5 comments about Cakewalk Music Creator 3.

1. I agree that this product isn't warranted the bad reviews. It comes with a tutorial disc, and you still may not figure out everything, but be patient. It may not be the software for newbies...as I might buy Sony ACID for that, but it's good. Just make sure you know what you're getting into.



2. I give this software 3 stars instead of 4 or 5 primarily because of the lack of good documentation. It is difficult to find what you really need.
   
   However, with that being said, I was recording a half hour after I installed it. I had used recording software before(Guitar Tracks) so I was familiar with what was necessary to get everything going, but I had to start somewhere, and of couse when I first started to use Calkwalk products, I was lost, just like some of the reviewers here seem to be.
   
   Word to the wise - slow down, be patient, and don't be so quick to judge the software. You are going to have to play with it, read the documentation, go through the tutorials, and the first few times you record - your music will sound like garbarge.
   
   It takes time to learn to record quality music, but if you give the software a chance, you will eventually learn how to tweak the controls, work with effects, and edit your music so you have something that you can be proud of.
   
   The software works, but it will take time, and frankly - at this price it is worth it. If you study and learn a little about sound recording in general the software will be much easier to use.



3. Looks like I'm not the only one who was hooked by the product description, which is on the back of the box (and I quote): "Creating music on your PC has never been easier, more fun and more affordable."
   
   Easy? Absolutely not. Thus, no fun, and at that point, who would care about the cost???
   
   I've been a musician for 25 years (who reads and writes music) and have been a PC user for about 15 years, so I'm not a newbie in either area. Yes, I concede that setting up any music software is tricky and getting familiar with it takes some time. I've got a friend who has a similar system (not Cakewalk), and it's not plug and play, but it seems to make sense if you work with it long enough.
   
   But this is misleading advertising. Make a note, Cakewalk salespeople: You'll sell a lot more software if you are more honest and straightforward with your product descriptions. How about creating a series of music software that would allow ALL levels of musicians/computer users get the ball rolling? That way, if users/buyers of, let's say a product called "Cakewalk Music Software 2007, Step 1" were impressed with what they got, then they would move onto Step 2, etc. Anyone who started with, let's say, step 5, who found it overwhelmingly perplexing and frustrating, could return it for a lower level and work his way up as far as he wanted.
   
   I regret that I did not read the reviews posted here. I would have done a tutorial or listened to it myself. But now I'm out $40 and am looking for something that won't take weeks of note-taking and "Help" file searches to get off the ground.
   
   BUYER BEWARE!



4. Iv'e been playing with this for a couple of hours at a time, so I don't throw my computer housing it out the window. This version should be much simpler for people who want to record & easily playback on mp3's or windows media player. Proper file extensions to play outside of the cakewalk program itself seem to be the holy grail in achievment if I had nothing better to do with time. Simple, easy pfffft I think not.



5. I purchased this software from Comp USA, Ridgeland, MS. The store is now
   closed. When I loaded the program in it had no sound. I own more than a
   dozen music software programs. Also when I went to register the software,
   they responded back, it could not be registered. I have the serial number
   and the VIP code needed to register it with. It has sense enough to pull
   the serial number out of my computer. All I needed was my name, address,
   email address, and VIP Code. If I could rate this product on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it at -100. I have some great music software but this is not one of them.
   
   David Different
   Brandon, MS

4 comments about The Print Shop Design Suite Professional Edition.

1. This product is an absolute piece of junk. Do not buy this product. Will not even load properly onto computer. Have wasted several hours trying to install product on windows XP platform with no success. I have wasted a whole day trying to install this piece of junk on my computer, now I will probably waste another day trying to return this bunch of garbage to the vendor.



2. I've been purchasing The Print Shop for about 5 years now, and this latest edition is the best one yet. I'm having so much fun exploring and tinkering with some of the new features! My creative projects are really going to pop after I start using this bad boy with a vengeance. :-)
   
   At the beginning, I was puzzled as to why the installer did not launch when I put in the Install DVD-ROM. But, fortunately for me, I'm a bookworm and I actually took the time to read page 13 in the user's manual. It told you what to do if the program did not launch. For Windows XP, simply click the Start button, click Run, and type D:\Setup.exe. Make sure you substitute the letter for the actual drive you're using in place of the letter "D." Mine just happened to be "E." The Install Wizard popped right up and ran smoothly with no problems. I had it installed in less than five minutes.
   
