Editorial Review

With Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2, you get safer browsing and communication, powerful security tools, and improved experiences. Packed with multimedia features, Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 aims to unlock the full potential of your personal computer. It also looks great, with rounded window corners, larger and more detailed icons, and a clean-look desktop.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Operating system features -
• Create and enjoy home movies with the built-in Video support
• Share your video project with the easy E-mail attachment & mass-mailing features
• Go Mobile with the ability to Communicate anytime, anywhere
• Discover and Download online music, with the easy-to-use Internet features

Reviews (25)

MacBook Intel Ready
I needed this for my new MacBook laptop that will give me Apple and Windows on the same machine.The laptop works fine, the pocketbook is thinner.You do what you have to do;

Bad even for Microsoft
Since they began, Microsoft has consistently delivered on the poor quality that we have all come to expect from them. They have outdone themselves on this product though, exceeding their previous products in sheer lack of quality. They have greatly stepped up their efforts to make Windows be the worst it can be, successfully making it even worse than their previous operating systems.
Windows Media Player 10 = a lot of TROUBLE!!
I don't mind Windows XP, but I want to discuss a product that comes with it, Windows Media Player 10.
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Editorial Review

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 is the customizable trip planning software that helps you get accurate directions, easily explore new areas and find the services you want and need along the way. With more personalized trip planning features than online mapping sites, and complete map coverage of both the USA and Canada, Streets and Maps 2006 will quickly prove to be an indispensable companion for all of your trips.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• DVD-ROM
• Customizable trip-planning software with updated maps for U.S. and Canada
• Easily find hotels, ATMs, and more with over 1.8 million points of interest
• Plan trips and calculate mileage, time, and expenses; door-to-door directions
• Easily explore new areas; add multiple destinations and quickly alter route
• More than 5.4 million miles of routable roads and highways

Reviews (59)

OK but Don't Bet Your Life On It!!
I've purchased the latest S&T for the last 4 maybe 5 years and have become somewhat dependent on it for accurate routing whenever I thought we needed directions.In the past, one attribute of the program always annoyed me, namely, the strange text directions.I still read them a couple times, print them, grab a yellow highlighter and select the text that made sense.Then I augment the directions with my own notes in the margin.I could never figure out why msoft needed 5 instructions to tell me to stay on the same route.If you've ever used the product, you know what I mean.With this latest version, that problem/issue still persists but there's something new: errors and wrong directions!!I usually compare "fastest" to "shortest" routes.I have seen numerous cases where I had to trick the software to show me the most correct route.An example would be selecting the wrong direction off an exit of an interstate or even better, routing you in the oppposite direction to get to a road when there is a more direct route.I always update the traffic/highway info everytime.The GPS interface works fine; would be nice to have voices but I really don't miss that feature.Biggest impression: my wife and I have learned to not blindly trust it but rather we challenge every turn and pay very close to what it is telling us as we approach decision points.This year I almost went to Delorme but its reviews were even more disappointing.

Probably OK for planning, horrible in the car
I have substantial experience with both the Toyota and Honda in-car GPS systems and frankly feel somewhat lost in a car without one.
Installation problem
I tried install the software into my laptop for 3 hours.the software would find some registry errors in my windows and quits.I was not able to install the software into my computer. ... Read more

Editorial Review

It's hard to imagine that Adobe can make Photoshop any better than this. Long considered the professional image-editing standard among graphic digital artists worldwide, Photoshop is certain to cement that reputation even further with the array of new features offered in Adobe PhotoShop CS2. Artists, creative professionals, photographers, and industry professionals will find that the workflow and image customization enhancements will be worth far more than the price of the upgrade.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Revolutionary Vanishing Point technology lets you clone, paint, and paste elements that automatically match the perspective of the surrounding image area
• Smart Objects perform nondestructive scaling, rotating, and warping of raster and vector graphics with Smart Objects
• Multi-image Digital Camera raw file Processing - process multiple images simultaneously, adjusting exposure, shadows, and brightness and contrast -- all while you continue working
• Image Warp creates packaging mock-ups by wrapping an image around any shape or stretching, curling, and bending an image
• Multiple layer control for selecting, moving, grouping and transforming objects intuitievly

Reviews (48)

I'm furious about this!
I installed a perfectly legal upgrade of Photoshop CS2.It worked fine for a handful of months, and then it quit.Technical support was of no help.I had to reformat my hard drive and essentially rebuild my entire machine.I am so frustrated about this.I probably spent 100 hours with the data backup, moving data, reformatting, and reinstalling.If I were a small business, I would be out of business.All because this piece of crap program, which I purchased legally, decided to quit.Totally unacceptable!

