9/05/2012

FileMaker Pro 10 Review

FileMaker Pro 10
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've used Filemaker since it's been black and white on a Mac Classic. From version to version it has always upgraded my files and performed flawlessly. At FM 6 I migrated over to Windows and the migration of my relational database was virtually flawless -just a little tweaking of layout and fonts.
It has always been very easy to use -I have built entire applications for my personal use and it's always trouble free and fast. It is crazy simple to customize.
I stopped at FM 6 for a while because FM 7 switched to a new database model, more in line with other databases like MySQL. Finally this year I switched to FM 10. I did need to redo my databases into tables and used it as an opportunity to clean out the unused stuff I'd added and then stopped using over 15 years -but I was surprised that it was way easier to migrate than I expected.
FM10 also has a nifty function where, as I update my FM records locally on my computer, it updates the MySQL database where my website is hosted. I enter new products and my website, running off MySQL and PHP is instantly updated!
FM is stable as all get out. My Macs didn't crash but of course my PCs do. When that happens FM will sometimes say it needs to "rebuild the database" -it has NEVER failed to do so. I have never lost data. Also, they don't release until it's right. Windows seems to be in perpetual Beta mode and you get to be the tester but through many upgrades, Filemaker is never half baked -new versions always run well and I'm not on tech support bringing up bugs they didn't catch.
Filemaker has a good deal of power for the power user, but FM has also been the database of choice for people who have no database experience. I started as a newbie many many years ago, found it easy to learn (once I understood the idea of a relational database) and I still love it! When a company does a good job of something I think it's very important to say so (cause usually I'm bitchin'.)

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FileMaker Pro is the world's leading easy-to-use database software that securely shares information with Windows and Mac users--through your network, over the web, and in popular formats such as PDF. Whether you need to manage client information, track project details, or produce inventory reports, FileMaker Pro 10 helps you get your important information organized in one place so it's instantly accessible.

Manage people, projects, assets, and more--the easy way!
Get started quickly With its award-winning ease of use, FileMaker Pro is simple to install and setup takes just minutes. Instantly add many types of information including lists, photos or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
Reporting made easy FileMaker Pro 10 comes complete with step-by-step reporting tools that help you make sense of all your data and automate those repetitive tasks. Use the Report Assistant to design custom layouts, labels and reports.
Share information in a couple of clicks Safely share FileMaker Pro 10 databases through a network or over the web, with both Windows and Mac users. Plus control what data you let other people see--right down to a specific field.
Sleek new look. Intuitive new design. The fresh new interface of FileMaker Pro puts commonly used features right at your fingertips. Based on feedback from our customers, the new Status Toolbar is redesigned to give you streamlined navigation, better workflow and timesaving shortcuts. You can even customize the toolbar by dragging and dropping the features you use the most. Now managing your information is more simple and straightforward than ever before.
More product enhancements The enhanced Quick Start Screen is a great way to start learning how to use FileMaker Pro with access to videos and technical resources. Easily create databases from existing sources like .CSV, Tab, and Excel. You can also now import your Bento data directly into FileMaker Pro through the Quick Start Screen or the File Menu.
20 things you can do faster and easier with FileMaker Pro 10:
Manage customer contact information
Archive photos, PDFs, documents and more
Automate and web-publish proposals for clients
Convert paper forms to electronic forms
Track billable time spent on projects
Manage business assets
Track employee, patient, or clientele records
Create a catalog of inventory and assets
Manage an employee directory
Collect meeting minutes and track issues
Route technical support calls and track statistics
Log and chart research and other findings
Automate requests to the help desk
Track requisitions and purchase orders
Develop a quoting, estimating, and invoicing system
Create a client contact log
Generate weekly status reports
Automatically create email/direct mail offers
Issue SQL queries to enterprise CRM system
Attract customers with a web-published catalog

Get results in minutes FileMaker Pro 10 comes with 30 ready-to-use Starter Solutions to help you get started fast. Simply open a solution and start adding information, or import your existing data from many popular formats. The FileMaker Resource Center helps novices and experts get up and running smoothly.


