No comments about Print Shop Deluxe.

5 comments about Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Designer Deluxe v.3.

1. This program has many, many creative ideas. I love the fact that there are over 50,000 images, etc. The one thing that has me perplexed is, how to create a 12x12 scrapbook page out of an 8.5x11 sheet of paper?
   
   The program states that a 12x12 scrapbook page can be created and printed out, however, a PC printer can only use 8.5x11 paper. Not sure how Broderbund can sell this program stating that it can create 12x12 scrapbook pages?
   
   Still, it's a great program, and with all the ideas it makes scrapbooking easier.
   
   If anyone has any ideas how a 12x12 scrapbook page can be created from any of the scrapbook computer programs, I'd like to hear from you.
   
   Thanks.



2. This was fun to play with, but I will be buying another brand next time. This version has no "eyedropper" tool to get colors to match exactly.. you have to guess at it, if you are trying to get two elements that are the exact same color. The textures and page backgrounds are limited and if you try to add your own, the only option is to stretch the image, which ruins it most times. There is no options that I have found to use your own background image and "tile" it. I did make a few 12x12 pages and I have to send them to a printer to be done in that size, so I'm still curious as to how those will turn out.



3. I was very disappointed in this little program. I have 3 different versions of PrintMaster from Broderbund and they really serve the purpose much better and are more versatile. Also, when installing the Scrapbook Designer, it wiped out several of my favorite fonts. The graphics aren't great either. It's back in the box and I doubt that I will use it.



4. This is a great program for the price. In fact, I think I'll be using it as my main program for all my "print shop" needs. It does so much and it's photo editing tools are very extensive. It's called a scrapbook program, but it has many capabilities beyond scrapbooking. It comes with templates for most any kind of project that I could imagine. Everything you do can be saved as a pdf document or any of the other main graphic - type files. There are a couple of elements I would like to be improved as far as user-friendliness, but it's really not too bad and for the most part I'm more than satisfied with the product.



5. I bought this because I wanted to get into digital scrapbooking as a less expensive and more convenient way of getting my son's pictures into his scrapbook. The program is basic and user friendly, but the graphics that come with it are more like Word clipart than what you can download from the internet, even the free downloads are better than this. And the page samples are horrible. CK would never publish one of them in their magazine, so I'm wondering why they published or put their name on this. You can definitely import other backgrounds and page elements that you have on your computer, but part of what they claim to be selling is a bazillion fonts, backgrounds, and page elements. For my money I'd get a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 on ebay for about $25 plus shipping if you bid right. No reason to pay $80 for the newest version. It can do a lot more things than this program can.

3 comments about Write Brothers Dramatica Pro Win/Mac.

1. This has helped me organize the scenes in my novel.
   
   It's helped me decide which characters I needed to develop my story better.
   
   You not only need a Protagonist, you need (of course) an Antagonist (the Main character, the Impact character) and a Consider Character, Reconsider, Logic, Conscience, etc.
   
   It also makes sense that a good novel has more than one thoroughline, more than one areas of conflict.
   
   I'd give this 5 stars for me, but for others, it may be too bothersome to figure out how it works. I had to read about 500 pages on how to use it, why certain characters are essential, what thoroughlines will work with what, etc. and I still don't feel I know how to use everything this program offers.
   
   I see that there's a book on Amazon, Dramatica: A New Theory of Story (Paperback), that may explain more of how to use this software. You may instead like to write your novel and use books like the Plot Doctor or Scene and Structure and others.
   
   Good luck!



2. I have found Dramatic Pro to be an excellent tool in helping formulate and organize novel-length suspense stories. It's comprehensive and it makes you thoroughly think through the structure and flow of your story. The software does what it claims to do and it is based on successful story components. I've read other individual's reviews that were less than complimentary and I would have to say that their expectations of this software were probably beyond what the software said it could do. No writing software that I know of will lead a writer through the writing process. It's not like greeting card software that lets you pick and choose every element of the creative process and then you just print the result. But what this software does do is challenge you to not forget, and to properly develop, those key ingredients and components in any story that make the difference between one that other people like to see or read or one that gets ho-hum responses. Just learning the importance of having an Impact Character is enough to turn a mediocre story into a much better one. When you analyze successful and unsuccessful books or movies, more than half the time the difference can be traced to the development, or lack of development, of one or more Impact Characters. Dramatica Pro forces you to pay attention to through-lines, problem creation and resolution, and every element that could possibly be part of a story. But this software does require patience and the personal desire to get things properly organized. If you lack patience, then don't buy this software. If you don't like the fact that almost all successful stories have predictable elements, then you will not like this software because it will lead you down a path that you probably don't want to follow. If you have no tolerance for a jargon learning curve, then don't buy it. And if you are looking for a muse to stimulate your creative juices, then you shouldn't even be looking at any computer software - go find a pen pal. In my opinion, Dramatica Pro does what it says it can do and I really like the way it does it.