   Installing the Design Suite software was little tricky, but I soon figured it out. It didn't launch right away, either. For Windows XP, simply click the Start button, click Run, and type D:\launcher.exe. Make sure you substitute the letter for the actual drive you're using in place of the letter "D." Again, mine was "E." It will open up another window with about 4 files listed. Double-click the blue icon at the bottom and the blue and white Design Suite window pops up. On the right side of the screen near the bottom, you'll see 4 blue tabs. Each one is a different component of the Design Suite. One thing to remember: Leave the original blue and white Design Suite window running in the background. The reason for this is because every time you click on one of the blue tabs, you're going to open up a new window. Once you're finished with one of the programs, just close the newest window and go back to first one and click each successive blue tab. Continue to do that until all of the components are installed. Then you can close everything out.
   
   All in all, it took me about 15 minutes total to install all of the components, including the time it took me to register them. The programs are easy to use and easy to navigate. I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase.
   
   In the end, I'd recommend this software to all and give them this bit of sound advice: If you have problems installing ANY type of software, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! A little reading at the beginning will save you a lot of time in the end. It's a shame the previous reviewer had such a hard time and couldn't complete in the span of a day what took me approximately 15 minutes to complete. Hope this review helps someone!



3. I am pleased with this software. I am able to do so much with my photos. I like the ease of use and every thing about the software. The service was as expected.



4. I was looking for a program that might give me more than my Microsoft Publisher program - as a Realtor it was my intent on having more tools so that my ads would look awesome before I sent them to print. This is one hard program to learn. I have emailed Broderbund a number of times requesting any kind of instructional CD or manual showing the basics...only to get a standard return email reply, then finally I was told to "learn one thing from this email" and that was to click on the Help link and ask my question(s). Well that was a bit patronizing. I had done that a number of times but all I received in response was that there was nothing matching my question. I then ordered a book from the ever-so-easy DUMMIES series and even that does not line up with this program. (It is dated year 2000). My intent is to send this program back to Broderbund, be thankful for my Microsoft Publisher and hope that I get a refund.
   
   ......and I did my research.....

3 comments about Morpheus Photo Morpher.

1. THIS IS NOTHING LIKE I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE, VERY DIFFICULT TO FIGURE OUT AND NOTHING LIKE IT APPEARED TO BE...VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS ITEM....



2. I just spent the last hour using Photo Morpher on a bunch of different pictures of family and friends (and our dogs!). I'm a fan - it's fun to use and the user interface is easy - even for me. I had the software pointed out to me by a friend who had seen it work on a youtube video - you can do great animations with this product.



3. I didn't know what to expect, but using Morpheus was really fun! Morpheus was easy to learn (the kids had absolutely no trouble learning it), easy to use (the kids had even less trouble using it) and fun for the entire family.
   Combining a child's photo with her favorite pet's, or friend's, showing how one might look older, fatter or (wishful thinking?) thinner, idea after idea--we've already spent hours of quality family time together because of Morpheus and, when Mom and Dad are busy, the kids have lots of fun with Morpheus on their own too.
   Whether it's for you, for your kids or for your grandkids, I wholeheartedly recommend Morpheus.

No comments about Cubase 4.

5 comments about Star Trek: Hidden Evil.

1. This might be an OK game (althought it does seem a little old-style in terms of visual effects) except for the game must be controlled entirely by the keyboard, and it is extremely unintuitive when compared to some other Star Trek games, like The Fallen. Advice: skip this one.



2. The game was ok, in the first place the control was horrible. I found it difficult to move the character out of danger fast enough. The length of time it took me to finish the game was about 2 days working off and on. Anything that I was stuck on took me tops about 10-15 minutes to figure out. The only lifesaver in the game was the incedible graphics, and an excellent plot idea. If you like short, good games go for it.



