QuickBooks Pro 2010 - Old Version Review

QuickBooks Pro 2010 - Old Version
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I could not agree more with some of the customers' reviews here on Amazon: QB Pro on Windows 7 64-bit cannot be used for your business.
Our company upgraded our computers to Windows 7 64-bit along with Quickbooks 2010 to try it out, but have not transitioned the whole company over to QB 2010 because it just has so many things that don't work.
The most important issue that the fact that printing just doesn't work consistently, neither for pdf's (sending estimates, POs, reconciliation) nor simply printing invoices and receipts. If you try to follow suggestions posted on QB support discussion forums, the fix lasts about a day or so. After rebooting your computer or even QB again, the issue begins again. It's impossible to run a business with Quickbooks 2010 if one cannot print. For non-QB programs, printing works perfectly. So this is clearly a QB problem.
Due to the above, we've resorted to running the business with Quickbooks 2006 with off our older computers that have Windows XP 32-bit. Completely frustrating.
I'm not a person who likes to criticize products. I'm providing this review to simply warn users who have Windows 7 64-bit to really stay away from Quickbooks from 2010 until Intuit resolves the issue. It's really unfair that QB is asking us to pay for customer support when the issue is clearly because the product does not work.


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The most popular version of America's #1 small business financial software helps make your business more profitable. New features show you exactly where your business stands and saves you time to focus on your business: organize your finances all in one place; manage and customer, vendor, and employee data; save money-track every dollar in and out; know where your business stands with real-time reports.




Save time when tracking your finances
Easily print checks, pay bills & track expenses Easily print checks, pay bills & track expenses. Aggregate all your checks to be paid and print them in one batch. QuickBooks will keep track of each check so you can keep tabs on where your money is going. Enter bills from vendors. Since QuickBooks organizes everything in one place, you'll be able to access all past payments & bills for each vendor with just a few clicks.

Track sales, sales taxes & customer payments Get rid of piles of paperwork. Easily enter customer payments. Since QuickBooks organizes everything in one place, you'll be able to access all past payments for each customer with just a few clicks.

Manage payroll & payroll taxes; offer Direct Deposit (additional fees apply) Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Services (sold separately), QuickBooks Payroll for Mac powered by PayCycle (sold separately), and Payroll for QuickBooks Online (sold separately) save you time by eliminating steps and giving you the tools to get your payroll done right.

Create professional-looking invoices and forms Select from Free professional designs to create a distinct look for your business across all your invoices, statements, and other forms. Apply across all your forms at once.

E-mail estimates, invoices, reports, and more Create customer communications and e-mail directly from your QuickBooks using Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express using your existing e-mail address.

Organize and back-up documents by attaching them to your QuickBooks records Document Management lets you save time by attaching any electronic or scanned document--to any customer, vendor, employee, account, or transaction.

Accept credit and debit cards right in QuickBooks Process credit card approvals right in your QuickBooks software. If you use Intuit QuickBooks Merchant Services, the data is automatically recorded in QuickBooks when you make a sale. And, it has no teaser rates, no hidden fees, no cancellation fees, and no long-term contracts.

Scan and deposit your checks with Intuit Check Solution for QuickBooks (subscription required) Easily scan and deposit your checks into QuickBooks with Intuit Check Solution for QuickBooks. Subscription required; scanner sold separately.

Track time, mileage, and expenses to bill clients Record time and expenses by client job so you can easily stay on top of your projects. From there, it's easy to invoice clients in a few clicks so you won't miss any billable time and expenses.



Get insights so you make better decisions
Allow multiple users to work in QuickBooks at the same time* Multiple-user functionality enables more than one person to work on a company file at the same time, increasing collaboration and productivity. It ensures that all users are working on the most up-to-date data.

*QuickBooks Pro and Premier: Requires purchase of a license for each additional user. All copies of QuickBooks must be the same version-year.

One-click business reports Get pre-designed, customizable business reports to gain insights into your business. See all available reports in one screen to easily choose the right one. Drill down with one click to see the detail behind the numbers. Export any report to Excel--your QuickBooks formatting and formulas go with it. Access industry-specific reports in QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise Solutions.

