5 comments about Snap! 4,000 Fonts.

1. 4000 fonts? well, counting both truetype and postscript versions, so really 2000, then take out the extended, condensed, outline, and other versions of the same fonts and you are left with about 800 different fonts, now that includes an oblique version of almost every font, which I leave in because it's a little difficult to make them on the fly. Many of them have regular, bold, bold oblique, oblique families, and THE VARIANTS ARE NAMED RIGHT, so they are easy to weed out. The fonts themselves are smooth where they should be, and appear well constructed. I cannot speak about the font manager software because I'm on a Macintosh, and so cannot run it, but the fonts are well worth the money.



2. This product was hard to use and had too many Times New Roman type fonts.



3. As an add on, for only a few dollars, this product is fine. It will give you a few fonts that are not standard with an operating system.



4. I picked this one up in a bargain bin, and I'm glad I did. I was wary when I saw some of these middling reviews on here, but this program really isn't bad. It's NOT true that most of these fonts will be on your system anyway. Some might, but the overwhelming majority weren't on mine, and I use a lot of fonts. In fact, this disk gives you so many different fonts that you'll overload your system if you install all of them. It's way more than Windows can handle! Fortunately, the program comes with a handy font manager, which will tell you how many fonts you already have installed (don't go over 800 or so, because they use resources), and show you samples of what any font looks like before you go ahead and install it or uninstall it.
   
   I can't understand why people thought this program was hard to use. It comes with a two-page online guide that explains everything in clear English. You just have to have a basic understanding of how fonts work in your operating system.



5. Fonts have the power to express almost any idea or emotion. Acquire a wealth of descriptive and unique typeface with the Snap! 4,000 Fonts CD-ROM. This easy-to-use program allows you to preview any of the 4,000 fonts found on the CD before you install them, and with the option to print sample sheets, you can quickly reference your typefaces.
   System Requirements: Windows, IBM Compatible, Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, 8 MB of RAM (Pentium with 16 MB of RAM or more recommended), 30 MB HD, 4X CD-ROM drive, keyboard, mouse, printer (optional).

5 comments about Sound Forge 9.

1. Although this has some fancy bells and whistles, it seems, it does not indicate wheather you can grapht your own voice overs onto all of theses "professionally edited" recordings. ALso in some audio phyle's cases the voice mic use in a quality manner, is the ONLY purpose of this software, as microsoft's own media is of terrible quality. You need a mixer and quality mic recording software, the mixer needs to be user freindly(at least resonably so) and not go through uncessisary complicated steps to be utilize fully, the mixer and VO device are what make all this stuff work for the purpose of art and production of your own, and if sound software doesn't have these capablitiies, it's only an over priced karioke machine, and totally useless in my opinion!



2. appearantly the last reviewer doesn't understand the simplicity of what a fully featured "audio editing" program is.
   
   as of soundforge 1.0, you could mix vocals into music, ...all you do is copy it onto the clipboard, ...and highlight the area in the audio you want to mix the vocals into, ...and move it also to the cliboard, ...then choose the "mix" setting on the clipboard, ...make any required adjustments inside the dialogue box, ....and click paste.
   
   the cursor should still be left precisley at the point you extracted the audio segment to be mixed.
   
   this is "not" a multi-track recorder.
   
   this is an "audio editing program", ...mainly oriented towards sound designers, ...audio engineer "mastering" specialists. ...and people who use hardware and software samplers who want to get closer, spiritually with the essence of their samplers.
   
   you 'can' sync to video, ...but vegas might be a better option.
   
   soundforge 9 also excepts any VST plugins, ...an insane value if you are already into music production/recording/engineering.
   
   not to mention "noise reduction", ...how else would you get all that vynil onto your hard drive, and capture its origional sound quality?
   
   this editing program is by far more powerful than "ANY" editing program featured in any software multitrack recording program or DAW, ...as well as "ANY" hardware sampler.
   
   although it is meant to "edit" with the entent of dispersing its results onto other working software/hardware applications.
   
   don't get pissed cause you bought a high quality turntable needle, but can't be a full fledged dj without two turntables and a mixer.
   
   the only competition is Steinberg Wavelab.
   i haven't used it, ...but it costs twice as much, ...and steinberg has caught up to its features with surround sound mixing, ...video audio syncing, ...vst implementation, ...noise reduction 2.0, ....as well as CD Architect, ...what a great program to create RED BOOK STANDARD commercially professional cds?
   
   soundforge + waves plugins? ....full fledged mastering studio for the price of a few hundred dollars? ...incredible!



