5 comments about Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 Platinum Edition.

1. For DVD-Video editing/creating, I use Roxio's VideoWave 7 Professional. For everything else this is great! I've had great success with win2000; it's designed for XP/ME/98 as well. 2000/XP users w/NTFS partitions will be best off; ANY user w/FAT32 partitions will likely experience some craziness! I use Norton Ghost for backup/imaging: so even if my computer spontaneously combusts(!), I can rebuild it pretty quickly. My Fave's- attractive interface, excellent html help, Creator Classic with Disc Copier, AudioCentral, Label Creator, and Drag-to-Disc: these are amazing! With *just these* components & a DVD+/-RW drive, this software *should* actually be pretty stable- it works great on my system! (AthlonXP 3000+; 512MB memory.) Disc Copier copies CDs/DVDs that aren't copy protected, yet I've copied a few store-bought items: a music CD; a cheap PC game CD; an instructional DVD(!); a foreign NTSC DVD(wow!). Creator Classic makes all kinds of discs- Data, Music, MP3, Enhanced, Mixed-Mode, Bootable & more! AudioCentral effectively rips, burns, converts & manages MP3s, WMAs, WAVs & OGGs. It's even greater now with the new mp3PRO Plug-in encoder available at Roxio's website (highly recommended!). I've converted audio tapes, with my analog-in sound card, into high-quality MP3 CDs with professional looking labels! Drag-to-Disc is especially important to me because win2000 (my favorite OS) can't write to CDs/DVDs without extra software help. This is a tremendously versatile package! For most of my CD/DVD needs, this product is all I need! Official Caveat Time- *PLEASE BACKUP YOUR COMPUTER BEFORE INSTALLATION!* Glitches, bugs, hangs & crashes can be experienced all throughout this product. Make sure Windows is up-to-date with all recent service packs & patches. If you install the entire product to see what it can do, then decide you can do without a few features, it's best to uninstall the whole package, restart the computer, and then reinstall only the needed features with their corresponding updates. Check Roxio's support page for common issues/problems to evaluate risk! (Especially win98/ME users!)
   
   *UPDATE 2006*: At one point, for whatever reason, my roxio software stopped detecting my drives altogether. I heard someone say: If EZCD6 ever says "no drive detected", google search EEZ000005 to find a helpful link & potential fix from Roxio. I did this, and the fix was a small software download called DriveFixEZ_Installed.exe. I ran this and it worked! All my drives were detected again. Still though: Roxio makes it exceedingly difficult at times to find help and potential fixes. They may have even removed that help page I just mentioned(!). Otherwise, this software really *can* be great. It just occasionally seems to be more frustrating than it's worth...



2. Do you know if u ever need to get support, or to download a patch for your paid Roxio software, registration IS required from their website?! Yes everytime you need an software update/patch, you need to login with password. Registration needs an valid email address and your ROXIO software key. Thanks to this COMPULSORY registration I need to keep record for one more login/password combination. And Pray that you don't loose your cd key.
   
   BTW if your cdburner came with a bundle Roxio Easy creator, forget any update / support from roxio since you dont get a cd key. Somehow this is one evil way ROXIO try to get your business. if one day you upgrade your operating system and need to update for the bundle roxio software, you have to BUY the retail version Easy Creator.



3. I purchased the Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 Platinum Edition in November 2004, after Microsoft's SP2 for Windows XP made my Basic 5 version unusable. I've been exchanging emails with Roxio Technical Support ever since. I can burn a data CD only to a CDR (for some reason ECDC 6 does not recognize my CDRWs). I cannot copy a CD using the Disc Copier function. For some reason the ECDC 6 recognizes my burner only through the Creator Classic function.
   
   What is wrong with companies these days? They grab the money and run. Never mind whether the customer gets the functionality they are paying for.
   
   I'll be looking into Nero or Sonic, which I've heard positive comments from live users.
   
   Amazon.com, on the other hand, is one customer-oriented company!



4. This is probably the most user-unfriendly software I've ever bought when it comes to creating music CDs. Everytime I needed to burn a music CD I had to go to the tutorial for the various steps. Version 5 was great compared to 6. The only problems with 5 is that it can't be used with Windows XP and you have to download a patch to fix the problems with it.
   
