No comments about Intego ContentBarrier X4 - Macintosh.

No comments about Spectraview Software.

No comments about Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Web Standard Upgrade [Mac].

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

1. I upgraded to Adobe CS3 Web Premium from Macromedia Studio MX recently. When I tried to install the new software on my Windows Vista Ultimate laptop, I got an error message with an error code number and a message to contact Adobe Tech Support. Instead of calling Tech Support, I went to Adobe's Knowledge Base on their website and fortunately, the solution to my installation problem was right there and it worked.
   
   Once I got the software installed, it works fine. I primarily use Bridge (it is great for orgainzing my large digital photo collection.), Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I sometimes use Fireworks and Illustrator and I want to do a few animations soon with Flash.
   
   An excellent product other than the installation issues. There is still a lot I want to learn!!



2. As everyone already knows, Adobe CS3 is a must-have for creative professionals. This version of Creative Suite lives up to its reputation, providing tons of great new tools. The only problem I have had is the installation of Illustrator - it fails to install successfully.



3. I recently upgraded to CS3 Web Premium on a WinXP machine with Studio MX 2004 installed and separate Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2 installations. For me, the upgrade went very smoothly. This may have been due to my learning from the trials of those installing before me, because I took the advice of many in these reviews and elsewhere: before installing, I manually removed all versions of Adobe Reader and all Flash and Shockwave players and disabled pretty much everything running in the taskbar quicklaunch area, as well as disabling virus protection. I left my Photoshop, Illustrator and Studio MX installs alone, and even with those in place, I was asked to enter the product id number for Studio MX, which I still had. But with these fairly straightforward pre-installation steps, the install itself went well and only took an hour or two.
   
   I've only begun using the new features, but have so far seen the following:
   
   Photoshop CS3 - seems to open and run more quickly than my CS2 installation (on my 5 year old PC.) There is a new default desktop layout for tools and windows which took a little getting used to, but I like better now than previous versions...it makes it easier to get more usable graphic image working area. There is a new magic selection tool that provides a lot of control over selection edge (you drag the tool around and it dynamically builds the selection, then can apply changes to edge non-destructively until you get what you want...very cool!)
   
   Flash CS3 - so far, have explored only the video capabilities...it seems much easier to build integrated Flash video players from 'template-like' components than previous versions. They've also included an external Flash video encoder to convert other formats to Flash video...to test, I converted a WMV file to high quality Flash video...the resulting video file size was large, but the quality was fantastic.
   
   Dreamweaver CS3 - seems to handle CSS designs better than previous versions. This version also seems more stable than my MX 2004 version...that one crashed every once in awhile. Have had no stability issues with CS3. Dreamweaver CS3 also adds a new library of components for javascript and AJAX features like rollover pulldown menu support.
   
   I haven't opened Fireworks, Contribute or Illustrator yet, and have seen only a small part of CS3 so far, but from what I've seen CS3 seems to improve stability, and add features that, while maybe not earth-shaking, are useful and well implemented. Recommended.



4. This is a great package of wonderful programs in a convenient bundle. Powerful tools that will assist any web or graphics designer. It may be slightly complicated for someone who is not techo-savvy.
   I loved Studio 8, and I love this more.



5. Why would you not upgrade? The full MacroMedia suite plus the Adobe tools. Unlike other reviews, I had no problems installing the upgrade. It took me less than an hour to install the full suite.

1 comments about Softpress Systems Freeway 4 Pro Web Design (Mac).

1. This product was recommended to me by a computer-expert friend as much easier to use than the usual ones. I am now almost finished with my first website (which includes lots of graphics, pop-up windows, and a music download) and it has really been a breeze. I don't consider myself good with computers, but this program let me worry much more about what I wanted to put on the site, and how I wanted it to look, than about how I was going to implement that. The tutorials in the included "Getting Started" booklet are well worth working through, and the "Using Freeway" book, also included, goes into more detail -- a refreshing change from those programs that come with zero paper help documentation. And the results look professional -- as soon as another friend saw my half-done first website, he wanted to hire me to do one for him!

No comments about Norton Internet Security 2006 Retail.

5 comments about Norton Internet Security 2007 (up to 3 Users).

