Software

• Guitar Pro 6 is the standard in guitar tablature editing, now with 40 new features, a new interface and mixing table, and more improvements
• Quickly and easily capture the notes with the keyboard, mouse, or a MIDI instrument, then play back to facilitate composing or learning
• All tools work with fretted instruments from 4 to 8 strings

The interface, which will feel immediately comfortable to Mac users, is full of hints and helpers. By default, the workspace contains a dynamic hints window that displays nuggets of data and links to more detailed help for each tool your mouse cursor passes over. Tabs displayed above the workspace function similarly to pull-down menus: clicking on one opens a window which covers functions such as file browsing, displaying image revision history, applying effects and filters, and so on. Some even act like Windows-style wizard tutorials.

The most wizard-like among these is the Recipes window, which walks users through the software's hundred or so image editing options with step-by-step instructions. Recipes included with the program deal with the most pedestrian of tasks like color correction and image rotating, all the way up to daring endeavors like colorizing black-and-white photos and creating animated GIF files. More recipes are available via download.

Behind all of these simplicity-centric goodies is a powerful and feature-rich image editing program, and it's crammed with every bit of functionality we've come to expect from Adobe. Ready to deal with every image file format one would likely encounter, its layer management is topnotch (even compared to Paint Shop Pro 7). Photoshop Elements is also able to pare image file sizes down and prep them for immediate Web posting, and its real-time, text-on-image editing is second to none.

Granted, the application lacks some of Photoshop's functionality, such as the ability to output files in CMYK format, although it is able to read CMYK files. Alternately, some of its unique features will make Photoshop owners jealous--like the incredibly smooth Photomerge, which creates a single panorama out of a series of overlapping photos.

If you're looking for a comprehensive, intuitive, and affordable photo editor, Elements proves it can play with the best of them. --Joel Durham, Jr.

Amazon.com Product Description:
Adobe Photoshop Elements offers unique features designed specifically for amateur photographers, hobbyists, and business users who want an easy-to-use, yet powerful digital imaging solution. State-of-the-art image editing tools free you to explore your creativity while mastering the elements of digital imaging. Flexible image capture options let you work with photos taken with digital or traditional cameras. Versatile delivery features enable you to prepare images for print, e-mail, or posting on the Web.

Capture photos from digital or traditional cameras and start working with your images immediately. Quickly straighten and crop your scanned photos, remove red eye, and fix overexposed areas with a few clicks of the mouse. Adjust the tone of a specific area of your photo using the dodge, burn, and sponge tools. Eliminate the guesswork from color correction.

Adobe Photoshop Elements can automatically create several color-adjusted versions of your image for you to choose from. Merge and blend multiple images into a seamless panorama. Combine multiple images, text, and graphics on layers. Easily move or modify the layers at any time. Twist and pull your images for surreal effects or subtle enhancements. Magically erase the background in your photo to help you create realistic compositions. Create Adobe PDF files that you can easily share with colleagues. Upload your photos to shutterfly.com to share photos, make personalized cards, or print 35mm-quality photos that are then mailed directly to family and friends.

Adobe Premiere 6.0
A powerful and surprisingly easy-to-use professional video-editing tool, Adobe Premiere 6.0 comfortably closes the gap between digital video (DV) and the Web. It features new support for DV on the Macintosh platform and cross-platform support for all of the leading Web video formats. Premiere 6.0 provides direct support for IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.Link) on both Windows and Mac OS. By using only the DV port on your hard drive, an IEEE 1394 connection, and your DV camcorder, you get perfect digital video with Premiere 6.0 every time.

Adobe After Effects 5.5
With its core compositing, animation, and effects tools, Adobe After Effects 5.5 delivers a comprehensive set of tools to efficiently produce motion graphics and visual effects for film, video, multimedia, and the Web. After Effects offers a high level of integration with Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator to produce professional results. New features include controls to manipulate lighting in 3-D compositions, easier application of effects, and versatile import and output options. And with After Effects 5.5 you can receive support for Microsoft Windows XP.

Adobe Photoshop 7.0
Boasting an extensive set of features, Photoshop 7.0 enables photographers and Web and graphic designers to work more efficiently, explore creative options, and produce high-quality images for print, Web, and other media. Create imagery with easier access to file data; streamlined Web design; faster, professional-quality photo retouching; and more. Support for WBMP format enables optimization for display on PDAs and other wireless devices. Plus, Web designers can apply extra compression to images and exercise greater control over how transparency is maintained online with Photoshop 7.0's added output enhancements.

Adobe Illustrator 10.0
Building on tools introduced in Illustrator 9.0, Adobe Illustrator 10.0 delivers integrated tools for laying out Web pages and creating superior vector- or raster-based Web graphics. Exercise your creative freedom with new live distortion options that let you bend, twist, warp, and otherwise distort design elements while retaining their editability. Add realistic-looking lens flares to your artwork that are fully editable with the new flare tool. Adobe Illustrator 10.0 also adds numerous new features that help you produce quality artwork in record time.

• The #1 CD Burning Software for MacIntosh
• Burn CD's in Background while you work

• Over 300 digitally created picture frames in various design, in the most popular proportions
• JPG file format, 3 CDs, RGB color for PC, Mac, Unix or Linux
• Frame digitally taken or computer created pictures in your preferred photo editing software

The value of Streamline becomes apparent after the first conversion--it quickens the heart to see a hand-drawn, bitmapped image imported into a program like Adobe Illustrator, where one can tweak the curve and width of any line, and scale it up until it fills a billboard.

The process starts with a drawing or image being scanned in or photographed with a digital camera and saved out from a program like Adobe Photoshop. It is then opened in Streamline (it works with many file types, including native Photoshop), where the image is converted to vector lines.

The options for conversion are numerous: control point density, smoothness, line width, stroke or fill, curve smoothing. Additionally, areas of the original image can be selectively converted, with each area using different conversion settings--some for smoother, thicker lines, some for rougher, more edgy lines, and variations thereof. Also, Streamline 4.0 now features a "convert to" command, for converting a roughly drawn shape into a standard shape; for example, a crude egg shape on a cocktail napkin could be converted to a perfect circle, or four rough strokes into a smooth, even rectangle. Streamline 4.0 also supports converting colors to vector-based areas of color. One can specify the number of colors to use and which color palette would best match.

Adobe-standard keyboard shortcuts improve one's efficiency with the application, and being able to drag and drop across applications is a handy feature that anyone can grow to love.

Freehand drawing on a computer is not as easy or straightforward as taking pencil to paper--a natural quality is lacking, a texture more felt than seen. But graphics software offers features not found in "real-life" art, like the ability to scale an image up and down without losing the sharpness of a line. For any serious digital artist, Streamline is a must-have. It is one of those tools that is used the least, but appreciated the most. --Mike Caputo--This text refers to the Mac version of this software.

• Draft, plan, layout, or design any project with engineered precision
• Built-in tools for quick accurate drawings; 3,500+ pre-drawn symbols
• Supports metric and imperial measurements