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9/04/2012

Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2011 - 3 User Review

Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2011 - 3 User
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
[original review - see update below]
I have used Trend for many years. It seemed like they finally got it right with 2009. It was quick, reliable, and had lots of options. After that subscription expired I got a notice to download this new "Titanium" thing (billed automatically by Digital River - that won't happen again!).
I downloaded it and it installed okay, but there are practically no advanced settings. It is so dumbed-down. You cannot really fine tune the scanning any more, and there is no ability to control the home network the way you could with the previous version. About all you can do is set a few parental controls and very, very simple filtering.
It also seemed to slow down Firefox briefly. It's like Firefox would be unresponsive for the first ten seconds or so before it was usable. Not sure if it was due to the antivirus but the correlation was there - it started as soon as I installed the new version.
Despite my misgivings, I was about to bite the bullet and go ahead and upgrade the wife's computer. Before I did, though, I checked the subscription status and saw that IT WAS VALID FOR ANOTHER YEAR! Apparently, installing Titanium was optional, and the previous version was still eligible for regular updates! They did not TELL me that! So I just removed Titanium and rolled back into the other version, which installed flawlessly and now I am happy for another year.
I had some trouble uninstalling Titanium on my third computer. It took a couple of tries, and each time it would hang at 13%. I had to do a hard reset and then retry. For some reason, I suspected the password I had set up for Titanium was the issue, so I removed it and then the uninstall went to completion. That was a bit worrisome.
Anyway, sorry, I just cannot recommend this product. Maybe it's okay and really does work but I do not like the lack of advanced control. For basic users it may be just fine. But for me, I am going to ride the current version out to whatever its end-of-life is, then unless Trend gives us some better control over the behavior, I will look for something else.
[update]
It's now six months into the legacy version of Trend, and I have having to think about what to move to next. I have evaluated ESET, Vipre, BitDefender, and Kapersky, and all of them leave me a bit underwhelmed. ESET seems the best of the bunch, though a tad expensive. Vipre is nice and light but has too many boxes asking me to accept this or that action (if you disable the accept box option, then you have to create a rule for everything that isn't just running a program). Bit Defender and Kapersky are just a bit too slow and bloated, and Kapersky's scan just dragged. So, at renewal time, I may just jump on the Titanium bandwagon. It's either that, ESET, or free MS Security Essentials.
I really do not think Titanium is "bad", it just did not give you much control. It really is a totally different program from what it was before, and is REALLY different from the rest. But I tried the latest evaluation version and the slowdown in FireFox seemed much less of an issue. So maybe I just need to readjust my expectations.


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Strong, fast and easy-to-use protection--Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security uses cloud technology to automatically stop viruses and spyware before they reach your computer, so it won't slow you down--it's a whole new way to protect your computer.

Real-time updates keep your PC protected from the latest online threats. Using less than half the disk space and memory of traditional security products, Titanium Internet Security is light on your system resources so your computer runs faster. It's designed to be easy to use and understand with simple screens and reports. Includes spam blocking and customizable parental controls. Keep your children safe from cyber criminals and inappropriate content when they go online--nothing comes close to Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security.

Features User-friendly console screen. View larger.

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9/03/2012

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic FULL VERSION Review

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic FULL VERSION
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I'm an IT guy at a University, and I recently had to start installing Windows Vista.
First of all, you need a minimum of 2 Gigs of ram to run this bloatware. I installed it on this guy's laptop, and with NOTHING else running, it was using between 650 - 750 megs of ram TO DO NOTHING! As soon as we started doing anything, it was using over 1 Gig of RAM. Way to go Microsoft! Just want people wanted. A bloated OS that won't run on older machines and will run slow even on new machines.
Avoid it. Don't buy it. Switch to Linux. I use Ubuntu at home.

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Windows Vista Home Basic is designed to be easy to set up, to help people use their PCs securely and reliably, to help people stay better connected, and, like all of the editions of Windows Vista, to be compatible with the widest range of software, devices, and services that people use and trust. For those who simply want to use their PC for tasks such as surfing the Internet, corresponding with friends and family using email, or performing basic document creation and editing tasks, Windows Vista Home Basic delivers a safer, more reliable, and more effective computing environment.

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NETGEAR VPN05L ProSafe VPN Client Software 5-User Licenses Review

NETGEAR VPN05L ProSafe VPN Client Software 5-User Licenses
Average Reviews:

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I used to be a big proponent of Netgear. Not anymore. First off, after reading the package on the VPN box, I believed the software client was included, but no. Once I figured that out, I bought the software, which costs more than the router. After a week of hacking, I finally got the software to work, on one out of 4 machines. One machine hard re-boots if you try any kind of network activity once the VPN is connected. I've disabled everything I can think of, it just won't work. It won't work with Vista either, no word from Netgear on a date. All other VPN software has to be un-installed, so forget using one machine to connect to a Netgear, Watchguard, Cisco, etc. vpn.
Very frustrating software.

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The NETGEAR VPN05L ProSafe VPN Client Software 5-User License is the solution for network security admins that need a simple VPN client that is secure, and easy to deploy and manage.
Wide Compatibility and Strong Security The ProSafe VPN Client software is easy to set up and works seamlessly with the full line of NETGEAR VPN/Firewall routers. It is also compatible with IPSec VPN solutions from other manufacturers. The software supports many connection types and Microsoft Windows platforms.
The security protocols supported include Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES), 3DES, Message-Digest Algorithm (MD5), and Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-1). Also supported is a wide range of Smart Cards and Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Internet Key Exchange (IKE - Main and Aggressive modes).
Easy to Set Up When used with NETGEAR ProSafe VPN/Firewall routers, NETGEAR provides pre-configuration files for the easiest setup, minimizing any extra costs. A graphical user interface lets you configure certificates and policies. With included modules, diagnosing connection problems is easy.
Advanced Features Network Address Translation (NAT) traversal is supported with devices that have a VPN pass-through mode. Multiple configurations are supported, including central, block, and split tunneling.
The VPN05L ProSafe VPN Client Software 5-User License comes with 24 hours a day / 7 days a week technical support and is backed by a 90-day warranty.
What's in the Box ProSafe VPN Client Software CD for 5-user license packs, installation guide (on disk), ProSafe VPN Easy Configuration Files, support information and warranty card.