3. This is only helpful if you are brainstorming a writing project with no real clue on what you want it to be about. I usually have a passion for the story before I write it and have some idea about where I want to go. If you are the type that begin with vague concepts and story ideas this may help you, but don't be surprised if you give up half way through and start writing it freely with out these writing construct and parameters that can at times stifle your story creativity, flow, and passion. It almost reminds me of referring to the APA Manual when I wrote graduate term papers.

5 comments about Art Explosion Christian Greeting Card Factory.

1. There is no way that this 95-98-ME software can be run using XP platform.
   I feel very deprived for it was my favorite greeting card factory program.



2. I like this product and it's easy to use. There are many choices of cards and other projects, but no clearly defined envelop template.



3. The more I use this product, the more I find I can do with it - it's more friendly than the new products! I use this for ministry work - I use it most everyday - I only use photoshop products for the clipart; I copy it from there and move it to Christian Greeting Card Factory! I've made thousands of prayer cards and wouldn't change from this product ever!



4. XP is listed above in "See more system requirements," yet customer reviewer Always N Bloom stated, "There is no way that this 95-98-ME software can be run using XP platform." I emailed the software company (Nova Development), asking them to confirm that I can run Christian Greeting Card Factory on XP (as stated on Nova's website). Here is their response: "It was never tested, so you may or may not be able to run it. We have heard users give us answers on both sides. Thank you, Jeff, Customer Service Representative, Nova Development."
   BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU HAVE XP, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RUN THIS SOFTWARE.



5. I bought this a few years ago to replace the hallmark christian card program which somehow I had lost. I thought for the price it was worth seeing if it was any good and found to my surprise that I found it was easier to use and more adaptable than what I had before for a lower cost. I often import personal pictures to fully personalize the cards and so become very one of a kind. if you dont want the bible verses etc it is easy to change/add/eliminate what ever you want.
   must say that i have at least 3 other programs that are totally useless in comparison and I dont use anything else now.
   great product and would recommend to anyone

No comments about Acad Corel Painter X Pc/mac.

1 comments about Kontakt 2 Tutorial DVD.

1. I went through the entire Kontakt2 tutorial and was very impressed. All of the features and functions are well covered in this product, and I am now using Kontakt like a pro. Well worth it no matter how you like to use Kontakt.

5 comments about Art Explosion 300,000 Premium Image Collection.

1. This clip art collection is a big disappointment. The quality of the vector graphics is quite low, but a bigger problem is the search engine. They include a tool called Portfolio Browser, but it does not offer any keywords or text search. Instead, you must load one "portfolio" at a time by navigating to a folder on the CD. This is a very inefficient way to sort through 30,000 images, since each folder may contain only 100 or so pictures.
   
   You can copy the CDs to a hard drive (manually), but when you open the portfolio folders it demands that you insert the CD to load the image. With such a large number of CDs, this too is unwieldy.
   
   So to summarize, this is a collection of 30,000 low-quality images without a usable search or browsing capability. I do not envision myself ever using this.



2. The search engine is awful. You must restart between disks. The clip art for the most part is not useable (OK I only checked the weddings / church). The people in the wedding clip art is not something I would send out or use. There is no holiday clip art that I could find. The church clip art is so limited that I can't imagine ever using it. I'm used to doing quality professional material and this will NOT help me. Glad they have a money back guarantee (at least that's something they have that is good that others don't)



3. This image collection may have 300,000 images, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to find any of them, because there is no real guide. The search engine only works on the particular disc that you are using at the time, which may only have six or seven categories. The way the pictures are organized is very confusing, and only useful for those who are very patient and those with lots of time on their hands. I use this with my high school journalism class, and my students are much too impatient to go through every single disc to find the pictures they want. The whole thing is practically useless. Don't buy this. The new version of Art Explosion is much better, because it has a book with the images in it, so you can look it up quickly.



4. I am very pleased with this product. More pictures and images than you could possibly need in every category. I'm very happy with the value for the money.



5. If you bought the older version that came with a book, you won't be happy.
   
   The computer version comes with an awkward reference library that has too few items per page with lousy quality. You have to open all the files to see what's really there. If you need to work fast. Forget it! If you like to put cats and flowers on stationery, it might be OK.
   
   I used the previus 40,000 version on paying projects. The art was easy to find use, color, alter, etc.
   
   After you buy it, you may be unhappy with customer service. After being on hold for 1/2 hour. I got defensive vague answers when asking if the older art was included?...some are! Do you have a pdf or higher quality freference to offer? ...Nope. Can I get my money back? No. Can I speak to a manager? Nope.
   