1. Since I've installed this software, it has slowed down my internet searching in the worst way. It is hanging up and constantly flashing the hourglass and not letting me scroll down efficiently, even though the page is done loading. What a let down from Symantec. I have been a loyal happy customer of the Internet Security product until this year, and if they don't improve their product and either provide a fix for these issues or issue another release, they are not only going to lose me as a customer but many others that I teach to. I have recommended this software to my many students and will have to warn them not to buy this year's version. Time to try the competitor! Don't waste your time and money hoping it will work out okay for you--that's what I did even after reading bad reviews on it. I learned my lesson. Get it back together, Symantec!



2. As someone who has had good experience with NIS 2004 and 2006 over the past 3 years, I hesitated to install NIS 2007 after reading all the negative reviews posted on Amazon. Numerous reviewers who appear to be experienced computer users indicate dramatically slowed internet access and computer crashes trying to go on-line, problems in starting up, problems with running standard software, and problems with NIS installation. One reviewer, trying to counter these concerns, suggests that perhaps the problems these folks were encountering are due to not having configured the installation properly; but this raises further concerns by implying that, in 2007 (unlike prior years), some sophistication is now required during the installation process.
   
   So it was with some trepidation that I finally gave in and bought NIS 2007. My conclusion, after a week with this new software: It's just fine. It installed easily. It has not slowed my e-mail and internet access one iota, nor has it otherwise degraded computer performance. Users with 1GB RAM on a Windows XP system probably do not need to worry about encountering problems if they install NIS 2007.
   
   My success with this software could be due in part to the fact that I have 1GB of dual-channel RAM. (The Sept 2007 issue of Consumer Reports indicates that you probably need 1 gig of memory for use of any of the security suites on the market.) Perhaps some of the reviewers who have had bad experiences had inadequate RAM. Also, I have a Windows XP system with only standard software packages on my computer (e.g., MS Office 2003, WordPerfect Office 12, Paint Shop Pro X); perhaps some of the folks who have had problems have more esoteric web-derived software. I have Time Warner broadband internet access; I wonder if the problems may be related to the specific internet access provider, or the nature of the access (dial-up vs. DSL vs. cable).
   
   This is not to dismiss the serious problems that some have experienced. There is clearly a finite chance that a problem can be ecountered with any security suite. (A friend bought a Dell computer with McAfee pre-installed, and her Time Warner broadband service stopped operating until McAfee was uninstalled.) I'm just suggesting that your chances of having a problem with this product are probably much smaller than the number of negative reviews here would imply, since it's the folks who have had problems who are most likely to post reviews here.
   
   I give NIS 2007 4 rather than 5 stars because Consumer Reports (Sept 2007) rates its effectiveness the lowest of the security suites it reviewed. However, in the 3 years I've been using NIS, I have not experienced any of the threats that NIS is supposed to guard against. So either I'm lucky, or the suite is doing its job. I also grade NIS 2007 down for saying on the box that only 256MB RAM is required, when, in fact, RAM requirements may be four times that.



3. Don't waste you money and time on this. The only way I would have email or internet access would be if I turn off the firewall. Their customer service via email advised me on many different configuration, uninstall, reinstall, etc. steps which took up hours and hours of my time. They now don't reply to any of my emails because they realized that they can't help me. I bought this for my brand new hp computer that runs vista home premium & I was told that it would work on my version, but it's been over 3 months & there's so much bugs with the software that they don't even know how to guide me to troubleshoot it. I'm going to end here because this is not worth any more of my time. I totally give up on this software & will definitely buy another brand software. TOTALY WASTE OF MONEY & TIME ~~~ ZERO STARS FOR THIS ITEM!



4. I've been a fan of Norton for many, many years.
   I purchased a bundle with Norton Internet Security and Norton System Works this year (2007). I had Norton System Works 2005 on my machine before the purchase.
   
   Nothing but problems uninstalling 2005 then installing the bundle. It was a lemon from the get-go. After hours of research and dealing with Norton I was finally able to get it to work. The problems are mostly due to all the residual garbage that Norton strews, hides and locks into your system. Forget the regular uninstall, even the special uninstalling tool that Norton provides on their website left all kinds of registry entries and folders, files and tons of dll's and ini's. I invested at least three full days dealing with this installation.
   