Still the best, but Adobe's taking risks with users' loyalty
I concur with the review that points up the problems with Adobe's new "license manager" method of activation. When you pay as much as you do for this app, or the entire suite, you should not be faced with complete lockup should you have hardware problems, or can't connect to the Internet from "location shooting." I took one star off for this egregious marketing tactic.
Decent Product / Lousy Company
I had an older numbered version of PS, and upgraded to CS in 2004. Unfortunately, the old version, which I bought online, was represented a registerable, but it wasn't. Adobe said they would go ahead and activate it, and they would transfer the registration if I would fax them the information regarding the seller. I was happy to do that, hoping they would bust the creep.
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Features

• CD-ROM
• DVD-ROM
• UPC - 028287015005
• Software Financial Software

Editorial Review

QuickBooks Premier Manufacturing & Wholesale Edition 2007 has all the standard financial-management features of QuickBooks Pro, plus time-saving tools designed specifically for managing inventory and costs, tracking customer orders, and monitoring business performance.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Features all standard financial-management features of QuickBooks Pro, plus tools for managing inventory and costs, tracking customer orders, and monitoring business performance
• Track customer orders and instantly see which can be shipped and which can't
• Creates customized reports to help you monitor sales, profits, and inventory
• Includes tools to help you finish basic accounting tasks faster and price your products more profitably
• Start fast and get help when you need it with built-in tutorials, onscreen help, and free QuickBooks callback support

Editorial Review

QuickBooks Premier 5-User Edition 2007 simplifies your everyday tasks and provides industry-specific and business-planning software designed to take your business to the next level. Work flexibly with specialized, easy-to-use accounting tools--all in one package.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Industry-specific and business-planning software designed to take your business to the next level
• Manage customers, vendors, and employees and work flexibly with specialized, easy-to-use accounting tools
• Share data with Microsoft Office applications
• Allows up to 5 users to work on QuickBooks at the same time, giving all users access to the same up-to-date data
• Start fast and get help when you need it with built-in tutorials, onscreen help, and free QuickBooks callback support

Reviews (1)

Best Quickbooks Ever!
I have been using quickbooks since 1990 and I have upgraded to every version since then.I became a Beta tester for Quickbooks a few years ago and I have to say this is by far the best version of Quickbooks yet.I highly recomend it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

If you're an accountant, now you can support your QuickBooks 2007 customers with one program. QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition 2007 is the all-in-one bookkeeping, write-up, and financial reporting tool that helps accounting professionals work efficiently with multiple QuickBooks clients. QuickBooks customers choose from a variety of editions to get exactly the tools they need--and you can serve all of them with one copy of Accountant Edition.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• All-in-one bookkeeping, write-up, and financial-reporting tool to help accountants work efficiently with multiple QuickBooks clients
• Quickly access the data you and your clients need and complete key tasks using integrated accounting tools
• Improved Easy Step start-up interview simplifies client setup and reduces coding errors
• Prepare for tax returns with Fixed Asset Manager and with Lacerte and ProSeries integration
• Satisfaction guaranteed -- or your money back

Editorial Review

Designed for new QuickBooks users running either QuickBooks Pro 2007 or QuickBooks Premier 2007 (all versions), Learning QuickBooks for Windows takes you step-by-step through the essentials of mastering QuickBooks basics. Highly qualified instructors teach you key tasks using real-life examples. Now you can get an introduction to bookkeeping fundamentals--without all the technical jargon--and gain the confidence of knowing you're "doing it right."Read more