   I had no problem like others with installing 6. However some months after I did install it I started having problems with the "drag and drop" software. This is software that can be used to "drag and drop" any file (music or non-music) to burn a CD. It turned out to be a nightmare. CDs were not able to be finalized. When you install the drag and drop software it simply takes over for the CD burning method of Windows XP (which is far, far superior). I uninstalled the software and simply did a custom install by just installing the photosuite (the only useful thing in Creator 6).



5. Crashed a lot and isn't compatible with newer hardware or operating systems. I ended up buying Nero and giving this away.

No comments about Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 Upsell from GoLive [Mac].

4 comments about Adobe Photoshop 7.0 (Mac) [OLD VERSION].

1. Adobe did it again. Not only did they make a product that runs great in OS X but they inhanced it and made it better with new features like the heal tool. If you have been waiting to upgrade to OS X because of Photoshop order both right now.



2. Photoshop 7.0 is incredible. The new paint enhancement are mindblowing. Everyone should learn how to use this program. I have been able to do so many things, Edit and enhance my own artwork and comics, make custom t-shirts, make beutiful portaits and photo collages, just let my artistic mind run wild. This program has opened a world of opportunity, and it should for you to. BUY IT, worth every penny.



3. I never had access to many Adobe products, with exception for Pagemaker, because of the high price. But at my high school we have what we they called an Academy of Graphic Arts and Design. There, with the financial help of a well known college, the academy was given a full copy of Adobe Photoshop 7.0!

   I really enjoyed learning how to use Adobe Photoshop 7.0. I'm not one to read manuals or help menus and just like to play around. Learning how to use everything is fairly easy.

   One feature I LOVED is what is called "layers". You can have a photo in the background and then open other files and drag and drop onto the first picture. Then you can choose to erase part of the pictures you placed on top. But not everything is erased...each layer underneath the one you are erasing is still visible! There are various erasers (shape-wise) too, so it can look blended or have neat edges.

   I also liked the variety of "filters". These filters help change the picture. You can add texture to the picture, distort it, add light to a certain area, make the picture look like it on a stamp (as in rubber stamp)...the list goes on.

   The one bad thing about this is you can't do "Undo except for the change you just did (meaning if you made a mistake and decided to try something to "cover it up", if you didn't like the outcome of the "fix" you can't go back and change the mistake) EXCEPT if you are layering, you go to the box where it shows each layer and go to the history where you can delete (or "undo") up until the mistake you had made is gone.

   My point is, this program is Top Class. The best I have used (and I have tried a few) Although I'd like to try the Windows version, for those who have a Mac (this is the version I used and have experience with) GET THIS if you love photoediting. The possiblities are endless.

   Now if only I could save up enough money...




4. Adobe Photoshop 7.0 was a significant leap over 6.0. One great new tool is the Liquify filter, which lets you directly manipulate images. Obviously, Photoshop is the De Facto standard for image editing, and likely always will be. Since this is the last version that works with OS 9 anyways, it's not like I could use CS (though I've tried CS, and don't particularly like it).
   
   Version 7.0.1 is very often faster than Photoshop CS is, so it's a good thing to have for very large files.
   
   Invaluable... nothing beats it. Nothing.

5 comments about Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Plus Premiere Elements 2.0 [DVD].

1. I have used Pinnacle products for years and the last one was Studio 9. Pinnacle Studio seemed to always have problems, and I almost lost interest with video editing all together. Knowing Adobe's reputation, I decited to try Premiere Elements 2.0 and Photoshop Elements 4.0. I loaded them in my computer and they worked without at any problems. I have ued Premiere quite a bit, but haven't used the photoshop at all. If photoshop works as well as Premiere, I will be very pleased with my purchase.



2. Even though a newer version is out, this is probably the best choice for the multimedia hobbiest. PSE4 has a lot of great features and I'm always impressed with how much depth there is in the program. I've created many great movies with Premiere Elements, and though it lacks a lot of fancy features, it has just about everything you need to put together a solid film. Playback is choppy with MOV files, but who really cares. Overall this is a wonderful buy and cheap bundle.