   Ok, so now I'm set, right? Well, it appeared so for a while. I was able to use all the bells and whistles that I was accustomed to using and had a Firewall that was from my favorite computer gardian.
   
   About 3 months after installing the 2007 bundle (SW and NIS), I get a notice that my license has expired. More research, more dealing with Norton, I spent a full day in the middle of a big job (I'm a sole-proprietor and very busy at times ... and all my work is done on my computer ... a nice new Sony VAIO laptop with XP w/SP2). Still no resolve! This was really getting on my nerves, I've got deadlines and contracts to meet!
   
   I tried for another half day (very wasted time ... DEADLINES AHEAD), Norton took their sweet time and even suggested that I had illigitimate software on my computer ... That did it! I immediately researched other software and went back to ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall and got their Security Suite ... WOAH ... tons better ... Seamless Install, Great Firewall, No Problems what-so-ever from ZA.
   
   Sorry, not the end of story yet ... Before installing ZA Security Suite I had uninstalled the Norton 2007 bundle via their recommended, special uninstall tool. When I got done, there were still Symantic Directories, files, registry entries, hidden low level junk, tons of garbage.
   
   It's months later now and I'm still fighting that uninstall. My computer came to a near standstill, slooooooooowed Dooooooooown and now takes about an hour to turn off and much longer to start Windows than before.
   I purchased a System Mechanic and it helped some but didn't go deep enough, I guess. I finally found a Freeware Registry cleaner that found a ton of Symantic/Norton junk and seemed to clean things up well.
   
   Don't waste you hard earned bucks on Norton until they prove themselves again ... I'll go miles out of my way to avoid them in the future.
   Totally Unacceptable .... Very Bad .... if you care one iota about your computer, don't go with Norton products until they completely rework the way they do business and completely rework the thrown together software that has caused more damage that any of the Viruses, Spyware, Spam, Trojans, Worms that I've ever encountered!
   
   Buyer Beware!!! ... Totally Unacceptable (but I guess you gathered that by now) ... it's all real world experience and I have used a computer 10-12 hours a day since I got my Tandy, Radio Shack TRS-80 way back when.
   
   Norton should be ashamed of their current product ... Totally Unacceptable!
   
   Dave B



5. This Norton is great! Finally, I bought one that I can use on more than one computer. I have two desktops and a lap top and I shouldn't have to purchase three individual Norton Internet Security discs. So, I bought this one for a good price and it works fine. I like Norton and I am accustomed to it. I'll buy it again when this one expires. It's the best internet security and easy to use.

5 comments about IBM VIAVOICE Advanced 10.0.

1. Those that say this software is "unstable" do not take into consideration the VERY high cpu usage needed to perform continuous speech recognition (as ooposed to "discrete" speech dictation used in IBM VoiceType, which was possible on a Pentium 1 233 Mhz, and required users to pause between words).
   
   In short: get a gigabyte of ram, specially if you're using WinXP. If you run Win2000 with 512MB ram, try to add an extra 256mb stick.
   
   And your cpu should be at the very least a 2Ghz Pentium 4, or higher, despite what the box claims. With these requirements in mind, the software works as advertised in my experience.



2. My girlfriend has Multiple Sclerosis and has become limited in her ability to type. She was using an on-screen keyboard with a mouse, when I met her. One day I watched her type a short note to her mother she spent hours on two paragraphs. I told her that there had to be a better way and after a short search found ViaVoice. It was affordable and we decided to give it a try. We installed it the day it came and right away she was able to use its built in word processor to write letters to friends and family. We've only been working with it for 2 weeks, now, but it is a vast improvement over the onscreen keyboard. She can dictate a letter and make corrections in a fraction of the time possible before.
   
   I hate that it seems tied to Microsoft but it seems to be adaptable to other software systems. We are learning togather, it's fun.



3. I just bought this product and tried to install it. It did not install right. Naturally I called customer service at Nuance. Then there comes the surprise. They give you free tech support only for first time on installation problem. From second time, you have to pay about $19 for support. I did not remember if it was one time fee or each time. Another surprise took place when I finally could talk to tech rep after about 10 min. wait. First thing he told me was that there are compatibility issues with Windows XP SP2. Tech Rep also told me that because of this, there is a really good chance you will have to call tech support more than twice which means you will have to pay and best thing I can do is to return this product and get refund.
   
   as for installation problem, I did not even try to fix it knowing that this will have another problem.
   
