2 comments about Mac DISC COVER - BELIGHT SOFTWARE.

1. Nice software although, in some cases, not as easy to use as another labelling software that I use.



2. I can't get this to calibrate with my Epson Stylus Photo 1400. I have sent numerous emails to tech support but with what they keep telling me I just keep going in circles.

No comments about Numark MixMeister Studio.

No comments about Calendar Creator Platinum Sb Cs By Riverdeep.

No comments about Custom Home 3D Design and Decor 3 Products in 1.

2 comments about Ideasoft Photo Clip Art 10,000.

1. I have mixed feelings about this product. On one hand it contains a lot of pictures. The content quality is very good. Variety is excellent. There are people in different life situations: work, travel, or going to school. There are various objects. From clocks and glasses with orange juice to spray guns and road signs.
   
   There are also multiple variations of many pictures included, such as cakes with different toppings, or various heaps of oranges, or a cup of tea from different angles. This is a definitely useful collection; I can see it being especially well suited for web designers.
   
   On the other hand, the artwork is stored in HPI format, which is not widely recognized by popular applications. The CD contains a special utility (GraphicsDesk by Hemera), and you would normally use that utility to browse the artwork, and export the images to other applications. This is not too bad, there is an export wizard included that lets you choose various parameters including background color. Most artwork on the CD comes already masked. Also with many graphic applications you could simply drag and drop the pictures (I tried it with Corel Photo-Paint 9, it works but unfortunately the mask gets lost in the process).
   
   There you have it folks. If you can live without direct access to images - this is an excellent collection.



2. too much unusable clip art.Not enough nature or transportation art.

4 comments about Teach Me Blues Guitar.

1. I've had this for almost a year now. I use it as part of my daily practice routine. I've learned two of the songs on it. It has been very helpful to me as I've matured as a player. There is alot of info packed in it from scales and practice routines to videos showing techniques you need to master in order to learn the songs. I also have "Teach me Rock Guitar with Keith Wyatt" and I love it as well. I wish they had more products becasue I'd buy them.



2. I've been using this product for years and and will continue using it. This is not a beginner product, though even a beginner could learn something from this CD. What I like about this product is that I've been using it for years, and I keep learning new things from it. It's about Blues Essentials, and is a must for any guitarist.



3. As a beginner in acoustic guitar I have looked at lots of videos and read many many books on playing the guitar and music theory. Of all the information and study aids that I have looked at this CD-ROM is the worse of them all. It is really choppy to follow and is not a very good tool. Even though it is a cheap buy you would be better to apply this money to a beginner's blues video. Also, I now realize that it is much more enjoyable to sit in front of a television and watch an instructional video and play your guitar than it is to sit in front of a computer.



4. Great for beginners and intermediates!
   I purchased this cd-rom for a very fair price. Since downloading it and going through a few of the sections I find this simply amazing!
   First, I think Keith Wyatt is an excellent teacher, specifically via DVD. He appears throughout the sections of this cd-rom.
   Second, this cd-rom has EVERYTHING! If you're into the blues and learning how not only to play but where the playing derived from, this is definitely for you. You can go to specific riffs and then click on icons to get the lowdown on scales, modes, etc... It tells you the history, the methods and the uses for everything. Awesome!
   This program has a virtual fretboard that you can slow/speed as it plays. It loops and sections off whatever parts you feel you need to look at again. It shows actual videos of Wyatt playing or teaching as well as computerized methods.
   There's too much to list as to what this can do for you. I love it already and I've hardly delved into the meat of it all. What I like so far is that this cd-rom teaches you what the blues is. If you want to pick up a guitar and become a rock and roll god overnight this is not for you. But if you want to learn a little something about the heart and soul of The Blues this is definitely a fantastic tool for your blues education and training.
   I highly suggest paying the small price for something like this. It's fun and, if you take the time, can really teach you some great things on the guitar.

No comments about Microsoft Graphics Studio: Picture It! 99.

5 comments about Microsoft Visio Professional 2002.

