3 comments about Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007.

1. The program is great once you learn to use it. It comes with no guides. The online instructions are a little hard to find and lacking in detail. All of the third party books ("For Dummies") don't come out for months. Does anyone else remember when programs used to come with a "How To" Guide????



2. The online documentation provided is pitiful. Surely a company with the resources Microsoft has can do better than this?? The product works great, has some nice features, like the workflows, but the provided documentation is a joke, more geared towards selling you microsoft-isms (and that "you don't have to write a line of code!") than telling you how to use their product. And the online help is similarly sparse.



3. I am supposed to use this product to update the web pages monthly for a non-profit organization. After exploring the menus and the manual, I still don't know how and where to start. I usually can figure out in a short time how to use new software however complicated, such as QuarkExpress, InDesign, PageMaker, FrameMaker, Illustrator, Dream Weaver, Front Page, etc., by exploring the menus and the samples with the help of its manual.

3 comments about PhotoShow Deluxe 5.0 Simple Star.

1. Overall, I found the product acceptable and reasonably priced but there is a catch! I found myself having to go to the website to order a copy of the photoshow I created to place it on dvd. That additional purchase was a little costly. It actually cost me more than I paid for the software. There is an additional option that you can purchase which would allow you to create your own dvd using your computer 's dvd burner but there is an additional cost for that also. The software starts you with basic graphics and music but there is an additional cost if you want more. Finally, the customer service was absolutely horrible! There is no personal contact and the email service takes several days. I would not recommend this software it seems like a money trap - watch out!



2. Works well for what I expected. I upgraded from V.4 so I could make DVD's and I can now do this.



3. Excellent product - great photo transitions and much quicker and more reliable than version 4. Was worth waiting for as it took much longer to come from States than envisaged (which should be bourne in mind). But the quality and amount of variation for compiling photo slide shows is enormous; great selection of music too but you can choose your own, and so it really is excellent value for money!

No comments about Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Design Premium Upgrade [Mac] [OLD VERSION].

5 comments about ClipArt&More 3 Million.

1. This isn't worth the amount of paper it took to make the box. The box advertises "Search by: Animals, Sports, Science, etc." and makes statements like "Locate the right image fast!" and "Every piece ... is key worded and cross-referenced..." Yet the Windows software and the Mac software provided for looking at and finding images are just file browsers with absolutely no way of finding anything. The file names are also non-descriptive. Many images are identical with slight variations on colors or rotation. My teenager laughed at the images and said that he could draw better and I don't doubt him. This is a true "pig in a poke".



2. Totally agree with the other reviews.
   
   The physical product you receive in the mail is really useless. Disc one contains a software program that should allow you to search the other two discs in the set. Those, by the way, contain wire-framed art (looks rendered back in 1980)and some bad sound effects. So, totally NOT what I was expecting (and thus the poor rating).
   
   This is basically paying $39.95 for a one year membership to a great web site that will cost $169.95 per year thereafter.
   
   Regardless of whether the value is worth what you get (and it probably is), the offer and product are still not clear.



3. I bought this product looking for an inexpensive home clip art collection. What I received was three discs that I basically can't access and a one year subscription to a clip art service I probably won't get my money's worth out of. What an extreme disappointment. The least IMSI could have done was actually stated this is a subscription service you are buying. I will not buy from IMSI again. They don't advertise the truth with their product. I'll stick to Nova. I've bought their product before and they deliver what they advertise. I'll pay the extra money for that. Boy did I get burned!!



4. I just ordered my third set of "Clip Art & More" CD's - it's an annual rite of passage in our home. However, I never even attempt to use the CD's themselves - yes, they're pretty useless. I just want the one-year subscription code to www.clipart.com, which costs $159.95 to purchase but is "free" with software purchase (code included in software purchase). So - I buy the software (this year I found "Clipart 3.0 Million" at a site for 9.98 + 5.00 shipping - took a little hunting but deals are out there) and so for $14.98 I will now have my 2008 yearly subscription to www.clipart.com! Beats paying $160!! Clipart.com is a highly-rated graphics program (#2) in "top ten reviews" and my son and I have used it quite frequently for school projects, etc.