Features

• Takes you step-by-step through the essentials of mastering QuickBooks basics
• Highly qualified instructors teach you key tasks using real-life examples
• Offers shortcuts, tips, and tricks for working faster in QuickBooks
• Designed for new QuickBooks users running either QuickBooks Pro 2007 or QuickBooks Premier 2007 (all versions)
• 3 hours of training on 2 CDs

Features

• CD-ROM
• Professional-grade results; easy-to-use right out of the box
• Software designed for calibrating and profiling all types of monitors
• Corrects color on monitor; adapts monitor for changing room lighting
• Applies personal preferences for viewing accurate color all of the time
• Includes emission-only colorimeter with ambient measurement capabilities

Reviews (30)

A must for photo editing!
I knew my laptop colors were off, and could not calibrate properly by eye w/ OSX's color calibration utility. So i ordered this little gem. Now what I seeon my camera matches my laptop and my workstation. I was even surprised how off my workstation was, since it looked "correct" before the calibration.

Fantastic!
I used my Huey to generate calibration profiles on 4 different monitors (all LCD). On every one it worked beautifully, giving me neutral grays and good contrast and brightness. The ambient light adjustment is a really nice addition, and it will automatically dim the screen as the room gets dimmer to maintain apparent contrast levels. The software is so easy to use, I never even touched the manual. A great price on a great product.

I don't own a Huey, but...
I do own the Gretag/Pantone LT-1, and I did own the SpyderPro, and I have played with a Huey.A monitor calibrator is going to change the colors you see on the monitor; that's its job, because the reason you have trouble getting prints that look like the monitor, is because the monitor isn't set right!It takes a couple of hours to get used to the different colors -- and you've a lifetime of getting correct prints on the first try once you get the printer profiled too.The first thing a well-calibrated monitor teaches you is just how poor your own color memory is and how bad Adobe Gamma and other "eyeball-based" calibration techniques are.
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Features

• CD-ROM
• Drag and drop photos from iPhoto to create slideshows more easily than ever
• Add your own menus, buttons and chapters for viewing on a home DVD player
• Use Hollywood-style effects like pan and Zoom & cross fades for stunning home films
• Spin Doctor 2 helps users digitize vinyl records and tapes, to transfer them to CD at perfect quality
• Convert DivX to DVD and create DivX discs

Reviews (30)

Caveat:can't backup copy-protected dvds.
And apparently most (if not all) DVDs of interest (such as videos) are copy-protected.
Decent product, but poor customer service
I bought my copy of Toast 7 late last year. Before using it for the first time, I registered the thing and downloaded the 7.0.2 update. I then set about using the DVD music disc feature to make a disc of Xmas music.
Satisfied
This product was purchased for a specific purpose, based on previous experience, and it has performed properly, as expected. ... Read more

Editorial Review

It's hard to imagine that Adobe can make Photoshop any better than this. Long considered the professional image-editing standard among graphic digital artists worldwide, Photoshop is certain to cement that reputation even further with the array of new features offered in the Adobe PhotoShop CS 2 Upgrade. Artists, creative professionals, photographers, and industry professionals will find that the workflow and image customization enhancements will be worth far more than the price of the upgrade.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Photoshop CS2 is the new Professional standard in Desktop Digital imaging. Its groundbreaking creative tools help you achieve extraordinary results. With more creative options, a more custom-fit Photoshop for the way you work, and more efficient File handling, you can stretch your imagination and let the ideas flow.
• Revolutionary Vanishing Point technology lets you clone, paint, and paste elements that automatically match the perspective of the surrounding image area
• Smart Objects perform nondestructive scaling, rotating, and warping of raster and vector graphics with Smart Objects
• Multi-image Digital Camera raw file Processing - process multiple images simultaneously, adjusting exposure, shadows, and brightness and contrast -- all while you continue working
• Image Warp creates packaging mock-ups by wrapping an image around any shape or stretching, curling, and bending an image

Reviews (55)

