No comments about Propellerhead ReCycle 2.1.

1 comments about Cakewalk USB Music Pack.

1. I wanted to do 3 things ...
   See staff notes for midi songs (cheaper than buying sheet music)
   Record wav files into tracks
   Record and play back midi files
   
   And, this does it all.
   
   I am not sure why you would spend more for a home studio setup.
   
   The only neg. is that they don't offer phone support for this product. I had 1 very simple question, which they wouldn't take over the phone.
   
   4 thumbs up for the product, 1 thumb down for their lackluster effort of taking a phone call.

No comments about Web Easy Professional 6 Complete Web Design Studio.

5 comments about Microsoft Visio Professional 2002.

1. I recently upgraded to this new version of Visio and I'm very much pleased with its intuitive user interface that provides an array of tools for presenting information visually. Whether its an Office layout or computer network, Visio 2002, bridges the gap when it comes to defining how data is understood and interpreted in different scenarios. The update to this application has adapted most of the common elements of Microsoft Office, which makes it very easy to learn and share among other Office applications. Integration with Word and PowerPoint is flawless. The shapes are many and satisfactory to build that particular diagram. Simple drag and drop adds to the simplicity of the program. Visio 2002 does have some drawbacks though, this includes the consistency in terms of the components of the application with other Office applications. For instance, the WordArt gallery is actually the old type and not the new one with the more inviting colourful WordArt you are probably accustomed to using in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. The application still needs to improve on how the user can manuvre connectors if they are building networks. Visio 2002 Professional is very flexible, I even use it to create flyers and time lines that are usually used in Project management. It provides a comprehensive set of tools to make diagraming an essential tool in most IT work spaces, for the average user though forking out the amount for this product may not be recommended, but with the array of tools it provides, it is truly a solution for any organization.



2. As a Project Manager in charge of diverse areas, ranging from software development responsibilities to administration of a production area, I've found this tool to be of extreme use since day one. This application allows to draw on a "white" canvas diagrams in ways that exceed any other tool in the market, including flowcharts, floor plans, office layouts, network diagrams, database ORMs, organization charts, etc. You name it and the software comes with a template of standard shapes for you to drag and drop, unite with arrows/lines as needed, and put out a professional-looking diagram in a matter of minutes (you need to put in the brainwork, no discussion about that, of course!)

   If you are going to compare Visio with anything else, the "closest" thing would be the very limited charting capabilities offered by PowerPoint (no wonder Microsoft acquired the company that created Visio!) This is no substitute (never was meant to be) for Adobe Illustrator or any similar graphics program. Hands down, without a doubt, this is the de facto standard for drawing professional diagrams of all types in no time!




3. I didn't choose Visio as my modelling software, I was compelled by the corporate standards at my place of employment. That said, I freely admit that this software is one of the better packages available for sale.
   
   As every programmer knows, all software design starts with requirements. Requirements are determined by defining your users and identifying business constraints. Business requirements are then fulfilled by implementing "features". Therefore given a piece of software, one could derive via the provided featureset who the intended "users" are, and what requirements this software is intended to fulfil. For purely academic purposes I have done a short analysis of Visio in this manner while assuming myself as the user. I will also attempt to identify other users based on the featureset. For the sake of brevity, I will limit myself to the most prominent Visio features in my daily work.
   
   I am a Java programmer, and I rarely foray into the world of Microsoft Visual Basic, C++, .NET anything, or GDI/DirectX. So basically, I need UML support, and some basic OO types to play around with to be happy. The first thing I as a Java programmer notice about Visio is that there are no Java types, and as far as I can tell, no way to add them. However, I do have the option to choose from Microsoft Visual Basic types, Microsoft C# types, C++ types, or Microsoft IDL types.
   
   And there it ends. De facto I have been disqualified from the list of intended users. Who was this software intended for? What features does it provide them?
   
   I have determined two users: Programmers on strictly Microsoft-only platforms; and Microsoft itself. How can Microsoft be a "user?" They are providing the software, aren't they? I think we can show that Microsoft itself is a user of the software because built into Visio are features that are to the sole benefit of Microsoft. Who benefits from the exclusion of non-Microsoft programming language types in an ostensibly "programmer-oriented" tool? Sure, Microsoft programmers benefit from the inclusion of those types, but Microsoft itself benefits from the exclusion of others. The feature is making it that much harder for the rest of us to use anything non-Microsoft.
   
   Now, I sat down and looked through the Visio sales literature, and I didn't see anything that said this product was only for developers for the Microsoft platform. On the featureset, I didn't see a bullet-point labelled "bolster illegal monopoly power". There's no box that says "If you use Java, don't bother."
   
   This product is advertized as a general purpose software design tool. I am neither provided with general purpose language types or a way to add them. I am sure that if I were working at a Microsoft shop, I would be happy with Visio. I can tell from attempting to use it daily that had I been developing for .NET, I could do a lot of things that instead I have to work around. Those features have become useless to me. I will not give "stars" to features not provided or not available, and I especially will not gives "stars" to features that benefit the vendor at my expense. And that is why I rate this product:
   
   NO STARS.



4. One would hope that a company with Microsoft's resources could produce a piece of working software and Visio does work. However, excluding Java from UML diagrams is such an outrageous affront to half the programming community that it's a 1 for me.



5. You could easily create any data type for any programming language. Just read the online help.
   
   1. Open the UML diagram file that represents your system.
   
   2. Right-click the UML System icon in the tree view, click Packages, and then click New.
   
   3. In the Package column, type a name for the data types package (for example, Java Data Types), type or choose other package properties, and then click OK.
   
