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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UltraISO Premium 9.3.3.2685

Highly versatile and especially proficient with boot discs, UltraISO Premium creates, edits, and burns disc images in several popular formats: ISO, BIN, Nero, Alcohol, CloneCD, and Xbox. It also converts images among formats. UltraISO supports data and audio/video discs and includes a simple MP3 encoder, but it really excels at creating bootable discs. It even can create a disc with a menu for booting several OSs.

The interface is well organized, though rather plain, and we wish its icons were more readable. Also on the negative side, the program can't mount CD images, which will diminish its value for some. However, if you need support for multiple image formats and want to design bootable discs, UltraISO makes a very good pick.

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Nero 9.4.13.2b

Nero 9 delivers a refurbished digital media suite that's still as comprehensive as they come, though now in a more polished wrapper. The installation file is massive and once Nero is on your machine, it consumes a hefty serving of memory. Considering all it can do, though, we can only complain so much.

CD- and DVD-burning are still Nero's core, while shortcuts for burning and ripping CDs and DVDs are now accessible from the new StartSmart GUI, now adorned with an RSS reader. Authoring and burning high-definition CDs and DVDs are added features, and so is the ability to export video files made and edited with Nero to YouTube, MySpace, and MyNero.

Nero 9 introduces RescueAgent, a tool to recover data from damaged disks, and a gaggle of Vista features, including a one-click desktop gadget for copying CDs.

Despite the cosmetic alterations, Vista support, and enhancements, particularly to Nero Vision, the dramatic changes are slim. However, Nero's significantly faster application launch time and improved usability make the audio, video, photo, data, and home entertainment workhorse that lets you edit MP3s, capture and edit video, record and playback TV, create slide shows, back up data, convert audio files, check your hardware specs, and design disc covers with ease well worth a try.


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JetAudio Basic 7.5.3

During installation, you have to be careful if you don't want to set JetAudio Basic as the default application for audio and video files. However, the freeware application gives you plenty of reasons to make it your only player.

The interface has a modern design that looks like an equalizer. You can customize each section of the program, from CD ripping to format conversion, to your heart's content. The program can convert files among some a number of formats, as well as read and edit MP3 tags. The built-in Cross-fader, Reverb, and Wide-sound modes provide a nice touch not found in most MP3 players. The program becomes truly unique with its clock, however, which features a timer and an alarm. We also appreciate the inclusion of a tool for seeking out song lyrics.

Our only quibble is it treats a playlist as an album but uses the artist as its primary key field, making it difficult to locate mixes. JetAudio Basic's appealing product set should attract audiophiles.

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Virtual DJ 6.0.1

With effects, samples, and transitions that rival vinyl turntablisms, Virtual DJ lets anyone produce polished MP3 mixes.

At the top of the graphically-intense interface, song-structure visualizations show the beats as the music plays. Two simulated turntables play the currently- loaded tracks. Windows below the turntables show samples, effects, music search, recording, program options, and an Explorer-style interface for loading music. You'll need to download an MP3 encoder if you don't want to record files in WAV format.

Virtual DJ not only can create audio collages, but it now also can make montages of video clips. The stylish interface and high number of features score points, but learning how to use the program is a hit-or-miss proposition. Fortunately, the program offers a thorough user guide. Virtual DJ is well worth a look both for aspiring mixers and newbies

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Ulead Photo Express 6

Ulead Photo Express is home photo creativity software that makes it easy to edit and share digital photos and create fun photo projects. Edit and enhance images, browse your photo collection and express your creativity with stunning special effects and creative photo projects.

Ulead Photo Express puts you on the fast track to photo fun. The program provides easy photo management, powerful photo editing, eye-catching special effects, creative photo projects, and complete sharing. Version 6 includes unspecified updates.



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FxFoto 6.0.071

This image editor earns kudos for its impressive feature set. Before it launches, FxFoto offers to scan your PC for images and gives you the option to view a detailed tutorial. When we first saw the cluttered interface, we were wary, but we figured out how to perform all the actions in no time.

FxFoto has just about every image-editing tool most folks will need. You can automatically or manually improve shots, remove red-eye and blemishes, apply a number of effects, add frames and borders, correct colors, and alter white balance. FxFoto supplies a standard set of drawing tools and lets you add captions to any of your shots. The handy zoom tool provides a great deal of control over magnification. Once you've tweaked pictures to your liking, you can create a slide show with transitions, though you can't add your own music or narration unless you upgrade to the pay version.

