especially with D-lighting.Get more detail about Nikon Capture NX 2 Full Version.

Low Price Aperture 3 Upgrade


This product works great and is replacing Photoshop for my routine photo editing because Aperture is simple, intuitive, and effective. It is also resource friendly. File management is very simple and easy to understand; it is a major improvement over Aperture 2 because it enables multiple libraries. The brushes are a terrific feature and with the detect edge feature are great for editing out background from birds, etc.

I also definitely recommend Derrick Story's Aperture 3 video tutorial on [...] to get you quickly up to speed.

I have not experienced any crashes. It did take a while to upgrade my images (automatically) but it was simply a matter of patience.Get more detail about Aperture 3 Upgrade.

Save MobileMe Family Pack (Updated 2009 Version)


simple solution to keeping all your devices synched. easy to setup, easier to use.Get more detail about MobileMe Family Pack (Updated 2009 Version).

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Discount iWork '09 Family Pack


I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't used the Microsoft Office suite, so I can't help but compare iWork to it...and by doing so, I can't help but feel like Office does a lot of things better. That's not to say that iWork is bad, or you can't be productive with it, but I just still feel like I'd prefer to use Office for most of my big document creation projects. Here's everything broken down:

SHORT VERSION OF REVIEW
Get it if you prefer to stay in the Apple environment--it will do pretty much everything you'd ever need out of a document creation app like this. But if you're heavy on document creation and used to Office, I think you'll feel like iWork is quirky at times, and can be annoying/counter-productive.

LONGER VERSION

Each of these bundled apps (pages, keynote and numbers) are really very good. Like I said, you can easily feel productive with them. I do most of my document creation using them and it works pretty well. These apps also benefit from being tightly knit into the Apple ecosystem, so you get an experience that feels in-line with everything else on your Mac. Personally, that's a big plus for me--I love feeling like my OS is all one single experience, without having to think much about why one application does one thing, and another doesn't.


OFFICE/IWORK FILE FORMATS
They play pretty nicely with one another. I'm 90% sure Office won't open native iWork file types, but you can easily save all your iWork documents as the older 97-2003 file formats (no x at the end) and open them up in the respective Office app. The conversions are usually spot-on. Typically I find that fonts don't work (not a big surprise) and sometimes it may complain about a special type of formatting, but other than that, it plays real nicely between the two programs. It also always tells you when a document is opened that things were changed/missing, and lets you review those changes--so you at least get a heads up on anything that may be quirky.

Finally, one other thing that is somewhat annoying about the iWork application is that if you open up a word document, for example, and then edit it, and try to save it--it more or less forces you to save it as a .pages. Sure, you can click "save as Word copy" and save it and that'll work. But if you then try to exit the application, it'll prompt you again to save it, because it wants you to save it as a .pages document. That's annoying--I usually end up having to maintain two copies of everything. One as a word document, and one as a .pages document.

ONLINE DOCUMENT SAVING
So right now there is an online documents beta that is integrated into iWork. I personally love this feature, and it's so much easier to use than any current implementation of Office online. You just click 1 button, and check a few settings, and it uploads it to their site--you can even have it send out an email to people you want to share the document with. They can add comments, make changes, download it in 1 of 3 formats that you specify (.pdf, .pages, .doc for Pages application), etc. It's still beta, so there are a lot of missing features I'd love to see implemented, but it works real great for easy document sharing.

IPAD
I also own an iPad, and so being able to work with native format documents between the iPad version of iWork and the full blown desktop version is nice. I can easily move documents, edit them, etc, using iTunes. The iPad version also lets you upload to online to Apple's iWork site, which is real nice.

TIMES WHEN I LIKE OFFICE BETTER
This is the one time so far when I had to simply switch into Windows and use Office--for document editing/change tracking, etc, in Word. I really prefer the way Office handles document changes and change tracking. Pages does it by adding a huge stream of comments on the left side that indicate what all was changed, instead of doing in-line markup like Word does. That may be fine for a few changes here and there, but if you heavily edit a document and open it up in Pages, your screen will feel crammed with comments, and it's hard to trace them to the changes being made. It feels messy, and not very productive.

Other times when I prefer Office (but don't feel the real need to switch to it) is when I'm doing outlines in Pages. Word does a fantastic job of working with outlines, and properly predicts/changes the outline according to changes you make. Pages does an okay job--creation it works, but once you begin editing or making changes to the outline, you will typically end up doing a lot of manual work to update tabbing, indents, etc.


SUMMATION
If you're looking to stay inside the Apple ecosystem, I would recommend this purchase. The family pack pricing is also pretty great. I have it installed on two macs, which was a breeze. Also, of note, is that if you are still on the fence about this application, they have a downloadable trial that you get for 30 days. I'd highly recommend doing that before committing to any purchasing. (available on Apple's site)Get more detail about iWork '09 Family Pack.

Cheapest Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2


I've been using LR3 since December 2009 and decided that I should bite the bullet and purchase the non beta product (especially when I learned that my work wouldn't be moved from the beta to the final version). LR2.7 is a very polished program and I highly recommend it to any serious photographer. LR3 isn't much different (except, I guess, "under the hood"), and so I've been able to jump right in. You'll need cs4 or cs5 for any major editing, but most of your work flow can be accomplished right in Light Room. All in all, an excellent product, although it would probably be too much for the casual photographer (get Picassa for free from Google instead).Get more detail about Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.