   If you are thinking to buy this item anyway you really have to make sure you are not using XP SP2 or they have already fixed this problem



4. I am a physician and dictate multiple letters every day. I was spending thousands of dollars (literally) a year for a transcriptionist to type my letters for me in the early 1990's. Not only that, there was about a one week turnaround time from when I dictated the letters into my tape recorder until the time they were typed and ready to be signed. When IBM first came out with speech recognition, I called IBM and actually spoke to the person who was the head of their R&D for speech recognition. From what he told me, I felt this new technology might save me a lot of time and money. I have used IBM for speech recognition since 1995 when they had Voice Dictation which was run off their own IBM OS2-Warp operating system. That required that you speak each word distinctly and separately. You needed a computer with a dual operating system (OS2 Warp and Windows 3.1). After dictating a letter into the OS2-Warp platform, you copied it, opened Windows and pasted it onto a Works letterhead. Lots of futzing around, but hey, it worked. When ViaVoice came out (in 1998, I think) I got their Executive 98 edition and have used it until recently. It worked fine, but my eight year-old computer finally died, and when I got a new Dell I figured I'd try the new ViaVoice 10. Big mistake!!! Initially it worked, but it was always kind of quirky. Made me wish I still had my old Executive 98 version. Anyway, one day, after spending a weekend programing in a bunch of macros, it totally died. I called IBM ViaVoice support and they had me do this thing and that to the computer, all to no avail. Finally, the technician asked what operating system I was using. I told him Windows XP service pack 2. He said that ViaVoice 10 is not compatible with service pack 2 - something about a "hostile environment". I asked him what I should do and he said return ViaVoice to Amazon (which they took back for a full credit even though the package had obviously been opened) and to get Dragon. That's right - the IBM technician said Dragon is a better product. Well, I ordered Dragon Preferred from Amazon and set-up was a breeze compared to ViaVoice. About 5 minutes of reading to the computer to adjust to my voice vs. 35 minutes for ViaVoice. Installing macros (addresses, common phrases, etc. where you say a couple of words and the whole address or paragraph comes up) was easy. One annoyance with the macros is that you always have to reset the font and size for each macro. I use Times New Roman 12-point and had to set it every time. The default font is something weird and the default size is 8-point. If you don't reset it, the macros show up in your letter in the 8-point size. Training new words is very simple and quick. Dragon says it is 99% accurate - I think that's a bit of a stretch, but I find that Dragon will make maybe 2-3 mistakes in a typical 3-4 paragraph letter that I dictate, including all the medical jargon. I can live with that - it is comparable to what I was used to with my old ViaVoice program. Correction is easy - either say Select _ and then choose the correct spelling from the dropdown list, or highlight the misspelled word and push the minus (-) sign on the numeric keypad. Dragon is very good when you have to correct a single word; not as hot if you have to correct a phrase or macro. It takes maybe 15-30 seconds to make corrections to the letter once I have finished dictating. Another annoyance is that Dragon doesn't seem to learn from it's mistakes. If, for example, I say Andersen, it will type Anderson no matter how many times I run the correction window, spelling the word ending with -sen not -son. ViaVoice, at least my old version, would usually spell the word correctly after I had corrected it once or twice. Another annoyance is that when I am dictating, often Dragon seems to hold back on typing, then suddenly an entire sentence will appear. It does show what you are dictating in a little box at the top of the screen though. ViaVoice shows every word as soon as you dictate it. I have had no problems with the microphone that came with Dragon - it's not the most comfortable, but it doesn't seem to be adversely affecting the dictation quality. Unless you have money to burn, there's probably no reason to buy a more expensive microphone. Overall, I am pretty happy with Dragon Preferred. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now, and it does what I need it to do. It is a definite improvement over my old IBM ViaVoice Executive 98 version. I am not sure I can accurately rate ViaVoice 10 because of my computer's "hostile environment". However, even the IBM technician said Dragon is a better product. If you have Windows XP service pack 2, don't even think of getting ViaVoice.



5. I have not used it myself, we installed it in one of our satellite offices, but an experienced user was able to install it fairly easily, and said it is working well and has features that he likes, for example, commonly used words are entered easily and the text is fairly accurate, especially if there is no significant background noise in his office. Price was reasonable, too.

