slideshow

CyberLink PhotoDirector 2011 is an all-in-one photography program that lets you manage, retouch, enhance, and share your digital photos. With its intuitive workflow and nondestructive editing environment, we think it's a great choice for beginners and intermediate users. Plus, with the possibilities furnished by the robust DirectorZone.com community, it might even work for more-advanced users as well.

PhotoDirector is split up into three main viewing panels: Library, for managing and sifting through your photos; Adjustment, for retouching and enhancing; and Slideshow for turning your stills into moving masterpieces.

The Library presents all of your digital photos in an … Read more

UPDATE July 6, 2011: This offer has now ended.

Just in time for your 4th of July weekend, we bring you a special offer to turn those unforgettable memories into something you can easily share with friends and family. Starting now until 11:59pm PDT on Tuesday, July 5, 2011, Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe is yours for just $14.95. That's a savings of 75% off the regular price of $59.95 and is available exclusively on CNET.

I know that everyone's family is different, but in my family, we take a lot of photos and videos … Read more

PhotoStage from NCH Software creates and saves video slideshows using your pictures, video clips, and tunes. It can save your slideshows to your PC, burn them on a DVD, send them to a mobile device, or upload them to a Web site. With drag-and-drop capability, video conversion, and download-on-demand features, it proved a capable tool for creating multimedia slideshows.

PhotoStage has an efficient layout that takes a step-by-step approach to creating slideshows. We began with Step 1, adding photos, music, and video clips to the Media List, which also let us insert blank spaces. Step 2 involved selecting effects from … Read more

After years of waiting, you've finally got a Verizon-branded iPhone. OK, now what? You've played Angry Birds, updated your Facebook status, and watched an "Arrested Development" marathon on Netflix. Is that all there is?

Of course not. When you're ready to start using your iPhone like the power tool that it is, you're ready for my roundup of must-have apps. They're not the run-of-the-mill fodder like Pandora and Yelp; they're lesser-known gems that will make you marvel at what your shiny new toy can do.

Needless to say, these are just my … Read more

Here it is, Sony's Next Generation Portable, the NGP or the PSP2. Whatever its final name ends up being, the device boasts a healthy set of specs and features, including 3G connectivity, a touch screen, touch pad, two cameras, and a gorgeous OLED screen with four times the resolution of the original PSP.

While we'll continue to post news, impressions, and reactions, here's a your chance to see the new device from every angle.

Apple has released a couple of updates today, for iDVD and for the MacBook Air. The update to iDVD brings the version to 7.1.1 and fixes problems users have had with sending iPhoto '11 slideshows to iDVD. It also fixes some stability bugs in the program. The software update for the MacBook Air (late 2010 model) addresses a problem in which the systems would not go to sleep.

The updates should be available via Software Update, but can also be downloaded from the following locations:

iDVD 7.1.1

MacBook Air (Late 2010) Software Update 2.0

The … Read more

Endless Slideshow Screensaver from Extreme Internet Software is a free slideshow screensaver that automatically searches for new desktop wallpaper online, downloads it, and displays it in your slideshow queue, so you always have new pictures to see. You can select categories for the program to search for, such as Nature, Animals, Cars, Girls, Men, or Cartoons. While the concept is interesting, we're not sure about the execution.

We installed Endless Slideshow Screensaver, opened its Settings dialog, and deselected all of the categories except one, Space. We clicked Preview, and the program opened and started downloading images, which it displayed … Read more

Apple's iOS 4 was released today ahead of the launch of the iPhone 4, which becomes available June 24. iPhone users can update to the latest OS via iTunes, but some features will not be available for the iPhone 3G and the update is not available at all for the original iPhone. iOS 4 will not be available on the iPad until this fall.

Apple says there are more than 100 new features in iOS 4, but the most notable tweaks include multitasking, with handy controls for switching apps; home screen folders that you can name by category for … Read more

Picasa for Mac is a free app from Google for importing, editing, organizing, and sharing photos. The first time you launch it, Picasa can quickly search your hard drive (or select folders) for your existing photos, pulling them into the Picasa interface without actually duplicating them and taking up drive space.

Picasa's interface feels un-Mac-like at first, with a nonstandard scroll bar and even slightly fuzzy fonts--but it's still instantly recognizable (and usable) by anyone familiar with iPhoto, with similar toolbars and three-pane organization with folders and albums. Picasa makes it easy to create slideshows, movies, and collages, … Read more