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World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Blizzard Entertainment

November 13, 2008
The expansion is very well done. The new content is inventive, engaging, and very well produced. So why only 2 stars? The new instances and raid content are way too easy. Blizzard didn't just dumb this game down, they emasculated it.

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Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Microsoft Software

January 30, 2007
The software was quite an improvement over the previous version I had. The Amazon process for purchase and delivery went smooth. They delivered ahead of schedule. The only flaw was that 3 weeks later they dropped the price almost $20. Who knew?! I would have waited! Oh well!!

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World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Blizzard

November 13, 2008
The extra doodads that come with the Collector's Edition are nice, but a month from now, will you really still want that Frostwyrm in-game pet, or that mousepad? Will you actually read the strategy guide after day one? I flipped through the original and TBC guides that came with the World of Warcraft Battlechest, and they helped me learn the basics of the game, but there's nothing in there that benefits my everyday gameplay; the Internet offers more comprehensive information, more quickly, than the books.

If you want a few new toys and a stylish box, buy the Collector's Edition. If you just want to play the game, buy the regular edition. If you're new to World of Warcraft, don't bother with Wrath of the Lich King just yet. Get ... Read More:

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Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Microsoft Software

January 15, 2008
I'm particularly pleased with Microsoft Office 2008, because it enables me to download the Attachments I receive without any of the problems I had previously. It was a good investment for a 91-year-old woman who likes to keep in touch with family and friends.

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Fallout 3

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Bethesda Softworks

October 28, 2008
I spent a lot of time playing this game. Think Morrowind in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC, and that's what this game is about. If you aren't a fan of long dialogues and storylines this may not be the game for you. If you like a nice mix of action, adventure, and role-playing this game should be on your short list. It's one of my top games of all time.

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QuickBooks Pro 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Intuit

October 06, 2008
Quickbooks 2009 still fails miserably when it comes to interoperability with past versions. Also, the multiple ways to save, share, or backup a file are a throwback to software ala 1990. A related issue is that these files are probably much larger than they need to be. Furthermore, the software is always trying to impose Web access on the user, often for marketing purposes. Moreover, I tried the online banking feature, but my bank apparently was not ready for 2009. In my opinion, this product still does not meet modern standards for software quality. I wish there was a widely-used alternative.

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Spore

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Electronic Arts

September 07, 2008
First, the game's concept is awesome.

Second, the implementation is crap. For example, you would think that if you wanted to create a warlike creature, you would gain some benefit by placing weapons and spikes all over the creature. However, this is not the case. It doesn't matter if you give him a dozen spikes, he will do the same damage as a pacificist blob with no spikes. Where is the role playing experience here? The only thing your design changes is the way the creature looks, not his stats or abilities... thus its a dumbed down evolution sim. Imagine Darwin's surprise when the monster shark that evolved huge jaws and teeth was killed by a pacifist sloth...

Finally, this is an EA title, thus it installs SecuROM, which ... Read More:

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Norton Internet Security 2009 1User/3Pc

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Symantec

October 01, 2008
I do computer training and light technical work for small offices and home users. I used to recommend Norton, but in recent years it had caused so many problems, from slowing down the machine to requiring daunting re-installs, that I advised many clients to just use a free anti-virus and the built-in firewalls and hope for the best. I was encouraged to try again based on good reviews and have not been disappointed. It is fast and does its work in the background without calling attention to itself. Norton always handled bugs about as well as anyone, it was just that the users got beat up too.

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World of Warcraft Battlechest

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Blizzard Entertainment

October 02, 2007
Ok so after years of making fun of friends who play, I broke down and now I am addicted to this game. Sorry guys for the years of jokes.

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Adobe Photoshop Elements 7

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Adobe

October 13, 2008
I was seeking info on Elements 7 vs. 6--per posts last evening and in comment to Ms. Daneman's review, and any help would be most appreciated, but thought anyone thinking about first time purchase might want to check out a site called Top Ten Reviews (reliability unknown as first time seen)which has a piece and chart comparing several dozens of features/components between 10 different editing softwares (Top Ten reviews/software/photo editing software-- Corel, Serif, ULead, acdsee, phot suite, foto finish, photo explosion, picassa, and photo impression). True enuf that Elements comes out No. 1 but a few others are very close. I checked out the comments on Corel, which altho apparently not the Professional version still seems too difficult/time consuming. But a couple ... Read More: