I have been using Microsoft Streets and Trips for many years. This is still my preferred mapping software for the following reasons :nn- Ease of usen- Accurate and up-to-date information. The program constantly checks for the latest updates for route planningn- Information for nearby places (such as restaurants and gas stations..which are great while I am on a trip)n- Free coupons (there is a catch. You get a 14 days/ 25 coupons free trial but then have to pay $30 annual fee)n- excellent customer support.

This review is entirely from the perspective of people looking at Photoshop alternatives, now that Adobe has switched to a monthly fee model with Creative Cloud. I use to do computer graphics and fine arts more than a decade ago, but I don’t work in that field, and so I only actually need to use a high end graphics program every few months or so. I’ve used Photoshop for more than 10 years, but now that Adobe has gone to Creative Cloud with a monthly rental but no purchase option, I need an alternative.

The Pinnacle Studio line of video editing software is a perfect balance of allowing advanced editing but not being too complex. I first encountered this while looking for good software for my coworkers to use to edit short web videos. These are people, myself included, with regular office jobs who just need the ability to edit video one or two times a year and we keep one computer with graphics software for those occasional times when someone needs it.

For years, I have used Avast open source antivirus software for my Windows computers. I’d say, Avast (free-of-charge version) is weaker/less intrusive than Kaspersky, while McAfee and Norton are stronger/more intrusive than Kaspersky. What I want in antivirus software is to be a little safer while browsing the internet and avoid the hassle that a virus causes. Antivirus software packages will tend to lump in extras, like being able to remotely force your phone to log out of everything in case it’s stolen or whatever.

I recently purchased a new PC from Dell, and I bought this software (from them) along with the computer. Owch, what a mistake, I should have read the reviews here first. I had pretty low expectations/requirements from this software actually. Mainly I just wanted to move over my settings, email, and music. How about 0 for 3!nnFirstly, the software can only be used 1 time (owch!). That is their ridiculous licensing agreement.

I recently purchased a new PC from Dell, and I bought this software (from them) along with the computer. Owch, what a mistake, I should have read the reviews here first. I had pretty low expectations/requirements from this software actually. Mainly I just wanted to move over my settings, email, and music. How about 0 for 3!nnFirstly, the software can only be used 1 time (owch!). That is their ridiculous licensing agreement.

I’ve used windvd for a lot of years, mainly because it is well-behaved and seems to play the wide variety of media that I want to play without complaint. This version is no different. I’m using this both on win xp and vista and have had no problems on either platform. One thing that I really dislike about this version however are the controls. Everyone is familiar with vcr-style controls. Play, pause, stop, fast forward, fast reverse, and skip to next/prev chapter.

I’ve used windvd for a lot of years, mainly because it is well-behaved and seems to play the wide variety of media that I want to play without complaint. This version is no different. I’m using this both on win xp and vista and have had no problems on either platform. One thing that I really dislike about this version however are the controls. Everyone is familiar with vcr-style controls. Play, pause, stop, fast forward, fast reverse, and skip to next/prev chapter.

Earlier this year I bought a Dell XPS system with Vista 64. All I can say is Ouch. It has been by far the least stable system I have ever owned in nearly 30 years of owning PC’s. So I literally had nothing to lose by trying Windows 7. So far I am fairly impressed. The transition was smooth. I just popped in the disk, it asked me to uninstall a few things so I did, then hours later (it takes that long for it to load and configure the system) I was back up and running.

Way back when dvd burners were a new and exciting product, Toast was one of the essential programs for the mac. Now 20 years later, give or take, they are still around and kicking. Toast still offers the same easy-to-use interface for burning and creating dvd content. It also now offers some other related functionality. You can record screen activity, and you can also convert video to different formats. I was disappointed by the video converter, as it would not recognize an avi file that I tried to convert (and the iskysoft video converter handles this file fine).