[Chairman Clench]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

If I had any criticism of the Hemera packages in general, it would be that they don't bundle a DVD version in the box: you have to wait 6+ months (usually) for them to release the DVD version. Swapping seven CDs is no fun - DVDs were designed for this type of use. I'd be a happy guy if they'd just include a DVD version in the box - I doubt it would cost them more than an extra 50 cents anyway.

I have the Photo Clip Art 100,000 collection and had the same problem with swapping CDs too much. Then, I started poking around the options menu and I found there is a CD-ROM tab. In it you can add other locations to look for the images. So, if you copy each CD to its own folder on your hard drive and then add the locations, it will look in your hard drive instead of requesting the CD-ROM. I am much happier now.

The product you are talking about may use a different application and that may not work on yours. It works in GraphicsDesk, which is the app that the 100,000 collection and the online collections use.

I hope that helped.

[Chairman Clench]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

If I had any criticism of the Hemera packages in general, it would be that they don't bundle a DVD version in the box: you have to wait 6+ months (usually) for them to release the DVD version. Swapping seven CDs is no fun - DVDs were designed for this type of use. I'd be a happy guy if they'd just include a DVD version in the box - I doubt it would cost them more than an extra 50 cents anyway.

I have the Photo Clip Art 100,000 collection and had the same problem with swapping CDs too much. Then, I started poking around the options menu and I found there is a CD-ROM tab. In it you can add other locations to look for the images. So, if you copy each CD to its own folder on your hard drive and then add the locations, it will look in your hard drive instead of requesting the CD-ROM. I am much happier now.

The product you are talking about may use a different application and that may not work on yours. It works in GraphicsDesk, which is the app that the 100,000 collection and the online collections use.

I hope that helped.

[Chairman Clench]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

I can't remember what the exact difference is (I don't have the Photo Clip Art products), but I think it's the resolution - I think the Photo Clip Art package is limited to 100 dpi or something similar, whereas the Photo Objects version I'm talking about is full of 600 dpi images suitable for printing. If you're doing just Web work, the Photo Clip Art might be perfect!

The resolution is different and also the 100,000 collection doesn't support 32-bit transparencies, all you can do is add a fill color to the pic when exporting it. I think it's kind of misleading because the packaging and instructions all lead you to believe that you can export the image with a transparency. No great worry, though... it isn't too hard to make a color transparent.

[Ed Hansberry]

Originally Posted by Scott R

So how do you like PhotoImpact? A friend of mine recommended this to me a long time ago but I use Jasc Paint Shop Pro. I tried the demo of PhotoImpact but didn't feel comfortable with the completely different interface and it seemed like there were some features Paint Shop Pro had that it lacked, but my friend swore by it. I've also thought about biting the bullet and buying PhotoShop. Paint Shop Pro has a new version out now, but the list of improvements didn't overly impress me.

Oooh... we do agree on some things. I am a Paint Shop Pro user too. Try v8 - lots and lots of little tweaks. For me, the ability to set up infinite preference settings for all of the tools makes it worth the $50 upgrade price. One word of warning - it takes twice as long to load now, but once running, it is as fast as ever.

[Scott R]

Ed, we agreed on something else before. I don't remember what it was exactly, as it was quite a while ago. I use the vector tools a lot (logo design, sketching out a design template for a web site, etc.) and didn't remember seeing much in the way of improving on that. It looks like they're aiming their product more and more at digital camera owners. I'm sure I'll go ahead and buy the PSP upgrade since a couple of the enhancements I saw on their list looked interesting and I'm hoping, as you say, that there may be some other tweaks here and there.

But maybe I'll go and get a copy of PhotoImpact as well. The cost of these two products combined would still be a lot less than buying one full version of PhotoShop and combined would probably have more to offer.

Regarding the "Mac legacy" stuff, are you talking about "floating windows"? PSP uses those too, but I've learned to live with them. That was one of the things I played with Dreamweaver a while back. I much prefer the MDI interface (ancillary "windows" snapped to the sides/bottom of the primary window), although it does require using a higher-res monitor.

Scott

[ctmagnus]

You'd think the marketing guys could come up with a better name. It sounds like a condition that makes it difficult to ride a bike.

[MikeUnwired]

Originally Posted by Chairman Clench

The resolution is different and also the 100,000 collection doesn't support 32-bit transparencies, all you can do is add a fill color to the pic when exporting it. I think it's kind of misleading because the packaging and instructions all lead you to believe that you can export the image with a transparency. No great worry, though... it isn't too hard to make a color transparent.

Yeah, and it was only nine bucks after the price match, so I don't mind too much.

I'll probably pick-up Photo Objects III just because I would hope it has the most up-to-date tech graphics of all the packages. For instance, the laptops in version I and the Photo Clips are circa 1993 stuff. The only PDAs in the Photo Clips are a couple of old Visor units -- that's it!

Whatever pack you get, they are much nicer than the typical clip art that most programs come with.