2 comments about Total Training for Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Win/Mac [DVD].

1. I find many learning dvd tutorials boring, because the teacher often apply his knowledge with examples, that seems like a piece in a big puzzle, instead of collecting all the pieces and then make something useful out of it, at least after teaching the pieces.
   
   Well this dvd tutorial is different. The teacher John Ulliman has a real passion for teaching you flash, at least so it seems like, and eventhough the dvd is like 24 hours long, you never get tired, because the examples are relevant and complex. He goes from the 1 step and takes you all the way to the last one in developing, video, animations, design and so on. You are never lost, and every lesson go all the way, and do not stop like a piece in a puzzle. You get the hole puzzle here.
   
   The only thing I miss, is a chapter about using flash dynamically. There is one chapter about using flash together with xml, but that is after my oppinion the only chapter which are kind of weak, maybe because I don`t get the xml part, but I wished he would have shown how you could make a simple form together with a server language.
   
   Well there is no doubt in my mind, this is without any doubt the best tutorial about flash out there, and if you wanna learn flash in a fun and quickly way, then stop buying other dvd`s or books about learning flash, buy this dvd! it is really great!



2. It's easy to use and understand. It has a great bookmarking system that lets you pick up where ever you left off even months later and it's nice to be able to follow along, it's the best way I learn.

No comments about Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 Upgrade [Mac] [OLD VERSION].

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).

1 comments about Genuine Fractals 5 Upgrade.

1. I had a previous version of this program, and am generally pleased with the additional features in No.5. I especially like the sharpening function which can add extra zip to an image and may often be needed when enlarging. The enlargement process works smoothly. I'm not sure why the G.F process is attached to each background layer, but it is time consuming. If you've performed the process and then change your mind, can you simply go back in history without pixel damage? I would prefer adding a Photoshop layer, if technically possible, to contain the enlargement.

5 comments about Avery 8831 AfterBurner CD Labeling Kit with Click ftn Design Software.

1. I found the labeler easy to use. The software program could use more and better graphics, but it's easy to add your own pictures. Overall, I love this product. Makes great CD's.



2. I have a Neato and a couple other types of lablers and this is the only one that real works. The software is simple to use and the labels are almost imposable to messup. The only real problem I have with it is the tabs that hold the label ot the aplicator come off to easy and then it's very hard to get the label straight.



3. I have never used any other cd labeling system but so far it has performed as described. The labels are easy to place with the afterburner labeling system. The labels can be printed all the way to the inside! My only small gripe is that the Click N Design software seems to be very memory intensive and somewhat slow. It won't load large jpegs easily. You have to resize them to about 500k or so and even then ...it's slow.



4. The mechanics (label application device etc.)of this system are fine. The software is horrible! It is without a doubt the worst I have ever had the misfortune to have purchased. Difficult, if not impossible to "make it do" what I want. Simply adding text where you want is a rediculous chore. Don't buy it. If someone offers it for free, refuse.
   Honestly, this one is bad!



5. The combination of labels and applicator is really foolproof - it just works. But the afterburner labels do not seem to be an official Avery product (could not find generic templates on the website, the product number is unknown, etc), so in practice you're tied to the included Click'N'Design software -- which is slow, clumsy and buggy.
   
   If Avery would fully support the labels (outside of the "afterburner" ghetto), the product would earn four stars. (If they would replace the horrible software, it would get five.)

No comments about Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium Upsell [Mac].

1 comments about Line 6 GearBox Silver Bundle with Toneport D.I. USB Recording Interface.

1. I was initially just looking for a D.I. box so that i could record rough song compositions straight into my Mac without all the noise. I happened upon this while searching online, I know the LIne 6 name and figured what the hell it's only a 100 bucks, a DI with a bunch of amp models and FX. What I didn't expect was the range of FX and models and the great sound quality and flexiblity. Like i said i was originally only looking to record very rough comps to share with the other guys in the band, but now i have the full fledged recording bug because my ideas are sounding so good. Granted it's not sudio quality, but I don't like the overly glossy recording sound anyway.
   It's very easy to use and install, I use it directly into garage band. I just wish it had more classic marshall models.and in hindsight i probably would have paid more for the powered preamp version rather than the DI version i bought. but it's all good.

No comments about Pantone Fasion Home Colorspecificer.

5 comments about Cosmi DVD Ripper.

1. I bought a copy of the Cosmi DVD Ripper Media Suite. It is not a full version but, instead a limited version will not let me burn DVD's. Don't know if it does Cd's or not. Doesn't matter I can already do that with my computer. Oh well just a big waste of time like I thought it would be. Just glad I have another way of burning DVD's just have to burn them in real time. Myself I wouldn't recomend Cosmi products to anyone for anything just a big RIPOFF in my opinion.



2. Today I used this program to rip a Lion's Gate DVD that was CSS protected to two VCDs that I later played in my DVD player and they played 100% well. Of course that the VCD quality was less than a DVD was but the movie was still watchable. It took 92 minutes to read and record too, but the point is that it worked and it was only 10 dollars.



