No comments about 100,000 Images Clip Art.

1 comments about Manga Studio EX Professional (Mac).

1. I purchased Manga Studio EX Pro primarily as a money and time saver. Screentone is expensive, and rendering the zillions of lines that manga-style artwork requires consumed too much time and energy. While I haven't had a lot of time with the program to date, what I have done with it so far is very promising. The scanning interface is painless and the menus reminiscent of Photoshop, which makes the learning curve that much less steep for me. I am very glad to have found this product, and am so far quite impressed. Rah, e frontier!

2 comments about Professional Home Design Suite Platinum.

1. I've used other CAD programs, but this one has so many un-intuitive rules that it is nearly impossible to use. While drawing lines, for no apparent reason, the screen will go blank. Trying to keep reference perspectives as new lines are drawn is very frustrating when the screen changes color and drops all previous lines. The shifting from power tools to the drawing screen is likewise completely a puzzle. If you draw a line that extends off the screen (trying to draw a radius for example). The screen will start scrolling uncontrollably.... you cannot maintain perspective. This is a very very difficult program to get started with.
   
   The tutorials jump right into a small project, but if you cannot get a landscape established, none of the tutorial information is useful. If you want to start with a foundation, and build a house, the tutorials are useless. A logically written manual on how to get started should be made available.
   
   Don't waste your money on this unless you know somwone who can give you lessons on how to use the software.



2. We've had no problem defining our (realistic) dream home with this program. There have been minor things that are hard to understand how to do, but I have no trouble believing that this is the best product for this in the market.

5 comments about Adobe Photoshop 6.0 [OLD VERSION].

1. If your into doing simple things for websites like me, this is the way to go. Easily create dazzling effects by simply selecting which part of the image you would like to add a filter too, then click and wallah!

   This program definetly needs Eye Candy 4000 to accompany it.




2. This is definitely a good product, but I still like Fireworks better! Why? It's much more user-friendly than Photoshop, and so far there's nothing that I haven't been able to do with Fireworks (Macromedia product).



3. I thought that this was one of the greatest softwares I had Bought after Photoshop 5. THat was untill photoshop 7 came out. Personally I would skip the savings and go for the good stuff with Photoshop7. Almost the same as 6 except that there is a history function that allows you to go back as many steps as you need. There are an uncountable amount of new features that are so easy to use I was blown away.



4. There is, apparently, no tech support for this product. It works fine, when it works. Photomerge, the only thing I am interested in, drifts in and out. When it is out there is no help to find out why, or how to get it to work again. I would never buy this product again.
   
   I am extremely computer literate, but this product is impossible.



5. I just can't learn this application. Coming from a Powerpoint world, this seems to be just the most obtuse application I've ever come across. Even simple things like making a layer a solid color (any color!) seems to require special skills. The help function is entirely useless. I just don't refer to it anymore. This application seems to assume you already know how to use it. Tremendously high learning curve, at least for those of us coming from the user-friendly Windows environment. And the help you find online seems to refer to a myriad of different interfaces and menu layouts, since Adobe seemingly changes everything with every new version. Yuck.

No comments about Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0.

4 comments about Adobe InDesign CS2 [OLD VERSION].

1. Adobe has totally re-done the interface to streamline it and make it cleaner from versions prior to CS. If you are a QuarkXpress user, you'll find that in InDesign CS2, you get the feeling that it is laid out in a logical and easy-to-use manner. The tools and tool palettes are where you'd expect them to be in the menu structure and on the screen. Small touches like being able to save your workspace, like you can do in Photoshop CS2, are great.
   
   I tested the integration between InDesign CS2 and some of its counterparts in the Adobe Creative Suite Premium. I created different graphics in Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2 and I found it was really easy to import them into InDesign CS2 and use. You can effects like drop shadows and feathering to images directly in InDesign CS2. No need to go to another program. With the Control Palette you can also resize objects too. This palette functions with Transform and Stroke features for graphics, and it includes paragraph, character and table features for text editing. What the palette does is affected by the type of selection you have made - either graphic or text.
   
