VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe

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The most helpful favorable review:

VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe So bought this item in a gold box deal and had not used it till couple of days ago when i had some off time so I decided to give it a try. 
First of all the kit comes with all cables that u need to connect, a small box called vidbox and instruction manual. You insert the CD into your laptop and off you go. 
You will of course need a separate VHS player to play your VHS tapes. 
Run the CD, register the product online which is easy and remember to re-start the computer, the software should prompt you to restart the computer once fully installed, once done the Cd installs the software and instruction manual onto your computer, click on the icon which guides you through the process. Now that I have used both easy menu and expert menu I can comment on both. 
One caveat is that the best quality is achieved only when you record upto 110 minutes in one sitting, you can still record for longer duration with slight compromise in the quality of the recording. SO MAKE SURE UR TAPES ARE NOT LONGER THAN 70 MINUTES DURATION BEFORE U START RECORDING, if they are longer than 70 minutes duration then you can adjust the recording time on the menu pretty easily to fix this issue. 
overall the converted video quality is decent, I personally use cocusoft products to reconvert dvd files to MP4 for palyback on quicktime. 
Of note though you will need a seperate 3.5 to 3.5 mm cable or 3.5 to rca audio cable to convert audio cassettes to mp3 or wma format, I ordered them from amazon and recieved them today. 
I am using 3.5mm to RCA cable via vidbox to convert my audio cassette files to WMA files, and LO IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM, AWESOME!!!. 
I have previously tried audacity but found it complicated and confusing to use, but with Honestech the audio-file conversion is a breeze!!!, truly, just remember few things. 
1. In the settings click on the noise reduction box and set noise reduction below - 10.0 ( minus ten point zero), I initially set noise reduction at the highest and the recording quality was very bad but once I set it to low level it worked like a charm, no hissing unlike with other software. ( NOW NOISE REDUCTION LEVEL OF - 11.2 IS WHERE I FOUND THE BEST QUALITY OF RECORDING WAS, BUT FOR YOU ALL IT MAY DEPEND ON YOUR COMPUTER SETTINGS AND ALSO THE QUALITY OF THE TAPE USED TO RECORD THE ORIGINAL, SO BY TRIAL AND ERROR USE YOUR OWN JUDGMENT.!!!) 
2. In the audio device properties keep the ''master input mix'' bar at 25% level or lower, and in this setting the recoding was smooth and the output file had no hissing for me and the quality of recording was better than original. 
3. Now this one is important, when you record using 3.5mm to rca audio cable via vidbox I have very little hissing only, however if you use 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable bypassing vidbox there is lots of hissing noise, so i think either the vidbox has a built in filter or it just does good job eliminating hissing, I have so far used only one type of 3.5mm to 3.5 mm cable to record the audio so unsure if the quality of the cable i used had anything to do with it??, anywayz if you want to convert cassette to wma then connecting to your computer through the vidbox probably gives you the best quality. 
I shall try out various setting for video recording over next few weeks and update this review again. 
Once again the audio conversion software works like a charm, I am happy with this software, so far it has been a great buy, instead of spending a fortune at walgreens or sams or other stores trying to get your old tapes converted, with he help of this software and a laptop you can get it done at home!!!, wow, I am happy. 
Overall this product works as advertised and is a winner, thanks Honestech for a great product. 
ADDENDUM - 01/06/2010 
Advanced Video options are nice to use as well. 
You can convert either in 4:3 of 16:9 format, one can convert the VHS to WMV format and store it on hard disc whils the basic simple format only lets you burn it onto dvd immediately after aquring the content. Easy record format only lets you record 110 minutes of best quality of video whilst advanced recording input u can do about 5-6 hours of WMV format recording which is awesome. 
Some of the settings I used for advanced format included WMV format best video output possible at 4:3 since my VHS tapes were standard definition only. I initially did a mistake by trying to record to an external source HD connected via USB drive, you will achieve best performance quality by recording on the internal hard-drive of a laptop or a desktop, you can always transfer it to an external storage device, software froze up when i tried to record to an external HD but worked fine with internal HD. 
You can also edit, join, unjoin, add effects to your video using th existing software which is cool too. you can also record it in various formats suiting VCD or DVD or WMV. For some reason there are no options for recording the video in MP4 format. 
Overall an excellent source for someone who doesnot want to spend a fortune trying to get their home videos or LP or cassette tapes converted to digital MP3 or WMV pr WMA formats.