Import data from Excel, Quicken, Microsoft Office Accounting & prior QuickBooks versions Get up and running fast by importing data from the tool you use to track your finances now. However little or much data you currently have, you won't have to start over from scratch.

Track inventory, set reorder points & create purchase orders Easily track your inventory to avoid overbuying and backorders. Indicate re-order points for each inventory good and turn on reminders to automatically let you know when its time to reorder.

Download your bank & credit transactions into QuickBooks Save time and avoid data entry errors. Instead of typing in your bank and credit card transactions, download them securely from over 3000 participating financial institutions and easily import them into QuickBooks. Learn More

Get an immediate view into your bottom line all in one page with Company Snapshot Stay on top of your business by customizing your Company Snapshot. Choose at-a-glance reports of yearly expenses and income, expense and income details, and top customers.

Track international sales & expenses in multiple currencies QuickBooks supports all global currencies and does all the currency calculations for you. You can even download exchange rates or do wire transfers from right in QuickBooks.



Easily Get Started
Import Data from Excel Excel templates make it easy for you to import your existing customers, vendors, or product information into QuickBooks. You can also assign each column in your existing Excel spreadsheet to a corresponding QuickBooks column. Save these settings to use again the next time you want to pull in data. You can even preview your data before you transfer it.

Import Data from Quicken, Peachtree, and Microsoft Office Accounting Access the Quicken conversion tool in QuickBooks to convert your data from Quicken 1998 through 2007. If you are currently running your business using Peachtree 2001-2008, Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006, and Microsoft Office Accounting/Office Accounting Express, you can also easily convert your data into QuickBooks 2010.We've created a special site to provide conversion tools and information to help you easily move from your current accounting software to QuickBooks. Visit our Switcher center.

Get Set Up and Running Quickly Answer a few basic questions, and get a customized setup you can change at any time.

Step-by-step Coaching for New Users to Help you Learn QuickBooks Faster Get up to speed on QuickBooks easily. The QuickBooks Coach guides you step by step, so you can learn how to use QuickBooks features faster and explore QuickBooks as you enter your data.

Learn QuickBooks Quickly with Built-in Tutorials Learn QuickBooks skills as you need them – in your own time, at your own pace. The built-in Learning Center offers short tutorials on basic and advanced features to help you get the most out of QuickBooks.

Upgrade your QuickBooks Effortlessly Easily transfer your existing data file into QuickBooks 2010. Your company file and preferences will transfer automatically. In just a few steps, you can start working in QuickBooks using your information, including customer lists, vendor lists, balances, and inventory lists.



Get Help When You Need It
Find Answers Fast Help functionality allows you to find the information you need quickly and easily. You'll find answers to most questions in QuickBooks in-product, onscreen Help. Type a question, choose from a list of topics, or search by keyword.

Connect with Other QuickBooks Users and Experts to Get Help and Share Ideas Connect with a vibrant community of QuickBooks users, QuickBooks experts, accountants, and Intuit employees. Instant access to a wealth of questions and answers to assist with QuickBooks and small business problems.5



QuickBooks Pro Reports With QuickBooks reports, you'll always know where your business stands. See who owes you money and how much. Find out who your best customers are and what they're buying. Learn where your business is profitable and where you're losing money. You can also customize report templates to best meet your needs.
Profit & Loss StandardHow much money did my company make or lose over a specific period of time?
Company SnapshotGet an immediate view into your bottom line all in one page--tailored to your business. Choose the at-a-glance reports that are most important to you- including new reports for yearly expenses and income comparisons, detailed expense and income breakdown, and a top customer list.
Inventory Stock Status by VendorWhat is the detailed information about each inventory item, organized by vendor?
Purchases by Item SummaryFor each item or service, how many has my company bought, and what is the total amount spent?
A/P Aging DetailWhich bills are due and overdue?
Profit & Loss Budget PerformanceHow do the actual income and expenses compare to what has been budgeted for the current month and year?
Statement of Cash FlowsWhat was the cash inflow (from profit and additional cash received) and cash outflow (cash spent) during a specific period of time?
Income Tax DetailWhat transactions make up each amount on my company's income tax forms?



Self-Help Resources
Find Answers Fast with QuickBooks In-Product Help Help functionality allows you to find the information you need quickly and easily. You'll find answers to most questions in QuickBooks in-product, onscreen Help. Type a question, choose from a list of topics, or search by keyword.