   Do not buy this book...or any of the art explosions!!!

3 comments about Arthur's Kindergarten.

1. It was a good start for my son who moved from London to the US to learn the ways of the schools etc.Arthur has captured his fancy from the Pbskids and the books in schools.This does the same and I am sure will help him to get to speed here in the US.



2. This product did not work. I returned it to The Learning Company months ago and haven't received a refund or any response. Buyer beware.



3. Great software program for kids in kindergarten or maybe even a little younger.

1 comments about My Professional Business Cards.

1. At $30 this is a fine product for someone who does not want to design a card as the only changes that can be made to the several thousand cards are in the name, phone number and address. The location of text can not be changed and graphics can not be imported. Once I realized that this was not a program for me I deleted it and manually had to delete the extra fonts added by this program as my OS complained about too many fonts. My Print Shop program is more versatile.

3 comments about Sound Studio 3: Record, Edit, Add Effects to Audio (Mac).

1. I like this software because it is a nice and easy editing program. It operates mainly in two tracks, so if you're looking for someing a la ProTools, keep looking. I use this program mainly to check audio files that students submit for grading - its quick and easy to pop in their disk, open the file and check levels, etc. Its also nice for quick editing of small files. I'm not too keen on the price but when I remember what Cool Edit 2000 cost when it first came out, its no big deal.
   
   I like that it works with all Apple formats as well as .wav and .mp3. You don't have to worry about compatability problems. Documentation and support are easy to read and understand.
   
   All told, this is not the solution for multi-track work on the Mac. ProTools is still the top dog. But for basic editing, listening, and sharing files, it can't be beat. Its a nice low-cost solution.



2. I have used a number of different "low end"" audio editors and found Sound Edit FAR superior on my Mac. It works smoothly without crashes, which plagued most of the other programs I tried (incl. Audacity). I do mainly voice editing for lectures with some music background mixed it. It is very easy to enlarge and edit out unwanted sound bytes or noises. Only thing it either doesn't have, or I haven't figured out yet, is how to filter the entire recording for crackles and pops. For the price, Sound Edit is way above the rest-even the freeware.



3. I'm primarily interested in converting vinyl to digital and recording and editing FM audio. The colorful, gaudy, comparably-priced Toast/Spin Doctor program may be slightly handier for converting vinyl LPs, but its wave patterns are unreadable and its editing functions too imprecise to be practical for editing a large 2-hour file recorded from FM. Sound Studio requires a bit more study than Spin Doctor, at least for the uninitiated, but the wave patterns are editable, offering the user more than the merely decorative squiggly lines of the Roxio product. Moreover, it has a reliable and easy-to-set timer for automatic recording, a very useful feature that's missing in Spin Doctor. Finally, it comes packaged with a handy little hard-copy manual--perhaps the reason Roxio's Toast is once again including printed instructions. On the downside, Sound Studio has crashed on me several times before I had finished making a few simple edits. The lesson: immediately save the file (a bummer because time-consuming) before editing.
   
   As for the recently heavily promoted Wiretap Studio, it's definitely the program of choice for recording audio files off the internet (I mostly use it to record files from NPR Jazz). And it enables you to preview about a dozen different compression ratios in real time, a unique feature. Moreover, you can record in any compression ratio rather than convert after the fact (the feature really doesn't save much time since Sound Studio allows you to save the file in your desired compression ratio, but it helps insure against exceeding storage capacity while recording). Still I feel more comfortable recording and editing non-internet sound with Sound Studio. The latter offers better level indicators, more protection against distortion, and makes the saving of a single part of a large unedited file less of an adventure.
   
   Update: Sound Studio 3 has been superseded by Sound Studio 3.5, which lists dozens of additional features and add-ons. It's no problem downloading an upgrade from the Freeverse site. The new version does nothing that's different from my old Sound Studio 2, which was practically free as I recall (the price of the present one seems a bit high when compared to the burning and video features of the comparably priced Toast). To begin with, the update download gave me so much trouble I simply trashed it and went back to Version 3, which worked fine. After several months, I downloaded the update again and, happy to say, the bugs seem to have been taken care of.
   
   The other program in this price range worth considering is Fission, which appears to have all of the features of Sound Studio plus more reader-friendly instructions and user-friendly icons. The problem with the program is that it requires a separate recording program (Audio Hijack Pro). Even though the combination package sells for less than either Toast or Sound Studio, I'd prefer to have a single program that can both record and edit. Any more crashes, though, and I'd probably go to the Fission/Audio Hijack Pro two-fer.
   
   Unfortunately, Apple, which is always popular with musicians and artists, doesn't appear to have available any programs comparable to the PC favorite, Cool Edit. For the intrepid or adventurous, there's always the freeware editing program, Audible, which looks forbidding to all but the most experienced.