Average Rating:

.

Cook'n Recipe Organizer

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: DVO Enterprises

October 11, 2007
Installed this program on a VISTA 64 system, after setting VISTA to run the program in XP compatibility mode everything works very well. I love the self-completing features for ingredients when entering recipes.
I have never really understood why so many people seem to have problems with VISTA. I have installed it on all three of my XP machines with no real issues other than reading the instructions and following them. This software is no different. If you are loading a pre-VISTA program on a VISTA machine and are having problems, try the compatibility mode as instructed by Microsoft!
DUH!!

I have the version of this software previous to V8 and plan to upgrade to 8 for the new features.

Average Rating:

.

National Geographic Presents: 3D Globe

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Topics Entertainment

October 15, 2004
And it gets better as you become more adept at scrolling through the globe/map. For what it is - and be perfectly clear: it's just what it says it is: a 3D Globe - it allows for a considerable range of information. There's also text about countries and so forth; but the text is extremely limited in that it gives very little geographical data about the countries (such as highest and lowest points and average height). Also, the topography is not as good or as detailed as on a regular atlas (e.g.,it gives no indication of relative heights of mountain ranges). When using the software, it helps to also have an encyclopedia open so as to toggle back and forth to get the kind of detailed information that 3D Globe doesn't have. I'd have given this ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Apple Garageband Jam Pack: Symphony Orchestra

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Apple

January 18, 2006
The day before I ordered this Jam Pack, I had received an M-Audio 88es USB velocity sensitive keyboard from amazon (reviewed separately) Keystation 88es 88 Key USB MIDI Controller and sustain pedal M-Audio SP-2 US65010 Sustain Pedal Piano Style Sustain Pedal for Keyboards

The standard Garage Band 'Grand Piano' sounded just "OK", and there was no harpsichord. Those were my prime reasons for ordering this Jam Pack... and to have fun with the other sounds, of course.

The Steinway Piano in this pack is substantially better than the standard Garage Band piano. Neither is perfect - but this Steinway is great for the price. The difference is more than the soft hammer sound of a Steinway vs a hardened hammer sound of the standard ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Photo Explosion Deluxe 3.0

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Nova Development US

November 21, 2006
Originally I'd wanted to buy the new Photoshop program but, when I saw this, in store, decided to get this instead because it claimed to easily allow me to do everything I wanted for just over half the price of Photoshop. I REALLY wish I'd have stuck with photoshop!

The product claims to be easy to use to edit photos- This is NOT true at all. The smart trace feature is not accurate and takes multiple attempts to get the area desired.

The box claims to enable you to take a background from one photo and foreground from another to make a new photo. I was unable to do so even after consulting the manual AND emailing a technical support person from the company.

The photo CD does have quite a few pictures (over 3,000) ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Movie Edit Pro 14

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Magix Entertainment

April 15, 2008
I'm not sure why it is SO hard to find a program that will rip chapters from a DVD (successfully that is). I have had no luck. Magix is just another one, but you may want to consider that the function I'm interested in may not relate to your purpose, just know that:

When you go to rip DVD chapters, the program will only allow you to select ONE FILE AT A TIME. No shift and select multiple chapters, it would take you forever to capture anything that was not an analog signal or directly from DV tape. Anything else is useless.

Average Rating:

.

TurboCAD Deluxe 14

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: IMSI Software


I'm not sure why it is SO hard to find a program that will rip chapters from a DVD (successfully that is). I have had no luck. Magix is just another one, but you may want to consider that the function I'm interested in may not relate to your purpose, just know that:

When you go to rip DVD chapters, the program will only allow you to select ONE FILE AT A TIME. No shift and select multiple chapters, it would take you forever to capture anything that was not an analog signal or directly from DV tape. Anything else is useless.

Average Rating:

.

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2008 with GPS [OLD VERSION]

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Microsoft Software

August 25, 2007
Even though it is 2008, there are roads built in 2005-2006 not in the directions. Makes for a HUGE problem.

Other than that, it works as advertised.

Average Rating:

.

LegoLand

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Lego


This is a great game. It is really challenging for kids, keeps my son occupied for hours. You really have to think, no guns killing or any violence. Just ink blots, that is the extent of it. I would recommend it .

Average Rating:

.

Print Artist Platinum 22

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Nova Development US

December 01, 2007
I agree with most of the reviews here, the search feature is a disappointment. You must be within a category to do a search, you cannot search across all categories which is a shame since this program is loaded with really beautiful graphics.

This new version of Print Artist Platinum has an abundance of gorgeous pre-designed layouts. The designers loaded the program with really modern layouts and left the trite, tiresome designs out. I especially like the many scrapbooking templates that come with the program along with the many scrapbooking elements that are included.

The features of the program didn't change a whole lot. If you used Print Artist 2003 then you really are not going to find anything new here. Its features are comparable to other programs ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2008 [OLD VERSION]

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Home and Hobbies
from: Microsoft Software

August 20, 2007
I had older versions and used them on several of MY computers. This version installed on both my laptop (great for travel) and desktop, but when my laptop crashed and I bought a new one, I was not allowed to install a 3rd time. I called tech support and was told I should use all lower case for the key code even when the key code is shown in caps and installed properly the first time using caps. I asked for a supervisor who then told me I was allowed only ONE installation!!!

What idiots!! Although I really like Streets and Trips I will no longer upgrade. I have a Garmin and a Dash, so it is not a big issue for me (except that I wasted my money).

I am going to install 2008 and go back to 2007.