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9/02/2012

Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 Upgrade Review

Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 Upgrade
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Photoshop has for a long time been the top-of-the-line photo editing program on both PCs and Macs. We had a student version on an old iMac back when my wife and I were students, but when I upgraded to a Macbook Pro I picked up Elements instead of full-blown Photoshop. It seemed to do everything I could imagine wanting to do with photos and more.
I never imagined you could do what you can with the latest version of Photoshop, though. If you've ever thought about upgrading to the full version of Photoshop, now would be the time, especially if you are a student and can get the student price, or if you can get the upgrade price. Some of the features on this new version are nothing short of astonishing.
First of all, it can do all the usual adjusting and layering and touch up and effects, and seems to do them better than ever. It appears to be quite stable, and very fast, possibly owing to the new 64-bit support on CS5. I've been working with Photoshop CS5 Extended every day for a few weeks (on a Macbook Pro, OS 10.6.3, 28GHz, 4GB Ram) and haven't had any problems or glitches. It installed without a hitch and runs nicely. No slow downs, no hangups, no crashing.
One thing I like is that when you open another program in Mac, the photoshop tools and utilities windows hide out of the way until you go back into it. Final Cut doesn't do that, for example, which means that if I'm working on Final Cut I need to move my windows out of the way to get at other things, or use Spaces and set my apps on different spaces windows in order to be productive.
There are three basic parts to the Photoshop package: an organizer (Adobe Bridge), a non-destructive photo adjuster (Adobe Raw, which is designed for RAW format photos but works on JPEGs as well), and an editor (Photoshop, which does ordinary adjustments and tweaks but also works with layers and masks and an inexhaustible array of effects to allow you to do pretty much anything you could possibly imagine with your photos).
What's new in CS5?
Mini Bridge - in addition to the ordinary Bridge program that helps organize your photos (and other files for use with other CS5 programs), Photoshop includes the Mini Bridge that functions like a bridge app that opens within photoshop itself. It only works, though, if Bridge is already open. Bridge also allows you to batch rename photos - which is very cool, especially with the funky way that cameras tend to name your photos.
Refine edge - Photoshop's selection tools are already pretty astonishing, and with the new refine edge tools (that work both for selections and for masks) they've gotten much more sophisticated, allowing you to fine tune selections in pretty amazing ways. For example with frizzy hair, where you can see through the hair at the edges to a background, refine edge can usually allow you to select just the hair and not the background. There's even a tool that allows you to get rid of reflections from the background on the subject. When I do green screen photography, it's always difficult to avoid getting some green light bounce on the perimeter of the subject. What's truly amazing is that with Photoshop's selection tools and refine edge, you really don't even need to use the green screen because you can replace the background of most photos without it.
New painting options - there are a whole range of new brushes you can paint with and each brush can be adjusted for thickness and stiffness, and several other properties that make photoshop into a true painting program, and allow you to use painting to either modify existing photos or create original artworks. The coolest painting feature is the "Mixer Brush" that allows you to treat a photograph as if it were covered in wet paint and to either paint from it as if it were a palette or to mix other colors with the existing colors on the photo.
3D & Puppet Warp - you can take a photo and make it into a 3-D postcard that can be rotated and re-oriented however you like. Additionally you can create three dimensional objects or make elements of photographs into 3-D objects so you can experiment with different ways of laying them out. Puppet Warp allows you to take an object and move its elements around - turning a head or raising an arm for example.
Improved HDR Pro Support - you can shoot photos with a range of exposures and it will bring them together in a single shot that captures all the nuance you want; you can then adjust these in case you want, say, to flatten the shadows or want less nuance in the highlights of a certain area in the photo. Note that this can even work if you don't have a tripod and just eyeball the frames, since the program will automatically detect the overlap regions. Pretty cool.
Automatic lens correction - Photoshop can figure out what kind of lens you have and correct for distortions in the lens.
Content Aware Fill - of course the most astonishing feature of CS5 is the content aware fill. CS4 (and Photoshop Express 9) already had the content aware transform that allows you to shrink a photo and let it know which parts you don't want warped and which parts you'd like to lose. Content Aware fill is like a mixture between that function and the healing brush tool. You can select, say, a piece of garbage on the lawn in an otherwise nice photo, then fill it with content aware fill and Photoshop will reconstruct a seamless piece of lawn turf in the place of the garbage. You can get rid of a stranger who wandered into your frame without doing any cropping or resizing (provided that the background that needs to be filled in is not too complicated). You can even fill in gaps in a panorama shot (where you take a few photos in order to get an expanded range). Some of this would be possible already with older versions of Photoshop but would take hours; but some of the things you can do with this tool are simply magical. (For a quick illustration of how it works, see the brief attached video).
Online Review Feature - another new thing that would be quite handy for the professional user, or for someone collaborating with others artistically, is the online review function. Basically it allows you to upload the latest version of your image and notify others it's there. They can then go into the image and post comments, both general comments and comments tied to specific parts of the photo, and then those comments appear ready to review and read by the original poster.
System requirements - a few people have noted that the system requirements are not available on this page. Adobe CS5 was designed to take advantage of the some of the most recent computer architecture standards and operating systems, so those who have a five or six year old computer should stick with an older version. Here are the requirements from Adobe's website, for Mac users of CS5: Multicore Intel processor (so no G4 or PowerPC); minimum 1GB of RAM; 2GB available hard drive space for installation and additional free space available during the installation (plus no case-sensitive file systems); recommended 1280x800 display with qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit color, and 256MB of VRAM; Quicktime 7.6.2; a DVD-Rom drive. Summing Up
This is not really a beginner's program. For those who want to just tweak exposure and color balance, stick with iPhoto or something simple. For slightly more complicated fixes, but with a smaller learning curve, stick to something like Photoshop Elements. If you really want to work magic with your photos, though, and if you're willing to put in some serious time trying things out (and going through the seemingly endless tutorials online) - or if you already know Photoshop or Elements and you know how much time it can take to do some of the fixes that the Content Aware tool can solve in seconds, you really ought to check out this latest version of Photoshop. It's pretty amazing.