The most helpful critical review:
VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe is easy to work with, and the VidBox gadget is easy to plug-and-play. However, they just don't work. As soon as a tape starts playing, the audio and video start to fall out of sync. By the end of a two-hour videotape, there are as many as two seconds between someone's lips moving and hearing the words.

Big Kahuna Reef [Game free Download]

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The most helpful favorable review

I bought this after playing the demo. It is the perfect casual game for a netbook user. It plays flawlessly on my Eee PC 900HA.
The game is simple and easy to pickup. Unique puzzle shapes and "locked" cells add some challenge to the typical match-3 style game play.
What I liked most was the fact that it had a built-in screen saver. This is a virtual aquarium of sorts, customizable with 22 species of fish and 3 different reef backgrounds. New fish are rewarded/unlocked when you complete certain levels. This is what really kept me into the game; I kept pressing on to unlock the next fish.
Game graphics are decent. Screensaver graphics are great and very realistic.
The relaxing island-style music gets a little repetitive, but that's my only complaint.
Highly recommended time-killer. Grab it for your next long flight. 

The most helpful critical review

It's an 'underwater' puzzle game with a background on little fish swimming.
The goal is to match at least '3 of the same' by flipping 2 adjacent items for those items to disappear so that others can pour in. If the matches happen on top of a wooden box then that part of the box 'breaks'. The game advances to the next level when all the boxes are broken.
The game is free but I wasn't very impressed. I stopped after a couple of levels and I don't believe I'd be playing it again. It gets three stars for being free.
_______________________
Notes:
I had to install Amazon's 'downloader' software before downloading the game itself. It was pretty quick and it appears to be harmless.
When installed, if you keep the defaults, all games go as subfolders inside a folder named Amazon Games.

H&R Block At Home 2010 Deluxe Federal + State + eFile [Download]

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The most helpful favorable review:
Downloading via Amazon is pretty smooth and painless. You can easily download it again later, even to a different computer if need be. Your authorization is stored in your account at amazon. You need to first install Amazon's special Downloader software. That's also fairly painless. 

Product Review: 

I've used H&R Block's tax software every year since 2004. Always some annoyances, but most of it is excellent. 

Price Dips: Below 25 buckss. Sometimes below 20. It went to 22.49 on Jan 12, 2011, for example. Amazon has always had the best price. There's an "Online Price Alert" that will email you whenever this or any amazon product dips below your target price. Google it. It's nicely done. 

Unlimited number of tax returns: (family members, what-if copies of your return, etc.) I think TurboTax also lets you do this now, but in the past TurboTax pulled some real nasty tricks with licensing/copy protection, and they continue to charge 18-45% more than H&R Block. 

It includes unlimited paper filings for one state ($ 19.95 extra per state e-file). So, I just file state returns on paper. 

"Free" tax softwares like TaxAct might be the thing if your return is very simple, but their better versions are almost as expensive as H&R Block at low tide, and not as good. 

The 2010 version is just like 2009. (I did a side-by-side run-through.) 

Typical minor annoyances: (all carry-overs from 2009) 

- Upgrade pitches: They weave it into the interview and make it sound as if "an upgrade to Premium is advised for your situation" even when it makes little or no sense for your situation. Sleazy. 

- Unclear wording in a few places, although most wording is very clear and accurate. 

- Privacy Policy: Hard to view. Hard to read. Has reassuring tone, but doesn't hold much water. 

- Copy...Paste from Interview screens: That would be handy at times. No can do. Can't print them either. Only way I found is ALT + PrintScreen, then paste the graphic into Word or a paint program. 

The most helpful critical review:
I don't write much in the way of reviews, but this one is long overdue. I've used the yearly iterations of this software since 2002. The software itself has always been fine, and has helped me do my taxes effectively during that period. However, a major reason for buying it all along has been the selling point of "Worry-free Audit Support", and the company failed me spectacularly during 2010. 

I received a letter from the IRS in the spring of 2010 saying that I had miscalculated income in 2007 filings related to an adoption. Now, I'm not an aggressive tax person by any means - I don't take any exotic deductions, exemptions or credits, and try to make it so every year I might owe a couple hundred dollars, or get a small refund. I pay my taxes, and that's fine. Suddenly this letter from the IRS says I owe over $2500, and can I pay it now please, thank you very much? Well, it was inaccurate on the part of the IRS - I had the papers, the program, the file, all of it... and after hyperventilating a bit, I called the IRS. Essentially, I was told that I couldn't take the deduction, and I kept having this circular argument with the woman, where she simply couldn't understand why I thought I could have this deduction. Here's where the H&R Block "Worry-free Audit Support" people come in. 

