A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2004 GRRRRRR.... Stupid Microsoft!

So I took the baby to Babies R Us and got some really cute Christmas pictures to make into cards. (The photo session was an ORDEAL. For some reason, he just wouldn't smile. It took close to an HOUR, and the poor girl taking the pix was about to pull her hair out.)

So I had this publishing software that I bought about 2 years ago and had never used, Microsoft PictureIt Publishing. I got it all downloaded on my puter, which took another hour and a half, cause there are SEVEN DISCS, sat down last night to make the cards, and I get nothing but tons of little error boxes that almost freeze up my computer. You have to clear all the little error boxes, and they're like pop-up ads, they just keep coming and coming so you can't even shut the darn program down. So I looked that software up on Google, and there are about a million bad reviews, including some from other people who said it would't even run on their computer either. And apparently, if you call Microsoft, it directs you to a help-line that charges a FEE!
WHAT? (So hey, that was money well-spent.)

Does anyone here use any photo-editing or desktop publishing software that you really LOVE and would recommend, since it looks like I'm gonna need to get something else? I also have ArcSoft Photo Impression and Photo Montage, and hate them. I used to have a great photo editing program, but it got lost somehow when hubby was defragging or something, and I can't remember what it was.

My favorite photo editing software is Ulead Photo Impact 10. It is more reasonably priced than other programs of its type and is very user friendly. They also have a free 30 day trial of the full program that you can download from their website.

Photo Impact 10

GG. Why don't you take the photos from your normal everyday camera, that way you can take some real cute ones. Then just get them developed.
No stress

I have a ton of photo programs. Some are easy to use, and some look like you have to have a degree in computer science to use them.

Cricket is right about Photo Impact. It IS user friendly. The one I use most is PhotoStudio. It's TOO easy!

But, for actually printing out my projects, I use Printmaster Express. I love it.

Cindy

I have Adobe Photoshop 7.0, and Macromedia Fireworks My college distributes copies of it to art students, sooooooooo i pretended i was an art student *I.E. I dressed up in overalls, and a white t-shirt with paint smeared all over me and my hair tied back* and they gave me a copie of each ^.^

~Phoebe

You just described ME!

geegeeburr------->

GG,
We use IrfanView
Works great for us and it's FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

We can print pictures with it, and it can be used as a phone album and you can re~size them GREAT with it, like when you're sending them thru the internet and your picture sizes have to be smaller to be mailed to people that have less faster computers than we do...

Weezie

We also use American Greeting Cards #7 I think is the number, but I loved #3 better.
Also like the Hallmark Greeting card marker too!

I use Photoshop CS (AKA #8). I love this version. It's the best one yet. Very easy to load, only one cd! LOL! It's not a cheap program, but it is the "Standard" . You can get it a bit cheaper on student software sites.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I'm going to check into all of them, especially the ones that are FREE!
I got the free 30 day trial from Ulead- Photo Impression, and so far, it appears to be MUUUUUUUCH smarter than I am. (I think I forgot to mention, I'm something of a techno-idiot.) But I have a strong feeling that an earlier version of Photo Impression is my lost, loved, and much lamented program that I used to have, so I'm not giving up on it!

Also, I found a free card-making website, mycardmaker.com, which is pretty basic, but will do just fine for making a simple Christmas card.

.....Still mad at Microsoft, though.....

Oh, and Phoebe? The "art-student disguise"? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

And Cindy, thanks for the graphic- That captures it pretty well!