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Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended software delivers breakthrough capabilities for creating images with impact. Get precise results when making complex selections. Remove any image element and see the space fill in almost magically. Paint on 2D and 3D images with naturally textured brushstrokes and realistic color blends. Create 3D extrusions for logos and artwork. Also work fast with cross-platform 64-bit support and dozens of time-savers.


Upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended To install an upgrade version of Photoshop CS5 Extended software, you must have an eligible earlier version of Adobe software:
Photoshop CS3 & CS4 Extended

For more information on eligibility, visit www.adobe.com/go/upgradeinfo.

Top reasons to upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended
Complex selections made easy Get better-than-ever results when selecting intricate image elements, such as hair, and eliminate background color around selection edges. Automatically vary selection edges and perfect masks using new refinement tools.

Content-Aware Fill Remove any image detail or object and watch as Content-Aware Fill magically fills in the space left behind. This breakthrough technology matches lighting, tone, and noise so it looks as if the removed content never existed.

Extraordinary painting effects Achieve natural and realistic painting effects with the Mixer Brush, which offers on-canvas color blending, and Bristle Tips, which let you create lifelike, textured brushstrokes.

3D extrusions with Adobe Repoussé Create 3D logos and artwork from any text layer, selection, path, or layer mask with Adobe Repoussé technology. Twist, rotate, extrude, bevel, and inflate your designs.

Puppet Warp Precisely reposition or warp any image element. Swing a raised arm to a person's side in a photo, stretch text to create new effects, and more.

State-of-the-art raw image processing Use the Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 6 plug-in to nondestructively remove image noise while preserving color and detail; add grain to make digital photos look more organic; enjoy more control as you perform post-crop vignetting; and more.

Superior HDR imaging Create photorealistic or surreal HDR images with unprecedented speed, control, and accuracy. Get better-than-ever results thanks to automatic ghost removal and greater control with tone mapping and adjustments, and even give single-exposure photos the look of HDR.

Enhanced 3D realism and rich materials Enhance 3D objects and designs with easy shadow creation, image-based lights, and materials like glass and chrome. Explore with different focus points in your 3D scene by adjusting the range for depth of field.

Efficient workflow Enjoy productivity and creativity boosts thanks to dozens of features and enhancements requested by Photoshop users. Straighten images automatically, choose colors from an onscreen color picker, adjust the opacity of many layers at once, and more.

Faster performance across platforms Speed up day-to-day imaging tasks and process very large images up to 10 times faster by taking advantage of cross-platform 64-bit support. (Requires a 64-bit-capable computer with a 64-bit version of Mac OS, Microsoft Windows 7, or Windows Vista. Actual performance varies depending on amount of RAM, driver types, and other factors.)

Better media management Easily manage media with more flexible batch renaming, and access your assets in the context of what you're working on by using the customizable Adobe Mini Bridge panel in Photoshop.

Streamlined creative reviews through integration with CS Live services Use Adobe CS Review, part of new CS Live online services, to initiate a secure review without leaving Photoshop. Reviewers can add comments to your images from their browsers, and you see those comments appear automatically on your screen. Adobe CS Live online services are complimentary for a limited time. Visit www.adobe.com/go/cslive for details.

Create powerful images with the professional standard
3D extrusions Easily explore new creative directions: Create 3D logos and artwork with Adobe Repoussé technology. Twist, rotate, extrude, bevel, and inflate these designs, and then apply rich materials like chrome, glass, and cork.

Advanced 3D editing capabilities Push your creative boundaries with powerful 3D editing tools--even paint directly on 3D objects. Add 3D objects to your designs and create amazing composites. Illuminate your scene with real lighting, and animate your objects.

Motion content editing Paint, add text, and clone over multiple frames of an imported video sequence using your favorite Photoshop tools.

Easy access to core editing power Get just the tools you need--exactly when you need them--when performing common editing activities. Adjustments and Masks panels guide you in making precise edits.

Extraordinary creative tools Achieve realistic painting effects with the ability to mix colors on canvas and create natural brushstrokes. Merge multiple exposures into stunning high dynamic range (HDR) images. Move, remove, warp, or stretch any image element.