3. Agreed! as a long time professional musician, recordist, engineer -and now, finally- mastering engineer with a house payment i gotta give a big amen to Jon S for mentioning that with -"soundforge + waves plugins? ....full fledged mastering studio for the price of a few hundred dollars? ...incredible!"
   TRUE!
   i started out w/ Sonic Foundry (90) way before Sony ate them and have never (Acid-CD-Arch-DVDArch-Vegas Pro-etc) been let down, save a few times via update in the mid 90's, once.
   i use Cubase for much of my recording and have at times Mastered a Disc using Pro-Tools (i dislike PTs), Logic, etc-- they are all quite nice, but for ease of use and intuitiveness, SF8 (buying 9 soon) cannot be beaten WHEN (as Jon S pointed out) paired with gold-standard plug-ins such as Waves Ltd
   produces (and i use).
   in the end a platform (SF9) is only as good as its Plug-Ins -- while the Sony Plugs are nice the Waves Ltd Plugs and their uber-easy interface with SF are a marriage made in heaven.
   
   for Multitracking i often use the also wonderful, Sony Acid Pro, which, as you would expect is easily integrated with SF and Waves Ltd Plugs...
   
   looooong story short --this is one helluva buy .. esp. in the "bang for yer buck" category!



4. I thoroughly enjoy using Sound Forge. It's intuitive and versatile, and has many applications. I don't have the experience the other reviewers have with sound editing, but I feel comfortable recommending it to someone who has reasonable computer skills. I can mix and manipulate existing sounds and music, or record my own. It's like having my own sound studio.



5. Soundforge is excellent - I use it for LP/tape restoration as well as for mastering. The only major issue I have is that v9.0c will not install on Vista 64-bit.
   
   -Update 2/24/08-
   Version v9.0e installs fine now on Vista 64-bit and it is working fine with SP1. Overall, I appreciate Sony's schedule of frequenty releasing minor updates! At least 4 stars...

5 comments about Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Upgrade.

1. Quite a few years ago I switched to Dreamweaver when Marcomedia was still the owner. I loved how fast it was, and how clean it created web pages. At the time, FrontPage was its competitor and FP was a joke. I followed Dreamweaver until CS3. This version has problems following mapped drives for backup and saving changes. I'm a pc tech and I have advanced skills. This is a Dreamweaver issue. As with all its products the first thing Adobe did was bloat up the program, and it now runs like syrup. The first time I tried to activate I had problems with confirmation. I called tech support and the illiterates in India were unable to help me. I restored my OS to an earlier date and was able to activate. I've also had a lot of trouble saving PDF's with acro 8 pro. I used to love Dreamweaver but now I've switched to Microsoft Expression. It's like what Dreamweaver used to be. And the price of Microsoft Expression Web is only $99! This product is now overpriced and overbloated as with all Adobe products. I won't use it again and I'm looking for another PDF creator. I understand there are some free ones out there.



2. I, too, used to love Dreamweaver and currently have version 8. My experience with Adobe over many many years has been that their software has ALWAYS been overpriced and over-bloated. I HATE Acrobat, which I have NEVER been able to use effectively. So when Adobe bought Macromedia I groaned. But after a while I thought it was time to upgrade Dreamweaver and came here. Changed my mind based on these reviews. Why write a review when I didn't buy the product? Simply to confirm that what these people say is typical of my past experience, too. These reviewers are not cranks. Adobe sucks.



3. One of the early WYSIWYG web page builders I used was an Adobe product that had the worst manuals and workflow ever, so I assumed the Adobe influence on Dreamweaver would be awful. This upgrade was a pleasant surprise, fixing some key issues I had with MX, and offering some features I have yet to explore.



4. The other posts are correct. -- Be very careful before you purchase this upgrade.
   
   Macromedia seemed to have had a different (better) upgrade policy than Adobe and if you don't read carefully you might get yourself stuck with a product that you can't use. -- I have the MX2004Pro studio (that includes Dreamweaver MX2004) but I just wanted to upgrade to Dreamweaver CS3. After reading the other posts on this page - I went to Adobe to see what they had to say on the issue.
   