Aside from License Manager, this is THE photo/imaging editing software
I concur with the review that points up the problems with Adobe's new "license manager" method of activation. When you pay as much as you do for this app, or the entire suite, you should not be faced with complete lockup should you have hardware problems, or can't connect to the Internet from "location shooting." I took one star off for this egregious marketing tactic.
Change the incorrect product description NOW
Amazon should change the product description of Adobe PhotoShop Upgrade ASAP. Maybe this is the text they got from Adobe, but any way you look at it, it is false advertising.
Just the Very Best
I have used Photoshop versions 5 all the way through 7. I just downloaded CS2. I followed the simple stps and it is now up and running on my desktop. I read some bad reviews, but I had no problems at all. I find it to be a solid program and since I made this change to help in using lightroom, the new bridge will be of great value to me. ... Read more

Editorial Review

QuickBooks Standard Payroll is a basic, easy-to-use, in-house payroll solution for help with payroll essentials. It calculates deductions, earnings, and payroll taxes using your QuickBooks software (required and sold separately) and lets you pay employees by using built-in Direct Deposit or by printing paychecks directly from your PC in minutes. And, when it's time to pay quarterly taxes, Standard Payroll fills out the federal tax form for you.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Calculates deductions, earnings, and payroll taxes using your QuickBooks software (required and sold separately)
• Pay employees with optional Direct Deposit or print your paychecks in minutes
• Compiles the payroll data for your 940/Schedule A, 941/Schedule B, 944, W-2, W-3, 1099-MISC, and 1096 forms
• Carries your data directly into your quarterly federal filing so you can print signature-ready federal tax forms
• Lets you manage all payroll activities right from the Payroll Center

Editorial Review

QuickBooks Credit Card Processing Kit is the low-cost, easy way to accept all major credit cards using your computer. It's a low-cost solution without long-term contracts or commitments. Start accepting credit cards easily and inexpensively. There are no set-up fees, no monthly minimum payments, no terminals to lease or purchase, and no long-term contracts.Read more

Features

• The easy, low-cost way to accept all major credit cards using your computer
• No long-term contracts or commitments, no costly terminal to purchase
• Create customized estimates and invoices
• Bill your customers regularly and track payments
• Includes live customer support and a money-back guarantee

Editorial Review

Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006 is a comprehensive financial management program designed for companies with up to 25 employees. It allows small business owners and office managers to manage their business financials using software that is easy to set up and has the familiar look and feel of Microsoft Office 2003. With Small Business Accounting 2006, companies with employees already familiar with Microsoft Office products can save hours of training and set-up time. This easy-to-use, comprehensive accounting software can help small businesses reduce costs by helping them make more informed decisions and work more efficiently.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• One year of free unlimited support.
• Integrates fully with Microsoft Office 2003 Editions.
• Designed to be installed in-house by the small business itself.
• Create quotes, invoices, and purchase orders easily; manage inventory; track payroll and timesheets; forecast cash flow; and more.
• With more than 60 lists and reports that can easily be customized, you can forecast and track cash flow, inventory, and sales.

Reviews (39)

Never loaded it due to the negative comments here.
I just hate the way MS offers a viable alternative that does not cut the mustard out of the starting gate.No wonder Gates has billions.He keeps the money for himself rather then plowing back into key launches of product with a perfect track record out the gate.
Warning - This product comes with daily ads
The "feature" that makes me sorry I bought Microsoft SBA is the "Spotlight" -- a bulleted list of text ads that appear on every major screen, and that download new content on every one of those screens, every time you open the program. These text versions of pop-ups slow the application even more than its already-glacial pace (it's a bigger memory hog than Photoshop or Dreamweaver).You have the option to remove this "content", but on only one of the five screens where it appears. It is beyond annoying -- it's as if you brought a box of cereal, and were forced to listen to a commercial every time you wanted to eat some of it.
Ambivalent feelings
I brought this accounting software to use for basic tasks in my business. The general look appears to be similar to quickbooks. I am used to Peachtree, yet I had no difficulty with the basic navigation.
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Features

• DVD-Video
• Rule throughout time in this exciting strategy game
• Implement new technologies, conduct diplomacy, or wage war
• Become the most powerful leader the world has ever known
• Detailed, vibrant, 3-D living world; RTS-style, intuitive interface
• Multiplayer gameplay supported

Reviews (26)

Outrageous system requirements
What else can one say.My PowerBook is barely a year old and this game drags it to a complete halt.Very sad.

