Eovia Carrara 3D Basics for Mac and Windows Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This program is a superior value for the money. The output is well above its ancestor (Raydream Studio 5.5). The interface is very simple (even easier than Poser).
It has two drawbacks. First, the manual is in PDF format on disk (this always sucks). Second, there is a limit on image size (think about using it for web page graphics, only).
The Eovia website does NOT do this program true justice. However, they hide the fact that it will only make web graphics. feh. BUY IT ANYWAYS. When I think of those sad dorks using POVray, my heart swells with pity ... I can do in ten minutes what used to take hours of blood, sweat and tweaking.
It takes some brains to make 3D graphics, so don't get too discouraged. Once you get past the learning curve, though, oh man ... it's a sweet, sweet little package for creating 3D graphics and even animations.

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Designed for those unfamiliar with 3D, Carrara 3D Basics™ is an all-in-one, affordable package to create professional-looking 3D illustrations and animations the easy way. Available for Macintosh and Windows, Carrara 3D Basics is fun and easy to learn and is packed with ready-to-use contents to jump-start the 3D beginner's creative process.Carrara 3D Basics is full of cool features that let you quickly and easily create awesome 3D illustration and animations. Don't miss the Carrara 3D Basics Product Tour to learn more about the amazing possibilities that this product has to offer you!IMPORTANT NOTE: VectorStyle does not run on Carrara Studio Basics.

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Apple iWork '08 Family Pack Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)For the price, this office suite is a good choice for any Mac user. The family pack - for households like ours, where we have three macs - this is an obvious choice.
I'll not review Keynote - I abhor presentations and just avoid them like the plague. Nothing against the powerpoint (or in this case, Keynote) jockey - I just am not one and don't care for it. No, not even to open a presentation. I just don't.
Pages has advanced a lot as a word processor, and it is the most intuitive page layout system I've ever seem. In minutes you learn how to use text boxes, move them around, and add graphics to produce documents that look amazing. Pages is a ton better than neooffice's (free software) word processor and it holds its own to MS Word (that costs much more and has the usability and performance of a hog swimming in molasses). Apple provides a ton of useful templates, but I wish there was a community effort to produce more (there are some third parties selling templates).
Numbers is an interesting thing. It changes the idea of a spreadsheet by making the sheets independent of the printed page. You can have many independent or related sheets in the same page and arrange that in the most amazing layouts. My only complaint is the keyboard support - If you are entering a formula you will be required to use the mouse. For anyone that has used a spreadsheet application it is just natural to press the = sign and start moving around with the arrows to select cells. That simple, mindless act, is prevented in Numbers by the choice of having a formula editor that floats over the sheets. I suppose that makes sense since you can have disconnected sheets and the keyboard would not help navigating them, but I would prefer to have some keyboard navigation (maybe in the sheet where I'm placing the formula) than none. I've put in a request for a software update, but I'm not holding my breath. The conversion from and to Excel formats seems to work just fine (saving excel files has a small issue that is solved by running a command in terminal). If you need (or want) spreadsheets that look beautiful, you can't beat Numbers. If you are just looking for a quick way to munch on tabular data and make some calculations, neooffice (free software) is a better choice. Heck, if your needs are simple even Google spreadsheet will do the job. Nobody needs excel, since even Neooffice (and Google, and everyone else) does a good job opening that format too.

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With iWork '08, you get three easy-to-use applications in one package. Pages offers powerful word processing and page layout with 140 Apple-designed templates--and all the writing and graphics tools you need to create beautiful documents. Keynote lets you effortlessly create stunning presentations, complete with Apple-designed themes, cinema-quality animations, and voiceover narration. The innovative new Numbers makes it easier than ever to create compelling spreadsheets for everything from family budgets and event planning to invoices and complex financial reports. And all three applications give you import and export compatibility with Microsoft Office. So whatever you need to communicate, do it beautifully with iWork �08. Family Pack Software License Agreement allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on up to a maximum of five (5) Apple-labeled computers at a time as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that same household. A "household" is a person or persons sharing the same housing unit such as a home, apartment, mobile home or condominium. This license does not extend to students who reside at a separate on-campus location or to business or commercial users.

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Final Cut Express 4 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Final Cut Express is a very powerful video editing package. If you are thinking about making the step up from iMovie (as I did), you need to understand that the level of sophistication and power in this package is exponentially greater than that of iMovie. If your video editng experience is limited to iMovie, don't expect to be able to install FCE and be off and running in an hour or two. You'll need to plan on investing some real time to learn the program.
This is in no way a criticism of FCE - it is as advertised, a "light" version of Final Cut Pro, which is used by professionals everywhere. I just want your expectations to be set properly. You'll need to invest in a third-party manual, as only soft copies of documentation are included, and they are for reference only, not for training. Just be CERTAIN that the manual you get is for the FCE 4 - there aren't many available as of this writing.
FCE is a very expansive and powerful program; just don't expect the type of plug-n-play results you got from iMovie. You'll need to spend time to understand the numerous differences in how iMovie and FCE operate.