   This is their response: "I understand that you want to know whether you can upgrade to Dreamweaver CS3 (from the MX2004 Studo Suite). This is to inform you that as per Adobe's upgrade policy; there is no upgrade path from a component product of a "Suite" to a "standalone product". Therefore you will be unable to upgrade from a suite product like Studio (although it contains Dreamweaver) to a standalone product like Dreamweaver CS3."
   
   ...This is not the response I wanted, but it may be a blessing in disguise. Adobe has now given me the incentive I need to stop using Dreamweaver as a crutch and start learning how to code and build CSS websites by hand.
   
   
   
   .



5. I just purchased an upgrade from Studio MX 2004 and cannot change from a windows based pc to a mac. Macromedia was a great company, never a problem. I will not purchase ANY other product from Adobe.

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 Roxio Toast 8 Titanium (Mac) [OLD VERSION].

1. Toast isn't the Mac equivalent of Roxio's Windows programs. All I wanted to do was burn copies of DVDs, and it constantly balks, hangs up, claims disks are damaged, etc. - - with discs that are NOT copy protected, run fine on either Windows computers, or DVD players.
   To add insult to injury, literally within hours of purchasing Toast 8, they released Toast 9 - - and the best offer they would make (NOT a free upgrade!) was a modest discount on 9.



2. It really sucks!!! It's very easy to use but on the other hand, the quality of the imagine is very very poor. Sometimes the imagine is so full of pixels that it's impossible to continue using. I thought that I wasn't using it properly but it turned out that it's the software that's not good.



3. I wish i could "toast" my dvd movies to keep backup of them, otherwise is just ok, easy to use



4. Running on OSX 10.4.11 this old version of Toast grabbed the Lightscribe DVD recorder in my new HP Photosmart 8180 and wrote a good title image first try with DiscLabel. It also uses my old USB Aopen DUW1616/ARR with no issues.
   
   It just works.



5. I have used the Toast line of CD/DVD burning software since I had my old Macintosh G3 and this version of the software is the most feature-packed yet.
   
   I am using this product on both an older dual processor G4 running OS X 10.4.11 and on a Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro on OS X 10.5.4 and both machines have burned flawlessly. I've not had any trouble with either machine.
   
   It is a simple to use program with lots of features; probably the best burning utility for Macintosh computers available.

5 comments about USB Teach Me Piano Kit.

1. The USB MIDI cable works great with Windows Vista. I use it to play karaoke MIDI files on my laptop on my player grand piano.
   
   I can't say much for the accompanying Teach Me Piano program. Not nearly as good as the Piano Discovery Program (unfortunately discontinued).



2. I was quite disappointed with this software. The MIDI USB adaptor was fine, but the piano tutoral was very primitive with low res. graphics and it doesn't even support long filenames!! It looks like it was designed for Windows 95 and hasn't been updated since.
   
   I'm suprised they still market this. If I didn't need the MIDI adaptor for other things, I would have returned the whole package.



3. My friend has both emedia and teach me piano. The former is more like a traditional classroom teaching. The latter involves practice from the very beginning. Before you finishing first chaptor, you are able to play a real song. Very rewarding. I am going to buy my own teach me piano.



4. I was looking for a USB-to-MIDI cable to hook up my Yamaha keyboard to my computer, and came across this. As this kit of the USB cable and piano-teaching software only cost a few dollars more than just buying the USB-to-MIDI cable, I bought this instead. FYI, I'm an adult who's just learning how to play piano for the first time.
   
   The USB-to-MIDI cable works great. It's a Turtle-Beach brand cable that's about 10ft. long. I was able to install the driver software and start using the cable right away. It's great to be able to play the MIDI files I've downloaded and have them sound fantastic through the Yamaha keyboard. I've even managed to download a freeware sequencer software and record my first "song" (a one-handed rendition of Oh! Susanna).
   
   The teaching software is good, but as others have noted, is dated and it shows. It runs without any problems (so far) on my Windows XP laptop. The program runs fullscreen at 800x600 resolution--so if you have a 20+ inch flat panel running at 1600x1200 desktop resolution, your eyes will suffer and your sense of aesthetics will be highly offended! As far as I can tell, there's no option to run the program in a window.
   