State-of-the-art photography Easily merge multiple exposures to extend the dynamic range with more power, precision, and fidelity than ever before. Convert to black-and-white in new ways. And use Dodge, Burn, and Sponge tools that intelligently preserve color and tone details.

Image analysis Use measurement and counting tools to extract quantitative information from images. Record and export data for further analysis. Import DICOM files as frames or as a volume to directly analyze and edit your image data.

Industry-leading raw image processing Enjoy superior results when you convert raw images with the Camera Raw 6 plug-in, which offers support for over 275 camera models plus nondestructive editing so you can experiment without harming your original photo.

Automated compositing tools Easily create a single image from a series of shots that have different focal points, smoothly blending color and shading and extending your depth of field. And take advantage of accurate, automatic layer alignment.

Efficient media management Manage your media visually with Adobe Bridge CS5 software. Enjoy more flexible batch renaming plus the ability to access files in the context of your work using the customizable Adobe Mini Bridge panel.

Powerful printing options Get outstanding prints in less time with automation, scripting, and a print dialog box that's easier to navigate.

Broad file format support Import and export hundreds of file formats, including PSD, AI, PDF, NEF, CRW, TIFF, BMP, Cineon, JPEG, JPEG2000, FXG, OpenEXR, PNG, Targa, DICOM, OBJ, KMZ, Collada, U3D, 3DS (import only), 3G, FLC, MOV, AVI, DV Stream, Image Sequence, MPEG-4, and FLV.

Extensibility Personalize Photoshop and extend its capabilities. Use developer-created custom panels to accomplish specific tasks. Visit the Adobe Photoshop Marketplace for third-party plug-ins and resources. And check out Adobe Community Help for tips and tricks.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom integration Enjoy tight integration with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software (sold separately), easily moving files from Lightroom to Photoshop CS5 to create HDR images, panoramas, and multilayered Photoshop documents. Roundtrip your files back to Lightroom.

Top new features of Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended
Intelligent selection technology Photoshop CS5 takes the time and frustration out of making precise image selections and masks, providing you a faster way to extract subjects from their backgrounds and create realistic composites. New intelligent selection technology offers better edge detection and faster, more accurate masking results of complex subjects, like hair. Automatic color decontamination helps you eliminate background color around the edges of a selection, resulting in more seamless compositions when placing extracted subjects on new backgrounds.

Experienced Photoshop users know that the best selections are created by constantly adapting the selection technique for differences in the subject's edges--one method for hair and another for the edge of a building. With Photoshop CS5, you can produce highly accurate masks and selections faster and more simply than before with a set of new adaptive selection-edge modification controls. Smart Radius automatically matches the best selection approach with the subject's changing edge characteristics, and the extra view modes assist you in previewing the quality of your selections. The Refine Radius and Erase Refinements tools customize your masks and selections as you make them. These tools, in combination with the color decontamination settings, help eliminate any residual background color from around the edges of your selections.

Content‐Aware Fill One of the most exciting new features in Photoshop CS5 is the remarkable ability to remove an image element and magically replace it with details that match the lighting, tone, and noise of the surrounding area so that it looks like the content never existed. Now, you can make substantial changes to photo composition quickly and easily, as even large complex subjects can be seamlessly erased.

You can use Content-Aware Fill with the Spot Healing Brush or as an option of the Fill feature to replace content in an active selection. Selecting the Content-Aware setting with the Spot Healing brush changes the way the tool fills in the areas you paint. This retouching approach is designed to account more fully for the structure and detail of the image elements that surround the painted area, providing a near-invisible result when removing unwanted objects. Alternatively, you can select the object to be removed, and then replace the area with synthesized details from the area surrounding the selection, simply by using the Content-Aware option in the Fill dialog box.

HDR Pro for creativity and precision with the next generation of high dynamic range imaging With just a few clicks, you can go beyond the capture capabilities of your camera by combining multiple exposures into a single high dynamic range (HDR) photo that preserves the full tonal range of a scene with high contrast. Photoshop CS5 introduces HDR Pro for more control over the HDR merging process and greater adjustment power over the mapping of tones and the styling of HDR output, resulting in images that range from photorealistic to highly surreal.

HDR Pro offers extended controls, an enhanced dialog box, and improved image processing. New algorithms enable more accurate alignment of source files and automatically deghost any problem areas that occur when trying to merge source photos where subjects have moved during capture. You can even select a source file to be used as the sole reference for any ghosted areas or allow the feature to do this automatically for you.

New tone-mapping tools and adjustment controls give you the power to implement your own HDR vision, producing photos that range in style from fully textured images of high-contrast scenes to wildly hyper-realistic creations. Save your favorite styles as presets and apply them to multiple groups of source files to provide a common look and feel to your HDR photos. And for times when you don't have multiple source files, create the look of an HDR-processed image from a single photo with the new HDR Toning feature that allows you to mimic the tone-mapping results traditionally achieved in high dynamic range photos.

Together with the existing Photomerge feature (which allows for image stitching), the exposure-merging capabilities of HDR Pro can add up to high-bit-depth, 360-degree panoramas ideal for composite photography, video, and beyond.