Learn to Complete Common Tasks in QuickBooks Learning Center Learn how to do common tasks by watching interactive, in-product tutorials in the QuickBooks Learning Center. Learn how to record sales, bill customers, generate reports, and more.

Get Step-by-Step Coaching for New Users Get up to speed on QuickBooks easily. The new QuickBooks Coach guides you step by step, so you can learn how to use QuickBooks features faster and explore QuickBooks as you enter your data.

Connect with Other QuickBooks Users and Experts to Get Help and Share Ideas Connect with a vibrant community of QuickBooks users, QuickBooks experts, accountants, and Intuit employees. Instant access to a wealth of questions and answers to assist with QuickBooks and small business problems.

Get free Access to Our Support Website with Thousands of Answers Visit the QuickBooks Support Website to search and browse thousands of detailed Support Topics and Frequently Asked Questions.

Get Personalized Help from QuickBooks Support Experts Live technical support is available on a per-call basis or as part of a QuickBooks Support Plan Support Plans offer much more than just tech support! They include data protection services like online backup and data recovery to help protect your important QuickBooks information. Plus, they provide 24/7 access to trained support experts for an unlimited number of questions and issues,3,4 as well as tools to help you learn how to use QuickBooks and manage your business more efficiently. Fees apply.

Find a Local Accounting Professional Find a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who can help you get set up and provide accounting advice tailored to your business.


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Native Instruments Traktor Pro 2 Review

Native Instruments Traktor Pro 2
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I HAVE NOT received the product yet. i dont know if there is a problem with the store or the courrier
Carlos Alvarado

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Vegas Pro 10 Review

Vegas Pro 10
Average Reviews:

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I absolutely LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this software and have never looked back. I've upgraded from Version 9 to get the more 3D processing for generating 3D videos (none of the competition can do as of this writing).
I was a newbie at making videos, and started off with Roxio Video Wave (which I would also highly recommend to anyone starting brand new). However, as my skills progressed, I found I kept wanting to do more than Roxio could accommodate.
I trialed lots of software (I tried Corel's suite, Nero's, Cyberlink's PowerDirector, Adobe Premiere Elements and Premiere Pro), with my hopes set the highest on Cyberlink PowerDirector and Adobe Premiere Elements.
Being a Photoshop user since Version 3 and loving that program, I couldn't wait to try the relevant Adobe Premiere Elements and Elements Pro. Unfortunately, they were total disappointments because of their complexity, kept crashing (those users who complain about that aren't kidding), and the lack of some basic intuitive interface workings. Plus with Adobe they install all sorts of extra "crap" software (bloatware I think the technical term is?) that runs checking registration, etc.
PowerDirector was great, but not expandable and had quite a few little annoyances with its interface I couldn't get over.
Reluctantly, I tried Sony Vegas Pro. I was reluctant because seriously... how many people have received decent software from a camera or hardware electronics manufacturer? Zip. Zero. You get those cheesy programs to make short clips or transfer files from your camera to computer, but that's about it.
Well, let me say Sony's Creative Software division that's created Vegas Pro has certainly altered my stereotype! They're a godsend!
I had a learning curve of about a day with Vegas getting used to their terminology as opposed to Roxio's (for example, in Vegas Pro media on a timeline is referred to as an "event". Roxio also has the same functionality as "envelopes", but Roxio doesn't call it "envelopes").
Anyway, Vegas Pro's functionality is exactly what I need/want in a software package. It does all the little things I find "non professional" producers would do. For instance, if I want a clip in a Vegas Project, I can just drag and drop it from Windows explorer onto the timeline and Vegas automatically does the import into its "library". In any Adobe project or PowerDirector, it's a 2-step process of first having to "import" it into your media library and then dragging from your media library onto your timeline. Vegas Pro knows what you want, and does everything automatically for you when you drag/drop (eg, import it into the media library, etc).
Vegas installed easily, starts in less than a minute on my 4-year old Dell laptop, renders quickly, and hasn't crashed once. It's also not bloated software, and doesn't install more software than you need.
Vegas Pro can handle almost any kind of media file you want to throw at it.
It comes with an amazing set of transitions and video effects out of the box (as PowerDirector does). But if you want more, dozens of companies produce hundreds of additional plugins (both audio and video) allowing you to do more. Two great ones are 3D Six Pack from Pixelan and the NeuBlue additions.
Video is a cinch to work with on the time line. In the same single clip you can easily slow video down, speed it up, and even reverse it without having to use or create separate subclips, and all just by clicking and dragging the mouse pointer. Super fantastic.
With audio, it's a snap to work with. I've even created a few remixes just by working with sound clips across the time line, doing fades, and adjusting audio envelopes (eg, the volume, playback speed, etc) on the time line. I can convert from anything to anything or vice-versa -- no more audio software needed!
Another big advantage of Vegas Pro over Adobe Premiere Pro is you can preview transitions and video effects *before* you actually apply them! In Premiere Pro, you can't do that. Who the heck wants to have to memorize transitions/effects to know what they might look like on your timeline before rendering?
Anyway, with Vegas you can also customize just about everything; windows can be docked however you like; you can write your own scripts to include your own functionality using .NET; the PDF manual was a breeze to read through and very comprehensive with great examples (free download from Sony's website);
After learning their Vegas lingo, it's become even easier and things just work.
The three drawbacks I find to Vegas (which are really minor) are:
1) the media library that came with it has nothing but "demo" clips which I can't use unless I purchase them;
2) the "trimmer" window where you can work with sound/video clips separately outside the timeline works differently than Roxio's similar interface. In Roxio, when you set an "in" and "out" point in a media clip and insert that into the timeline, that's the version (eg, you can't extend beyond the boundaries of the media w/o reediting the in/out points). In Vegas' trimmer window, you can set the in/out point, but when dragged onto the timeline you can extend beyond those points if you need to (I personally wish it was locked like it is in Roxio because otherwise there's no point to having the trimmer window as you can just do all your work in the timeline);
3) the Sony Message boards are restricted to people who have registered their software. So as a "trial user" you're out of luck. Also when registering (not activating) you have to provide Sony with all sorts of information (which I refused to do).
I've been recommending this software to anyone who's thinking of wanting to do more with creating videos than just the basic stuff. I'm not a fan of Sony products (computers, cameras, video cams, etc), but I absolutely love this piece of software. As much as I love Adobe Photoshop (and recently purchased the CS4 version), for video production I'm definitely a Sony software convert.