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Discover powerful video editing for DV, HDV, and AVCHD*. Final Cut Express 4 delivers a single, open format Timeline where you can edit all three, mixing formats and frame rates using the same pro-level editing tools available in Final Cut Pro. Import video projects directly from iMovie ¿08. Take advantage of LiveType to create dynamic, animated titles. Built-in audio controls let you mix up to 99 audio tracks¿even add a narrative voiceover. Perfect your movie with professional transitions and effects, including optional third-party FxPlug plug-ins. *AVCHD video requires a Mac with an Intel processor.

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Final Cut Studio Upgrade Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had been using Final Cut Express and decided that I would try Final Cut Studio (I had a much older version of Final Cut Pro that I was unable to use on my new iMac). This suite contains tremendous tools for video editing. You are basically getting 5 advanced editing software programs in one. The transition from Final Cut Express to Final Cut Pro 7 is very smooth. It is the same interface with expanded capabilities. I am really looking forward to learning more about Motion 4 and DVD Studio Pro 4, both of which are included in this software. I would also recommend getting the Apple Pro Training Series in order to really take advantage of all of the tools in this suite.Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 7

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Edit, animate, mix, grade, and deliver on a Mac with Final Cut Studio. It includes more than 100 powerful new features. Use new versions of the ProRes codec to edit at high quality with reduced file sizes in a wide variety of workflows. Work with clients or colleagues in real time from anywhere in the world using iChat Theater. Add dramatic 3D graphics, repair common audio problems, and automate delivery in just a few clicks. The leading post-production suite now includes significant upgrades to Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Soundtrack Pro and updated versions of Color and Compressor. It also includes DVD Studio Pro, the industry standard for DVD authoring.

Upgrade Version
Upgrade from previous versions of Final Cut Studio.

The leading post-production suite is even better. The new Final Cut Studio.

Top Features
Expanded ProRes family.
Edit even faster at higher quality across workflows ranging from offline editing to broadcast events to high-fidelity compositing.

Easy export.
Use the new Share window in Final Cut Pro 7 or Motion 4 for single-click delivery to your Apple devices, the web, a Blu-ray disc, or a DVD.

iChat Theater support.
Work with clients or colleagues in real time from anywhere in the world. Just send your Final Cut Pro video to iChat Theater.
Soundtrack Pro makes it easy to edit and mix sound for picture, with point-and-click tools and seamless round-tripping with Final Cut Pro.

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Final Cut Studio Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Complete video editing suite. Editing, Motion Graphics, Color Correction, Compression, Sound Recording and editing DVD authoring.
Some of these are simple to learn. I found Final Cut editing to be easy to use. Most of this is difficult to learn, but powerful to implement. Buy the PeachTree Apple Certification books.
I am not an expert at this. Here is what I found.
The Color suite is more Unix based and does not use the Apple file system, so if you have multiple hard drives and don't know UNIX well, you might have a hard time finding your files. I have 18 drives hooked up to my machine. I gave up and tabled further study until later. Next time I'll move the files over to my scratch disk with Finder and work on project entirely there. I was disappointed the new version did not fix this. It looks like a Unix program, not a clean looking Apple interface. Truthfully, I did not put much time into Color. I've seen professional demonstrations, and wish I recorded them. Those guys make it look so easy.
I found the sound editing package worked well, shifting between time and frequency domains made it easy to edit out pops of sound, mic thuds, etc. However, I could not re-import into Final Cut. More study needed.
The shear number of video formats will melt your brain. I might have to take a course on that. I wish it was more simple. Frankly I don't understand much of that. Pro Res 422 is a common format, but there are also iPod formats, SD formats, ok the number of formats is around 30 or so. That is a lot of different formats. Someone explain what they all are used for, and give me a way to blank out the non-US formats.
Motion graphics seemed somewhat easy to use, with a book for a study guide. I produced some cool special effects for titles in a short period of time. I could really get into that. Some people do this for a living. Very impressive.
DVD authoring was a snap. I found that marking chapters needed to be done in advance in Final Cut. Aside from that one issue, it was easy to produce a DVD that would play with chapter heading, slide shows, or anything else you might like. What a great way to back up still picture archives?
Some people like Avid. I can't comment on that. I think FCP is a great program, despite it's flaws. It is worth learning and mastering. Do not expect to master each book or application individually. Try instead to produce a small video using all of these elements and then build on your expertise in the individual elements once you understand the basics of each application.
Also, be advised if you are serious about learning this application, you want the most powerful Mac you can afford. The rendering times for Final Cut can take a while. Faster CPU's mean less of your time is spent waiting for such actions to complete. If you can afford a new MAC PRO you are on the right track, although newer MacBook Pro or iMac will do the job, albeit, it will take longer.
RAID is your friend so a Mac Pro is really the way to go. I'd put a SSD drive in the second optical bay and four RAID 0, 2 TB drives in the four drive bays. This would be a good minimal configuration.