The Auto Stack Panorama/HDR files option in Adobe Bridge CS5 and the new panelized Mini Bridge groups source files together into stacks for quicker creation of HDR images in Photoshop CS5. You can even start the creation of an HDR file by choosing Tools > Merge To HDR from the Mini Bridge panel inside Photoshop.

State-of-the-art raw-image processing The Adobe Camera Raw 6 plug-in, which ships with Photoshop CS5, now supports more than 275 camera models as it continues to provide you with the industry-leading conversion of raw files. In addition, the utility provides advanced, nondestructive image editing and enhancement for raw files, as well as for other standard formats, including JPEG and TIFF. Now you can remove noise, achieve better quality sharpening, and creatively apply new styles of vignettes and film-like grain.

You can now shoot at higher ISO settings with confidence, because the updated controls in the Adobe Camera Raw 6 plug-in remove the noise common in such high-ISO images (as well as in photos captured with long exposures and pictures from consumer cameras) while still preserving excellent color and detail.

New controls for adding grain and additional post-crop vignetting settings join many creative options already available in this utility, such as the Adjustment Brush and the Graduated Filter. For the first time, you can add grain-like texture to photos as part of your nondestructive editing workflow. Adjust amount, size, and roughness of grain to easily give composites a more natural, seamless appearance by matching levels of grain across all source images--or simply use the feature to make a digital photo look more organic or film-like.

Updated post-crop vignetting options offer more creative control over the corner darkening and lightening process, and your favorite vignette effects can be saved as presets for quick application across multiple files.

Upgraded sharpening options produce clearer photos with fewer artifacts while providing better control over key details, especially when working with high-resolution pictures produced by multi-megapixel cameras.

Extraordinary painting effects With a new Mixer Brush, a Bristle Tips feature, and a new mechanism for blending colors, Photoshop CS5 redefines the way you paint. You can take advantage of more natural and realistic painting effects, making it easy to take your imagery and designs in new artistic directions.

The Mixer Brush lets you define multiple colors on a single tip, and then mix and blend them with the underlying hues on your canvas, achieving creative results that rival traditional painting media. When starting with a photo original, you can use a dry, empty brush to blend the existing colors while at the same time adding a painterly effect to the image. Mixer Brush settings provide extensive control over the wetness of the canvas colors, the load rate that determines amount of paint loaded on the brush, the mixing rate between brush and canvas colors, and whether the brush is refilled, cleaned, or both after each painting stroke.

In conjunction with these new mixing features, Photoshop CS5 incorporates unprecedented control over stroke characteristics of its painting tools with Bristle Tips. Bristle Qualities define key bristle properties such as shape, length, stiffness, thickness, angle, and spacing, which affect how the color is laid on the image as you paint.

The Bristle Brush Preview feature provides a visual representation of these changes, and you can save your tip configurations for future use, allowing you to build a customized collection of Bristle Tips to experiment with when using Photoshop brush tools.

Puppet Warp Puppet Warp gives you more freedom when pushing and pulling elements within an image. The feature lets you recompose an image to make it more appealing, or to fit a specific layout, by allowing the precise repositioning of any element within a Photoshop document, or selection, by simply clicking and dragging. After you reposition an object, Photoshop adjusts the rest of the image to account for the shifted pixels.

After choosing Edit > Puppet Warp, click on your image to drop pins establishing anchor points where you want image parts not to move, and handles that you can use for warping. Then drag any of the pins to reposition the picture elements. Use Puppet Warp to swing a raised arm to a person's side, warp and stretch text to create new effects, or reposition intrusive objects in a photo to create a more pleasing composition.

Automated lens correction The Lens Correction features in Photoshop CS5 create better quality captures by removing or correcting the three most common lens-based errors: geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting. This means you can use a wider range of lenses with the confidence of producing images of the highest quality. With the aid of the Adobe Lens Profile Creator (available separately as a free download from labs.adobe.com) you can produce custom profiles characterizing the optical aberrations of your camera lenses. When installed and selected in the Lens Correction filter in Photoshop CS5, the profile automatically removes or corrects the three types of distortion.

The Lens Correction filter in Photoshop CS5 is redesigned to include manual adjustment controls under the Custom tab, and settings for locating and applying custom Lens Correction Profiles (LCP files) under a new Auto Correction tab. Installed profiles that match your camera and lens combination are used to apply precise distortion corrections to your photos. Suitable profiles can be located easily based on the EXIF data automatically recorded with the image, and if a suitable profile is not present in the Lens Correction filter, then with a single click within the dialog box, you can search online for the correct profile to meet your needs.

Individual error types can be selected in the filter's settings, as can options for handling any transparent areas that surround the corrected image.

Easy 3D extrusions with Adobe Repoussé (Photoshop CS5 Extended only) Repoussé is an ancient metalworking technique for embossing artwork on the surface of metals such as gold, silver, copper, tin, and bronze. Photoshop Extended offers a powerful new feature, inspired by this traditional technique, for creating eye-catching 3D artwork.

Use Adobe Repoussé to easily convert 2D artwork into 3D objects and then create depth by altering the extrusion properties of the 3D model. Easily extrude text to create logos and 3D artwork for use in websites, video frames, or layouts.