You also can design a photo collage and share it via e-mail, burn it to CD, or upload it to one of several sharing sites. Best of all, FxFoto is free, making it a fine tool for lightweight image-editing tasks.
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STOIK Imagic 5.0.1.716

Graphics editors can cost a ton, but this one doesn't. Stoik Imagic offers a plethora of features at an affordable price. The well-designed main window lets you quickly preview and organize images. Turning images into a screensaver, an HTML album, a collage, or even a contact list is a breeze.

On top of that, two buttons below the folder tree open image and photo editors, respectively. They can't match such giants as Photoshop or Adobe Premiere, but they offer all the essential tools and functions. You can crop, resize, rotate, and retouch images as well as create jigsaws, mosaics, and calendars. The video editor, meanwhile, lets you mix videos, images, and sound to create simple movies

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ProShow Gold 4.0.2549

Easily create photo and video slide shows on DVD, PC & Web. Download a free trail. ProShow Gold is the complete slide show software solution for sharing your best memories. Bring still photos to life by adding motion effects like pan, zoom, & rotate. Add captions to a photo or video and choose from over 280 exciting transition effects. It's easy to tell your story with ProShow Gold.

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5DFly Photo Design 2.18.3

5DFly Photo5DFly Photo Design is the easiest software to design photo book, calendar, photo album with lots of well-designed photo templates as well as tool of photo slideshow flash & PowerPoint. 5DFly key features include automatic photo template rendering & easy-to-use image edit tool, high resolution image output, free well-designed photo templates download and installation, electronic album like photo slideshow flash & photo PowerPoint.

5DFly Photo Design enables you to create photo books, calendars, greeting cards, baby announcements and other artwork from your digital photos. It offers a variety of template designs to get you started, and you can also create your own photo templates from scratch. The program offers a WYSIWYG image editing interface with support for image layers and drag & drop positioning. If you want additional control over your pictures, you can also apply image adjustments, frames, drop shadows, color conversions and other photo effects. The result can be saved as high-resolution images for printing or exported as Flash slideshow or PowerPoint presentation. Version 2.18.3 adds double click to automatically install templates feature.

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Collage Maker 3.0

Photo collages can be a great way to tell a story, keep memories and simply have fun. Collage Maker promises to be a program that gives users every possible collage-making tool imaginable. Unfortunately, one of the tools to make the process quicker and easier to use isn't available during the trial. And despite this program's overall ease of use, novice users might be overwhelmed by the number of available options.

This program presents itself much like simple graphic design programs, such as Paintbrush, but with different icons and commands. Large screen and buttons along the top and left hand side make Photo Collage an easy program to navigate. The Auto Collage button along the right hand side is the most valuable tool on the screen. This lets you select your photos, choose borders, size, and other necessities. Back on the main screen there are a number of filters, stamps and other special effects users can apply to their work. While experienced users won't have any problem, this may be a bit overwhelming for newer users.

Collage Maker has a great amount of control and quality, but this 30-day trial is limiting where it matters most: collage design. The collage template option cannot be accessed, so once the pictures are laid out, users must manually move them into position. While it doesn't explicitly say so, we suspect users must purchase the full program for this option. However, while this is inconvenient, the overall program functions intuitively and provides a simple way for users to cluster their pictures and make a collage.

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ZoomBrowser EX 6.3.1

ZoomBrowser EX, as well as managing images shot using a digital camera, also enables you to take full advantage of your camera's built-in functions. Not only does ZoomBrowser EX provide a simple straightforward procedure for everything from downloading, organizing and editing images through to printing your images or sending them as e-mail attachments, it also offers a range of features specifically designed to combine with and make the most of your camera's functions. Some of these features are RAW image processing, panorama image composition, and a remote shooting function that lets you control the camera from your PC. ZoomBrowser EX -- software that knows your camera and will change your total digital camera experience.

Version 6.3.1 enables users to edit MOV/AVI movies.

CNET Editor's Note: The Download Now link will take you to the Canon downloads site, where you must choose your camera model and your OS version to download the software.

Operating system: Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2000 SP 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP

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Photo Story 3 for Windows 3.0.1115.11

Bring your digital photos to life with Photo Story 3 for Windows. Create a photo slideshow of your life's most memorable moments. You can capture your memories just the way you want them - with the a single click, you can touch-up, crop or rotate pictures. It's that easy. Then, add stunning special effects, sountracks and personalize your stories with titles and captions. The file size makes it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail or take them with you on a Window Mobile based portable device. Start sharing your stories today.

