Graphics:

Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0

Adobe Photoshop Album software has everything you need to find, fix, share, and preserve your memories. Instead of searching through endless folders, you can use a convenient calendar to find photos by date, or revolutionary keyword tags to pinpoint the exact group of photos you want. Quickly fix red eye, lighting, and other basic flaws.

Have fun creating custom slide shows, cards, hard-bound photo books, and more. Then share your creations with anyone, anywhere--even on mobile phones and handhelds--in just a few clicks.

Features:

• See your whole collection of photos: view all of your photos, videos, and audio clips in one place, no matter how many you have or whether they're stored on your computer or on CDs.
• Automatically organize by date: Work in the Calendar View to instantly see photos by day, week, month, or year. Add daily notes and captions and highlight special days.
• Find photos by subject: create an unlimited number of visual keyword tags to organize and search your collection based on the people, places, and events in your photos.
• Share with family and friends: Send optimized photos via e-mail and mobile phones, or upload them to a Palm OS handheld. With Photoshop Album, your photos go anywhere in just a few clicks!
• Quickly make corrections: instantly improve your photos with easy-to-use tools for removing red eye, rotating, cropping, and more.
• Easily create slide shows: quickly create slide shows with captions, video clips, and background music that can be viewed on a computer or TV.
• Keep your memories safe: easily secure all of your photos, keyword tags, and creations by backing up everything onto CD with a few simple clicks.
• Design personalized keepsakes: follow a few easy steps to make fully customized photo albums, cards, calendars, and much more.
• Hang photos in a virtual gallery: Show off your favorite photos in your own online 3D gallery. Easy-to-use templates will have your pictures ready for viewing in minutes.
• Make your own prints: print individual photos, contact sheets, or picture packages of the photos you want at the sizes you need.

Price: CDN$ 64.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours.
Shipping: Above price is for item shipped only within Canada.
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Platform: Windows
Media: CD-ROM
Language: English
ASIN: B0000DBNT3

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0

For intermediate digital image enthusiasts who don't need Adobe Photoshop, Adobe's barer-bones Photoshop Elements 2.0 works atop the same engine and provides many of the same tools for a fraction of the price.

Elements' interface is less complex then Photoshop, packaging oft-used quick correction tools in easy-to-access locations. The program gears itself toward the novice user looking to learn more about digital image modification and enhancement. You can also enter keywords into a search field and Elements will offer up related walkthroughs and instructions.

Elements can input images from a variety of sources, including scanners and digital cameras. It's more powerful than the average program bundled with any of these devices, so you can make it your default image editor for either or both. Stills can also be snagged from a variety of video formats, including QuickTime, MPEG, AVI, and Windows Media. Before opening images, you can browse through their thumbnails, which include a preview of the image as well as its size and type.

Inputted images can be enhanced, distorted, corrected, or combined into panoramas through the PhotoMerge stitching tool. The new Selection Brush lets users simply paint over an item they would like to cut or copy. While it still takes a steady hand to select non-straight edges, it's easier than using the standard selection tools such as the rectangular marquee or the lasso. Elements works well as a file manager as well, its new batch processing feature allowing users to make changes to several images at once.

Output options are also expansive, including attaching photos to e-mail messages, printing images, or saving them in a smaller Web format and then uploading them to the Internet. Beyond these typical tools, Elements users can create image slideshows in PDF format that can be viewed on PDAs as well as other PCs.

While there are other image editing programs that sell for the same price, Photoshop Elements brings to the table much of the power of its bigger sibling while making it accessible for the average user. --J. Curtis (Amazon.com)

Price: CDN$ 139.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours.
Shipping: Above price is for item shipped only within Canada.
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Platform: Windows
Media: CD-ROM
Language: English
ASIN: B00006ANW9

Adobe Photoshop 7.0

Mixed-media professionals such as photographers, Web designers, and graphic designers will not be disappointed in Adobe's latest incarnation of Photoshop. In this release, Adobe aims hard at addressing the issues of file management, easy photo retouching, and smarter output for the Web. While Adobe manages to successfully address these issues, it also remains true to its photo editing roots. New and improved features and tools such as a painting option and an enhanced brush palette allow Photoshop to build on its reputation as the leading tool for image manipulators. New-school designers of wireless applications will smile when they discover that Photoshop 7.0 offers support for WBMP-formatted graphics.