Starting with a text layer, a path, a selection, or a layer mask, you can convert the content to 3D with the Create New 3D Object section of the 3D panel. After the conversion is complete, you can alter the look of your 3D model by manipulating its key extrusion properties--depth, scale, bend, shear, inflate, or twist--in the Repoussé dialog box.

In addition to manipulating these properties, you can inflate the front or back of the extrusion and/or apply a custom bevel. Sections of objects (internal subpaths) can also be inflated by creating a selection first and then adjusting the Internal Constraints settings in the Repoussé dialog box. The 3D Axis widget allows on canvas rotation of the of the model

Enhanced 3D realism and rich materials (Photoshop CS5 Extended only) Bring your 3D creations to life with the materials that ship with Photoshop CS5 Extended. You can select materials from the library of included presets, download additional materials by choosing 3D > Browse 3D Content, create your own, or even edit existing materials to customize them for your needs (in the materials section of the 3D panel). Test a variety of looks for your 3D models and extruded designs by adding different materials or textures to their surfaces. Materials that feature reflection or refraction properties can be rendered with the new Adobe Ray Tracer engine. The Repoussé dialog box, and the Materials section of the 3D panel, both contain options for applying a single material to all surfaces--as well as choosing different treatments--for individual sections and surfaces of your models

Use the 3D Material Drop tool and the Material Load tool to easily load a material and drop it into different meshes, allowing you to sample and apply materials interactively. New overlay controls provide instant feedback about where specific materials and meshes are located in your model, and the updated 3D axis widget now works with lights and cameras as well as 3D objects.

With the Shadow Catcher feature, you can now easily generate a shadow on the ground plane of a scene, and then adjust how the shadow interacts with image content of other layers by altering its opacity and its softness. To further enhance realism, you can use an HDR image to light your scene, or re-create traditional depth-of-field effects in your rendered scene by adjusting the zone of sharpness with the new Distance and Blur controls.

Better 3D performance and workflow (Photoshop CS5 Extended only) Take advantage of better performance and immediate rendering feedback thanks to the improved Adobe Ray Tracer (ART) engine in Photoshop CS5 Extended. ART 2.0 brings substantial improvements in performance when you interact with and edit 3D models. ART 2.0 progressively renders 3D scenes with an option to re-render after a pause, or even perform selective renderings, all while providing more immediate feedback and dramatically reducing the time it takes to preview key areas in high quality.

You also get faster previews and more responsive interaction thanks to changes made in the OpenGL engine, which now fast-tracks the delivery of complex 3D geometry to the video card. Overall workflow performance has been optimized with improved import, interaction speeds, and better merging of 3D objects into a single scene. To aid with fine-tuning and adjustment of these performance features, there is a new 3D section in Preferences.

User-inspired productivity enhancements Photoshop CS5 helps boost productivity and creativity throughout the editing workflow with dozens of enhancements inspired by Photoshop users.

Streamlined creative reviews through integration with Adobe CS Review Collaborate with colleagues and seek client comment quickly and easily with Adobe CS Review, a new CS Live online service* designed to simplify and accelerate the design review process.

With CS Review, you can avoid the hassles of large email attachments, logon problems with FTP servers, and time-consuming next-day air deliveries usually associated with client reviews by instead initiating a secure, shared review. Comments are displayed in near-real time and in context, providing convenient feedback on your images and designs. You can access the CS Review service from within Photoshop CS5.

Faster performance with cross-platform native 64-bit support Tight deadlines and large file sizes make performance a high priority for many Photoshop users. Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended deliver cross-platform 64-bit support, allowing you to perform day-to-day imaging tasks up to 10 times faster. Video and photo professionals, especially, benefit from the extra performance, as gains are even greater if you regularly work with very large files, where processing can be up to ten times faster when you take advantage of higher addressable RAM amounts--limited only by what your hardware accommodates.

To help you tweak the performance of your setup, Photoshop CS5 lets you adjust history, tile, and cache controls in combination.

Greater access to key resources via flexible custom panels Photoshop CS5 offers easy ways to integrate and extend your workspace with customized panels. With the aid of the Configurator 2.0 panel utility (available separately as a download from labs.adobe.com) you can produce your own panels, bringing together your most used tools and menu selections and incorporating your favorite web feeds or video tutorials.

Stay connected to the greater Photoshop community and all facets of your digital life directly from within Photoshop CS5 by using panels you create or those produced and distributed by other users. You can access anything that lives on the web--favorite blogs, video content, even your email--with these integrated panels. You can even expand content beyond a panel's standard viewing area when you need a magnified view.

Easier interface management with Live Workspaces and Workspace Switcher Creating dedicated, task-specific workspaces that mimic your individual workflow increases productivity and efficiency by hiding the features you don't use and exposing the ones you do. New Live Workspaces auto-save any changes you make to a task-specific workspace, so that if you switch to a different workspace and then back again during an editing session, your panels remain exactly where you left them. The number of entries displayed in the collapsible Workspace Switcher can be altered, and the position of each workspace can be rearranged. This provides quicker navigation between frequently used setups.