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The Vegas Pro 10 collection offers an efficient and intuitive environment for professional audio and video production, as well as DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring. This comprehensive suite offers the most robust and progressive platform available for content creation and production. With innovative stereoscopic 3D tools, broad format support, superior video effects processing, unparalleled audio support, and a full complement of editorial features, the Vegas Pro 10 collection delivers everything needed to produce outstanding results. Vegas Pro 10 includes 32- and 64-bit versions of Vegas Pro 10 software, DVD Architect Pro 5.2 software, and the Dolby Digital professional AC-3 encoder.
An efficient and intuitive environment for professional audio and video production, as well as DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring. Click here for a larger image

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ACID Pro 7 Review

ACID Pro 7
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I am very impressed by Acid Pro7.0. For the price [...] Direct Box) I believe that Acid Pro 7 is a must have upgrade that makes it a worthy competitor in the DAW market. Its simplicity and ease of use, and at the same time overall robustness are a reminder that a no frills design can increase productivity as I found myself happily zipping along and having everything on the same screen only a click away.
Pros
Uncluttered interface
Best loop stretching in the biz!
Tempo Curves
Real time rendering
Plug In bundle with Garritan, iZotope, etc.
Can use any 3rd party audio editor
Price Cons
Midi editing not very intuitive
No dedicated audio editor
As a long time Acid user (since ver. 2) I was very interested to see what the software had in terms of updates and improvements. Acid's time stretching and looping tools have always been flawless and in version 6 Sony added multi-tracking capabilities, thus making Acid Pro 6 a recording workstation.
According to Sony, version Acid Pro 7 offers improvement of the midi and tracking sections of the software as well as some welcome additions in terms of plugins such as Garritan Aria, Acid Pro Effects Rack by iZotope, Native Instruments Guitar Combos and Submersible Music KitCore. Sony have added an audio and midi mixing console, input busses, real time rendering and midi track freeze, features that a lot of users were hoping to see in version 6. There are also a few features under the hood that enhance the user experience as well and we'll get into these details later.
Installation
Acid Pro 7 requires the user to register online and to obtain a key code via a challenge and response system. Fairly straightforward and after registering I got my codes and was good to go in under 5 minutes. The software plugins take a bit longer to load, especially the Garritan Aria for Acid since it has quite a few sample files. Overall the installation was pretty forward and streamlined, no surprises there and I was good to go in almost no time.
Features
Sony has kept the standard features of the older versions, so right away it feels familiar. The standard Acid layout is still there, the looping portions are also still there with Beatmapper and the Chopper. They come with some new enhanced capabilities such as elastique time stretching and pitch shifting, which adds some extra level of detail and quality to tracks that require that treatment. The Beatmapper also has some new enhanced features which allow users to edit clip properties and Beatmap songs with varying tempos and time signatures.
Acid has also introduced a new feature called Tempo Curves which allows users to set the type of transition between two tempo changes, for example slow buildup to the new tempo. These features are controlled by fade types. As earlier Acid Pro users were complaining of the lack of metronome, Sony has added a robust metronome feature in version 7, with multiple configurations and countoff settings.
On the audio side Sony have added the much needed signal level meters missing from previous versions, track/clip/event switches including Normalize, Invert Phase, Mute and Lock. A much needed Mixer window has been added with customizable views.
There has also been some improvement to the Plug-In management window, allowing for customizable categories, also displaying by brand and a few other views, thus making it easier to navigate.
Acid Pro 7 has added support for additional file formats such as FLAC, AAC, AC-3 Studio and MPEG-2.
Acid 7 is Windows Vista certified so it is guaranteed to work on Vista.