3. The two programs interact nicely. I was able to easily send pictures from Photoshop Elements to Premiere Elements to make a slide show movie. Both my teenagers have been using Photoshop Elements to cut and paste my mug shot in to other pictures. Permiere Elements is easy to use for movies. The bundled package saved me a few dollars.



4. Wish I had bought this one earlier. Great manipulation of photos and pretty easy once you get some things figured out. This is more of an experienced users software, than for a beginner, but both will be very happy with it.



5. I recently scanned several ancestral photos that had damage to them. With Photoshop Elements, I was able to clean up damaged,faded and unclear areas. The results were great. The photos were clear, color was in the correct tone and damage to the photos was reduced. I would only suggest a user guide to answer questions when they arise. I still consider it a great software.

1 comments about Adobe Contribute CS3 Upgrade [OLD VERSION].

1. If you design website with Dreamweaver (works with non-Dreamweaver sites, but without Dreamweaver's integrated templates capability that locks portions of the page) that others will need to edit...AND you don't want them to break it, then Contribute is the product for you!
   
   Allows you set user permissions that control what a user can edit, how they can edit a page, how they (and if they) can add images, whether they can publish or their draft needs reviewed, and saves rollback copies so any damage can be undone!
   
   The user interface is easy and user-friendly - the user browses the site they wish to edit (and have permission to do so) and then edits the page. Simple.
   
   This works best for the editor of a site created and maintained by Dreamweaver. And, it will make every Dreamweaver designer happier, healthier, and allow for the opportunity to spend your time making money designing a new site as opposed to the drudgery of continually editing an old site.
   
   This is a great solution for non-profit clients who want to be able to update at will, but have too small a budget to afford a full web application design or can't afford to pay a web designer to continually make changes and updates to the content.

1 comments about Print Perfect Fonts Deluxe.

1. I love this product. I found so many cool fonts. I was looking for one used years ago but couldn't find it, but I did find one that resembles what I needed. There are so many to choose from, picture fonts, elegent, artistic. If you love new fonts like me this is the product for you.

No comments about Reason 4.0 Upgrade.

4 comments about Tune Transfer (Win/Mac) (Jewel Case).

1. Product shipped would not even install on an Intel Mac Pro. I wrote the company and after exchaning several email, they agreeded there was a problem and send me a newer disk that was upgraded to work with the Intel Mac Pro's.



2. I bought this product spontaneously at a local store. I knew I should have done my research before! This program does not recognize my iPod - mind you , this computer is less than a month old and far surpasses the minimum system requirements. The only way to get hold of the company is to write them a letter (some of you may not remember how to do that anymore), Wait that means I have to buy one of those small sticky papers that you have to lick and stick on an envelope. What's that called?
   
   This was a waste of my 10 bucks.
   
   ******UPDATE******
   August 10, 2008
   
   After reading another review I decided to go back and try the update (something I had done several times when I first bought the program). Now it works alright but I honestly don't remember why I bought the program and what I'm suppose to do with it. I guess I didn't need it after all because I'm really not compelled to use it. I'll update as necessary.



3. I wish I had done more research and read more reviews before buying. I'm sure it works if you can get it to recognize your iPod, turns out there seems to be a general problem with this program NOT recognizing iPods (ummmm...isn't that the main point?) Don't waste your money.
   
   At least I'll save my money on Tune Tools, which apparently is ValueSoft's next attempt to steal your money.
   
   Tune Tools for iPod (Win/Mac)



4. Okay, i bought this product w/out reading the reviews. I recieved the item and was pissed off at first because it was not detecting my ipod. I went through the help at apple in order to enable the disk on my computer options and when I did it still did not recongnize my ipod. I was about to destroy the software but i read online that there is an update thats free that syncs the ipod with the newer version of itunes because the software deals with the older version like 4.1 or something. The website to download the patch is simple and all you do is click next and agree to terms and concepts. I will give you the site to make it easier...
   http://www.valusoftsupport.com/KBArticle.asp?kbid=5740
   i hope this helps you all because i know the reviews before me were negative so i am actually the first to write a positive. But its cheap and easy to use program.

4 comments about Macware MacFonts.

1. It's about time someone gave Mac users a reasonably priced font collection!

   MacFonts has over 1000 TrueType fonts in three categories: classic, refined and designer fonts. You can even use the included font manager to activate your font selections temporarily or permanently; very cool!