   I imported some formatted text in from Microsoft Word 2003 and two different tables in from Microsoft Excel 2003. I was concerned how the tables would appear after the import from Microsoft Excel. The tables imported easily. With InDesign CS2, you can now automatically style Microsoft Word files on import by mapping Word styles to InDesign CS2 styles as well.
   
   An issue for a long time has been how to preview or view other types of files that you want to incorporate with InDesign CS2. Now, Adobe "bridges" that gap. Bridge now comes as a part of InDesign CS2 and the Premium Suite. So, viewing any Adobe-type formatted file or standard graphic format is easy to do. Using the same interface between the different programs is a help as well. Adobe Bridge is a standalone program.
   
   Being a Web Designer and using Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Dreamweaver 8, I was familiar with using Snippets. These are portions of code you can save for use in other programs or you can export them to give to someone else. Now, InDesign CS2 offers this Snippet capability. You can export objects as snippets. These objects can be shared or reused in other documents. Simply place or drag a snippet into a layout, and InDesign re-creates the original objects, their formatting, and their relative positioning on the page. No more wasted time redesigning, just to get something you have brought in from another document to fit.
   
   InDesign CS2 also now has an Info palette that is just like those found in Photoshop and Illustrator. Size dimensions and resolution are immediately available by selecting the graphic and simply glancing over to the Info palette. This is a crucial tool when fitting graphics in a specifically space-limited area. It's important to know the actual dimensions with which you are working.
   
   Sometimes in designing and re-designing printed work, you have to move objects. When this happens, your structure can often change in different ways. InDesign CS2 helps you maintain your layout by allowing you to anchor your callouts, pull quotes, margin notes, and graphics to text. You can now precisely control the positioning of Anchored Objects, apply text wrap settings, and more.
   
   As with other Adobe products, it is very easy to export your finished work in PDF format. InDesign CS2 works so well at exporting to PDF, it even maintains the layers in Acrobat 7. You can pre-define your Acrobat export settings as well. InDesign CS2 also supports specialty PDF formats like PDF/X-1a and PDF/X-3, which are used in workflows. It also supports high-resolution CMYK output and color-managed workflows.
   
   If you are familiar with previous versions of InDesign, the upgrade to the new version is easy. InDesign CS2 is even backwards compatible CS. You will find that your learning curve is greatly decreased.
   
   Loren Elks, Group Manager
   D-MAG.org



2. ...for InDesign to not have one basic features. Everyone I know still does french folds, but in order to see double page spreads in InDesign you have to lay them out wrong in the program, then you have to painstakingly go through your document and shift the entire document by one page, layout by layout. This is mortally stupid. At this point Adobe should have figured how a tool like I.D. is actually used in conjunction with a printer, not just assumed the user wants to print what they see on their screen. The oversight is the difference between avergage klunky desktop publishing software and a great layout tool. Why isn't there a button that toggles me between the layout view and priont output? Why do I have to slave over a document like this? Adobe, stop thinking in the abstract and investigate how your software can facilitate printed results.
   
   Also who knows how you get an alpha path or clipping path into this? Mine shows me a heavily pixelated, entirely xparent BW image when it supposed to be a cropped color image. What do you want me to do with that?



3. This is an all around awesome product. I have had great experiences with the program, and use it very often as we use it to create our entire high school's yearbook. Anyone one who says it doesn't have the basics is pretty much lying to you, it has anything you'll ever need and more. The people who review this product poorly do so because they don't know how to use everything in it.
   
   The only problem I've ever had is learing everything you can do with it, otherwise it is perfect!



4. Unless your needs are pressing, you might want to delay buying InDesign. InDesign CS3 will be announced tomorrow (March 27, 2007) and it'll ship toward the end of April. And yes, if you buy just before a new product is released, Adobe will usually give you an upgrade for the cost of shipping and handling. I just confirmed that this morning with a customer service rep. But you avoid a bit of hassle if you wait. And the new version has quite a few new features including a much improved user interface. Some graphics features of Photoshop have also been ported to InDesign.
   