The package comes with vast assortment of loop content, MIDI samples with over 3,000 ACIDized music loops, over 1000 MIDI files, 90 DLS instruments and 25 DLS-based projects. The bundled software includes the Garritan Aria player sample library which alone retails for about $250, an iZotope Effects Rack with plugins such as flanger, phaser, analog delay and dynamics, Native Instruments guitar emulation software valued at about $100, and Submersible Music KitCore drums for beat creation.
In Use
To test Acid I loaded a few raw .wav tracks of unmixed material, lined it up in the software and gave it a spin. The mixing process was already familiar since I've worked in Acid before. Version 7 of the software comes with a dedicated mixer, which in previous versions the user had to create from scratch and it took some time. Acid felt natural to use for mixing and in no time I had good working mixes of the material. Compared to some other DAWs I felt that Acid was more immediate and its layout was no-nonsense crisp and utilitarian, no cheesy color gimmicks like some of its competition, everything on one screen in front of the user all the time. Everything that I needed was there at a touch of a button. Tracking was also a breeze as now the software has tracking meters and several options when it comes to monitoring with effects and without effects. In some cases I used Amplitube 2 VST guitar plugin which ran without a glitch in real time, thus allowing me to record a clean DI guitar track and reamp later if needed. The built-in plugins performed well with little CPU overhead and the new additions to the bundle by iZotope and Garritan also added some needed depth to the package. I felt that Acid could use a better reverb plugin but that was easily supplemented in my case with 3rd party reverb plugins and my outboard effect which integrated nicely with the real-time rendering function. Real-time rendering can mix external sound modules in real time with your DAW's tracks and add that input into your finished mixdown files. So far I can't think of any other DAW that has this feature, so big kudos to Sony!
I enjoyed using the Tempo Curves feature and it did create a far more pleasant transitions and buildups than me having to program them in real time or in small chunks of tempo changes like I did in the past. In this case the tempo changes became smoother and more refined, and let's not forget - less time consuming!
When I had questions regarding some of the new capabilities of the DAW, Sony's tech support forum turned to be an invaluable asset. All my queries were solved rather quickly by tech. support and unlike some other software forums that are abandoned to the mercy of the user, Sony's techs were there helping users with a very impressive response time.
There were some minor things that seemed to be missing in comparison to other DAW software. For example the midi support could be better. I could get my job done with MIDI in Acid, but compared to the ease and effortlessness of Cubase and Digital Performer's midi editing it felt very backward. It has definitely improved from previous versions but still it is not very pleasant to work with. Compared to other DAW's there isn't a dedicated file editor so if you want to draw and alter the track audio files directly like in Sonar and Cubase - it can't be done in Acid but it isn't hard to open the file in a 3rd party audio editor or Sony's Sound Forge, which for some users could also be a blessing in disguise as you can use your audio editor of choice. A little quirk that I found annoying was the fact that I couldn't get the tracks to scroll with cursor when playing and recording as I was forced to keep the screen smaller sometimes than what I would've liked.
Sony have managed to improve on the file saving algorithm. Whereas old versions of Acid will jump mass dump files in one directory now the user has the option to do per project file folders, this saving file when you need to back up and no need to bundle files as in previous sessions.
I am particularly impressed by the wide media support in Acid. I didn't have a problem getting any possible file format imported or exported. A nice touch is the bundled mp3 encoder, something that one has to pay in order to get in other DAWs. I didn't need to render files for surround projects at this time but it is good to know that this capability is also available at no extra cost to the user.
I am very impressed by ACID Pro 7.0. For the price [...] Direct Box) I believe that Acid Pro 7 is a must have upgrade that makes it a worthy competitor in the DAW market. Its simplicity and ease of use, and at the same time overall robustness are a reminder that a no frills design can increase productivity as I found myself happily zipping along and having everything on the same screen only a click away.[...]