3. This software , while lacking some refinement in the menus and in customer service, does the job it says it will : it rips dvd content , and turns it into avi, or burns it onto a vcd. I have the 2003 version - someone mentioned that he thinks newer versions had to be disabled for legal versions.that is possible. Occasionally, I will run into a dvd that is too well protected for the dvd ripper to rip. this is especially true for newer dvds.



4. THIS SOFTWARE CD EXACTLY AS PICTURED is developed by Pinnacle . Cosmi markets it. Much like Sears sells Kenmore refrigerators. Someone else, Pinnacle of CAlifornia in US apparently developed the CODE.
   
   NOTHING IN OR ON THE PACKAGING TELLS ANYONE THAT BUYER MUST 'BUY UP' TO HIGHER LEVELS OF SOFTWARE SUCH AS PLUS VERSION OR ULTIMATE VERSION TO GET DVD RIPPING/SAVING BACKUP FEATURES. After a SLOWWWWWW install on a 'BIG BOX'
   2 yr old WIN XP PC A second PDF FILE installed tells one about the UPGRADE
   'need'. NOTHING on the CD itself or CD CASE SLEEVE tells user ahead of time!!!!!!!



5. This software sucks!!!!
   OMG im stupid i shouldve checked the review first.
   Oh well, i learned my lesson, there goes my five dollars down the drain.
   Piece of s**T software cant do S**T!
   Deserve no star at all!! It deserves my middle finger!! I wish the software designer was here right in front of me so i can chuck the cd @ him!!

5 comments about Pinnacle Studio Version 8.

1. Don't buy it. My kids will probably all gratuate from college before I can get a DVD project completed with this software. It is a lemon. It has awesome features, which makes the experience all the more bitter. You think you've created a masterpiece, and then some software bug corrupts your project and makes a DVD unproducable. It'll fail you when you most need it.

   If Pinnacle ever gets their act together, I'll revise this review. But for now, I'd give it negative stars if I could.




2. Do yourself a favor, google search for +pinnacle +audio +synch (or better yet "oos" for "out of synch"). Do it for either for web pages or (news)groups. You will find expert after expert computer users who all come to same problem. this consistantly creates dvds where the audio and video are not synchornized. Your end product, no matter whether you captured off TV, you video taped home movies, or a state of the art home digital source, like a $1,500 digital movie camera, will all come out like badly dubbed Kung Foo movie.

   Pinnacle's own web support boards are filled with people having this problem, and many others and stunned by the total lack of technical support, or any Pinnacle response for that matter.

   If, by hook or by crook, you do get someone from pinnacle support to answer you on audio synch they will tell you the problem is with your capture and not the studio 8 program. You can explain til the cows come home that every media player on your computer results in a perfectly synched playback of your original so it is not the problem.

   Last you will be steered to their apparently endless set of "beta" fixes...they are on 8.10.4.0 as of today. None of the last dozen or so beta's have fixed this problem, but it will keep you busy installing.




3. This is the most frustrating software I've ever used at home. I've been trying to get it to work since March (7 months), and it's STILL a no go. I've spent countless hours dong everything from building a new high-end system to flashing my BIOS. Each phase fixes one problem only to run into another one. I can capture from 20 seconds to 4 minutes of video before my PC locks up so tight I have to call the power company to shut down our local grid to reboot. If it worked, it would be a AWESOME product. However, after seven months of scouring the Pinnacle web and other sites, and many Pinnacle updates - it still doesn't work. If you want frustration, then this is THE product for you!



4. I bought the Pinnacle MovieBox USB which came with Studio 8. The device has been making grinding noises after only 10 uses, and there are major bugs with Studio 8 which render it useless. And most importantly, Pinnacle DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY SUPPORT! They only have user forums (which I suggest you read first). If you don't believe me, just try finding a technical support phone # or e-mail address! The most blatant problem which has been outstanding since I purchased it is the "OOS" (audio out of sync), which makes the sound of any DVD you create a few seconds ahead or behind of the actual video. There is NOTHING you can do to fix the problem except hope it doesn't happen to you (usually for vids over 1 hour). The second biggest problem is the PC freezing every 30 seconds which even CTRL-ALT-DEL doesn't let you close the app. And you lose all your edits! I don't know what else is out there, but this was a $200 bust for me. BTW, I have a top-of-the-line PC. Before you buy any capture devices/software, you should have a fast CPU, lost of RAM, at least firewire or USB 2, and a large and fast hard drive (pref. 2). Otherwise, you'll have choppy video.



5. Well i have an moviebox usb too and ehh no problems at all !
   Only rendering is quit slow (i'm using FULL h/w acceleration now and it takes about 5 hours for an 2 hour dvd, but while most people are complaning about the a/v sync, its better here than the Ulead media software witch gives me over 5 seconds delay!
   It seems that studio is also depending on directx (and youre video-adapter)
   i'm using
   Hardware: Amd 2000+ with 512 mb ram 80gb and 120gb harddrive,NEC1100a dvd-burner.Gforce 4MX440(64mb),sb-audigy,usb 2.0 bla bla bla
   Software : windows XP,Pinnacle Studio 8.10,directx 9 and always the latest drivers!
   And its realy giving me no trouble, by the way, if you record youre video directly on the disired bitrate then rerendering is very fast!!