1 comments about Auralia 2 Single User Academic for Mac.

1. Auralia is generally an excellent product. Could be improved by explaining wrong answers - for example, if an interval with notes played together is
   mis-identified, the notes should be played separately.

3 comments about Photo & Video Expressions Premium Suite.

1. This product is just what I have been looking for to present photos and video in an easy-to-use presentation format. I have spent hours and even days putting together slide presentations for Boy Scouts, athletic team awards ceremonies, and other important events. On Christmas day I was able to take all of the photos of my family making cookies, unwrapping presents and having dinner together and, in a half an hour, put together a great looking DVD presentation to give them before everyone left for the evening. It also includes a really easy to use CD label maker which I use to make labels and DVD covers for. Overall, I would say that this is a great value and a real timesaver.



2. I was looking for software that was simple to use, integrate video and slideshows, insert captions for pictures and make DVDs. This is what this software does. I have only made slideshows and have not used the video portion of the software as I am still learning. There seems to be no editing function for music selection for slideshows and there is a standard pause between different selections that cannot be changed. This is a good program for someone just starting out and easier to use than ROXIO which came with the computer.



3. I LOVE this program for slideshows and still images. And if you are doing slideshows, you will adore this program and make your friends jealous that you have all these computer editing skills.
   
   This program is ...almost perfect...but I CANNOT recommend it for video and I only have two complaints:
   
   1. As a previous reviewer mentioned, the audio features could have some added features to help you fade your music in and out when you clip a song short of the natural beginning or ending, instead of abrupt starts and stops, but I suppose you could create a file in a different program to clip your music fades and import, but who would bother with all that when everything else is offered here.
   
   2. The resulting formatting of my digital videos in this program makes them jerky in some places and have what I would call little "artifact" blips in others. This doesn't occur when you preview, it is happening when you are in the "creating a disc" and "transcoding" How I know this is that everytime you go through the transcoding process, it will put the little blips in different spots, but if you just make copies of one transcoded, it will put the blips in the same place on each disc. This means, it is not my blank DVD discs, it is not my DVD writer either. It is some problem with the transcoding of the video during the formatting process within the program, right before it actually burns to the DVD. This has got to be a bug within the program and I have contacted the software maker and will update if a solution or patch becomes available.
   
   If you are making slideshows from still images, by all means snatch this up, you will love it!
   
   If you are using digital videos, prepare to have them somewhat butchered by periodic blips on your TV screen and some videos will just seem jerky and hard to watch.

No comments about Jasc Paint Shop Pro Studio.

1 comments about Software, Edius Pro 4.0.

1. If you edit HDV on a Windows PC, this is the NLE to get. Canopus is a Japanese company that has been in business for years. They really know their stuff, and this version of Edius is clearly the result of a lot of effort to create a superb editing experience. Try to get mixed HDV and SD editing and multicam anywhere else for this price. I'm not saying it's absolutely perfect. For example, the documentation for TitleMotion Pro is awful, with just two pages in the reference manual and a poorly translated help file.
   
   I've looked at Avid, Premiere Pro 2.0, Vegas. All are good, but this is the one I bought for its combination of stability, features, and price. It's fairly easy to use, a step up from the 3.0 version, and it tends to do the job without hiccups.
   
   Canopus also makes ProCoder Express, which is bundled with the product. If you need to convert between formats, this utility may be the best one out there for people without a serious pro $$$ budget. You can create watch folders that allow you drop an HDV or DV file in, and presto, an MPEG1 or whatever format you want comes out (well, the ones I care about anyway).

No comments about M-Audio iDrum.

5 comments about Adobe Photoshop CS2 Upgrade from Photoshop Version 5.5+ [Old Version].

1. This upgrade installed easily with my Photoshop 5.5. No problems at all. This is an excellent program and leap years ahead of my Photoshop 5.5. This is a much less expensive way to upgrade to cs2..rather than purchasing CS2 outright.
   
   Be sure to get the updates after you install the program.



2. The new look is very nice.
   
   BUT, when you install, you have also to keep the previous version (in well behaved software, automatically the previous version is cleaned... not here).
   
   The system of validation of License through Internet for the physical machine is fine, I just hope that I will not have a disk crash and then waste time to be authorised to re-install a product that I rightfully paid (and at such a price).
   
   Well, make sure you:
   - do not try to de-install 5,5 after the install of CS2 (or bye-bye the license)
   - have a clean and robust backup of your installation....
   
   I am not sure I will make the next upgrade....