I spent 2 hours on the phone with this support guy, asking for some help in dealing with the matter. He was polite; He was intelligent; and he deliberately and specifically refused to provide any support at all, because it was an assessment, not an audit. What??? What does that even mean??? For the next 2 hours, I read the fine print on their guarantee with him, and listened to him read scripted refusals about not providing a tax person to assist, a manager to speak with, a means of redress; I was told I was on my own. 

So, ok, I'm on my own. Next day, I try the IRS folks again. Thank GOD you don't ever get the same person twice. In 10 minutes, I had the problem fixed. I pointed out the issue, asked if I could walk through the pertinent part of the file line by line; I got to the 3rd line and the new IRS lady says "Oh, I see, it's that same computer problem again. This has been happening a lot lately. You're ok, I'm fixing it now." "Wow... Ok, Thank you very much, you'll send a letter? Thank you, thank you thank you! Goodbye!" No actual problem, I was right, IRS was wrong. 10 minutes on the phone. But H&R Block's "Worry-free Audit Support"? NOT THERE FOR YOU. 

So, again, the software in general has been fine, and if you buy it expecting to defend yourself to the IRS WITHOUT any help from the fine people at H&R Block, you'll be happy enough. But if you need help related to ANYTHING to do with audits, assessments, or whatever, they will fail you. My problem was thinking "Worry-free Audit Support" meant if the IRS says you filed your taxes incorrectly, you'll have some help. To H&R Block, "Worry-free Audit Support" means "You'd better worry". 

Microsoft Streets & Trips 2010

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The most helpful favorable review

While the updated data base was the desire and achieved purpose of getting the latest version, it sufers from classic Microsoft update. Ease of use is severely impacted. My favorite means of navigation was to selct a region and tehn zoom in, you can't do that any more. Now you have to center and zoom, then re-center and zoom, not nearly as easy or effecient. 

Also, as a program that needs to be "activated" it is no longer convienent to have on multiple computers. This substantially degrades the value of the product.

The most helpful critical review

I've used MS S&T since it was initially offered (pre-affordable GPS) and gradually watched it decline in usefulness as the net and technologies evolve. With this current version, even with the few improvements over the 2009 version, I wouldn't recommend it at all to a new user and only would recommend it as an upgrade if your version is more than 2 years old (unless you can find it for less than twenty bucks).

While netbooks (and to some extent the new generation of energy efficient processors just coming out this Xmas) have extended the life of this product, it is just not as functional while traveling as a good GPS unit. I still use it for planning, but more and more I find other online mapping tools more useful as wifi becomes more ubiquitous and 4G broadband adds coverage. The maps are not updated (I find major local errors still uncorrected after 4 years here in Ohio and on a trip to California, numerous serious flaws in Sacramento, the Napa Valley, and the Sonoma Valley - not to mention an abrupt loss of functionality along the way).

I like (and have) the GPS version while on the road at night (using the night map) and also use it while traveling to find side trips of interest (one thing not a strong point of auto GPS devices). But our Garmin GPS is much stronger for routing and seems to have a much better POI dataset. In fact, the online mapping services also have better POI info and MS S&T is unlikely to improve unless it is integrated with Bing or something.

Overall, licensing restrictions (1 machine - should be at least 2 including a laptop/netbook), lack of adequate data revision/updating, and the availability of cheaper GPS units and wifi, I'd say - give this one a pass unless you have a very compelling reason to use it.

Edit 7/12/2010 - Somehow I got the licensing wrong, actually S&T DOES allow 2 installs. My bad. 

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 18

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The most helpful favorable review

I thought it was a fairly good product. It was easy and fun to use, it was more like a kid's computer game than an adult product. Which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences. It did help me learn to type better I'm at 47 words a minute verses the 18 when I started. It has a Spanish language mode and even teaches you the numeric keys. So all in all I give it a 4 out of 5.