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Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate Review

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate
Average Reviews:

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I have been negligent in reviewing the Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate image editing program because I wanted to be sure about what I suspected when I began using it a couple of months ago. "This program is better in many ways and cheaper than the top rated Adobe Photoshop Elements version 7."
I was reluctant to believe that hunch at first. I have both programs installed on a VISTA laptop. Both installed easily and without problem. Both function perfectly without any of the crashing and buggy performance described by other reviewers. I have been using the two programs interchangeably for awhile and eventually noticed that I was opening and using the Corel Paint Shop Pro program more often than the Adobe software. That was the prompt that I needed to offer this review, but my observations do not intend to say the Adobe Photoshop Elements program is necessarily inferior--I simply prefer the Corel software and find it less complicated to use. I will attempt to tell you why.

First, the Corel home screen is easier to see. I found the Adobe Photoshop Elements screen sort of dark and foreboding. The two screens are similar in how the toolbars and menu items are arranged, but not all that much alike in how they are applied. I think the Corel program is more intuitive and logical than the Adobe system.
Both programs have all of the usual features like red eye removal, cropping, brightness adjustments and cloning. These are mostly straight forward, but the Corel program strikes me as less complicated in these areas than the Adobe.

I should admit at the onset--I have yet to master the "Layers" functions in either program. Be that as it may, I am pretty familiar with the rest of the tasks offered by both programs.
Adding images to the organizer pallet at the bottom of the main Corel window is a snap. The "saving as a copy" option in the Corel program is very helpful. Image color adjustments can be made in a number of ways in both programs, but Corel Paint Shop offers better options for changing hue, saturation and texture. I was happy to find how easily edits can be reversed with undo opportunities along the way. The image straightening and adjusting perspective features are worthy of note as is the skin smoothing and tooth whitening options. There is even an option in the Corel program to make a person appear thinner. I never thought I would use that tooth whitening thing, but I have.
I found the Corel feature called "Browse effects" to be particularly useful because it brings up a familiar outline style listing of everything the program does all in one place. One doesn't need to click around on various icons and menu items in order to find the function desired. Clicking through this "Browse effects" list brings up thumbnails that illustrate the choices involved. One could almost use this feature and ignore the array of icons and menus situated around the main window.

I have used the Corel "time machine" function a few times to give vintage appearances to certain photos and find it to be fun if nothing else. The same is true for the frames and distort features along several other artistic effect functions that I doubt most people would use very often. The reason I mention these options is to point out the presence of several functions that are really just amusing to use and probably not essential to serious photo editing.