   4. Right-click the new package, then click New, and then click Datatype.
   
   5. Type a name for the data type, type or choose the other properties you want, and then click OK.
   
   An icon for the new data type is added below the package in the tree view.
   
   6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have added all the data types you need.
   
   7. If you want the new data types to appear in each new system model you create, save the file as a template. In the Save As dialog box, for Save As Type, choose Template (*.vst). Open this template when you start a new model.

No comments about Anime Studio Pro 5.

5 comments about Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Design Premium Upgrade [Mac] [OLD VERSION].

1. I am a professional illustrator/designer/web developer and have been an Adobe fan since I discovered Photoshop (2.5?!) in high school. But lately, Adobe has given me a lot less to love, starting with the intrusive online activation of CS2, PDF overhead, and Adobe's sloppy followup to the Flash player (9 fails to install on a lot of people's OS X).
   
   CS3, in similar fashion, seems slapdash. Photoshop and Illustrator are Adobe's cash cows, and CS3 feels like a rushed product to squeeze money out of designers. It's a PIG! It took 45 minutes to install Design Premium on my Quad Core workstation at the office. It loads slower than CS2 and takes up more resources. After opening Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash to see what Adobe changed, I promptly went back to using CS2 and never used CS3 again. I didn't see any compelling reason to switch, or relearn the interface, as Adobe seems to require you to do every new version.
   
   I had low expectations for CS3, as I'm usually skeptical of new product releases. This perception of cash milking wasn't helped by the fact that Adobe confusingly split the line into 6 packages. Now you have to decide which version fits you. You may end up paying for something you don't need, or want one piece of software that's in another package. You can't save some money by removing something you don't want, or adding something that you do.
   
   One bright light I was holding onto was the possibility of Flash being better integrated with the Adobe interface and workflow. One of the most annoying things about Flash was its unfailing ability to paste shapes and gradients from Illustrator all messed up. Gradients end up as bitmaps, curves get bent, and complex shapes just seem to make Flash choke. Importing from Flash into Illustrator via cut & paste would result in similar disasters.
   
   I was also hoping for an Illustrator-styled gradient tool (drag a line from the start point to the end point to paint the object), instead of Flash's bizarre and cumbersome one where you have to rotate a circle for radial grads, or sandwich lines for linear grads. I didn't test out CS3's cut & paste compatibility, but sadly, the interface was not integrated. It's the same old Macromedia styled tools.
   
   As for Dreamweaver being added here, that's much like every new version of Microsoft Office that comes out each year. Do you really care? It's an HTML editor, for Pete's sake. How much improvement can you make on what is essentially a text editor? For people who handcode, you can stick w/ your old DW... or GASP! Notepad.
   
   For me, I'll continue to use CS and CS2. Personally, I see absolutely no reason for this upgrade, except to reward Adobe for a lackluster and, what I feel, is an unfinished product. It feels very much like an early-adopter product. CS just keeps getting bigger and bigger with each version, but not more stable, dangerously approaching the point of bloatware. If it's all a suite and integrated, why the need for 4 gigs of space to install? Shouldn't many components be shared between all the products, and result in less memory/hard drive use? 700+ megs for Acrobat?! Like others have said, wait for CS4 when they actually might integrate the Macromedia products properly.



2. I was hoping Adobe would fix a lot of the bugs in Dreamweaver (especially, the horrible slowness on the Mac platform) but it seems they ignored Dreamweaver altogether and focused on redoing their own products.
   
   Avoid if you can.



3. I cannot emphasize how much easier it has become to navigate The Creative Suite interface. The UI has evolved into one that is both clean and attractive, while becoming much more customizable. CS3 offers much better integration between applications and has some really cool new additions.



4. Be careful!
   
   Adobe seems to have gone out of their way to infuriate their long time customers through an arcane, illogical and ultimately deceptive upgrade offer. You can spend hours on their website trying to make sure that you have the required products for an upgrade. Besides the obvious CS1 and CS2 versions that will let you successfully install CS3, you see listed everywhere you can upgrade from Macromedia's Studio MX or Studio 8 all over their website and marketing materials. Well, guess what? If you buy any of the print focused CS3 Design Suites you can't use the Studio MX or 8 serial numbers! After a long phone call with a polite Adobe rep who had to spend quite a bit of time himself checking with others to make sure the information was right, I was told that the ONLY CS3 upgrade package that will work with the Studio serial numbers are the CS3 Web Design packages. Not the regular print focused Design packages.
   
   By the time I got off the phone I was totally perplexed at their lack of logic not allowing Macromedia Studio customers who use Freehand to upgrade to a product that has Illustrator included. If you buy CS3 Design Standard or Premium and expect to upgrade from a Macromedia Studio package you can get stuck with an unusable upgrade that costs nearly $400.
   
   I've been working with Adobe's products for since beta testing version .7 of Illustrator over 20 years ago. Obviously, I've been a supporter of them for a very long time. Today I walked away from Adobe furious.



5. Great software. I give it 4 stars because Bridge is a bit CPU hungry and has some bugs. But looks like Adobe keeps fixing them so it seams working smoother after few updates. As usually a great upgrade and I love using all the programs.

1 comments about Design & Print Business Edition.

1. Very good product for small business use. Easy to use. Would not be adequate for a larger business as it lacks sophistication. But it is excellent for what it is designed to be.

No comments about Corel MediaOne Plus.

1 comments about 151 Screensavers Collection.

1. Only gives a small square of a screen saver. It doens't even take up the whole screen. The graphics look terrible. Would not recommend it at all.

No comments about Native Instruments Absynth 3.