5. I was really disappointed when opening the box to find there is very little in the way of clip art on the CDs. Much of it was dated looking. Others were just words presented in a dozen or more ways. the real clipart is on their web site. Inside the box is an access code for one year worth of access to their good clipart. You need to search on line and then download individual pieces. At the end of the year you access runs out. This is not at all what was expected and I am really disappointed.

5 comments about Estéban's Complete Guitar Course For Beginners.

1. Not what I received. Received another copy of the DVD so I returned it. Still waiting to see if the return gets processed correctly.



2. I am just beginning to learn and this course has given me confidence to press forward and learn. I am improving every day. Thanks



3. I'm just coming back to the guitar and this is the absolute easiest and best product I've seen. Makes me want to learn and gives me the ability to follow at my own speed. Really enjoying the course.



4. This is kind of a bizarre product. You don't learn to read music, you follow Esteban. The book shows tablature, steps for stumming and each note but really the course is designed to follow Esteban on DVD.
   
   Example, after you've followed Esteban and learn part of a song, you'll know the song only by rote - not by reading the notes.
   
   Yes, he teaches technique well, but as a beginner, learning how to play the songs and read music is more important than the technique. My biggest annoyance is that the songs are short, abbrieviated to 1/2 page. For instance, you learn the chorus (only) of Greensleeves.
   
   On a positive note, the first 7 chapters of the DVD go through basics of the guitar, correct positioning, strumming and finger picking styles. This could be very helpful to beginners.
   
   Overall, interesting, but this won't teach me how to play the music.



5. When America was first introduced to Esteban, many played off his infomercials as nothing more than a "fly by night" trying to make a fast buck. He was a joke to many people, and he even made a comical insurance commercial. But Esteban is no joke, not by a long shot!!!
   Simply put, he is a Master guitarist, and if you want to learn guitar, he is one of the best.
   I learned to play guitar many years ago. And like many, I set it down after awhile and gave up on it. One day, I stumbled across a guitar at a very reasonable price and thought, I'm going to try it again. Some of the things I had forgot, until I purchased and played the vhs version of this extraordinary guide. What I Like about Esteban is that he literally takes you step by step into the world of guitar playing, and he does it so in such a way that someone with absolutely no musical background can learn to play.
   But while he patiently teaches guys and girls of all ages how to play guitar on this fun video, I could since from the way he acted, that he would much rather tear that guitar apart(JAM, and after seeing the mini concert at the end of the vhs instructional video I have, I can tell you he can do it thoroughly!!! It's inspiring to watch him play. He's like a 21st century Mozart, only on guitar.
   And many guitarists, whether they be into country music, rock, soul (do they call it that now?), or gospel, will tell you that it is best to learn to play classical guitar first, mainly because if you can play claissical music, you can play anything. With Esteban, you'll have the perfect teacher, to show you how to play.
   But note, no matter if you learn from Esteban or Joe Blow down the street, the expression, NO PAIN NO GAIN, is a fact of life. You will have to learn to stretch your fingers, and you will have to have the drive to want to learn. But if you have that desire, the possibilities are endless, and Esteban is just the right person to get you started.
   If you want to learn guitar and learn it at your own pace, and if you want to learn it by the easiest method possible, and learn from someone who has the credentials to back up his own words, you'll want to own this very exciting and fun course.

3 comments about Essentials 2 For Adobe Photoshop.

1. I purchased this product mainly for the selection portion, which I find cumbersome and hard to use. But I love the "make it better" portion, it does a great job quickly and I love the Frames. I like a finishing touch on my photos and this has a lot to choose from. I liked this so much, that when I upgraded to CS3, I also upgraded to the Photo Frames Pro.



2. I bought Essentials 2 for Adobe Photoshop mainly for the Cut-It-Out feature and, for the price, the program is worth it for this feature alone. There is a slight learning curve to use the Cut-It-Out feature but, once you learn how to use it, it's great. One of the hardest things to do in graphic software, like Photoshop, is decently cutting out figures (like people). The Cut-It-Out feature of Essentials 2 does a very good job, especially with hard-to-cut objects like hair. Essentials also has two other built-in programs: Make It Better, an easy way for a novice to improve images, and Frame It, for people who like to play around with making unique and custom photo frames.