Superior black-and-white conversion Photoshop CS5 continues to support the tradition of producing finely crafted monochrome photos with the inclusion of new ways to explore an endless variety of black-and-white looks. You can use the integrated Lab Black & White Technique action, located in the Default Actions group of the Actions panel, for an easy and interactive way to convert color images. Create gorgeous HDR black-and-whites with greater ease and speed by taking advantage of the new and updated features in HDR Pro. Take your monochrome creations in new directions with conversion presets in the Black & White panel.


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9/01/2012

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac Review

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I have been a Windows user for 25 years and I have made the leap and replaced my Dell laptop with a MacBook. I am an application developer on the PC and Unix platform, and thus I run a lot of industry strength development packages and tools. I use Virtual PC to host different server environments on my Vista desktop, and on my laptop I run all kinds of server applications, from a Sybase database to a WebLogic web server. So when it came time for me to move to a Mac as my mobile platform, I needed a virtual environment for environment. With the adance of hardware assisted virtualization, now is the time.
I tried three virtualization packages - the Sun VirtualBox, VMWare Fusion, and Parallels. After hours experimentation and testing, I have decided on Parallels. Here are my findings.
VirtualBox is just not for prime time, lots of graphics corruption right out of the box. For instance, when you switch from full screen Windows to the OS X desktop, some of the Windows desktop would be left on the screen, obscuring the OS X screen. The interaction between the Windows desktop and the OS X desktops is not as seamless as that provided by Fusion and Parallels, and numerous other little things that detract from the overall user experience. So even though VirtualBox is free, it's not worth what I need to put up with.
VMWare Fusion and Parallels are actually very similar in how they work, and I don't see any difference in terms of performance. But after extensive usability testing I have found that Parallels gets more of the little things right. And it's the little things, the attention to details, that differentiates the excellent from the merely good.
For example, when you maximize a Windows application in Windows full screen mode under Fusion, the application would maximize to cover the Taskbar. Under Parallels, however, the application correctly maximizes to cover only the client area of the desktop not cover by the Taskbar. I know VMWare must know how a correct Windows application should behave, and I attribute this behavioral error to either that they were lazy or that they hoped people don't notice. Neither speaks well for the code that runs underneath the surface.
Another example, when you task switch using command-tab in OS X, you can tell which applications are Windows native applications because Parallels would superimpose the two vertical bars Parallels logo over the Windows application icons. Parallels gets credit for extra effort. Fusion on the other hand not only does not show you which applications are Windows apps, but cmd-tab is simply not implemented correctly in virtual Windows and thus task switch is almost impossible when you're not in unity mode (Windows and OS X apps side by side). Very bad.
Yet another example, you can access the entire collection of Mac applications right from the Windows desktop because Parallels sees fit to create shortcuts to all the Mac application right on the Windows Start menu and you can of course duplicate those short cuts anywhere in the Windows environment.
Example number four, you can control the boot sequence of the virtual machine using the Parallels application menu, while with Fusion you need to get in to the virtual machine's BIOS to do that - and the BIOS screen flashes by so fast you need to manually edit the configuration file to slow down the welcome screen so you can actually see which keys to hit to enter Setup or choose the boot device. This is another example of lazy application development.
And not to belabor the point, example number five, VMWare only emulates multiple processors, NOT MULTIPLE CORES, so that Core 2 Dual you got there is useless if you run XP Home which only supports a single processor.
Now I don't know about you, but speaking as a developer, I think thoroughness and thoughtfulness on the part of the user interface is a good indication of the amount of effort that has gone under the surface to make the application work right.
As far as Parallels' performance is concerned, this is what I found. Now I can't speak for gamers, as I don't play games on my laptop. But Parallels is able to run industrial strength servers and development environments on my 2.0GHz, 2GB dual core MacBook faster than my 1.7GHz, 2GB single core Dell. So it definitely does what I want it to. And if you only run Office or Quicken, then you have nothing to worry about.
If you have made a transition to OS X and need a virtual environment to run your Windows apps, I encourage you to go download the trial versions of both Fusion and Parallels and do the testing yourself, using the applications that you want to use. Give it some time and don't get too excited by the initial wow factor of seeing your Windows application and your OS X application coexist side by side. Be thorough and dig deep, and you will find the choice you really want to live with day to day. And mine happens to be Parallels.

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Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac makes it easy to run Windows, Linux, and more side-by-side with Mac OS X without rebooting. With Parallels award winning virtualization technology, you can run Mac OS X and critical Windows applications such as Outlook, Access, QuickBooks, Internet Explorer and more, all at the same time. This new release of Parallels Desktop for Mac comes packed with 50+ new features and enhancements including the ability to drag-and-drop files between desktops, run Windows programs like native Mac applications and migrate your existing PC to your Mac. And with the Installation Wizard to help you get started, youll be up and running in just three clicks of the mouse!

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McAfee Spamkiller 2004 Version 5.0 Review

McAfee Spamkiller 2004 Version 5.0
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
SpamKiller 4 is much better. I promptly reinstalled it after trying 5.0. SpamKiller 5 doesn't run in the system tray and doesn't notify you when your receive new email. The interface looks nicer but is slower and less functional. Recommend getting SpamKiller 4 while it's still available. (Update: One person told me they liked Norton AntiSpam, but all the reviews say it's buggy and slow, so I wouldn't recommend it over SpamKiller 4.)

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