Wow...I mean, "WOW"
OK, turn based strategy games are not for everyone, so if you've played them and don't like them, move on.If not, then keep reading.
Hold Out with Civ3 Complete Instead
In late 2002, I took a second job at a major electronics retailer and decided to use my employee discount on what looked like a cool game: Civilization III.That game changed my life... in the gaming sense.It was everything I ever thought a computer game should be: turn-based strategy with multiple avenues to test my ego and self-promoted genius.Above all features of Civ3, however, my most favorite was the customization of the game through the map editor and the wonderful online resources of the Civ community.(I've downloaded more Civ3 files than MP3s.)This allowed me to express my self-proclaimed genius with new rules, technologies, and units (and all the accompanying chronologies and requisites) at my discretion.Nothing could get any better, I had thought.
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Features

• DVD-ROM
• Puzzle-solving adventure game
• Optional multi-layered help system is available when stuck with puzzles
• Track your clues by taking pictures of evidence and writing notes in an in-game journal
• Original music created by Peter Gabriel and Jack Wall
• For 1 player

Reviews (116)

Great Game True to the Orriginal
DOn't believe all the bad reviews as this is a great game. This game has great story and it expands on the Prison books in the first game. Tothose who said it changed that it didn't as it was never expalined nor confirmed that they died and that is explained in the opening montage. The story is excellent and intriguing and the puzzels are hard but most of the puzzles are in the myst games. This is a great game and as to it not running, it won't run on DVD-RW drives only, and the only problem I had was to upgrade my graphics card and it wotks fine. It even works on my Dell XPS laptop. If all you have is a computer with minimum graphics and only a DVD-RW you can't run it. Otherwise it will run great.

Monkey puzzle -Are you kidding?!
I loved the first MYST game. When I received MYST IV as a gift,I was brimming with anticipation. Initially,after nearly arriving to meet Atrus,something went horribly wrong with the graphics. After a while,I was able to do something (disabling something,I think)to get the graphics back. It was worth it because the worlds were beautifully done,especially Serenia. It was gorgeous and intriguing. As spectacular as the graphics were,a couple of the puzzles were annoying or arbitrary,but difficult.I normaly enjoy puzzle games;they're actually the only type I usually play. With MYST IV,I found that I had to consult the official game guide(also a gift)twice. I don't like having to resort to that,it can spoil a game. I did like the fact that there was some interaction with the characters and some of the interesting features of the game(SPOILER;the linking books;END SPOILER,the camera,etc...). Then,just as I was starting to enjoy the game I came across something that had no place whatsoever in a puzzle solving game-requirement of impossibly quick mouse movements! I'm talking about(SPOILER)that absolutely impossible Monkey puzzle. Once you figured out the sequence,it was NOT humanly possible to do it in the alloted time! (END SPOILER)I really don't know how anybody managed it. I admit that I may not be the quickest with the mouse,which is why I don't play games which require uber speed. But,the MYST games are puzzle games which should not require that. It was like finding a polar bear in the Bahamas. Suffice it to say,I could not get past the monkey puzzle. Was there a patch for that or something? If not,there should have been. I obviously can't comment on the remainder of the game,since I didn't get to finish it. It really annoys me. It's tantamount to being given half a book. Well,unless UBISOFT has done something to alleviate that problem(since Spring 2005);I wouldn't recommend this game unless you're VERY quick with a mouse. It's a shame,because I think that this would have been a good game. HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE MONKEY PUZZLE,I WOULD HAVE GIVEN THIS GAME 4 STARS IN BOTH CATEGORIES.

Absolutely Gorgeous!!!
I turned my 6 year old son to the first Myst game and so him and I finished Myst, Riven, Exile on the Playstation.I'm NOT a big PC gamer fan for one reason:They require you to upgrade your machine just to play the game.This is the reason why I feel platform games are much better.When you purchase a game you know it's going to play on the PS2, XBox, whatever.PC games are not so forgiving!!
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