3. Bought this to use with Adobe Elements 6.0 primarily for the ability to enlarge photos while maintaining sharpness. Haven't used the other tools much. I prefer to adjust my color/contrast manually; but the tool is useful for "quick and dirty" fixes. Haven't used the frames capability enough to comment on it. Order was delivered on time and as described by Amazon.

5 comments about Apple Aperture 2.0 Upgrade.

1. I'm not going to go into all the bells and whistles and let other reviewers do that. All I can say is, that this is a MAJOR improvement over Aperture 1.5 with a much more intuitive user interface. I might go so far as to say that v2 is more like beefed up iPhoto than v1.5 which I found frustratingly difficult to wrap my brain around. I bought the upgrade after seeing a demo at the Apple Store in town.



2. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R12L93DK5GJFRY Aperture 2.0 was much expected and very much needed. The improvements to this program demonstrates that Apple indeed listens to its customers. Aperture 2.0 includes a better and expanded interface, with the kind of speed that makes it a work horse program for professional photographers who need to process hundreds of photos at a time. It's almost intuitive workflow makes a great program for almost any serious photographer.
   
   I especially like the new additional adjustment tools and the simplifier less crowded interface. The ability to interface with other Apple programs like iWork, iWeb, and Keynote is also a plus.
   
   Above all, for me anyone, is the image preview settings. Clicking this means that you can scan image files without them fulling loading into the program. This is the perfect setting for scanning, rating, keywording, and re-organizing image files. And the best is that you can get into image mode simply by clicking the keyboard shortcut key, P.
   
   Finally, Apple's upgrade of Aperture indicates that they indeed are not going to abandon this program. On the Apple website, you can view over two dozen short and to the point tutorials to learn about every major aspect of Aperture 2.0.



3. A tremendous jump from previous 1.5 version. Was avoiding even using Aperture cause it seemed like it had a lot of features that allowed variations in the looks of the program but did not have a lot of picture adjustment and editing tools. Not so with 2.0, like I said a tremendous jump in useful features. Aperture 2.0 is more than just a photo editor in the makes of Photoshop. More so it is a picture file management software. I beleive with forethought a medium to high level amatuer can move to the next level with this software. I downloaded the Users Manual from Apple.com/aperture under Resources tab. It is a 702 page PDF. You can check it out. It will give you detailed info about this softwares capability.
   
   I especially like the Publishing aspect of this software. You can create pages and publish directly to web, or create and publish Hardcover, softcove, or spiral bound books with relative ease. Using pre-loaded templates for both web publishing or book creation, getting your product exposure in a very short amount of time.
   
   For those of you who were overwhelmed and confused about the real direction 1.5 was trying to take you the 2.0 upgrade is worth pursuing.
   
   I congratulate Apple for taking this product seriously and remolding it to better suit a photographers creative thought and distribution processes, and not just a software that software designers could appreciate.



4. Apple Aperture 2.0 Upgrade This is a much improved version of a good product. It contains a section called "Image Adjustments" that is worth a print out. Using the example pictures will aid in understanding the adjustments. You will need to spend several months to become an expert. A printed manual would be nice to have. New books on the upgraded program would also be great.



5. Whether you're a novice with a basic "point and shoot" camera or a pro with the latest megabucks SLR, Aperture gives you the tools necessary to perfect your digital images. From correcting "red eye" to removing excess shadows, Aperture is quite simply the most powerful yet relatively easy-to-use digital photo tool available today. Period. End of story. If you want to make the most of your digital photos (or correct those others send to you) this is the tool to use. There are lots of excellent tutorials on the Apple website plus hands-on training available at your local Apple store and loads of user tips on various blogs that will have you up and running in very short order.

3 comments about Adobe Illustrator CS3 Upgrade [OLD VERSION].

1. I am not happy with the service on this order.
   The first product shipment did not work. When I called to get a replacement I was told I would be shipped the replacementAI CS3 software by expedited method and it came regular delivery. I was also promised a coupon for money off my next Amazon order which I never received.