3 comments about iSale 4.x Personal Pack Pro.

1. I have been using eBay to clear out my garage and I thought that listing my things on eBay was doable but then I tried iSale... What a difference. It was so straight forward and easy to use I was flabbergasted. This is a great app and I definitely recommend it!
   
   PS - You'll love their selection of templates - they're completely different from anything I have seen on eBay already!



2. I HAVE A LOT OF GARBAGE TO SELL ON EBAY. Having said that, this tool makes it easier, more fun, and also provides easier ways in conjunction with .Mac to load pics and make the selling of said junk cheaper. The nice thing too is that it has provided a bunch of free upgrades over the past few months which have really made it a boon to have. NO complaints here, A+++++ for this one.



3. After purchasing this software I figured out that it does NOT allow you to import active ebay listings, nor does it allow you do import orders from listings not made with isale. Definitely read the manual closely before buying it. Which is pretty much what I was told by an isale rep. that I should have done when I requested a refund after purchasing it.
   If you are starting fresh with no current listings, this MAY be the software for you. If you already have listings on ebay and you think this may be an option for making things faster, you have an unpleasant surprise in store. You can import via csv files, but from what I can tell, you will still have to change many things in your listings to make your listings isale compatible. Not to mention, you would need to be previously using a program that exports to csv files, which some programs don't.
   This software has many shortcomings, I recommend you FULLY do your research before putting money into it. It took me over a week to get a reply from them after my first email to them. The replies have been faster since then, but I think that may be due to the fact that I have been complaining.
   I would recommend you take a serious look at Garagesale and do an in depth comparison before buying isale. If after that, you feel it is the one for you, so be it. Just don't ask for a refund if you find out later that it doesn't measure up! Also, if you use your .mac account for your picture server as I do, isale only allows you to upload into the main directory. Garagesale allows you to upload pics into specific folders.
   Isale MAY have a future if they do some considerable updates, but for now, I would pass on it.
   UPDATE: I have now spent literally all day trying to import my listings into this software via csv. It doesn't work at all. Isale lists them all as new auctions and imports the correct number of listings. However, NOT ONE SINGLE detail of the listings are in tact. For the love of all that is holy people, go with Garagesale, I'm going back to Garagesale effective immediately.

5 comments about CA Antivirus 2007 3-User.

1. I had the same experience with one of the other reviewers, the firewall occassionally blocks my IE access. I had to do the same thing - turn off firewall and then it worked. It has also affected performance.
   
   Plus, this was a renewal from software I purchased last year. It cost me $42! That's more expensive than if you bought it off the shelf.



2. This company has no customer support. It blocks your internet access. Shutting it off doesn't work; you have to uninstall it to get your internet access back. Then if the FAQ page that they have for customer service doesn't help (which it won't), the require that you fork over 19.99 for help!!! Stay away from this!!



3. I bought this in May 2007, and installed it on a machine with Vista OS. Right away I experienced problems with the firewall blocking all internet access. Then I was getting personal security alerts. I tried all notion of ideas and finally called Customer Service. After an eternity I chatted online (using my laptop that was working ok with XP) with someone who figured out that even though this version is supposed to work with Vista out of the box it really does'nt. She advised: 1. Goto Control panel. 2. Click on Network and Sharing center. 3. Click on " Manage Network Conenctions " to the lehthand side. 4. Right click on Default Connection and goto Properties. 5. Uncheck the options "HIPS HIGH FILTER" and "HIPS LOW FILTER" and click ok. 6. Try getting online with the Firewall turned on.
   
   Well that fixed the issue but ever since the computer runs in slow motion whenever I am trying to access web pages. And the durn PARENTAL CONTROL wants to keep me from normal, mundane websites unless I put in an access code, even though they were normal sites like CNN, and had it turned off. FINALLY I uninstalled CA Internet and installed Embarq security, now my internet blazes fast!



4. I buy this software for really cheap - about $3 I think. It is one year old when I buy it but you get free updates to the current software for a year.
   
   Seems to do its job and doesn't interfere with the computer.



5. Forget about the firewall (don't install it) If you just use the anti-virus it's one of the best buys on the market.