1. I recently upgraded to this new version of Visio and I'm very much pleased with its intuitive user interface that provides an array of tools for presenting information visually. Whether its an Office layout or computer network, Visio 2002, bridges the gap when it comes to defining how data is understood and interpreted in different scenarios. The update to this application has adapted most of the common elements of Microsoft Office, which makes it very easy to learn and share among other Office applications. Integration with Word and PowerPoint is flawless. The shapes are many and satisfactory to build that particular diagram. Simple drag and drop adds to the simplicity of the program. Visio 2002 does have some drawbacks though, this includes the consistency in terms of the components of the application with other Office applications. For instance, the WordArt gallery is actually the old type and not the new one with the more inviting colourful WordArt you are probably accustomed to using in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. The application still needs to improve on how the user can manuvre connectors if they are building networks. Visio 2002 Professional is very flexible, I even use it to create flyers and time lines that are usually used in Project management. It provides a comprehensive set of tools to make diagraming an essential tool in most IT work spaces, for the average user though forking out the amount for this product may not be recommended, but with the array of tools it provides, it is truly a solution for any organization.



2. As a Project Manager in charge of diverse areas, ranging from software development responsibilities to administration of a production area, I've found this tool to be of extreme use since day one. This application allows to draw on a "white" canvas diagrams in ways that exceed any other tool in the market, including flowcharts, floor plans, office layouts, network diagrams, database ORMs, organization charts, etc. You name it and the software comes with a template of standard shapes for you to drag and drop, unite with arrows/lines as needed, and put out a professional-looking diagram in a matter of minutes (you need to put in the brainwork, no discussion about that, of course!)

   If you are going to compare Visio with anything else, the "closest" thing would be the very limited charting capabilities offered by PowerPoint (no wonder Microsoft acquired the company that created Visio!) This is no substitute (never was meant to be) for Adobe Illustrator or any similar graphics program. Hands down, without a doubt, this is the de facto standard for drawing professional diagrams of all types in no time!




3. I didn't choose Visio as my modelling software, I was compelled by the corporate standards at my place of employment. That said, I freely admit that this software is one of the better packages available for sale.
   
   As every programmer knows, all software design starts with requirements. Requirements are determined by defining your users and identifying business constraints. Business requirements are then fulfilled by implementing "features". Therefore given a piece of software, one could derive via the provided featureset who the intended "users" are, and what requirements this software is intended to fulfil. For purely academic purposes I have done a short analysis of Visio in this manner while assuming myself as the user. I will also attempt to identify other users based on the featureset. For the sake of brevity, I will limit myself to the most prominent Visio features in my daily work.
   
   I am a Java programmer, and I rarely foray into the world of Microsoft Visual Basic, C++, .NET anything, or GDI/DirectX. So basically, I need UML support, and some basic OO types to play around with to be happy. The first thing I as a Java programmer notice about Visio is that there are no Java types, and as far as I can tell, no way to add them. However, I do have the option to choose from Microsoft Visual Basic types, Microsoft C# types, C++ types, or Microsoft IDL types.
   
   And there it ends. De facto I have been disqualified from the list of intended users. Who was this software intended for? What features does it provide them?
   
   I have determined two users: Programmers on strictly Microsoft-only platforms; and Microsoft itself. How can Microsoft be a "user?" They are providing the software, aren't they? I think we can show that Microsoft itself is a user of the software because built into Visio are features that are to the sole benefit of Microsoft. Who benefits from the exclusion of non-Microsoft programming language types in an ostensibly "programmer-oriented" tool? Sure, Microsoft programmers benefit from the inclusion of those types, but Microsoft itself benefits from the exclusion of others. The feature is making it that much harder for the rest of us to use anything non-Microsoft.
   
   Now, I sat down and looked through the Visio sales literature, and I didn't see anything that said this product was only for developers for the Microsoft platform. On the featureset, I didn't see a bullet-point labelled "bolster illegal monopoly power". There's no box that says "If you use Java, don't bother."
   
   This product is advertized as a general purpose software design tool. I am neither provided with general purpose language types or a way to add them. I am sure that if I were working at a Microsoft shop, I would be happy with Visio. I can tell from attempting to use it daily that had I been developing for .NET, I could do a lot of things that instead I have to work around. Those features have become useless to me. I will not give "stars" to features not provided or not available, and I especially will not gives "stars" to features that benefit the vendor at my expense. And that is why I rate this product:
   
   NO STARS.