   Once I got past the initial "yikes" factor (of the screen resolution and display), I am finding that I am learning far more with this software's combination of onscreen tutorials, video clips (of someone actually playing the piano) and audio instructions, and keyboard-to-computer interface and its immediate feedback, than I have been with a couple of teach-yourself-piano type books. This software isn't too big on theory or preparation (finger exercises, etc.), but is good for getting you actually start learning with the keyboard.
   
   There's another program included called "Songbook," which comes with 75 songs that you can learn to play; you can watch the program play it with proper timing, and then try to play it yourself, either by reading the music properly or by cheating and reading the numbers above the treble staff (for example, "1" is the middle C chord, "2" is D, etc.). There's also a rudimentary grading built into the lessons and the Songbook.
   
   You're supposed to be able to download MIDIs from the internet and import them into the Songbook and learn to play them, but so far I have not been able to do so (unexpected program error blah blah blah). I've only tried a couple, and will try others and update the review later on this aspect of the software.
   
   I'd give the USB-to-MIDI cable 5 stars in a heartbeat, and the sofware probably 4 stars. I'll round up and give the whole package 5 stars. For an extra few dollars beyond buying just the USB-to-MIDI cable, this is a good value and choice for those just starting out on learning to play piano.



5. The USB adapter worked perfectly right out of the box. I didn't have to worry with any driver or firmware installations as other people seem to have had to do. I agree with the running observation that the software is dated. But that is not really a critique. It does what it is supposed to do very well. It's too advanced for my 5yr old to use on her own but I've enjoyed revisiting the piano with it.
   
   I did take lessons as a child for a few years but never got far. I understand music notation already so I may not be the best judge but it seems to be straight forward and easy to understand. I love the fact that you can chose weather to just slide through the lessons or do it over until it's perfect. At least you don't have to worry about getting too board before the software will allow you to continue, and for perfectionists you can easily work on it until you get it right!
   
   One great feature, it comes with a midi recording station to record your own performances to directly to midi. Good design over all and for less than the cable itself would have cost at the local store, a really great deal!

No comments about Colorvision S3TV100 Spyder3 TV - Windows.

1 comments about Artrage Deluxe 2.5.

1. ArtRage is a natural media digital art software with several very nice features, some challenging those of Painter and Photoshop. The first thing that I liked was the software's graphic user interface or workspace. Given the number of features and the amount of controls to customize the tools, you would expect a complicated and intimidating GUI similar to that of Painter or Photoshop. Instead, you have an uncluttered workspace with only six panels bordering the edges. Also, as you are working, these few panels automatically disappear out of the way as your brush approaches and reappear again as you move your brush away. Other nice features are a rotating canvas and pen tablet support. ArtRage can import and export several image formats including JPEG, BMP, PNG and PSD.
   
   Those artists who begin their artwork by blocking out the major shapes and colors in their painting will appreciate ArtRage's Tracing Image feature. This feature allows you to import a photo or sketch as a starting point for your painting. ArtRage projects the imported tracing image onto the canvas and you can control the scale and opacity of the image. For example, while tracing the outline of a rose with the Pencil tool, I set the opacity to around 80% which allowed me to see the details clearly. Later when I began to add color, I lowered to opacity to about 30% to create an "onion skin" of the trace image. For artists who like to paint from a reference image, ArtRage allows you to "pin" a reference image or images directly on to the canvas. Once the reference image is pinned to the workspace, you can reposition the image next to the area you are working on.
   
   ArtRage has two ways to work with color; Trace Color and Normal Color. Trace Color is a feature which takes all the hard work out of choosing colors. As you paint with any of the tools, the software chooses the colors for you, based on the trace image. If you prefer to choose the colors, you can switch to the Normal Color mode and ArtRage has several color pickers including a Numeric Color Picker and the basic RGB and HSL color pickers.
   
   With the Custom Color Picker feature, you can narrow your color choices in the color picker panel to a smaller group of colors such as complements, warm colors or cool colors. Finally, ArtRage comes with several preset Color Samples. You can even create and save your own custom color sets and color samples.
   