2. This is the standard vector graphics program in the world - bar none. It takes quite a bit of time to master the program and then once you master the program, you have to be a artist to truly do some of the phenomenal stuff out there. I'll never master this product but I can't imagine working without it.
   
   On the upgrade from CS2:
   
   - It went very smoothly for me.
   - The addition of collapsing panels really makes me getting to my desktop much easier even if you're a TAB hide or ALT TAB hide type person like me.
   - There are numerous little refinements to the product.
   - Would I upgrade? for the collapsing panels, I think its worth it but other than that, don't know if there's a ton more to the CS3 version.
   - Slicing is the same, graphing is the same, pretty much same tools.
   - A few enhancements on transparency etc but nothing to sing home about.
   - You get the nice extra CD which contains some helpful tutorials for the CS3 line
   
   Cons:
   1) horrible licensing arrangement. You get 1 primary and a backup installation. I happen to have 5 computers at home that I sometimes use and I had to purchase a second license eventhough I'm the only one who uses them and I still have a computer that doesn't have it. Microsoft's Licensing agreement for Office and Windows is much more flexible and reasonable to the modern home user....I mean work laptop, home laptop, home desktop and basement den desktop (not unreasonable right?)....maybe I'm just a nerd.
   
   2) CS3 does lock up a bit more and crash a bit more than my CS2 - but then again, I'm running it on Windows (no mac jokes please) ... although I hear its the same codebase for CS3. Don't know --- my experience is that its slightly less stable than CS2 eventhough I do keep up with the patches
   
   So why 5 stars? Its an indispensable tool that is so far ahead of the competition that frankly its silly to discuss anything else.
   
   Bought from Amazon -- 5 star service there.



3. Adobe Illustrator CS3 upgrade works great for me as a graphic designer. I am able to save and open the most recent file types as well as the previous file types. The new addition of the collapsible tool bars works great and really clears up the previously cluttered screen space. Now I have more screen area to see what I am actually working on. CS3 also adds new intuitive ways to organize your color swatches. Also, I haven't had any program crash occurances since I have installed the new CS3. This program is a MUST for Professional and new designers alike to create high quality vector images.

5 comments about Super Duper Music Looper.

1. My son just received this product and he loves it, it really allows
   kids to be creative with music and they are so proud of what they
   create. My only complaint is that the CD has to be in the drive for
   the program to work, you cannot do a complete install. This makes it
   hard for portability purposes on a laptop, other than that it's been
   a huge success.



2. My kids love this. I find it annoying that all the projects are saved in the directory with the program itself, but that's somewhat typical of Windows programs. Too bad this isn't available for the Mac.



3. My daughter uses the Apple program at school and wanted a music creation program to use at home on her notebook. We looked at reviews together and chose this software. When it arrived, my wife almost returned it because the package says it is for kids 6 to 9 years old. However, based on these reviews, I advised we keep it. It was a good move. This is simple to use and she's having a great time with it, making fun music riffs. It won't let her become a serious composer, but that was not our goal.



4. This was a Christmas gift we purchased for our 8-year-old son who loves music. He was reluctant to try it, as he thought it'd be too hard to use. Once he got started on it, he plays it about 1 hour per day. He makes his own songs & saves them to the hard drive. We also save them as .wma files, so windows media player can use them. He's used the e-mail feature (with some help) to send his music creations to grandparents. We've also copied them over to his PSP (Sony Playstation Portable) and he takes them on-the-road on road trips & shared them with kids while at daycare during Winter Break. Most of his songs have a lot of drums & word-phrase looping, but that's how he likes it. He starts off a new song w/drums, guitars, bass, etc. & adds word loops here & there. It's really easy for him, as he just picks what type of instrument from a pick list & then scrolls through all the possibilities (many looping sounds from each instrument to pick from). You use a paintbrush to paint in that sound on a staff-like group of bars to the right & you repeat this again w/another instrument. You can see all your music at once & where each instrument sound starts & stops (which can have many of each). This is a great computer game & we've found so many more uses for the created music (like background music for a computerized photo album). We haven't tried the RECORD feature, as we don't have a microphone on the PC, but he'll probably be singing to that once we buy one. It was really easy for him to use & his 6-year-old sister can use it with a little help too. You can change the tempo & key the masterpiece is played in & the volume of each individual instrument playing. This was well worth the money we spent.