2. Was pretty excited when I saw the fonts package. The box said "Over 1000 TrueType fonts" I figured that it meant just subtle variations of the same. While this was true for the majority of the fonts, the "BN" set of fonts had the most variety.

   The little quick reference guide book was very helpful with letting you get a peek at what the fonts look like to see if you
   even want to load it on your system. The book however was at times a little confusing, the names of the fonts would be on top of the fonts for some and then under the fonts for others. You had to kind of double check that the one that you wanted was the one that you installed.

   Played with some of the fonts in LiveType and I had a blast. Since I kind of wanted to see the fonts in action I would look through the book then choose a font to load. For it to take effect I had to keep restarting LiveType for the font to show up. So after a while just loaded a bunch of them and then made some scrolling text. Had lots of fun with the "Xmas Lights BRK" & "New Year Dingbats". Being able to take just the dingbats and alter them on screen give rise to lots of new and creative ways for me to make my designs a bit more fun and have very different appeal. There were also some more down to earth fonts like
   "Boron" & "Teen Bold" that gives a bit more punch than "Times New Roman" but still not be to off putting. Also previewed the fonts in TextEdit to get a feel for the differences quickly.

   All in all really liked what the package had to offer even with the limited font manager and having to load each individual font. The variety of new fonts is worth it.




3. SUPER EASY TO "INSTALL" AND USE. THE BOOKLET OF FONT SAMPLES IS GREAT. THE VARIETY IS GOOD. I GIVE IT AN "A".



4. MacFonts basically collects a bunch of freeware fonts on CD and gives you a printed guide. There is also a PDF guide on the CD that you can grab. The software covers the same ground as FontBook, so I didn't explore it much. The CD has a wide variety of fonts, but they're mostly the same ones that you can pull off free font websites. All of them loaded without a glitch. The majority are display fonts, but it also has a handful of serif and sans serif fonts, scripts, dingbats and a bunch of black letter and unical fonts. Nothing on this disk is as well-crafted or fussed over as the fonts you can buy from a type house. However, for less than the price of most professional fonts, MacFonts gives you an instant collection of more fonts than you'll actually use.

5 comments about CD/DVD Labeler Kit.

1. and I'm still happy! We initially had to get used to the software and the printer setup and yes, you do need some patience during the learning curve of this creative process - it's not the normal daily routine of most people. We never encountered any errors when creating the actual labels or printing them. We also have not had any problems upon using the labelled CDs or DVDs. We're happy with the product.



2. This software is a mess. I bought it for the "fingerprint" capability which is suppossed to be abel to identify audio tracks and supply title and artist info. It is not good. It identified about 85% of the tracks I tried, but the information is supplied field by field. That is, track number, title, artist, duration, etc. are each supplied separately and have to be placed on the label separately, with minimal formatting options. Is some cases I couldn't even get them all on the label.
   I would recommend that you look at other packages.



3. Calibration software is a little confusing and they will curl in your car player after a while (heat) as all labels do. Otherwise, the capabilities are very good, overall quite happy with it. I also bought a bunch of the Memorex labels which are decent quality but not all that satisfied - their software is useless.



4. No where near as easy to use as my old system ,But with trial and error can have a decent amount of control over your Projects.But one interesting thing someone mentioned earlier
   is that regardless of with system you use these labels can alter
   the way DVDs play making them stick and freeze and wondering if its the disks,burner or what..after some experimenting I did
   confirm that it was actually the labels I was having so much fun making...It might be the weight but i think its possibly the way the beam shines through the disc and reflects off the white label backing..Dunno but if you all of a sudden start having problems go back to the "Sharpie" like I did ;-)



5. I've been using NEATO and the 'MediaFace' software for years. I LOVE the ability to calibrate the output so I can create 2 sided CD booklets that line up perfectly! Sure you have to do a little test printing but that's what gives YOU the control. This is definitely not for the Dumb and Dumber set. If you want software and label materials that are 'designed with your mind in mind' and don't want creative control, then this is not for you. I use it for CD booklets, CD labels, and jewel case inserts all on glossy paper and folks think the results are professionally done. If you don't want to put in the effort, the get something else. But if you like the freedom to express your creativity, this will give you the room you need.