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Edit, animate, mix, grade, and deliver on a Mac with Final Cut Studio. It includes more than 100 powerful new features. Use new versions of the ProRes codec to edit at high quality with reduced file sizes in a wide variety of workflows. Work with clients or colleagues in real time from anywhere in the world using iChat Theater. Add dramatic 3D graphics, repair common audio problems, and automate delivery in just a few clicks. The leading post-production suite now includes significant upgrades to Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Soundtrack Pro and updated versions of Color and Compressor. It also includes DVD Studio Pro, the industry standard for DVD authoring.

The leading post-production suite is even better. The new Final Cut Studio.

Top Features
Expanded ProRes family.
Edit even faster at higher quality across workflows ranging from offline editing to broadcast events to high-fidelity compositing.

Easy export.
Use the new Share window in Final Cut Pro 7 or Motion 4 for single-click delivery to your Apple devices, the web, a Blu-ray disc, or a DVD.

iChat Theater support.
Work with clients or colleagues in real time from anywhere in the world. Just send your Final Cut Pro video to iChat Theater.
Soundtrack Pro makes it easy to edit and mix sound for picture, with point-and-click tools and seamless round-tripping with Final Cut Pro.

Get 20% OFF

Click here for more information about Final Cut Studio

Apple iWork '08 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Earlier this year I bought my first Mac. I was using Office 2004 with it and eagerly awaited it's predecessor, only to discover the release date had been pushed back. I'm not a rigid office suite user, just a casual one but I do work with word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations and wanted something that will also allow me to get creative. I got my hands on a copy of iWork 05 which only had Pages and Keynote 2. I played around with it but I felt it wasn't up to speed with Office. Then I got the trial version of iWork 06 and felt it was somewhat of an improvement but still too basic. I decided to take a chance with iWork 08 and I'm so glad I did. Pages now has a word processor mode similar to Word but more simple. Something it should have had from the beginning. Keynote, now in its 4th incarnation has some awesome new animation and graphic tools that blow Powerpoint right out of the water. And I can now make spreadsheets...with graphics! For email, I just use the Mail client that comes with Tiger and voila! An entire office suite at about $200 less than the standard version of Office. So for the casual desktop publisher, or publisher on the go, this is the best deal. The price is right, and it won't eat up all your system resources.

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With iWork '08, you get three easy-to-use applications in one package. Pages offers powerful word processing and page layout with 140 Apple-designed templates--and all the writing and graphics tools you need to create beautiful documents. Keynote lets you effortlessly create stunning presentations, complete with Apple-designed themes, cinema-quality animations, and voiceover narration. The innovative new Numbers makes it easier than ever to create compelling spreadsheets for everything from family budgets and event planning to invoices and complex financial reports. And all three applications give you import and export compatibility with Microsoft Office. So whatever you need to communicate, do it beautifully with iWork �08.

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Comic Life Deluxe: Comic Strip, Comic Book Creator (Mac) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Comic Life Deluxe is an ingenious piece of software that is designed to help you layout and create comic strips using your existing iPhoto library, or by capturing images with an attached iSight camera. You can use it for a variety of other tasks if you choose, but it is primarily built for fun in creating comic strips.
It has the same look and feel of the interface used in most native Mac applications that use an integrated system allowing you to work with your iPhoto albums. You just drag and drop your photos onto your page where you can instantly "comicify" or digitally alter your photos to look like comic drawings. There are many different filters and effects included. The built in fonts, templates, word/thought balloons, and page layouts provide a wide array of choices and options and everything works on a simple drag and drop method.
When you are finished you can print, export to HTML, save as PDF or publish directly to your .Mac account and share your comics with the entire world. From what I can tell, this product appears to be rock solid and very intuitive. If you are familiar with iPhoto, iMovie or iDVD, then you should have no problem finding your way around in this program. It provides all of the basic tools you need to allow your imagination explore the depths of your creativity. I love it. One of the best apps I've ever purchased for a mere $30.

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Freeverse Software, in association with plasq.com, are thrilled to introduce Comic Life! Zoom! Pow! Now you can bring your digital photos to life, create astounding comics and much more.Super-Fast! Super-Easy!Comic Life includes professional and fun templates, ready to drag and drop onto your page for instant attractive photo layouts. Or if you like to be in control, position your photos and panels exactly; with support for saveable styles and templates. Photo filtering requires Mac OS 10.4.

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