3. The last StarTrek role-playing game I had bought and played was the first STNG game: Final Unity. Things certainly have progressed since then. I rather liked NOT playing Capt Picard or Data, etc as this invloved you more in the story. I found keyboard control a little odd at first, missing the mouse, but soon got use to it. Graphics and locations are nice as are the design of the enemies. However, the game IS a little short, and very linear. I instantly grasped the idea of the puzzles (ie need gene sample) and only had to work out how to do it, ie where to find the sample...finishing the game in a few days. But still, I finished Final Unity quickly as well... so that's the nature of StarTrek role-play adventures I suppose. I missed the subtle control you might expect in a StarTrek universe, you can't for example, change the setting of your phaser, or use the tricoder on objects in your possession. Maybe a little more interaction with the envirnment would have been nice, the only interaction, ie security panels etc, is very goal specific, ie if you can interact with something, its very important....I few more unconnected things would have been nice, like turning lights off, or machinery or something. On the whole enjoyable, but short.



4. An alright game but it dosn't really follow the STAR TREK theme. Plus the graphics aren't that good and the controlls hard to use.



5. WOW! Ok, I know it's 2007 and I'm playing a game from 1999, but what the heck. lol. This game is wonderful, reminiscent of the old days when Picard and Data were still on our screens every night, bringing some new and amazing futuristic discovery to the screen while becoming legends. The interaction with the Star Trek crew alone is enough to warrant a purchase. As far as graphics... now I'd give them about a 6 out of 10 back in '99 these would have easily rated a 9 as the fixed enviroment system allows for a very rich and detailed backdrop to the story. Surprisingly, mosto f the flaws of this game are the same as the original Resident Evil series. The controls can be frustrating, the cutscenes can be a bit blocky and the AI a little on the repetitive side. However, if you love Star Trek, and are looking for a great adventure game to keep you occupied and immersed in Star Trek, play this.

No comments about Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Web Standard.

3 comments about ClickArt 950K v2 (2008).

1. This product is awesome. It comes with all images inside the box with an easy search tool for finding the right image. I use it for everything. And I can just drag and drop the image into the program I am working in. I highly recommend it.



2. I purchased this product and I was very disappointed! In fact, I returned it. All the images are low resolution and cannot be used anywhere except on websites. They are not print quality and; therefore, cannot be used for any print media such as books, brochures, advertising projects, newspapers, magazines, etc. I think vendors who sell clipart and stock photography should be REQUIRED to list the resolution of all the images they are selling. Plus, alot of the images are repeated, just in different sizes and file types. It's not 950,000 images and they are not print quality resolution; therefore, useless to most of us.



3. I've been using ClickArt for a few weeks now and it's pretty good. I used it's previous incarnation of The Big Box of Art which was good, this now has a nicer looking search screen and retains it's excellent search facility. I'm not convinced that there are many more decent images than in the BBA 350,000, but it's enough for what I want (making teaching materials and soon to be making a website). I am finding though that half of my images I'm now pulling off the internet via a Google Image search. My main gripe is that having a few DVDs instead of lots of CDs is great, but it can take quite a while to bring up the image you want extract (so I may try loading the DVDs onto my hard drive).
   In summary useful to me and worth the price.

3 comments about Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker 3.

1. I downloaded a free one month trial of this label maker and just loved it. It is super easy to use and gives professional looking CD & DVD labels, including the paper inserts for DVD and CD cases. I made some awesome mixed tapes this Christmas that looked so professional, my friends couldn't believe they were home made! Worth the money if you do a lot of burning/downloading. Great for labeling photo CD's, too.



2. After several tries I have finally found a great label maker. This easy program makes lablels that actually fit the template and comes with LOTS of pre-designed options. It's fast, simple and works well; exactly what you hope for in software.



3. My goal: to convert vinyl records into CDs.
   
   I bought CD Label Maker rather unwillingly, as the result of a bottom-feeding marketing ploy by Acoustica. Buying it was the only way I could (without major hassle) print out the track information of a CD created using Spin-It-Again. This is an essential part of the vinyl record to CD digitization process, because CDs are not able to have named tracks.
   
   At least Acoustica gives you a $7 discount if you've already bought Spin-It-Again and then discover you still have to fork over an additional 50% of the original purchase price to get a fully functional product. ($21.95 is what you have to pay for CD Label Maker if you don't already own Spin-It-Again)
   
   I am not very impressed with CD Label Maker. I had a version of Nero Burning ROM about ten years ago that came for free with my CD burner that was better in most respects.
   
