Magix Slideshow Maker 1.0

Magix Slideshow Maker provides users with a fantastic tool for quickly creating a slideshow of photos and music. With a simple layout and excellent results, this is a great choice for computer users of all skill level.

The program's interface is delightfully simple thanks to the step-by-step instructions. By breaking the process down into easy steps and shepherding users through their photos and music, novice users and experts alike will get the job done quickly. If any questions arise, there is also a great Help file available. Creating a slideshow begins with choosing photos and videos in the first step. Users pull shots from their folders and can click and drag them into their preferred order. Next, users choose what style they want their slideshow to have by selecting one of the many options in the pull-down menu ranging from simple camera movement to themes like birthday and vacation. Next users pull a song from their collection of music to choose as their background. The program smartly provides a preview button and compares the song clip's length to the actual length of the slideshow. Finally, users preview the finished product before saving it. The program's best special feature is its ability to transfer the video directly to YouTube with the click of a button. Users simply click the icon after the movie is saved and they are taken to the site.

With a simple layout and quick results, this freeware program is great for slideshow makers of all skill levels.

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Macromedia FreeHand MX 11.0.2.92

Tool of choice for designers creating and producing illustrations and layouts for print and the Web. FreeHand's uses range from commercial line art illustrations and newspaper infographics to mixed media pieces that combine line art with bitmapped images and typography, as well as graphic elements, interfaces, and animations for the Internet.

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FL Studio 8.0.2

Competition in the world of all-in-one music-creation suites has grown considerably since Fruity Loops first started breaking beats. With a new name and a new interface, FL Studio is reestablishing its place as a full-featured and affordable audio-production program.

The photo-realistic mixing-board interface, littered with small, unlabeled icons and burdened with a confusing file browser, makes the learning curve steeper than it should be. Once you clear that hurdle, though, this enjoyable product will have you making music in no time. The Fruityslicer makes short work of chopping up breaks, and the simple step-based drum machine lets you create your own. You can bind FL Studio to other programs via VSTi and DXi plug-ins. A full selection of software instruments is included so you can start playing immediately. All the usual suspects are there, from vintage, buzzy, analog imitators to wacky sound effects and generic voice samples.

FL Studio offers a tremendous value for what you get. Comparable products cost nearly twice as much. FL Studio's quirky sound generators and interoperability make it a great addition to any studio. Be warned, though: several versions of FL Studio are available, so more features are included as the price goes up.

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Apple iTunes 8.2.1.6

Apple's iTunes is the 800-pound gorilla in the music and video jukebox world. The industry standard for more than five years, it has remained the trend-setter because of its connection to Apple's iPods and iPhone. This latest version sports one major new feature and several smaller ones.

In addition to the left sidebar, which was cleaned up in version 7, there's now an optional sidebar on the right. Called the Genius Bar, if you have an iTunes Store account it will offer up song and album recommendations for purchase. The Genius Bar, however, is only a derivative of the Genius Playlist, and that's the real biggie of version 8. To activate the playlist, hit the atomic symbol on the bottom right of the iTunes window while you're playing a song. The Genius algorithm will then create a playlist from the music already existing in your collection, made up of songs that it thinks have some connection to the first track. Since it's not limited solely by genre or other criteria, it can come up with some interesting choices.

Just as version 7 introduced the Cover Flow view, this update sees the introduction of a new art-based Grid view that can be used to look at your collection sorted by artist or album. Mouse over the art to reveal a play-it-now link. Other new features include a new visualization scheme called Magnetosphere, based on the iTunes plug-in of the same name, support for HD video, and the return of NBC to the iTunes Store.

For those unfamiliar with iTunes' base features, it makes video and music playback virtually identical. The iTunes Store replicates this experience, although be warned: it costs more to buy tracks that are DRM-free. Synchronization with iPods can be set to automatic or manual, and right-clicking a video clip lets you render it iPod-compatible. There are also smart playlists, CD burning, label printing, the ability to rip files in multiple formats except WMA, and network sharing. Rounding out the feature set are parental controls, integrated podcasts, and a smart-shuffle option. iTunes is sometimes clunky on Windows, and can cause significant processor slowdowns. Still, it remains a top-notch player and iTunes 8 should find a home on any media junkie's computer.

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MediaMonkey Standard 3.1.0.1256

Despite a glut of free player/encoders, it's tough to find one that meets our expectations. Formerly known as Sound DB, MediaMonkey has excellent library-management tools that keep the largest digital music collections well organized. Stir that up with integrated CD and DVD burning, a stellar interface, a full-featured encoder, and the ability to sync with portable audio devices such as the iPod, and you have a pretty compelling product.

Upon first launch, the program scans your drive for supported digital media files to add to the library. Files are sorted based on their ID3 tags, and the helpful Auto-Rename and Auto-Tag From Filename features keep untagged tracks from falling through the cracks. Party mode locks down your library while still allowing people to request songs. Auto DJ plays selections from your library even when there are no requests in the queue, and the all-important iPod and portable device synchronization works well. Third-party plug-ins are available from the site if you want to tinker with the playback and encoding engine or add additional sound-processing effects. The interface is well designed, with clean, colorful icons throughout.

Considering the overall polish of this application, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything you don't like. Although it's definitely geared toward managing extensive collections, just about anyone will appreciate the comprehensive feature set. For $20, MediaMonkey Gold adds advanced features such as sleep, scripting, previewing, and on-the-fly file conversion when syncing with a portable device.

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Easy CD-DA Extractor 12.0.1

For ripping audio CDs, burning CDs and DVDs, and converting tracks, Easy CD-DA Extractor excels. Besides rolling in support for Apple Lossless, the latest update focuses on back-end changes that should improve the audio quality and make the program faster.

A well-organized interface displays all of the major features and settings. Four tabs across the top access the Audio CD Ripper, the Audio File Format Converter, Audio CD Creator, and MP3/WMA CD Creator. Ripping CDs is simple: Insert a disc and the Audio CD Ripper window displays info such as artist, track list, year, track length, and album length. The destination folder, the quality and format of output tracks, and even the filename format are all easily edited.

MP3 settings include the ability to choose constant, average, or variable bit rates. The Audio File Format Converter window features a drag-and-drop file selection topped by a conversion-format window. The program supports a large list of lossy and lossless formats including MP3, OGG, WMA, APE, FLAC, AAC, and 3GP. The Audio CD Creator window lets you drop files into that screen, choose the recording speed, and toggle the test feature. The MP3/WMA CD Creator window works similarly and adds much-needed support for data discs.

Easy CD-DA Extractor is easy to learn, quick to use, and loaded with features. It stands tall among the teeming mass of CD-ripping/music-conversion apps.

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PowerISO 4.5

This muscular disc-imaging utility is not kidding around (though we thought the demo might be). PowerISO lets you mount virtual drives, create bootable discs, and generate CD and floppy images. It supports a huge number of image formats, including standard ISO and IMG files as well as files created by almost all popular disc-burning programs such as Nero, CloneCD, and Alcohol120%.

Our one major caveat is that the trial version doesn't let you create images larger than 300MB (most CDs hold 700MB), making it much harder to fully test the product. On the other hand, the trial period is unlimited, so some users may actually prefer this arrangement. Trial restrictions aside, we think PowerISO makes a good pick for intermediate to advanced users.

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