3. I paid top dollar for PS7 and thought it was time to upgrade to CS2. After I installed CS2 I discovered that I could not crop any photo without having my PC crash. Every time it crashed I looked at the defrag utility and I had fragmented files all over the place. Then I defraged the hard drive and went back to CS2 and tried to crop the same photo again. Again, my PC hung up and was unresponsive and the defrag utility said I had to defrag. The only thing I did was to crop one photo in CS2, and that was enough to make it necessary to defrag again. I uninstalled this piece of garbage from my PC. It does not work, and I don't care what Deke McClelland says and I don't believe what he says, either. Save your money. These rip-off artists at Adobe are nothing but thieves. Yeah, they ripped me off for $153 but you know what? At least I have my integrity, and that's more than you got, Deke baby.



4. I've been a Photoshop user since Version 3 and this upgrade is worth every penny. I upgraded from version 7 and CS2 is clearly a step up. Upgrading was a no-brainer. The only negative is Adobe Bridge - I prefer the file browser that PS 7 had but I can live with it.
   
   The floating image windows is also a nice touch - you are no longer confined to the PS main window.
   
   All of my add-ons worked perfectly including FITS Liberator and the PTLENS suite.



5. Can't say enough for it. There is so much good work items in it that you probably will never touch them all. I've had every updated issue from issue 5 on up. They have been consistrantly excelant.

5 comments about Corel Paint Shop Pro X [OLD VERSION].

1. I like the product but I am having a hard time trying to figure out some of its features. I try to go online for support but there is not much there. I know when I finally figure things out on my own I'll grow to love it.



2. I've found that adapting from Paint Shop Pro 7 to X hasn't been difficult at all. The photo fix features are much improved, and the interface is still much easier to figure out than other graphics editing programs I've used.



3. This program is ok. It takes a long time to load. I've used the Corel Photo Album though I rarely used Paint Shop Pro.
   
   If I had to do it again I wouldn't buy this software...I'm satisfied with the photo editors I get with my different camera purchases.



4. Product ordered a month ago. Sent seller two emails thru Amazon with no reply. This seller should be avoided. Am seeking refund for product that never shipped.



5. Paint Shop Pro X for PhotographersThis book is very clear and helps me to understand the program. The illustrations are helpful as well. I like the arrangement of the topics by color. Another plus for me is the inclusion of the Corel Photo Album 6. Even though the chapter is brief, I appreciated the explanation about it.

No comments about Native Instruments Classic Keys Bundle.

No comments about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

5 comments about Microsoft Expression Web [OLD VERSION].

1. For the most part, there isn't much difference between Front Page 2003 and Expression Web. I created two websites in the last 6 months and I found Expression Web far easier to use.
   
   If you really want to make full use of this program, you'll use style sheets and some of the other advanced features that are not completely intuitive. FP 2003 had those same features, but I found ExWeb not only easier to use, but it rendered previews more accurately than FP2003.
   
   It's not a bad program. If you're serious about web design and standards, this might be the product for you. If you're just learning, you may want to find something cheaper or something downloadable for free. (caution, free downloads often contain spyware or other malicious code within the program).



2. Microsoft has made some real improvements over the horrible FrontPage series... but it's amazing how many bugs this thing has. I've been using it for a couple months now, and besides the fairly frequent hangs, it'll occasionally undo the changes you just made when you save, has difficulties pasting in from a Word document, and creates and absurd amount of junk CSS at the top of your page by default. I frankly don't need an entirely new CSS class if I want to bold and italicize one word on a page, yet it'll create one and throw it at the top, so if you do a lot of formatting, you'll have a mountain of junk CSS in your header. It does handle CSS a million times better than FrontPage which offered virtually no support, but it still has a LONG way to go and probably should've been subjected to a couple more months of Beta testing before this release.



3. I bought this because I had a website in frontpage that is being discontinued by Microsoft. I watched the tutorial which was just an overview...but when I have tried to watch it again to study it....it is frozen up. It is not my computer because it is new and top of the line. I called the company that produced it (a microsoft vendor) and they have yet to get back with me with the resolution.
   
   This program is extremely more complicated than frontpage and does not have a simple way to learn exactly how and when to use all of the many features. It seem like 3 programs in one overlayed on top of each other.



4. This is the first WYSIWYG editior i have used. Other reviwers say this program is not for beginners and does not have any help for them. I dissagre because if you use the online help you can find the subject you are looking for. I am a beginner to web design but I found this program easy to use and very good. I use the basic features but as I get more advanced I will probaly use them. I do not know CSS but i know how it works. On of my favorite feutures is that you can type in things on the design view and the program will generate all the code needed. The program itself looks sort of like Visual studo. Overall I recommend it. Great program! It lacks php and secure ftp though.



5. I bought this software to help me design several web sites including an e commerce site. Overall, this software is very user friendly. Having never used any major web design software, I found it easy to navigate and figure out although I must admit that I had to refer to a help book to decifer a few things - especially with the e commerce site. Once you understand the basics though, it is very straight forward. The tutorials are good. The help links are also good. No regrets in buying it!