   There is one major feature that people printing labels directly on their CD media will like: the ability to print curved lines of text. Since I am still at the Magic Marker stage of disk labeling, I don't know how well this feature works. Likewise for the super-tiny fonts that are supposedly included.
   
   The editing windows of CD Label Maker are usefully divided into the front, inside and back inserts, as well as one for printing directly on the disk itself. The front and inside default to being printed as a "booklet," which is convenient. You can print out the "booklet" on a single sheet of 8.5" x 11" (or A4) paper, then cut it out, fold it in half and slip it into the front cover of a jewel case. If you check a box, it will print an outline of the images for you to cut around.
   
   There is a fairly large selection of art and backgrounds that come with the product, but I haven't looked at them. I photograph the cover of the album I'm digitizing and then import the .jpeg file into CD Label Maker to use as the front of the booklet. This is extremely simple: in the Art Browse tab, browse to the folder where the .jpeg resides and double-click on its thumbnail. Once it appears in the Front editing window, a right-click allows setting the mode: clip the larger dimension, white-fill the smaller dimension (both of these maintain the original aspect ratio of the imported art) or force-to-fit, which changes the aspect ratio. Clip the larger dimension is the default. You can also manually adjust each side of the image if you want to do that instead.
   
   On the right-click context menu, you can rotate the image by 90 degrees either direction, by 180 degrees, or you can flip it either vertically or horizontally. You can also adjust the brightness (lighter/darker) of the image, although this didn't work quite like I was expecting.
   
   For the inside label, I start with a Text Box. This is simple and works like it should: click on the Text icon on the toolbar, and then type inside the box that appears. Select all the text with a mouse drag, and set the font size. Drag the box to put it where you want it, and use the handles to adjust its size. I use this to put the album name at the top of the page. It is also possible to affect a vast range of text properties.
   
   With Spin-It-Again open, and the long recorded .wav file of the whole album loaded, hitting the "Show Tracks" button in any of the editing windows in CD Label Maker will put in a listing of the tracks. A right-click on the tracks will allow selection of other fields than the defaults, and also will allow turning off any of the default fields.
   
   I find the track list's default settings annoying. First, the track numbers are in italics. To change this, I have to right-click, select the Numbers field, and then click the "I" button at the bottom (with no indication that it is already enabled -- the button is not pushed in). There is no way to set this as the default, so I have to do it every time.
   
   The track numbers are left justified in their field. This makes for an ugly display, because all the track names starting with 10 are indented one space from tracks 1-9. There is no way to change this behavior. There is no way to add a period after the track numbers. There is no way to add a user-defined field and type in it.
   
   The default layout is squished up in the middle, and the track names word-wrapped. There is no reason for this, in my opinion. There is plenty of room on both the inside and back labels to have a wider space. Although there is no instruction or Help entry on how to do this, it is possible to drag the headings at the top like you would in Windows Explorer or Excel, and widen them. The tracks do un-word-wrap correctly when their column is wide enough. Once you widen them, you have to recenter the entire list, which must be done completely manually, by eyeball.
   
   The default font size is 8, which, again, is inexcusable, in my opinion. It is virtually illegible when printed, and, once again, takes up less than a quarter of the available space on the page. To fix this, I have to right-click, select All, then change the font size in the drop-down at the bottom. It is not possible to change the font size, style, boldness, justification, or any other property for a single field of the listing. All settings apply across the whole listing. This makes it impossible, for example, to have bolded track numbers but regular text for the track names.
   
   Track times are turned off by default. To turn them on, I have to right-click and then choose to display that field. On every CD I make a label for.
   
   The Print dialog retains the number of copies to print from invocation to invocation and file to file, so if you print multiple copies of a label, be careful the next time you only want to print one.
   
   All in all, not a very impressive product. If I had not been forced to do so by Acoustica's scum-sucking marketing department, I would not have bought this product by choice, on its merits alone.

No comments about muvee Reveal.

No comments about DrawPlus X2 Graphics Studio.