Photoshop 7.0's new file management system comes in the form of a Windows Explorer-like file browser that allows users to easily sort and locate their images within various projects. Users can now organize projects by name, date, resolution, and a number of additional parameters.

The enhanced brush palette allows users to create custom brushes and save them as presets that can be accessed from the Tools options bar. Users can easily vary different aspects of the brush by changing the hue, opacity, or flow of the brushes for pastels, oils, and charcoal. Photoshop 7.0 also introduces a new Healing Brush and Patch Tool. With these tools, users can easily "heal" their images by removing scratches, blemishes, and other imperfections while preserving shading, lighting, and texture attributes.

Adobe has taken great strides in revamping Photoshop 7.0 to be more Web-ready than ever before. With the help of its companion software Image Ready, users can now easily create rollovers and complex navigation bars by using the new Rollovers palette. Additional Web-ready features include enhanced Web export functions that allow designers to preview images designed for PDAs and mobile phones in the WBMP format. Users can easily create a slide show of their images and post online using the new Web Gallery. People concerned about posting their images online can secure their images with the new password protection feature before sharing them.

Adobe has finally introduced a long overdue spell checker with wicked multilingual spell-checking capabilities. A new search and replace feature allows users to search and replace across different layers in the same document.

While Photoshop 7.0 introduces an impressive array of features that allow photographers, Web designers, and graphic designers to work more effectively with Web and wireless devices, it also remains the leading tool for anyone serious about digital imaging. No other software package provides users with the ability to create such high-quality images. --Rich Ting (Amazon.com)

Price: CDN$ 949.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours.
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Platform: Windows / 95 / 98 / NT / 2000 / Me
Media: CD-ROM
Language: English
ASIN: B000063EMG

Adobe Illustrator 10.0 Upgrade From 7.0 Or Higher

While Adobe Illustrator has traditionally been reserved for the print and prepress marketplace, recent versions have targeted a broader audience, including a growing contingent of new-school Web designers. With the latest incarnation of Illustrator, Adobe aims to please both print and prepress designers, as well as cutting-edge Web designer communities. If you're looking for a greater Web focus from your vector graphics program, look no further than Illustrator 10.

For those concerned about Illustrator becoming too Web focused, don't fret. All of Illustrator's previously existing drawing and text tools remain intact. Version 10 also introduces improved tools for drawing lines, arcs, and grids. These new drawing tools will maximize your productivity and provide an easy way to create the shapes you want.

In addition to the new drawing tools, Adobe has jumped on the graphics symbol bandwagon by allowing users to save any text object or graphic object as a symbol. Once objects are saved in the Symbol palette, they can be reused infinitely, thus providing easier management of files and decreased file size. Users will fall in love with the simple drag-and-drop usability of the symbols, while the newly added Symbol Sprayer lets you easily add multiple instances of a symbol directly into the document.

Adobe has also undertaken the task of minimizing the monotony of tedious and repetitive design tasks. By taking advantage of Illustrator-supported scripting languages, users can easily automate repetitive tasks by writing scripts directly in Illustrator. Any of the three popular scripting languages--Visual Basic Script, JavaScript, or AppleScript--can be used. When creating a design, users can assign a text object or graphic object to a variable. These variables can then pull information from any ODBC-compliant database. With this type of power, users can easily create templates for documents such as Web pages or product catalogs.

In this latest version of Illustrator 10, Adobe has managed to enhance its existing drawing tools with powerful productivity aids. By focusing on important workflow, productivity, and database-connectivity features, Adobe has given the user more time to explore new creative possibilities. --Rich Ting (Amazon.com)

Price: CDN$ 219.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks.
Shipping: Above price is for item shipped only within Canada.
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Platform: Macintosh
Media: CD-ROM
Language: English
ASIN: B00005QVPX

Adobe Pagemaker 7.0

Adobe may have the lock on professional graphics production with Photoshop, but it has long been engaged in a drawn-out battle with Quark for the hearts and wallets of the desktop publishing crowd. PageMaker 7.0, Adobe's latest effort in the desktop publishing arena, won't set it ahead of QuarkXPress 4.1, but it does have plenty of appeal for small businesses and other audiences that have minor publishing needs.

