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Adobe Photoshop Elements 7

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Adobe

October 13, 2008
I ordered this product as an upgrade for my Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 program. This is an improvement over the older program and one I would recommend to anyone who is starting out with digital photography.

I like the more eye-friendly editing page. Icons are easier to read. More room is used for the actual work space for editing.

There are some pitfalls, if they can be seen as pitfalls.

Elements 7 requires more memory. Elements 7 takes up 383MB whereas my Elements 2 takes up only 88MB. People with older computers should take this into consideration; for owners of newer systems this should not be a problem. (Microsoft Vista, for instance, takes over 4000MB).

I enjoy the added features ... Read More:

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QuickBooks Pro 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Intuit

October 06, 2008
This Seller/Merchant was a new launch, set up to TAKE YOUR MONEY AND RUN. BEWARE of this Seller/Merchant and other NEW LAUNCHES, on this and other AUCTION SITES. Because Amazon.com gives the Seller/Merchant more than 3 weeks to respond to a sale, instead of scaling that down to 3 days like other sites command, this gives the Seller/Merchant ample time to collect the funds, access your account, take possession of your money, then close all accounts (transfering the funds to another Account/Bank) making collection efforts virtually impossible. In the end, Amazon.com has to refund the moneys, driving all transaction cost up for both Seller and Buyer. Meantime your money is tied up for more than 5 weeks. This practice is especially prevailant during the Holidays. ... Read More:

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Call of Duty: World at War

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Activision

November 11, 2008
HUH. It's really too bad that Treyarch didn't knock us off our feet with this one, because even with the same engine as COD4, they just can't top Infinity Ward... and yes, I'm probably going to compare this game to it's predecessor a lot. That's because everyone under the age of 35 either owns or has played COD Modern Warfare. However, I do thoroughly like the game, despite all its technical flaws. And believe me, there are plenty of flaws that NEED to be fixed, most that should have been ironed out before the game was even released.

First off, I would like to take a moment to explain the infamous "Black Screen of Death" (BSOD) that many have come across in the PC version of the game. From what I have read, there are a few different variations of the BSOD. ... Read More:

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Adobe

August 15, 2008
I tried the previous version of Lightroom, but couldn't see much of an advantage over the free cataloging program that came with my Nikon cameras, so I uninstalled it.

This version is a different animal. I don't know whether to call it an image cataloging program with powerful image editor or an amazing image processing program with an intuitive cataloging feature.

Its library catalogs images across multiple drives with an enchantingly user-friendly interface. The enchanced previews allow you to sort the sharp from the not-quite-so-sharp at a glance. Keywording for a shoot can be accomplished in minutes thanks to the spray formatting feature. Enter or choose a group of words once, then apply them to multiple shots.

The program recognizes ... Read More:

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Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Electronic Arts

September 16, 2008
Great, fun game. Especially for people new to MMORPG's. I'm relatively new to PC games and this is only the second one I've tried, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. The only other one I have to compare it to is Age of Conan.

The game is easy to play and you can get started rather quickly. I seemed to have also picked up the fighting much easier than in Conan. The game also runs better and I don't seem to have as many updates. The quests seem to go faster and it doesn't seem like I have to stay up as long as I did with Conan. Not that I'm not as addicted, but I'm able to find good places to stop.

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Norton Internet Security 2009 1User/3Pc

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Symantec

October 01, 2008
I had used Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security for many years (2003, 2004, 2005, etc.), but each new version seemed to get slower and slower. Finally I gave up and switched to ZoneLabs' ZoneAlarm security suite for a couple years. ZoneAlarm gave me much better performance for a couple versions, until lately -- when it began slowing down my system, hogging resources, and prompting me for things it shouldn't have been. So halfway through my current ZoneAlarm subscription, I decided I needed to dump it and get something else.

I checked out all sorts of reviews, read what Consumer Reports had to say, and did a demo of several products. I was VERY skeptical when I heard Norton Internet Security 2009 was supposed to be fast, lean, and easy to use -- because from my past ... Read More:

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Guild Wars: Eye Of The North - Expansion Pack

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: NCsoft

August 28, 2007
I have both the Prophesies and Nightfall campaigns and those are both great, especially Nightfall, but by the time you get about half way through the Eye of the North it gets extremely hard and the missions/quests are insanely long. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to get through a dungeon. If and when you get to the boss at the end, you have to use some special method of defeating them, which you can't figure out unless you get to this boss at least once and be sure to do research online to find out what others have tried. Therefore the first time, you can be sure to get killed without finishing the quest (if not several times). This is extremely frustrating after putting in several hours. I also think the scenery in the dungeons is mostly repetitive rock, lava, ruins, etc.

To me this ... Read More:

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Norton Antivirus 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Symantec

September 15, 2008
I abandoned Norton AV after several years of their bloated, slow products. I never thought I'd bother to try another version of their product since I'm very happy with Kaspersky (another 5 Star product IMO). But since Norton was on sale very cheap, their "Fast and Light" campaign had me intrigued, and independent tests gave it glowing reviews, I decided to give it a shot. I'll have to be honest. I am impressed. It was the easiest, quickest, install of an AV program I've ever used. It's light years faster than the last couple of previous versions, and a dramatic improvement. According to independent test results, the 2009 version is 85% faster in scanning a system than the 2008 version. It also uses about 75% less resources than the competition. I don't know why it took Symantec several years and many lost ... Read More:

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World of Warcraft 60 Day Pre-Paid Time Card

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Blizzard Entertainment

November 29, 2004
this is the top game in the mmorpg for computers and with linch kings release its gotten better one thing i noticed people have gotten even more addicted to it by leveling to 80 already so im thinking blizzard might want to get to work on more expansions great job blizzard keep up the great work

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Garmin Map Update of 2009 City Navigator North America NT

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Software
from: Garmin


If I pay for an annual update, I want it to be reasonably recent. There are completed road construction projects near my home and other places in in the Southeastern US that are not included in this update. For example, an interstate 40 bypass around Greensboro that was complete in February 2008 is not on the DVD. Also my computer has a hard time reading parts of the DVD - I am no tech expert, but I wonder if it should be a 2-disc set.