   And keep in mind that if you've got a licensed copy of PageMaker or an older version of InDesign back to 2.0, you can upgrade it to InDesign for much less than the full new price.
   
   Mike Perry, author of Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings

5 comments about Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 Plus Photoshop Album 2.0 Bundle.

1. This software is very well done -- exactly as software should be. The basic features that get you 75% of the way there are completely intuitive, really without using the manual. You can quickly adjust brightness levels of photos, crop, etc.

   But behind these simple but powerful starter features are an incredible range of really powerful photo editing tools. I just created an photo party invitation with a picture of our 4 year old and used layers to make it look like the cover of a popular magazine. The help files for the more complex features (texturing, text additions, rotations, etc.) are very clear and easily searched.

   This is a "killer app" for photo manipulation, at a great price. I highly recommend it for anyone with a digital camera.




2. This program is just too time consuming and difficult. Why spend hours and hours trying to do something. The help is not helpful, no support, poor documentation. Big disappointment



3. This software bundle is ... easy to use??? HAH!!! Give me a break!!! Compared to my previous program, using Photoshop Elements 2.0 is EXTREMELY hard. And does Adobe say that it's nothing more than a dumbed down version of the hard to use & expensive Adobe Photoshop? Or that crucial features from that never made it into its cheaper brethren? Of course not!!! If you did, you'd never touch it with a 10 ft. poll!!! And what about how Photoshop Album 2.0 isn't compatible with all imaging formats? I found it REALLY odd that was the case. Especially since Photoshop Elements 2.0 is (Somebody was definitely asleep at the switch.)

   The way I see it, you can either give me the best, or don't bother giving it to me at all. Don't take a great product like Adobe Photoshop, dumb it down, then offer it to me, because I'll never buy substandard products. In short, don't waste your money. Go for a program like Ulead PhotoImpact XL. It costs about $25 - $30 cheaper, and it does what it advertises. It's also something that was built, from the ground up, to give you the best value for your money. You just don't get that with this software bundle. What a rip-off!!!




4. This may be a sophificated program, but give me a break! I've spent 2 days trying to just enlarge a snap shot to an 8x10 size ( which I was able to do with my eyes closed with the Adobe photo shop home edition 3.0). But when I got a new printer and Windows XP, I couldn't use the old program. I hate this thing!! Shame on you for making it so user unfriendly. I'll try to get my money back,



5. Good product on Windows, but did not work for me on Mac OS-X Leopard. Hence the 4 stars. Finally had to uninstall, even after getting "help" from tech support. Got Gimp instead (for free, and just about as good as Elements).

5 comments about ColorVision PrintFIX PRO Suite (Win/Mac).

1. I've been working with a Dell UltrsSharp 20 inch LCD for the past four years and never realized how far off the color was until now. The Spyder2PRO Professional Monitor Calibration tool and software worked like a charm. To me that was an added bonus.
   
   My primary purpose for purchasing this item was the PrintFIX PRO Spectrocolorimeter and software. I'd purchased an Epson R1800 printer earlier in the year and truly wasn't happy with the prints it churned out. Tried a number of papers and profiles and nothing was quite right. After less than a half hour with PrintFix Pro of building a profile for Epson Premium Luster paper, the prints are spot on perfect.
   
   Rather than installing the software in the box for both components, I downloaded the latest releases from the ColorVision website and everything installed like a charm on my Vista Ultimate 64-bit box. I'd suggest downloading the latest software for any product not just this item.
   
   I used the 225 sample profile and if you shrink the margins on the 8.5 x 11.0 paper, it's no problem to have a profile in 15 minutes or less. I'm looking forward to profiling different papers for my printer and have every expectation that they'll be as true as my first.
   
   I've seen the references to lousy vendor support but I had no need to contact ColorVision. Like most peripherals, following the install instructions is very important and while I've had some that were buggy in a 64-bit environment, PrintFix Pro Suite was perfect.
   