Cheap Mac Box Set – (with Snow Leopard)


... since I'm not a real "techie", and my last attempt to upgrade a Windows OS was a disaster. That said, installing Snow Leopard over Tiger was basically flawless, and painless, and it operates wonderfully. It's like getting a new iMac. I haven't really used iLife that much, but I expect it to do well too. While I have the usual gripes about Apple adding on ancillary products to Snow Leopard, I can't fault the system's performance.Get more detail about Mac Box Set – (with Snow Leopard).

Buying Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3


Today's digital photographer has a lot of options in choosing photo editing software. For the working photographer, Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 is one of several good choices, and at the Amazon.com price of $38.49 (List of $99.99 and $69.99 at Corel's website) this software suite (which also includes Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and Corel Instant Viewer) is a real bargain. All of the editing tools one would expect in a quality editing product are included, and the interface is extremely intuitive. Important to photographers is the ability to enter and edit metadata (such as Caption information). Also important to serious photographers is the impressive list of file formats supported, including at least 21 RAW formats. An important option is being able to automatically have the original image as well as the edited image saved. In the past, with other software, we've always had to create a separate folder of original images and a work folder for each project. While this is still a good idea, with this software it is no longer absolutely necessary.

Bottom Line - Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 is easy to use and gives professional results with minimal effort. We took a number of original images edited with PhotoShop, coming up with equal quality results using Corel PaintShop, and with less effort. While a longtime PhotoShop diehard, and maintaining that excellent product in our bag of tricks, PaintShop Photo Pro X3 is a welcome addition to the toolbag, and will get frequent if not primary use in the future.Get more detail about Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3.

Buy Corel Digital Studio 2010


I own Corel 2010 Digital Studios 2010: You have to update service pack for Digital Studios, which is by itself. Then for the WINDVD - which is part of the program, one had to download another updated patch. Service Patch 3 is supposed to fix the issue altogether, if that fails, you would need to contact via Corel Live Chat or via Corel email - and obtain the Corel's removal system and reinstall Corel, and they will provide you the link plus instructions to download directly to the right patches. The chances are - you would be asked to download the 2 patches and save it; before the removal of the Corel. There is a high chances that REMOTE ASSISTANCE would be needed; and by all means - do permit CITRIX to be used so they can work with you in order to get COREL to function in your computer and test it. Once this has been done, you can remove CITRIX out of the add/remove if you want to (Microsoft also uses this Remote Assistance as well as other Programs, but personally, I remove it because I don't like having that in my system even though I have used LIVE CHAT for Tech Support when I used to assist individuals with Windows, OS, and Programs via Remote Assistance a long time ago.)

I strongly recommend this, as there have been individuals who have had some difficulties; but this is easily resolved if you permit Corel to do this. If you are an Advanced User and above, then you would know what I am in reference to, with the chances are, you already have such program(s) in your OS that you can remove Corel out - but first make sure you have downloaded the patches from Corel.

If you have NOT installed COREL DIGITAL STUDIOS YET ---> download all required patches first, install, then install each patch and reboot your computer after each patch, (ignore any errors that comes up), and install the next patch. You will need to download the Corel Digital Studios 2010 and the WINDVD - which are found in two locations at Corel's website which is located in the SUPPORT section of COREL's website.

Hope this information is of assistanceGet more detail about Corel Digital Studio 2010.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Order MobileMe Individual (Updated 2009 Version)


MobileMe Individual (Updated 2009 Version)

I purchased a Mac Mini in May 09, my first Mac. Fortunately for me, the sales rep was a Mac person himself and was able to show me a few of the many perks of having this little machine. MobileMe software was not included, but he was super cool and hooked up discounts and rebates if I purchased the Mini and MobileMe. My monitor is being repaired right now, so my Mac is not directly accessible at the moment, but my iDisc is. All of my documents, music, movies, pictures, and anything I choose to have on my iDisc is accessible through the online MobileMe cloud! So, all my assignments I had saved for research papers can be uploaded to my PC! Seriously, this software saved my butt! If you are a Mac person, I highly recommend you invest in a mobileme account! I purchased mine through Amazon for $61.00 flat, shipping, tax, and my new Individual MobileMe. You can't beat that price anywhere, it's normally $99+tax!Get more detail about MobileMe Individual (Updated 2009 Version).

Where To Buy Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 [Mac]


I am not an artist and have very limited experience with Photoshop. My primary reason for getting this was to add notations to still images/screen shots. The ability to use layers makes it easy to add notations, which can then later be edited or deleted as needed. For what I wanted to do, this software works perfectly.

However, I'm not really able to figure out how to do much of anything else. The program does not come with any printed documentation or tutorials that I could find. I tried to edit a photo I took of myself (see my profile) to remove the flash reflections from my sunglasses, but couldn't find a way to get a good looking result without spending a lot of time editing the image pixel by pixel, with varying shades of black. Any other attempt to do a quick edit resulted in obvious black blobs over the sunglasses or a 2D looking result.

To get the most out of this I think it would be good to have prior experience, take a class, or get a book that teaches the basics.Get more detail about Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 [Mac].

Shop For Adobe Photoshop Elements 8


The software when it loaded was alright but I could not get it to load all my photos, I tried getting a hold of customer service and thAt was impossible, so I went back to using corel software which seems easier to use and I can always get someone in customer service to help me.Get more detail about Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.

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