PageMaker 7.0's user guide measures in at more than 400 pages, and it thoughtfully explains every aspect of the vast and complex program. A wide range of impressive-looking templates, which cover just about every type of document imaginable (including business cards, labels, newsletters, ads, posters, and more), makes PageMaker a little more accessible to users unfamiliar with its functionality. The templates are divided into various levels of complexity, with the lowest level containing helpful annotations for novice users.

While its improvements over version 6.5 are minimal, PageMaker 7.0 makes a few worthy strides to justify its sparkly new version number. Among the most welcome is a surprisingly intuitive data merge feature, which allows users to configure target areas in their publications and import respective fields from a spreadsheet or database. Unfortunately, it only recognizes comma-delineated CSV or TXT files; it doesn't import data directly from common file formats created by Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3.

Ironically, another area of improvement in PageMaker 7.0 is compatibility with other programs. It easily imports and handles layered image files from Illustrator and Photoshop 5.0 and 6.0, and features input converters for files created in QuarkXPress and Microsoft Publisher. PageMaker's PDF export capabilities have been enhanced both in the main program and with the included Acrobat Distiller applet, allowing users to configure security and embedded tag options.

Even with its plethora of templates, PageMaker 7.0 isn't by any means an entry-level application. Nonprofessional users who have never used a high-caliber desktop publishing program should probably consider a simpler package such as Microsoft Publisher. While hardened, professional magazine designers tend to prefer QuarkXPress, Adobe PageMaker 7.0 is nonetheless a complex and powerful tool that packs a serious learning curve.

PageMaker 7.0 is perfect for small businesses that can't afford to hire out designers for promotional materials, or for companies that have the need to create professional-looking PDF files. Owners of PageMaker 6.5 might not feel compelled to upgrade, but companies and creative folks newly in the market for a muscular desktop publishing tool will be well served by PageMaker 7.0. --Joel Durham Jr. (Amazon.com)

Price: CDN$ 759.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks.
Shipping: Above price is for item shipped only within Canada.
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Platform: Macintosh
Media: CD-ROM
Language: English
ASIN: B00005M63K

Autocad Lt 2004 Upgrade

AutoCAD LT 2004 software streamlines the 2-D design process with drafting and collaboration tools for efficient data creation and secure data sharing. A streamlined interface and new productivity tools support an efficient, visual work style. The new optimized AutoCAD LT 2004 DWG file format cuts file sizes in half compared to AutoCAD LT 2002, reducing the amount of required disk space on hard drives and servers.

Save time locating predrawn content by storing frequently used design content on tool palettes. The Multiline Text Editor dialogue box has been replaced by a new, frameless editor, which lets you easily view, size, position, and edit text relative to nearby geometry. Use the new DWF (Design Web Format) file format to safely exchange drawings over the Internet with team members who need to view and plot, but not edit, your AutoCAD LT drawings.

Digital signatures ensure the security of your digital design data. Digitally-signed drawings can be verified for origin, state, and nonrepudiation. The Communication Center provides access to current product-related information within the AutoCAD LT 2004 software user interface. Live Updates instantly notify you when an update or maintenance release is available for AutoCAD LT software. You can configure the Communication Center by specifying geographic locations, frequency of updates, and specific information to be displayed.

Note: This is an upgrade version.

Price: CDN$ 394.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks.
Shipping: Above price is for item shipped only within Canada.
Canadian Customers: Buy from Amazon.ca
U.S. Customers:

Platform: Windows
Media: CD-ROM
Language: English
ASIN: B00008W9LE

• General
• 3-D
• Animation
• CAD
• Clip Art
• Home Publishing
• Illustration
• Image Capture
• Photo Editing
• Professional Design