Top Of The Graphics Tree

Pros: Has ALL the features that you would ever need from Photoshop CS3 at a fraction of the price. Has easy fixes for parallax errors, allows total control over sharpness, contrast, saturation, backlighting etc, and features one click fixes for those not wanting to be bogged down with technicalities. Outwith photo management it is a top rate tool for creating extremely high quality artistic images. Needs about 1 Gig memory for any sort of serious work at acceptable speed despite what it says on the box. With a bit of effort (and there's no end of online sources of how to learn all PSP's features) you can rescue most pics and turn them into professional quality. It's an unfortunate truth that people still seem to believe that if a product is cheap it can't compete with those costing several hundreds of pounds. Six years ago I set a Photoshop user the challenge of doing anything on his chosen product over PSP and I've still not been beaten. Every single tutorial you see in digital photography mag that tells you how to do things in Photoshop can be done in PSP.

Cons: For new users to PSP there's no potential cons, but if anyone, like me, has used used it through it's various versions they may find that with little exception there is vitually nothing you can do with XI over PSP 7 - the best version that never seems to have been beaten yet. The main difference is that 7 took more steps to do what version XI does and XI can handle RAW format. Perhaps because it is a LOT easier to use than PSP 7 it is worth it for that reason, and the perspective correction, backlighting, fillflash features as well as the novel Time Machine feature makes PSP XI well worth buying, even if you have an earlier version. So no real cons as such.

Posted: 03-Jun-2007 07:58:05 AM

Good IF you need it

Pros: This offers good encryption which means you know you are safe from password crackers. You can put your zipped files on open share knowing only those you want to can open them. Bear in mind that this is the selling point of WinZip 10. If you want one program that can open ANY compressed file prepare for the fact one does not exist. Numerous people have said WinZip does NOT open WinRAR files. At what point will someone notice WinRAR does NOT open WinZip files! If you want to be able to open ANY compressed file you need both WinZip AND WinRAR-one isn't better than the other. They are different products. Neither are free because someone has to develop and market the software. The chances are you don't work for free so why expect people in the technology field to. WinZip is for Win Zipped files and WinRAR is for WinRAR'd files-FACT! I wish reviewers would be a bit more reasonable. They tend to speak about WinRAR as though it is free. Is it hell!!! Not that I am saying anything against it.

Try to read the blurb on the WinZip site. See what it's selling points are. If encryption isn't life and death, and you don't need to be able to open every zipped file in the world then the zip package that comes with Windows is probably enough for you.

Cons: WinRAR does compress into smaller files if truth be told. But cracking passwords is less likely with WinZip. So work out which is more important to you if you only want one of WinRAR or WinZip.

Posted: 30-Jun-2006 01:20:29 PM

Childish

This appears to have been made about 6 years ago, and simply given the name "2004" to make it seem current. Graphics average, challenges boring-free is all it will ever be worth. Perhaps aiming this at pre 5 year olds should occur to the marketing team.

Posted: 21-Jul-2004 08:00:47 AM