   Now that we have our digital colors, we are ready to paint or draw. Each of the natural media art tools in ArtRage can simulate traditional art media including oil, pencil, palette knife, airbrush, chalk, glitter, paint roller, paint tube, felt pen, crayon and eraser. The realism and amount of custom control over the tool's properties such as wetness, pressure, hardness and angle, are surprising for the price. The natural media tools can also be used with the Metallic Paint option which gives a metallic characteristic to the media and to the canvas. In the Papers Settings Panel, you can choose a preset paper type and control several aspects of the canvas such as grain, roughness, color and opacity.
   
   Another feature that one would expect in only high end software is layers. ArtRage's Layers panel rivals its competitors'. You can work on individual areas of your painting on separate layers. You can also copy, group and merge layers. Each layer has its own properties, such as opacity and blend modes, and can be moved, scaled and rotated. You can control the characteristics of the paper or canvas for each layer. ArtRage also supports transparency for layers, Photoshop's blending modes and has the ability to retain layer information when you import or export your artwork in PDS format.
   
   The Stencil Picker is a very nice feature that can have many applications. The stencils and rulers work in three modes. In the Stencil mode, you can use the stencil or ruler as a mask to prevent paint from touching the canvas. In the Ruler mode, the stencils and rulers act as a combination straight edge and snap to function. As you move your paint brush along the edge of the stencil, your brush will automatically snap to the edge of the stencil giving you a nice clean edge. The Guide mode works like the Ruler mode but allows paint to spread under the stencil or ruler, giving a softer edge. ArtRage comes with a nice selection of preset stencils and rulers. You can also create and store you own.
   
   Besides the built-in resources such as color samples, preset paper types, trace images, stencils and rulers, ArtRage comes with several video and pdf tutorials, sample paintings, quick start guide and a nice user manual.
   
   I almost feel embarrassed to suggest additional features. But if I had a "wish list" for ArtRage it would include just a few things. For art media tools, I would like to see a watercolor brush and a drawing pen with a really fine point. As for new features, I would like to see selection tools and tooltips. Although ArtRage does have a multiple undo feature, it would be nice to have a history panel.

3 comments about Apple Garageband Jam Pack: Rhythm Section.

1. My school's computers have this GarageBand Jam Pack, and may I say, it's great! The drums, the bass, the guitar; everything is superb. You make your own songs. You make your album. You become the rock star. Not in a million years would I, Me, be able to make this kind of music without it. Go buy one, and make Amazon.com happy.



2. I don't have a lot of music production experience, which is why I love Apple's GarageBand. This JamPack was easy to install - when I opened the program afterwards it was as if all of the new loops and instruments were always there. The sound is suprisingly warm and authentic, and I found the selection to be pretty comprehensive. This JamPack is a great foundation for anybody looking to learn the basics of the program... great drum kits and some incredible bass sounds.



3. this jam pack is awesome. It comes with tons of new loops and instruments and the installation disc only takes up about 5 GB on your computer. Though I'm enjoying this product I feel that is not worth the amount of money that I paid for it. I only bought this to play around with other instruments but if you are one who actually takes time and wrights music this is a great purchase for you.

3 comments about Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Production Premium [Mac].

1. CS3 finally brings together most of the tools that video and Web nerds need. While I still don't care for Premier Pro compared to Final Cut Pro, this suite provides a consistent user experience from one product to the next. Flash is more approachable than ever, and if you've used After Effects before, you'll find it especially inviting.



2. I mostly use Photoshop and illustrator in my work but I got this package so I could play with after effects and all the other software included. I like how integrated all the programs together so they work more fluidly. It makes it easier to move from one program to the other.
   
   
   
   Photoshop: I really like all the new features they have in Photoshop CS3 like this stitch plug in, it really makes it easy to make wide landscape pictures. The new smart filters are really great because you don't destroy the underlying photo. The new interfaces also a big plus everything is still at your fingertips but it's more off to the side and not cluttering up your screen.
   
   
   
   Illustrator: I hadn't played a whole lot in illustrator yet but I have tried the live trace feature and I really like it, it makes it easy to get something from real world into the computer as vectors and then you can use the new live paint and color in your work.



3. The product received is what I expected. The price I paid was less then retail. And we are using it/enjoying it everyday without any problems.