The most helpful critical review

I bot this for my 8yo daughter. She is doing great and enjoying it except for a program glitch: it doesn't advance properly - every 3rd or 4th lesson the program gives a lesson that includes all letters on the keyboard; as I saw in some reviews - you can get through the 'advanced' lesson and then it returns to a proper progression, BUT - it keeps doing this every 3rd or 4th lesson which is a real pain. Other reviews that I've looked up elsewhere (not just Amazon) say that the company acknowledges the problem but calls it 'minor'. I guess that means they don't think it important enough to fix. It is a very inconvenient problem in the program. Putting the glitch another way: you learn, say - 10 keys - then the next lesson will have all 26 letters in the lesson assuming you've learned all 26 when you've only learned 10 - you get past this lesson and it goes back to teaching you keys 11 & 12, you practice 12 keys for a couple of lessons - then the next lesson has the whole keyboard on it once again, and this repeats time and again. We're giving up and buying our 3rd typing program hoping it will work. (The first we tried, Typing Instructor for Kids - didn't advance at all - she learned the home keys and then it stayed on the home keys forever not advancing to other keys - aahh! - We just want to learn to type!). We will try "Typing Quick & Easy" this time.

Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 3-User

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The most helpful favorable review

First, I'm an advanced user. 2-Home networks running independently that include 5-laptops, 1-desktop (Vista), and 1-MS Server 2003. The reviews on Amazon initially made me hesitate about this product; although, the 2011 version rates very highly in PCMag and PCWorld testing. After receipt and installation of this Security Suite, I'm not sure what all the hub-bub is all about? I have everything from XP SP-3 to Vista Professional (not on 7 yet) with two different Office Suites (2003 & 2007) and a plethora of applications on each machine - I EXPERIENCED ABSOLUTELY ZERO ISSUES WITH THIS PRODUCT. I also utilize several industry specific apps for insurance (AMS360 for example) that tend to be very finicky about security software and generally don't react well to firewalls, shields, etc. Again, I had NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER with this product. Over the years, I've used McAfee, Norton, Panda, AVG, Ad-Aware, AVAST, Kaspersky, and ESET (consumer and corporate versions) and Webroot has really done a nice job with this security suite. Installation was clean, scanned each system witout issue, no false-positives as of yet, and no blocked apps. I hope this review helps disspell some of the dark cloud that seems to be hanging over this product on Amazon. I have no doubt folks experienced problems, but likely, there were problems (possibly hidden) with those systems prior to the installation of this product, so FEAR NOT and purchase with confidence.

The most helpful critical review

OH MY GOSH what a big mistake we made installing this product. Since we already had a webroot subscription, we were entitled to free updates. So we downloaded to our XP-SP3 computer version 7.0.4.102 of Webroot Antivirus with Spy Sweeper (2011 edition). Once installed, the product says it must perform an initial full scan, so we let it. But here is where things went wrong really fast. The software immediately hijacked the PC's performance and we could not do anything else. Internet Explorer would not open at all and it took literally 6 minutes just to open My Computer. Forget about checking your email. Even if we paused the scan, performance was very, very poor and literally took 6-8 minutes for anything to open. I couldn't help but reminisce of the early MSDOS days (before windows) when downloading large files with a 2400 baud modem took hours. 

It's scan of the hard drive was also painful with each and every file taking several seconds. We estimated it took about one hour to scan only 1000 files. We started the scan at 8PM on 9/15/10 and by 1PM on 9/17/10, the scan still was NOT done. After 23 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds, the elapsed time counter resets to zero. We killed the scan after 203,979 files were scanned (it never found anything). (It's funny because after this software was removed, we discovered only approx 98,500 files exist on the PC). 

I clicked the help button on the software and it was supposed to connect me to Webroot's customer service but since IE7 would not open, that option became useless. I then called Webroot's 866 help line but the recording informed me that because of the 'popularity' of their new release, the wait time was over 1.5 hours. I hung on for another 10 minutes and then was promptly disconnected by their automated system. 

It took another 40 minutes to uninstall the product since performance was still affected. However, once the software was completely removed, our perfomance returned and all seems back to normal, well except for the Webroot subscription we paid for until 5/2011 but no longer have their software installed.

Mac Box Set Family Pack

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The most helpful favorable review

I just upgraded my OS to Snow and it's just amazing, the family package is really good value for money compared to the single one. Try to get friends to share the cost of it.

The most helpful critical review

I bought this as a x-mas gift but when it was opened that morning, it was scratched and thus unuseable. I returned and reordered this same item, and unbelievable but it arrived with another scratched system disk. I even had my son take the system CD set and his laptop to the Apple store and they confirmed it was defective. I have never had such a bad experience with Amazon and quality control! I am going to return this and just get my money back because I can not stand dealing with anymore scratched unusable disks. This was a gift item to add insult to injury. I can not believe what a bad experience this purchase was.