effects

What's that? We have to stop playing with Kaleider and actually write a review of it? We're not sure that we can. This mesmerizing program does so many cool things that we're having trouble prying ourselves away from it.

Despite our love for this program, we cannot tell a lie: its interface is a mess. There are buttons and menus and things across the top and bottom and down the right side. We can't even say that we understand most of what the program does. But it's fun and it's beautiful, and for that, … Read more

Dino Glade Advanced is a dinosaur-themed screensaver that promises a variety of dinosaurs frolicking in a delightful landscape. We like dinosaurs, so we were excited. Then we tried this screensaver and our excitement turned to befuddlement.

We don't want to be mean, but Dino Glade Advanced looks like the work of someone who just learned computer animation. Both the dinosaurs' design and animation are utterly amateurish. The dinosaurs bend their heads as if to pick something up with their mouths, and their chins disappear into the ground. The insides of their mouths are empty and red, reminding us of … Read more

Artweaver is an art supply store and a blank canvas all rolled up into one. With it, you can create your own masterpieces and experiment with the multitude of built-in tools. Choose from paint and calligraphy brushes, pens, pencils, crayons, and even sponges and brushes made to mimic famous artists like Van Gogh.

Artweaver's interface is very similar to Photoshop's. Creative professionals and hobbyists who are familiar with Photoshop will be able to navigate their way through its palettes and windows with no problem. This helped us get up and running with the program easily and made our … Read more

Photo Filter Factory provides users with an extensive amount of filters for editing their images. Along with the filters, there is nice editing software, which rounds out this program for users.

The program's interface was delightfully simple and will look familiar to anyone who has operated other editing software before, such as Paintbrush. With commands clearly labeled and plenty of visual examples for the filters, most users will not have to utilize the Help file. Users simply select a photo they would like to doctor and then can get to work. While the program provides some standard editing tools, … Read more

While its name may conjure up images of animation, Cartoon Maker actually acts as a simple photo editor. While some may be disappointed, it does function well as a quick photo-editing tool.

The program's interface is very simple, allowing users full control with only a few button clicks and limited options. The program's Help file breaks every process down to the bare essentials, allowing users to learn quickly. To create a cartoon, simply bring up a picture by searching via a file tree. Next, users choose a cartoon option from the onscreen menu. The options for Distort and … Read more

Collage FX Studio is a fun and intuitive program that allows users to create collages and other custom images. We don't tend to get terribly excited by this sort of program, but Collage FX Studio had so many cool, easy-to-use features we couldn't stop playing with it.

The program's interface is sleek and relatively intuitive. Users can import their own images to work with, or just start with a blank background in any color. From there, it's easy to add, remove, and adjust images, which can be decorated with a variety of cute frames. The really … Read more

Ripple Pool Screensaver gives users' computer screens the effect of raindrops falling on water. The program's multiple settings allow users to customize the effect to suit their own tastes.

The program's settings are accessed through the Screen Savers tab in the Display Properties menu. All of them are fairly intuitive, which is a good thing, given the lack of a Help file. Users can select from three background images that are included with the screensaver, choose images from their computers, or simply have the program use the computer's current desktop display. The screensaver takes whatever image(s) … Read more

Desktop Icon Toy is a fun and useful utility that allows users to customize the display of their desktop icons. The program combines a variety of features in an easy-to-use format.

The program's interface consists of a slide-out menu that's accessed from the system tray, with the program's features neatly arranged within. The online Help file doesn't go into much detail about the program's features, but most of them are fairly self-explanatory, and users should be able to quickly figure them out. The less obvious features have tool-tip explanations that describe their functions. The program … Read more

IcoFX allows users to create custom icons using a variety of tools. The program's intuitive interface and many features make it a great choice for creating icons.

Much of the program's interface will look familiar to users who have experience with Microsoft Paint, although IcoFX is a little more polished. The program displays content in seven panes, all of which can easily be enabled or disabled under the View menu. One pane helpfully includes a tree layout of the user's computer files, while another holds a preview of the contents of a selected folder. This makes it … Read more