4. One would hope that a company with Microsoft's resources could produce a piece of working software and Visio does work. However, excluding Java from UML diagrams is such an outrageous affront to half the programming community that it's a 1 for me.



5. You could easily create any data type for any programming language. Just read the online help.
   
   1. Open the UML diagram file that represents your system.
   
   2. Right-click the UML System icon in the tree view, click Packages, and then click New.
   
   3. In the Package column, type a name for the data types package (for example, Java Data Types), type or choose other package properties, and then click OK.
   
   4. Right-click the new package, then click New, and then click Datatype.
   
   5. Type a name for the data type, type or choose the other properties you want, and then click OK.
   
   An icon for the new data type is added below the package in the tree view.
   
   6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have added all the data types you need.
   
   7. If you want the new data types to appear in each new system model you create, save the file as a template. In the Save As dialog box, for Save As Type, choose Template (*.vst). Open this template when you start a new model.

1 comments about Print Workshop Scrapbooking Deluxe (Jewel Case).

1. I can't believe this is even on the market. I have a basic working knowledge of photo related software and this is terrible. When you import a family photo, it does not automatically keep its original proportions. I've never seen such a thing in ANY program anywhere. Everything loads slowly and the basics of creating a page from scratch have completely eluded me. When choosing a template, it does not tell you if it is 12x12 or 8.5x11. Every time one wants to add another photo from his file, the program makes you go through the whole steps from desktop to the file to find it; it doesn't stay in the file you are working from. One can't choose a background from one's own photos and the list goes on. I'm just amazed--they must have been smoking legalized marijuana in CA while designing this thing....
   
   Fortunately I only paid a couple dollars for it--don't waste the money.

3 comments about Print Perfect Deluxe.

1. Express yourself with one-of-a kind style! Packed with brilliant, artistic content and a host of exciting new features, Print Perfect Deluxe is sure to bring out your creative best. Creativity has never been so easy ..of fun!
   
   By using this software, there are so many ways to create
   - Greeting Cards, Photo Projects, Scrapbooks, iPod skins, Posters, Banners, Family Trees, Labels, Certificates, Resumes, Letterhead, Envelopes, Business Cards, Brochures, Flyers, Forms, and more!



2. The image categories are arranged in 1000's of images,
   and the program only shows 6 at a time, so finding the
   right one may take hours. (plus they have no names)
   
   Adding custom text is font size, bold, italics, etc. only!
   No real formating of text.
   
   The border images print off the page, even though they
   were well within the boundaries on the screen. (I have
   an Epson R200 printer, and xp home sp2)
   
   After installation, my windows xp theme was completely
   messed up. The app changed it to xp blue, and other things
   were also changed. Plus it added about 50 useless fonts.



3. About two stars is a generous rating for this software. Luckily for me, it was a $6.00 "Big Lot" find. But before loading it onto my computer, I thought I had purchased the greatest clipart/print program known to Man given all the hype written on the box. This program has major flaws, not to mention limitations. (It is not worth the manufacturer's retail price of $19.99.)
   
   I tried to create a simple four-fold brochure with a gradient background. What a mess! First of all, what appears on the screen is NOT what actually prints out. The gradient backgrounds do not match up with each other when folded together. There is a large gap of white space between the backgrounds on the folding side--impossible to crop. The text moves to new places during the printing process: one of my paragraphs magically switched from single to double spacing (and ran off the page)! The text on the second page moved so far to the right that some of the lettering was cut off. This problem was further fustrated by the fact that the "print preview" screen is worthless--the "preview" that shows up is so miniscule it is impossible to see what will actually be printed. So then it becomes a "hit and miss" game where you end up wasting your valuable color ink. (Not to mention that there is no way to change the line spacing to something in between single and double.)
   
   Needless, to say I am not happy with Print Perfect. Some of the clip art images are adorable, though. Perhaps only the very simplest designs could be created using only a white background? Otherwise, it's a good program for those who are not into "perfect".