Operating system: Windows XP

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Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition 3.2

Discover the basics of photo editing and sharing with Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition software, the free software that makes it easier than ever to view, find, fix, and share your photo memories. Fix common photo flaws like red eye, color, and brightness in a single click; easily share your memories. Attach photos to e-mail, send them to mobile phones or easily create a CD. Make your own prints, or order prints, and photo books. Find any photo in a snap with automatic organization that lets you view all of your digital photos in one place using a familiar calendar view.

Version 3.2 allows user to fix common photo flaws, share memories, and find photos in a snap.

Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP

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ScreenHunter Free 5.1.145

When information comes across your screen that you do not want to forget, a screen capture is in order. While using inaccurate and confusing hot keys was once the preferred method, ScreenHunter Free offers an alternative that promises to simplify the process.

This free program has a simple interface that makes this operation surprisingly easy. The main screen is well spaced and intuitive enough to have new users making screen captures in no time. A menu along the top allows users to make screen captures now or to stand by. Along the left side of the screen are the buttons to toggle between options of where the capture comes from, where it is sent, and more advanced options. The Advanced and Send To options are fairly standard for this type of software, but the Capture From option is quite unique. On this screen, users can select a single hot key to take screen captures, as well as select whether they'd like a full-screen capture, capture a window, or simple a small rectangle (which brings up crosshairs that let you zero in on target).

ScreenHunter Free promises to make getting screen captures easier and we were pleased to find it lived up to this promise. The process is simple, the options are easy to manage, and the results are flawless. We highly recommend this download for all users.

Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 98

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ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 build 108

ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 promises to be a program that bridges the gap between high-powered photo alteration software and online sharing programs. With a dizzying amount of options and sophistication, it may do all it promises but it could leave users overwhelmed.

This program opens up with an opportunity for users to take a virtual tour of the program and learn about all its features. This is an excellent place to start, because the ACDSee Photo Manager gets confusing in a hurry. This is not a bad thing, however. Users familiar with Photoshop's options will find everything from cropping and coloring tools to more advance masks and red-eye removers once a picture is selected. Users with photo editing experience will love the versatility of this program, but those without the basics will need a lot of experimenting before they get comfortable with all the icons and options.

Photo alteration is only half the story with ACDSee, which makes it unique. The other side of the program is a confusing collection of file trees, icons and options to save and categorize your photos. This will also require a long trip through the Help menu to sort out. However, once the knowledge is gained, users will enjoy a myriad of opportunities, even one that allows direct uploading to Flickr.

This program is a heavy-hitter, giving users unparalleled tools and flexibility, its only drawback is that newcomers to photo editing could be overwhelmed. Especially with the short 7-day trial that will even have more experienced users scrambling to test all this program offers. That said, experienced users looking for a way to edit and manage images should definitely check ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 out.

Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP

Price: Free to try (7-day trial);

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Adobe Photoshop 6.0 Update 6.0.1

This update package corrects a variety of problems with Adobe Photoshop 6.0. The most significant fixes in the 6.0.1 release include the following: The painting tool brush picker has new usability improvements; image clipping paths in EPS and TIFF files saved from Photoshop 6.0.1 have been modified so that other software, such as QuarkXPress, is able to read them; memory usage is better on all Windows operating systems; batch file naming works correctly; and more.

Operating system: Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 98

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Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery 4.1

Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery tool can help you recover lost images from corrupted or accidentally formatted digital camera memory cards. Program works with all types of memory cards. It's able to recover images from formatted cards. Reads corrupted cards (in most cases even if they're not recognized by Windows). Recovers JPEG, TIF and most of RAW files. Program should be able to read all memory cards currently available on the market.

Version 4.1 includes full support for all major RAW formats and additional advanced recovery options.

Free to try

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MemoriesOnTV 4.1.1

With MemoriesOnTV, creating a DVD slide show packed with special effects is a walk in the park. The software divides each task, such as importing images and music, adding effects, and creating DVD menus, into separate screens.

The timeline view unifies the different aspects of the authoring process, allowing you to instantly set transition effects and preview how your slide show will run. Time-saving tools such as image- and scene-transition editors are cleverly presented as they're needed. For additional cost, you can download slide shows called ClipShows, which come with transition effects built-in; you just replace the sample images with your own.

On the negative side, customization for DVD menus is somewhat limited, allowing little more than power over background and placement of control buttons. Despite that shortcoming, the end results are impressive. With a few minutes of work, you'll have an eye-catching slide show that will run on nearly any DVD player.

Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98

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