   You've spent all that money on your monitor and printer, PrintFix Pro Suite is money well spent to insuring those products work their best.



2. I've had this product for almost one year. (It has a 2 year warranty) I found the product support initially to be quite good. This is a complex hardware/software suite. The software, especially for the printer calibration, is excellent. The people that designed it really wanted to make the user comfortable using the product. A few months ago, the spectrometer failed, and I received good support in sending me a 'new' one. The replacement was sent to the right address, but wrong name. Nonetheless, I received it and found it loosely packed in a box. It was obviously a refurbished unit. Worse yet, the spectrometer would not even calibrate. Now, after over a month of trying to get ANOTHER replacement, I get the sinking feeling that this company is a rudder-less ship. It is now called Colorvision ('Datacolor is dead'), and seems to be headquartered in Europe. The support site is weak, and the customer service person I talked to could care less. I would look elsewhere for color calibration products.



3. Have had the ColorVision PrintFIX PRO Suite since April 2008. Initially I had problems with Windows Vista recognising the hardware, but once I downloaded and installed the Spyder3Print V3.0 software all was good. Documentation is not the best but you soon get the hang of it. Software is OK but could be better. I have made profiles for my Viewsonic 22" LCD monitor with the Spyder2 Pro colorimeter and am happy with the results. I have also made many profiles for my Canon i965 printer using generic inks with both Canon and Kodak photo papers. I get good and consistent results and the color casts are now gone. I am very happy with the product and would recommend to others interested in printing photos. Great product, especially for the $350 US price I paid.



4. Great product - does what it says on the box with ease. The only advice I would give, is that when scanning the color swatches to set up the printer profile, be sure to put a few sheets of white paper under the swatch page, this stops the spectrometer from seeing any dark surface under the swatches and upsetting the results. The printer and monitor software walks you through the setup in an easy to understand way.



5. I have not tested this product yet. I have not had time to install it properly because I have Vista. My review is about the service provided by the seller. The product arrived later than indicated, however, everything was brand new.

1 comments about Paint Shop™ Pro 8.

1. this software is great. I can do anything that I can think of. My only limit is my understanding --not the product's inability. I use this for my photo editing and graphics editing. I don't recommend this for making christmas photo post cards with fancy borders, as there is only 1 christmas themed frame. but for anything else it is more than adequate.

5 comments about Art Explosion 600,000 Images.

1. I love it, love it, love it. I find the art I want; I open it up in PowerPoint, resize as needed and voila; I've just saved myself a bundle in "embellishments".
   
   If I had a complaint, it would be this...the book showing all the clipart is not in color but B&W. But no matter, I'm still enthused about this product.



2. My newspaper office has a Mac version of this set of CDs. The clip art is primarily used by our graphic artists, although I and other editors have dipped into this collection from time to time.
   
   You have a wide variety of art, for a great range of needs. Like a few other editors, I have no real use for some of the formats in which they are saved, a minor to moderate gripe.
   
   A bit more serious complaint is that, as computers get faster and can handle bigger file sizes, a lot of images in here could be made bigger, and thereby given more detail. I think we would pay an extra $20 for an updated version of this set, and i suspect many other people would too.



3. If you are a Graphic Artist like I am then this is the clip art for you. Everything is there that you need. You don't need to download anything from the internet at all. And Get this !!!, you can edit the origional artwork or save it as another form of artwork. Not to mention so much clipart to choose from.



4. If there is any desktop publishing project anyone has this is the ULTIMATE in clip art. Anything anyone would ever need is in this collection: cartoons, photographs, web graphics, and line art. I bought Art Explosion 200,000 Images and was so happy with it that I upgraded to 600,000 images! I am very happy with my purchase and I'm sure you will be too.



5. The quality of the clip art, raster images and photographs is mostly bad. The vector images seem to be traced freehand sketches. I would say about 80% is useless.