The ability to adjust the appearance of the home window in the Corel program is appreciated, but I have not messed with that at all. I like the looks of it as is.
Oh, one more thing--adjusting the "layers" in an image may have been included in both programs as a means to humble the user. Just kidding...
If you are trying to decide which program to buy and think the Adobe Photo Shop Elements program is definitely number one you should certainly consider the Corel alternative. I would recommend you buy the Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate instead of the Adobe Photoshop Elements program Version 7 not because they are so different in what they do, but because they are so similar in almost everything else except the price and ease of use. The Corel Paint Shop software is easier to figure out and it is significantly less costly than the Adobe program. Then of course there is the matter of how I found myself using the Corel program more often than the Adobe program. I think that says something.
UPDATE(December 2009):
I recently loaded the Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate software into a new Windows 7 laptop and it went in perfectly and quickly. The program seems to open up and run faster than it did on my VISTA machine. I like it even more. Just thought you would like to know.


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Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate combines ease of use with full professional power. Fix brightness, color and photo imperfections like red eye in a few clicks, or use precision photo-editing controls to create photos youll be proud to share. Includes everything in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2, plus: Enhanced! Camera raw support - Enjoy support for over 250 camera raw formats New! Background remover plug-in - Easily remove the background of a photo and change it to a new scene for more creative impact Enhanced! Creative content pack - Get creative with your photos by adding fun details. Choose from 150 brand-new, custom-made photo frames, photo edges and Picture Tubes New! Certified for Windows Vista - Certified for Windows Vista software has undergone Microsoft compatibility tests for ease of use, better performance and enhanced security Bonus! USB flash drive (2 GB) - Store and transfer your digital photos with this handy thumb drive Bonus! Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 - Transform your photos into stunning paintings in 3 easy steps Bonus! Media recovery software - Recover images, movies and sound files, even from reformatted memory cards

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Anime Studio Pro 7 Review

Anime Studio Pro 7
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've had so much fun making animated shorts! It's become my main hobby lately, and with this software you can produce animations that are as good as the pros (if you have some experience/knowledge of story, design, and graphics especially). Warning: As with any powerful software program, there is a learning curve here. The first few hours you will find yourself floundering around and getting pretty angry... and even once you start to get the hang of things, you will make mistakes or find yourself wondering why things haven't worked out... But once you've put in your time, the sky is the limit! Things become very easy and intuitive with some practice. And the software gives you a lot of power. Anime Studio 7 is awesome! I'm so excited with the movies I've made.
I'm just doing this for fun and as a creative outlet, but after seeing my initial results, I'm beginning to have some aspirations to make things other people would actually want to watch. I will say, though, that I think even true professionals would find this software to be excellent.
I have a couple suggestions for new users:
1. Until you really to get to know your way around, an easy way to learn is to play with the characters that come pre-loaded. Practice moving them, sizing them, transforming and turning them, adding sounds (you can even have the mouth move automatically with your recordings--look for tutorials on youtube to learn how (youtube user: contentparadise, if I remember correctly). Get accustomed to "bones" "switches" and "layers" and "keyframes".
2. Workflow and Rendering: You might want to make your longer movies in segments (in fact, I did about 20 different files with 30 seconds each to make a short movie)... This is partly in case you mess something up, and partly because rendering can be a little slow and create HUGE files (I think like 2GB per minute!... IF you are using the top-notch, lossless render... And what worked best for me was to use this lossless render of all the short segments, then use Adobe Premiere (you could also use Roxio I think, or Microsoft Movie Maker) to edit them together and re-render into a much smaller file format. I used WMV9, and the end result is a 10 minute film that's in 720p HD, super sharp, only taking 200 MB. You don't have to first render into the "lossless"--you can create a wide variety of file types and sizes with Anime Studio 7, but lossless will look sharper. I wanted to add that in this review because I'm very picky and had to do about 20 different rendering trials to figure out the sharpest results. Render lossless from Anime Studio 7, then edit and re-render into wmv9 720p 100%. Honestly, it looks like DVD + quality in the end.

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Anime Studio Pro is the ideal application for professional artists and animators looking for an alternative to tedious frame-by-frame editing. Bolstered with powerful features like bone rigging, lip syncing and audio recording, 3D shape design, physics, motion tracking, and more, Anime Studio is the indispensable tool in your production pipeline.

