Cheap Microsoft Picture It Photo 2001 (Software) (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Me) Price

Gone are the pop-up windows with dozens of arcane developer-written options. They've been replaced with an instructional panel that offers hints and clear, concise instructions on how to get the desired performance out of every tool. Every task can be performed using PictureIt's user-friendly wizard-style interface. Because the wizards don't pop up in dialog boxes, they don't detract from the functionality of the program in any way.

Some software programs may offer a hundred options that can enhance the way you work, provided you can first navigate your way through five levels of vaguely labeled menus and then decipher the programmer-speak describing what that option does. In Microsoft PictureIt, all available options are no more than two clicks away and are clearly described and documented.

The help system has also been given a big facelift, making it much easier to use. Not only does it instruct, it inspires, with dozens of creative ideas on how to use the program. The help system has also taken a technological leap; if you perform certain tasks for the first time, the program will even ask if you would like to watch an easy-to-follow tutorial video on that subject.

In addition to its revolutionary interface advancements, PictureIt certainly packs a wallop of features. Start with a blank project, or choose from over 500 project templates including calendars, greeting cards, invitations, flyers, and Web photo albums. Choose from over 20,000 photos and frames provided by PictureIt, or use your own photos from the Web, a scanner, a digital camera, or disk.

Once your photos are in your project, you can pick from a variety of effects and tools, including red-eye and wrinkle reduction, photo scratch and lighting corrections, rotation and cropping, and more. The Edge Finder tool makes it dreadfully simple to extract individual people and objects from photos so they can be isolated and transferred into other photos or projects. Once your project is completed, you can print it out using Microsoft's true-color printing technology or publish it to the Web. If you choose to print, you can even make your own professional-quality photo prints using the included glossy paper samples.

Altogether, PictureIt Photo 2001 offers a tremendous bargain and a first-class product that will allow even a novice to create both print projects and Web presentations, as well as perform advanced photo-editing tasks that were previously only available in complicated and expensive software suites. This is a great deal no matter which way you look at it. --Victor Andersen