5. I got this to goof around with and to consider letting my 3-year-old daughter play with. The program is probably too advanced for my daughter, though I'm sure it's usable by some 4 and 5 year olds (it's recommended for ages 6 to 9). But I find it pretty fun, and it seems like, even for an adult, a good first step toward using Sony's Acid products. So I recommend it, but with reservations.
   
   As another reviewer noted, the program expects you to have the CD inserted (the loops -- the building blocks of the songs -- are on the CD). This is a huge drag. There's a way around it, but it requires some computer savvy. Specifically, you have to copy an image (an ISO file) of the installation CD to your hard drive, then "mount" that image so that your computer thinks the CD is in your drive. You can then run Super Duper Looper and, when it asks where the CD is located, you can point it to your mounted ISO file. I'll try to explain briefly how this can be done with free software in Windows XP SP2.
   
   You need two pieces of software: (1) an ISO-creation program, and (2) an ISO-mounting program.
   
   You can get a free ISO-creation program called ISO Recorder from http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/ . Make sure you look at the programmer's how-to page at http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/HowTo.htm to see how to use it (when you install ISO Recorder, you won't find a shortcut to it, because it is just a shell extension, as the how-to explains). This will allow you to create an ISO image -- i.e., a file on your hard drive -- of the Super Duper Looper installation disk. You can save it wherever you want; next you need to mount it.
   
   For mounting the ISO in Windows XP, you can get a free program from Microsoft (it's not officially supported but seems to work fine) called the Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel for XP. Go to this URL and search for "virtual CD" and you'll see a link to it: http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/faq/ . Instructions for installing and using the Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel are in the README.TXT file that comes with the program.
   
   Note that when you run Super Duper Looper after installing it, and after creating and mounting the ISO of the installation disk, you will need to manually type in Super Duper Looper's dialog box the drive letter you assigned to the ISO file when you mounted it. (The drop-down list in Super Duper Looper's dialog box will only show you the letters of your actual CD or DVD drives; since the ISO file is really a virtual CD drive, you need to manually enter the drive letter.)
   
   Note: If you're running Vista, you should still be able to create and mount an ISO of the Super Duper Looper installation disk. There's a version of ISO Recorder available for Vista. You'll need a different ISO-mounting program, though, since the Virtual CD Control Panel mentioned above is for XP only. I think a program called Virtual Clone Drive (Google it) will work, but I haven't tried it.
   
   Also: I don't know whether Sony would argue that this violates their copyright. I don't think it should -- it seems like it's obviously fair use -- but if you're worried about that sort of thing, consult a lawyer. (I'm a lawyer, but I'm not YOUR lawyer, and this review is not legal advice.)
   
   Good luck!

5 comments about Hip Hop 6 - eJay.

1. its what i thought it would be for the price its nothing special but its also good for the price..i would recomend it if u have the money and have nothing 2 do with it



2. ONLY 8 Bars to record at a time, man that's lame. What's with all the complicated screens, it should supply its own computer geek with the software. Ejay 4 was much better! I would have enjoyed it more if it were a little easier to use and understand. Don't waist your time!



3. In the time that I have had HipHop Ejay6, I have created 2 full songs and am still working on a 3rd song. I personally enjoy them to the extent that a musician can agreable enjoy his/her own music. However, I had to discover most, if not all, of the techniques and tools provided to successfully make music. HipHop Ejay6 doesn't come with anywhere near a complete "user-guide" to guide you through the music making process. All features are not explained thoroughly neither are they sufficient. HipHop Ejay5, which my good friend has, actually in my opinion was better in most regards. HipHop Ejay6 desperately needs a user-guide because it isn't that simple to just CREATE music as they say it is.



4. Its good program to make beats. the only thing bad about it it takes along time to load. but other than that its a good program.



5. THIS HAS NOT BEEN USED YET. IT IS FOR CHRISTMAS. I HAVE USED THIS PRODUCT BEFORE. YOU CAN LET YOUR CREATIVE JUICES GO WILD!!!!IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE WITH MUSIC IN THEIR HEAD , THIS IS PERFECT.
   GOD BLESS!!!