Create High-Quality Animations
Make your own characters, objects, and scenes using powerful vector-based drawing tools combined with the ability to import your scanned drawings and images.
Powerful Production Tools Robust bone-rigging and drawing tools make character creation and animation easier than ever. Save time animating with the new Curve Profile, Follow Path, and Stroke Exposure tools, plus new automatic line-smoothing features.
Physics Simulation Intuitively integrate simulated physics into your projects and create stunning animations where you set the density, gravity, friction, and springiness of objects and see how they collide.
3D Shape Design Make your own 3D objects from vector layers and bring them into your 2D animation projects. Choose from Extrusion, Lathe, and Inflate, then select from multiple shading options for your 3D model, including Smooth, Toon, and Hatched.

Unlimited Output Formats Output to formats including NTSC/PAL D1/DV Standard and Widescreen; HDV and HDTV 780p and 1080p; AVI, MOV, Flash, and more.
Features
NEW! Set the density, gravity, friction, and springiness of objects and see how they collide with Simulated Physics
NEW! Make 3D objects from 2D vector layers
NEW! Quickly organize and access your content with the new library resource
NEW! Animate curves with precision tools
NEW! Record your own sound clips from within Anime Studio
NEW! Use StuffIt Connect to upload video and project files to the Web, making collaboration easier than ever*
NEW! Import your Poser Scenes and combine 2D and 3D animation. Requires Poser 7 or later.
NEW! Gather up and organize all your project files in one location
Implement realistic shading based on line and object contrast within each layer
Make your characters talk with automatic lip-syncing features
Easily combine video, audio, and animation
Attach objects to video with Motion Tracking
Import Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator files
Pen tablet support simulates drawing on paper
Add effects like motion blur and shadows
Output in HD or for the Web; easily export your projects at ideal resolutions for iPad, iPhone, and Droid
Customize functionality with LUA scripts
Upload directly to YouTube and Facebook
* A free one-year subscription to the StuffIt Connect service is included with your Anime Studio purchase, offering 2 GB of storage and 4 GB of bandwidth per month.

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Roxio Creator 2011 Pro Review

Roxio Creator 2011 Pro
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
As someone who has consistently used Roxio Creator (going all the way back to it's original "Adaptec" days) I have to say I'm quite impressed with Creator 2011 Pro. Still, there are several reasons why some users might want to steer clear. As some have noted, because it's an all-in-one solution the package might be considered bloated. The full installation on my Windows 7 x64 system required nearly 5GB of disc space. It's not so surprising when you realize how many "full-featured" apps are integrated into the package. Still, if only a handfull are of value, there are countless "standalone" alternatives to be found. Before purchasing this massive suite, users should realistically consider the capabilities and overall health of their computer. Simply put, with so much complex code involved in the makeup of Creator 2011, installing the package on a problematic or underpowered PC is definitely not recommended. Be aware that "custom" installation options aren't available. In other words, you can't choose which apps to install. Basically it's all or nothing. The only exceptions are the "Sonic Fire" and "Sound Soap" apps which are included only in the "Pro" version.
So all of that being said, Creator 2011 runs perfectly on my Win 7 machine and the latest Blu-ray features are excellent. If you have a BRD drive but are lacking a Blu-ray disc viewing app, the down-loadable CinePlayer BR upgrade (additional $30) is less costly than similar standalone solutions from Cyberlink or Corel and the image quality is awesome. I haven't spent too much time with the new "3D" features but they're included (along with tutorials) for those who want to explore this area. Overall, Creator 2011 Pro offers a high quality solution for most any music, video, or digital imaging needs you may have. In spite of it's "weight", most of the apps are quite responsive and have a surprisingly light feel to them. For those who run into problems or just need some advice, the Roxio forums are very active and helpful opinions aren't difficult to find. So keeping the above caveats in mind, I would recommend Creator 2011 (Pro or Standard) to most users who enjoy the full range of multimedia creation.
BTW, before purchasing the ESD (download version) be sure to search the web for Roxio discount codes. I found one for 15% that knocked nearly $25 off the total price when purchased directly through the Roxio Store.

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Easily enhance, preserve, and share your digital media with Roxio Creator 2011. Turn your standard videos and photos into 3D masterpieces, and playback 3D movies on your PC--includes free 3D glasses.
User-friendly home page. View larger.

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